Weekend Bench #6: Getting a little closer to being done

I had to take a couple of days off for Holiday travel. I got back at the bench yesterday for about 6 hours and batched out the dog holes and lower shelf.

I am not overly thrilled with how the dog holes worked out. In the end I used an Irwin boring bit and this jig.

I found that using just one clamp allowed the board to wiggle some as the bit drove in. Doing it this way the second and third clamps secure the board better. A backing board is necessary.

or you will get blowout at the bottom…

Overall the boring bit didn’t leave a great finish and it was constantly clogging. It also wobbled a bit due to runout. I don’t think the bit was ever intended for nice work. Forstner bits are also pretty prone to clogging. I also found the forstner very hard to keep aligned. I think if I were to do it on a nicer bench I would use the router for the top inch and then a standard brad point bit to get full depth. I went cheap. It did work out, but again it was another learning experience.

I added a temporary stretcher to reduce racking so that I could use the bench to surface the boards for the bottom shelf.

This worked fairly well. racking was there, but not so bad that it affected my work.

The shelf is constructed with but joints. Since it is captured between the legs there isn’t really a need for a stronger joint. Time will tell if that assumption was correct. As it is the bench is knock-down, so I could easily build a new shelf if it came to that.

I also had a scrap laying around that I mitered to fit on the diagonal. I don’t think it does much, but I had the scrap and extra bracing never hurt anyone.

To finish up I moved the temporary stretcher to the rear and bolted it up.

So there you have it…

Time log:24.5hr so far

Next up front twin screw construction and laminating up the front of the legs to flush them to the front apron.

-- Doug, woodworking in Alabama