Project Information
I finally realized that I needed a good dedicated woodworking bench and had aspirations of a maple slab top with the Veritas/Lee Valley cast iron leg kit (mostly just because I like the look, probably sacrificing stability), but ultimately decided to go the cheap route and build something temporary with materials I had on hand. I started with leftover 2×4's for the base that I milled to consistent dimensions and then constructed a traditional base. I used wedged mortise and tenons with walnut as the wedge material. For the top I glued and screwed two layers of 3/4" MDF and then topped that with leftover 3/4" Brazilian cherry hardwood floor material. It took me almost a full day to sand off the factory finish and get down to bare wood, and this stuff is rock hard. I then trimmed is out with some walnut. Finish with BLO. My dad gave me the Jorgensen vise for my birthday. Eventually I would like to move this to be a tail vise and add a veritas twin screw. I still need to add the holes for the bench dogs, but my wife is reluctant to let me drill into it since, in her words, "it's nicer than our dining room table!".
Here are some additional photos of the build process.
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf
Here are some additional photos of the build process.
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf