Christmas Building #1: Busy, Busy, Busy

Okay here is my quick update on what has been happening lately. My spare time has been sparse in the last week but I am almost finished with building a workbench in my basement for doing my hand tool work. I’m using the Bob Key plan which seems to be a popular basis for many of the workbenches I have read about lately.

I’ll post more details and before, during, after shots when I have it completed. Just to tease you a bit, I am using the pine framing lumber do to money and availability issues but so far it is working out nicely. I’m currently to the point where I need to start cutting out the large mortise joints for the legs and the top is almost completely laminated.

As I am doing this, I am working on doing a bit of restoration on an old wood jointer plane I picked up last weekend. If you read my forum post, I got a hell of a deal on a bunch of hand tools which included that plane as well as various others. The crown jewel of that find was the Stanley #45 combi that I picked up, with blades, for $40. God, I love antique stores!

The reconditioning I’m doing on the jointer plane is mostly de-rusting with WD-40 and steel wool and then a bit of sharpening. I also really need to rework the original handle, but that may have to wait. I’m working on this one first because I need a good, long plane to smooth out the top on my workbench. I’ll hit in on the Stanley this coming January.

As soon as I finish the workbench, I got a good laundry list to do before Christmas. I’ve got four barbeque trays (see my previous posts), one puzzle, one stacking toy, and a bean bag toss game to build before I leave for my in laws on the 22nd of December. How many building days is that until Christmas??? Ugh.

The good news is, I’m getting out of a couple of chores and appointments because of this. Jenny is understanding enough to know that I need the time to get this stuff done. The only problem is I still think I’m going to be stress from the crunch at a certain point. I guess I should just keep it slow and keep it neat and it will all work out in the end.

~DB

-- Happy Ripping!!!