| Project by Garald Ansley | posted 25 days ago | 709 views | 1 time favorited | 10 comments |  |
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This is only a test, lol. Well, not much was purchased for this bench. Had some 3/4 used plywood, an old mdf bookcase, some 4×4s and an old cedar picket fence. Bought the screw for the vice, some maple boards, oak boards and some pine 2×4s and some bolts to hold it together. The top is 3 layers of the plywood topped by the mdf (figured its flat right?). Well what they say about best made plans, lol. Ended up making the top in two pieces thinking it would be easier to laminate the plywood that way instead of one wide piece. The front half actually came out great, nice and flat, the back half warped on me so trying to get the two pieces level with each other was a real challenge and i finally went with close enough. Wrapped the edge with the maple boards just to make it look nice. The leg vice is red oak. The bottom shelf is cedar boards from the picket fence. All in all im happy with it, its sturdy, stable and so far functional. Will definitely do the top different on my next bench tho. Haven’t decided if i want to add a sliding deadman or a sliding leg vice, gonna use it awhile and see what my needs are to see which one will work best for me. I really like that leg vice, its got more clamping power than i would have believed!
-- Garald, Mayetta, KS Patience=sharp tools=patience
10 comments so far
stefang
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1653 posts in 231 days
posted 25 days ago
Garald, you did a great job on this bench. Also, using recycled stuff to make it with is in the true spirit of craftsmanship in my opinion. Your bench looks set up for very efficient woodworking and it looks very sturdy and good looking too. I am sure you have a bench that is every bit as good as any bench whether purchased or built from expensive materials. Well done!
-- Mike, American in Norway
a1Jim
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16928 posts in 474 days
posted 25 days ago
Hey Garald
This is a super bench it should last for years to come well done.
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon
Beginningwoodworker
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4195 posts in 569 days
posted 25 days ago
Nice looking workbench, Garald.
-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker
BTKS
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490 posts in 361 days
posted 25 days ago
Welcome to LJ’s. You’ll love it here.
huff
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1628 posts in 182 days
posted 25 days ago
Gerald, your bench turned out great. welcome to LJ’s
-- John @ Myrtle Beach
topspin
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23 posts in 315 days
posted 24 days ago
Nice bench. I had the same issue in laminating up plywood/MDF for a top. I wasn’t careful enough to ensure the surface that I used to laminate the layers was dead flat and the slight curve translated into my top. As long as the front is flat you should be good for most hand tool tasks.
-- Seems that talent only gets you so far... effort makes you successful.
Cantputjamontoast
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173 posts in 329 days
posted 24 days ago
Very nice bench.
Where did you get the leg vise screw?
-- "Not skilled enough to wipe jam on toast!"
tom1
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15 posts in 23 days
posted 21 days ago
Leg vise immediately caught my eye. But then I use to make legs for a living. Always used a steering wheel for the handle. Keeps a kid in the shop entertained for hours.
Garald Ansley
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3 posts in 25 days
posted 16 days ago
Thank you all for your comments. Cantputjamontoast, got vise screw at woodcraft online tho there are other places you can order from.
-- Garald, Mayetta, KS Patience=sharp tools=patience
woodworm
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8286 posts in 487 days
posted 16 days ago
Great workbench.
-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.