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My Version of the $175 Workbench

22K views 25 replies 8 participants last post by  jonah 
#1 ·
Getting Started

When we moved into our current abode, I was able to take over about a third of the basement to use as my shop. I decided to ditch the Ikea kitchen cabinets I had been using as a workbench/assembly table and to build something solid.

About a year ago I stumbled across two Columbian vises for sale on Craigslist. They were rust buckets, but in working order. I bought the two of them for $50

Wood Gas Auto part Machine Metal


I used electrolysis to remove the rust, which worked great. I basically did everything here

They are now painted matte black and ready to install on the bench.

I'm basing my design on the $175 workbench from Popular Woodworking about ten years ago.

I am using 2×8s from a local lumberyard, which has been interesting. I wasn't initially careful enough about rejecting knotty boards (all construction SPF lumber is knotty, but some are worse than others). I ended up with some unsightly knots right on the edge of the legs.

It currently looks like this:

Table Wood Automotive design Engineering Flooring


I've got the end assemblies and the top glued up, and am about to size and mill the long stretchers.
 

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#2 ·
Getting Started

When we moved into our current abode, I was able to take over about a third of the basement to use as my shop. I decided to ditch the Ikea kitchen cabinets I had been using as a workbench/assembly table and to build something solid.

About a year ago I stumbled across two Columbian vises for sale on Craigslist. They were rust buckets, but in working order. I bought the two of them for $50

Wood Gas Auto part Machine Metal


I used electrolysis to remove the rust, which worked great. I basically did everything here

They are now painted matte black and ready to install on the bench.

I'm basing my design on the $175 workbench from Popular Woodworking about ten years ago.

I am using 2×8s from a local lumberyard, which has been interesting. I wasn't initially careful enough about rejecting knotty boards (all construction SPF lumber is knotty, but some are worse than others). I ended up with some unsightly knots right on the edge of the legs.

It currently looks like this:

Table Wood Automotive design Engineering Flooring


I've got the end assemblies and the top glued up, and am about to size and mill the long stretchers.
Looks really nice, Jonah. Join us in the work bench smack down thread.
 

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#3 ·
Getting Started

When we moved into our current abode, I was able to take over about a third of the basement to use as my shop. I decided to ditch the Ikea kitchen cabinets I had been using as a workbench/assembly table and to build something solid.

About a year ago I stumbled across two Columbian vises for sale on Craigslist. They were rust buckets, but in working order. I bought the two of them for $50

Wood Gas Auto part Machine Metal


I used electrolysis to remove the rust, which worked great. I basically did everything here

They are now painted matte black and ready to install on the bench.

I'm basing my design on the $175 workbench from Popular Woodworking about ten years ago.

I am using 2×8s from a local lumberyard, which has been interesting. I wasn't initially careful enough about rejecting knotty boards (all construction SPF lumber is knotty, but some are worse than others). I ended up with some unsightly knots right on the edge of the legs.

It currently looks like this:

Table Wood Automotive design Engineering Flooring


I've got the end assemblies and the top glued up, and am about to size and mill the long stretchers.
Looks good, it brings back memories. Finished mine last winter.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/97426
 

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#4 ·
Coming together

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plywood Engineering


I started this blog series when I was halfway done with the workbench, so it probably seems like the thing is coming together a lot faster than it should.

Yesterday and today I worked on the long stretchers. I got the holes drilled, got the cross dowels situated, and bolted everything together. The process went fairly smoothly, but in hindsight I should have created a jig to determine the exact location of the hole for the cross dowels. In probably 3-4 out of the 8 holes I had to widen the hole by a quarter of an inch or so to be able to thread the cross dowel on. You can see that in the bottom hole in this picture:

Wood Wall Material property Liquid Natural material


Turns out that it's pretty easy to be off by a quarter inch or so when you're drilling a 5+ inch hole.

I also trimmed the top to length using my track saw:

Wood Table Floor Flooring Wood stain


In that picture the top is upside down and you can see part of the base assembly.

I then glued some scrap pieces of poplar on to serve as cleats to screw the top to:

Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Automotive design Gas


Here's a pic of one of the vises I'll be bolting on:

Bumper Gas Road surface Composite material Machine


Next step is going to be sanding and finishing the top and base separately. I may or may not drill the dog holes before I finish the underside of the top - haven't decided yet.

I figured I'd finish the underside of the top as well as all sides of the base before I screw the top on. I don't fancy spending forever underneath the thing trying to wipe varnish or shellac on.

Then I'll screw the top on, flatten it with hand planes, and put some finish on it. After that it's vise time.

Any opinions on finishing prior to drilling dog holes? Good idea or bad idea?
 

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#5 ·
Coming together

Wood Wood stain Hardwood Plywood Engineering


I started this blog series when I was halfway done with the workbench, so it probably seems like the thing is coming together a lot faster than it should.

Yesterday and today I worked on the long stretchers. I got the holes drilled, got the cross dowels situated, and bolted everything together. The process went fairly smoothly, but in hindsight I should have created a jig to determine the exact location of the hole for the cross dowels. In probably 3-4 out of the 8 holes I had to widen the hole by a quarter of an inch or so to be able to thread the cross dowel on. You can see that in the bottom hole in this picture:

Wood Wall Material property Liquid Natural material


Turns out that it's pretty easy to be off by a quarter inch or so when you're drilling a 5+ inch hole.

I also trimmed the top to length using my track saw:

Wood Table Floor Flooring Wood stain


In that picture the top is upside down and you can see part of the base assembly.

I then glued some scrap pieces of poplar on to serve as cleats to screw the top to:

Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Automotive design Gas


Here's a pic of one of the vises I'll be bolting on:

Bumper Gas Road surface Composite material Machine


Next step is going to be sanding and finishing the top and base separately. I may or may not drill the dog holes before I finish the underside of the top - haven't decided yet.

I figured I'd finish the underside of the top as well as all sides of the base before I screw the top on. I don't fancy spending forever underneath the thing trying to wipe varnish or shellac on.

Then I'll screw the top on, flatten it with hand planes, and put some finish on it. After that it's vise time.

Any opinions on finishing prior to drilling dog holes? Good idea or bad idea?
Well done sir. This was the first bench I built as well. I'm not sure I've ever finished the underside of my benchtops…lol. But I don't know if it makes a big difference. I do like to do layouts and perhaps drilling before smoothing because smoothing will remove the marks.

Great job so far.
 

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#7 ·
Drilling and Drilling and Drilling

After finishing the base assembly, I put a couple of coats of Arm-R-Seal on the underside of the top and the base.

I then started laying out my vise locations. I have two identical cast-iron Columbian vises. In a perfect world, I would mortise at least the face vise into the side of the bench top, but after looking at that the other day, I decided it would be too much work. I didn't want to start chopping the thing up without a clear plan for how I'd bury the somewhat irregular shape of the inside vise face in the top.

Bumper Gas Road surface Composite material Machine


Below you can see my extremely clever way of keeping the vise from tipping over as I laid out where the maple faces I made would go. I made those, at least, flush with the top and sides of the bench.

Table Wood Gas Engineering Machine tool


Since I have to screw through the inside maple face, through the existing hole in the vise and into the bench top, it was a bit involved to get the through holes, countersinks, and such lined up properly.

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I then flipped the top over, laid out and drilled the dog holes with a spade bit. I made sure to stick a spare piece of 2×8 under the top to back up the hole. The holes ended up pretty much tearout-free and they fit the Kreg bench dogs I'll be using just fine.

Table Wood Wood stain Bottle Hardwood


Wood Wood stain Material property Hardwood Rectangle


While I was at it, I also drilled all the pilot holes for the vises, the pilot holes in the cleats to attach the top to the base, and the appropriate countersinks.

Next comes actually attaching the top to the base, flattening the top, and putting finish on it. Almost done!
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Drilling and Drilling and Drilling

After finishing the base assembly, I put a couple of coats of Arm-R-Seal on the underside of the top and the base.

I then started laying out my vise locations. I have two identical cast-iron Columbian vises. In a perfect world, I would mortise at least the face vise into the side of the bench top, but after looking at that the other day, I decided it would be too much work. I didn't want to start chopping the thing up without a clear plan for how I'd bury the somewhat irregular shape of the inside vise face in the top.

Bumper Gas Road surface Composite material Machine


Below you can see my extremely clever way of keeping the vise from tipping over as I laid out where the maple faces I made would go. I made those, at least, flush with the top and sides of the bench.

Table Wood Gas Engineering Machine tool


Since I have to screw through the inside maple face, through the existing hole in the vise and into the bench top, it was a bit involved to get the through holes, countersinks, and such lined up properly.

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bumper Automotive exhaust Coil spring


I then flipped the top over, laid out and drilled the dog holes with a spade bit. I made sure to stick a spare piece of 2×8 under the top to back up the hole. The holes ended up pretty much tearout-free and they fit the Kreg bench dogs I'll be using just fine.

Table Wood Wood stain Bottle Hardwood


Wood Wood stain Material property Hardwood Rectangle


While I was at it, I also drilled all the pilot holes for the vises, the pilot holes in the cleats to attach the top to the base, and the appropriate countersinks.

Next comes actually attaching the top to the base, flattening the top, and putting finish on it. Almost done!
Great progress, glad to see the vices are working out
 

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#12 ·
Top and Vises

I put the top on and screwed it down. Well, screwed it up from beneath, but you get the idea.

Table Furniture Wood Workbench Machine tool


I also put the vises on, thanks to a little help from the missus. Those things are solid cast iron, heavy as hell. I'm betting ~40-50lbs each.

Wood Workbench Wood stain Hardwood Gas


The Kreg bench dogs seem fine so far. You certainly can't argue with the price ($8 for four) compared to the various brass options from Lee Valley or wherever.

I made my own bench dog to go into the square recess in the vises. The vises came with one of the original steel pop-up bench dogs, but it doesn't pop up high enough to clear the top of my bench, and the pop-up mechanism isn't working as well as I would want it to. I just made square maple dogs that fit in the holes and protrude about half an inch above the bench top.

Wood Audio equipment Gas Automotive tire Cable


The vise handles are just a ~16" section of 7/8" oak dowel with a small piece of 1.5" dowel glued onto both ends and sanded to where they're comfortable to hold. The holes in the vise handle are really an inch wide, but 1" dowel is just too snug. I may not have masked them off as well as I needed to when I spray painted them, or they may just be too small for 1" dowel. I decided it was too much work to sand down a 1" dowel to fit, so I just went with the 7/8" dowel.

Drilling the 7/8" hole in the small pieces of 1.5" dowel was tricky, but doable on the drill press with a wood hand screw clamp holding it and regular clamps holding the hand screw to the DP table. I decided to forgo just screwing the cap to the end of the dowel because of looks.
 

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#13 ·
Top and Vises

I put the top on and screwed it down. Well, screwed it up from beneath, but you get the idea.

Table Furniture Wood Workbench Machine tool


I also put the vises on, thanks to a little help from the missus. Those things are solid cast iron, heavy as hell. I'm betting ~40-50lbs each.

Wood Workbench Wood stain Hardwood Gas


The Kreg bench dogs seem fine so far. You certainly can't argue with the price ($8 for four) compared to the various brass options from Lee Valley or wherever.

I made my own bench dog to go into the square recess in the vises. The vises came with one of the original steel pop-up bench dogs, but it doesn't pop up high enough to clear the top of my bench, and the pop-up mechanism isn't working as well as I would want it to. I just made square maple dogs that fit in the holes and protrude about half an inch above the bench top.

Wood Audio equipment Gas Automotive tire Cable


The vise handles are just a ~16" section of 7/8" oak dowel with a small piece of 1.5" dowel glued onto both ends and sanded to where they're comfortable to hold. The holes in the vise handle are really an inch wide, but 1" dowel is just too snug. I may not have masked them off as well as I needed to when I spray painted them, or they may just be too small for 1" dowel. I decided it was too much work to sand down a 1" dowel to fit, so I just went with the 7/8" dowel.

Drilling the 7/8" hole in the small pieces of 1.5" dowel was tricky, but doable on the drill press with a wood hand screw clamp holding it and regular clamps holding the hand screw to the DP table. I decided to forgo just screwing the cap to the end of the dowel because of looks.
Some prime workspace there. It's a beautiful bench. So you're a lefty?
 

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#18 ·
Done, but not Finished

The bench is done, the holes are drilled. The top is mostly flat (note all the shavings covering the floor).

Table Wood Machine tool Workbench Gas


I put the first coat of finish on today. These pictures are all pre-finish but post-sanding.

Automotive tire Floor Wood Bumper Electronic instrument


Table Furniture Wood Outdoor table Flooring


Here's the top with my rehabbed #7 posing.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Wood stain


It probably took an hour or two, all told, to flatten the thing. It's not perfect, but it'll do. It's mostly flat edge to edge, but I think there's some waviness end to end that I couldn't diagnose properly with some plywood winding sticks I made. I was pretty pleased with the amount I actually had to take off, which was relatively minimal. The worst high spots needed only a few diagonal and a few straight strokes to level out. I had just sharpened the #7 so it cut through the spruce like a hot knife through butter.
 

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#19 ·
Done, but not Finished

The bench is done, the holes are drilled. The top is mostly flat (note all the shavings covering the floor).

Table Wood Machine tool Workbench Gas


I put the first coat of finish on today. These pictures are all pre-finish but post-sanding.

Automotive tire Floor Wood Bumper Electronic instrument


Table Furniture Wood Outdoor table Flooring


Here's the top with my rehabbed #7 posing.

Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood Wood stain


It probably took an hour or two, all told, to flatten the thing. It's not perfect, but it'll do. It's mostly flat edge to edge, but I think there's some waviness end to end that I couldn't diagnose properly with some plywood winding sticks I made. I was pretty pleased with the amount I actually had to take off, which was relatively minimal. The worst high spots needed only a few diagonal and a few straight strokes to level out. I had just sharpened the #7 so it cut through the spruce like a hot knife through butter.
Jonah great looking bench
 

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#22 ·
Base Cabinet

After putting three coats of Arm-R-Seal on the top, I started building a simple plywood cabinet to fit into the base of the bench. The cabinet is made from 3/4" plywood with the exception of the doors and the top, which are 1/2" plywood.

I plan to build an angled hand plane rack for the right side of the cabinet, to hold my #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, and maybe my #8 plane - I still haven't conclusively determined whether or not the #8 will actually fit under there. The left side of the cabinet will hold my sharpening supplies and a few miscellaneous tools and supplies to be determined.

Computer desk Table Wood Workbench Machine tool


Wood Floor Rectangle Hardwood Composite material
 

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#23 ·
Base Cabinet

After putting three coats of Arm-R-Seal on the top, I started building a simple plywood cabinet to fit into the base of the bench. The cabinet is made from 3/4" plywood with the exception of the doors and the top, which are 1/2" plywood.

I plan to build an angled hand plane rack for the right side of the cabinet, to hold my #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, and maybe my #8 plane - I still haven't conclusively determined whether or not the #8 will actually fit under there. The left side of the cabinet will hold my sharpening supplies and a few miscellaneous tools and supplies to be determined.

Computer desk Table Wood Workbench Machine tool


Wood Floor Rectangle Hardwood Composite material
Looks Great.
 

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#24 ·
The End of the Ending

I put the finishing touches on my bench today. After dry-assembling the base cabinet, I realized that it was about half an inch too tall to be able to be dropped into place in the bench base as one piece. The bottom of the cabinet drops 3/4" down onto cleats so it is level with the top of the long stretchers. I had planned to assemble the cabinet and slide it into and down onto the base of the bench, but with it being too big I decided to go to plan B and assemble it in place. This turned out to be a moderate headache.

Table Furniture Wood Computer desk Desk


Table Wood Workbench Gas Saw


Trying to attach the sides (rabbet joints for the sides, back, and top) with glue and screws while working underneath the bench was quite difficult. I ended up with the sides out of square, splayed out from the bottom. This affected the gap between the doors, the gap between the doors and the bottom of the cabinet, and several other things. Nothing worth scrapping it for, but frustrating all the same. You can see that with the doors attached square to the sides they are clearly not level.

Wood Table Cabinetry Floor Wood stain


Other than the headaches of assembling the cabinet in place, everything went smoothly. The doors are attached via no-mortise hinges I got for a few bucks at Rockler.

Table Furniture Wood Hardwood Workbench


I then whipped up a quick and dirty hand plane rack to store my #4, #5, #6, #7, and my block plane, which along with my shoulder plane are my most-used ones. You can see my shoulder plane and #3 sitting next to the rack - I realized that I wouldn't be able to double up with my #3 and #4 because of how shallow the cabinet actually is - the tote and iron stick out too far for the doors to close if I put a #3-5 plane in the way the #6-7 are.

Wood Gas Shelf Shelving Hardwood


I put my sharpening supplies and a few miscellaneous tools in the left side of the cabinet. It is more than big enough to hold what I need it to at the moment.

Wood Shelving Gas Flooring Hardwood


Wood Shelving Hardwood Wood stain Tool


I'm very pleased with the bench. It is solid, the perfect size for my space, and is going to make hand tool use much easier and more enjoyable, which I'm happy about.

Table Wood Wood stain Plank Outdoor table


Table Wood Floor Flooring Gas


Table Wood Wood stain Composite material Hardwood


Obviously, there are a few things I'd do differently, starting with fixing some of the mistakes I made with the base cabinet. Here are others off the top of my head, in no particular order:

1) More choosey of 2×8s. I needed boards with less knots, and I had two that were so cupped and twisted I couldn't use them

2) Not settling for having exposed knots in the top (see #1)

3) Gluing the top up in 4 subsections instead of 3. The large ~12" section I made first was incredible unwieldy and difficult to handle. Most of my twist came from the interface between this section and the other two ~6" sections.

4) I should have made a jig to locate the cross dowels more precisely. It was difficult to get them in position.

5) It was difficult to flatten and straighten the 2×8s into 1 3/8" thick boards. Most often I needed more passes at the jointer and planer and they ended up closer to 1 1/4" thick. I decreased the size of the stretcher tenons to 3/4" thick partially for this reason. The other reason is that I don't have a 1" straight bit for my router.

6) Cutting the top to length, for some reason, ended up being a huge PITA. Mostly because I had to make two passes with the track saw (maximum cutting depth, ~2 1/4"), one from each side. Getting both cuts to line up exactly was a pain. I should probably have used a marking knife or something to make sure I got exactly the same position. Having track saw clamps would also have been really helpful. I don't have any, and it was difficult to clamp the track down adequately.

All in all, a great experience. I'm happy to have somewhere other than random plastic bins to keep my hand planes and sharpening supplies. What a relief!
 

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#25 ·
The End of the Ending

I put the finishing touches on my bench today. After dry-assembling the base cabinet, I realized that it was about half an inch too tall to be able to be dropped into place in the bench base as one piece. The bottom of the cabinet drops 3/4" down onto cleats so it is level with the top of the long stretchers. I had planned to assemble the cabinet and slide it into and down onto the base of the bench, but with it being too big I decided to go to plan B and assemble it in place. This turned out to be a moderate headache.

Table Furniture Wood Computer desk Desk


Table Wood Workbench Gas Saw


Trying to attach the sides (rabbet joints for the sides, back, and top) with glue and screws while working underneath the bench was quite difficult. I ended up with the sides out of square, splayed out from the bottom. This affected the gap between the doors, the gap between the doors and the bottom of the cabinet, and several other things. Nothing worth scrapping it for, but frustrating all the same. You can see that with the doors attached square to the sides they are clearly not level.

Wood Table Cabinetry Floor Wood stain


Other than the headaches of assembling the cabinet in place, everything went smoothly. The doors are attached via no-mortise hinges I got for a few bucks at Rockler.

Table Furniture Wood Hardwood Workbench


I then whipped up a quick and dirty hand plane rack to store my #4, #5, #6, #7, and my block plane, which along with my shoulder plane are my most-used ones. You can see my shoulder plane and #3 sitting next to the rack - I realized that I wouldn't be able to double up with my #3 and #4 because of how shallow the cabinet actually is - the tote and iron stick out too far for the doors to close if I put a #3-5 plane in the way the #6-7 are.

Wood Gas Shelf Shelving Hardwood


I put my sharpening supplies and a few miscellaneous tools in the left side of the cabinet. It is more than big enough to hold what I need it to at the moment.

Wood Shelving Gas Flooring Hardwood


Wood Shelving Hardwood Wood stain Tool


I'm very pleased with the bench. It is solid, the perfect size for my space, and is going to make hand tool use much easier and more enjoyable, which I'm happy about.

Table Wood Wood stain Plank Outdoor table


Table Wood Floor Flooring Gas


Table Wood Wood stain Composite material Hardwood


Obviously, there are a few things I'd do differently, starting with fixing some of the mistakes I made with the base cabinet. Here are others off the top of my head, in no particular order:

1) More choosey of 2×8s. I needed boards with less knots, and I had two that were so cupped and twisted I couldn't use them

2) Not settling for having exposed knots in the top (see #1)

3) Gluing the top up in 4 subsections instead of 3. The large ~12" section I made first was incredible unwieldy and difficult to handle. Most of my twist came from the interface between this section and the other two ~6" sections.

4) I should have made a jig to locate the cross dowels more precisely. It was difficult to get them in position.

5) It was difficult to flatten and straighten the 2×8s into 1 3/8" thick boards. Most often I needed more passes at the jointer and planer and they ended up closer to 1 1/4" thick. I decreased the size of the stretcher tenons to 3/4" thick partially for this reason. The other reason is that I don't have a 1" straight bit for my router.

6) Cutting the top to length, for some reason, ended up being a huge PITA. Mostly because I had to make two passes with the track saw (maximum cutting depth, ~2 1/4"), one from each side. Getting both cuts to line up exactly was a pain. I should probably have used a marking knife or something to make sure I got exactly the same position. Having track saw clamps would also have been really helpful. I don't have any, and it was difficult to clamp the track down adequately.

All in all, a great experience. I'm happy to have somewhere other than random plastic bins to keep my hand planes and sharpening supplies. What a relief!
Yea, glad to hear all is well, looks great, 1/2" really did not matter you over came it
 

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#26 ·
Workbench Post Mortem: One Year Later

I was cleaning up my bench this week after doing a bit of sharpening of my chisels and a plane iron or two, and I decided to do a sort of a "post-mortem" on my workbench project.

Costs:

11 2×8 12' boards - $100
Two used vices, from Craigslist - $50
Various nuts, bolts, barrel nuts, and screws - $15
Wood pulls for the doors - $8
Plywood for the cabinet in the base - $25

Total Cost - $198

Time required to complete the bench: ~25 days working on it on and off

Giant contractor bags of shavings/cuttings produced by jointer and planer: 3

I ended up buying 12 2×8s but only needed about 10 1/4 of them, so I had some extra.

The bench has held up great so far. It's rock solid and a joy to work at. No major movement over the year since I completed it, though I've not really checked the flatness of the top. I expect the top to be out of flat when I check, simply because of the high moisture content of the framing lumber I used. I'm resisting checking because I don't particularly want to spend the time to flatten and refinish it.

Given the chance, I would probably have used some kind of stain on it to give it some color. Arm-R-Seal does have a bit of color to it, but not much, and so it still looks like framing lumber. If I'd stained it, it would look a bit better. Not a huge deal, but something to keep in mind if you're considering a similar project.
 
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