Weekend Bench #12: Stick a fork in me

Took about 3 hours this afternoon. I am going to close out this series. Yes, still have a few more items that I need to do like seal the top and drill some more dog holes. But, by in large, the bench is complete.

First item of the day, hand plane the legs, vise mount, and apron flush. Minor issue, this bench is getting heavy. I managed to get it down without much strife. I went to pick the thing back up when done and failed. Took 2 more attempts to right this beast. Amazingly enough I have managed to move this bench around without assistance through the entire build. But gravity almost won today ;-)

So I ran the block plane over the legs to flush them up and remove the glue squeeze-out. I then used the no608 to run everything flush. I will use that term lightly. It isn’t perfect, but it will do.

My biggest flaw:

Yep, ended up with one of the feet off by over 1/4in. Oh well, call it a learning experience and move on. I may fix it at some point but the only real reason to do so is for vanity-sake.

Here is what it should look like, not a prefect mate but much better…

I added a t-nut and 3/8in bolt for a leveler on the rear foot. Nothing fancy, just makes life easier with an uneven garage floor. So now I can tripod and then use this screw to locate the 4th foot.

The twin screw is back together. I flushed the top with the bench top. Here you can see the mounting blocks and leg flushed as well as the carrier pins.

The end vise:

I think I will make an oak chock for it out of the mistake chock from the twin screw. Maybe later, I am going to use this one for a bit longer first. Here is a birdseye view of the end vise dog holes stretching the entire bench. I can handle up to just over 9ft boards between the dog holes, that should hold me for now.

Remember that sand used for the top lamination??

That is mass that we can use. Put it in tubs so it doesn’t continue to leak sand in the shop. Then put those tubes on the shelf.

Instant 200+lb to the bench. It is pretty good without it, but that mass really anchors the bench and gives it a rock-solid feel. Only dissadvantage I see is that you have to remove the tubs to move the bench around the shop. No biggie.

Parting shot, smile and wave…

Time log: 41 hours

-- Doug, woodworking in Alabama