Auxillary Workbench #1: Stock Preparation

I've just started stock preparation for this little auxillary bench. I'll keep a construction photo log going at my Picasaweb Album.

I'm thining I'd like the tressel base, legs and stretchers to be about 1 1/2 inches thick. I've only got 4/4 maple so I've laminated some pieces together.

The picture shows my laminations. I decided to use some of those Somona clamps that I chastised in my shop tour. I felt bad for them. They hold such premium wall space I thought I'd give them another try. The flexed and twisted and I had to use a Bessey to align the pieces while I was clamping. My assessement stands, they're really junk.

I'll think about what I'm going to do for the top. For a vise, I'm going to try and swing using a Lee Valley regular front vise and see if I can keep this thing from weighing a ton. My hopes is to let me son play with the bench on the floor while I work in the shop. He's 2 and loves to be in the shop so it might do double duty. My daughter wants me to build a stool so she can use the big bench because she's not using a kiddie bench.

I will get back to this project as I can. I want to do some hand cut dovetail boxes and my back gets really sore cutting on the shorter bench, so I might fast track this project.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)