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My First Bench

Project by Lynnard posted 348 days ago 765 views 4 times favorited 27 comments Add to Favorites
My First Bench My First Bench My First Bench Click the pictures to enlarge them

This was my first bench and it was a lot more work then I thought. It was also a good learning process, what to do and not to do! The top is Douglas Fur and the base is oak. It was supposed to be a cheap first bench, but I was tired of fighting with the Douglas Fur, so I decide to finish it with oak. I planed the top and then it cupped on me, but was a good experience. This was a fun project for a beginner!


27 comments so far

View Karson's profile (online now)

Karson

13640 posts in 938 days


posted 348 days ago

Good looking bench. Nice job.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

View mot's profile

mot

4859 posts in 574 days


posted 348 days ago

Very nice! I’m impressed! Thank you for sharing this!

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

View Kaleo's profile

Kaleo

194 posts in 677 days


posted 348 days ago

that is a very nice bench. I have make one soon also. Note to self don’t use Fir.. lol

-- Kaleo , http://www.kaleosworkshop.com

View Dorje's profile

Dorje

1749 posts in 534 days


posted 348 days ago

Great work on this! You think you’ll add a tail vise at some point or are you just using dogs as stops? What’s your work-holding strategy?

Did you flatten the top with that jointer there? Is that the LN #7?

And – welcome to LJ!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

View Jiri Parkman's profile

Jiri Parkman

591 posts in 350 days


posted 348 days ago

Nice bench a perfect details.

-- Jiri

View Popintraining's profile

Popintraining

109 posts in 375 days


posted 348 days ago

Nice job, Now get to work!

-- Illegitimis nil carborundum - Don't let the bastards grind you down http://woodworkingtipsfrompop.com

View SPalm's profile

SPalm

742 posts in 420 days


posted 348 days ago

Very nice, I’m jealous.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

View toyguy's profile

toyguy

487 posts in 375 days


posted 348 days ago

Looks great….

-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/

View Marco Cecala's profile

Marco Cecala

43 posts in 571 days


posted 348 days ago

The bench shows your ability to work wood and produce great results. Something to be proud of. Looking forward to see what comes off the bench next.

View CharlieM1958's profile

CharlieM1958

4589 posts in 756 days


posted 348 days ago

Really nice bench. I keep putting off making one because I can’t decide exactly what I want, and how elaborate I want to make it. Yours is quite elegant in its simple but perfectly-executed design.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

View Mike Lingenfelter's profile

Mike Lingenfelter

403 posts in 652 days


posted 348 days ago

Wow the Douglas Fir cupped on you. Was the wood still “green/wet” when you started? What do you think caused it? I might have found a source for some Douglas Fir and I was thinking I would make my bench out it.

-- http://theinquisitivewoodworker.com/

View Bob Babcock's profile

Bob Babcock

1807 posts in 624 days


posted 348 days ago

Nice job. One of these days I’ll actually have a workspace big enough for a good bench.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

View knothead's profile

knothead

31 posts in 486 days


posted 348 days ago

I made my bench just about 10 months ago from douglass fir as well (I wanted Southern Yellow Pine as recommended by Chris Schwarz but it just isn’t available here locally). Have been real happy with the result, I built with a MC of just under 9%.

-- So Much Wood - So Little Time! --

View FritzM's profile

FritzM

104 posts in 350 days


posted 348 days ago

Great looking bench! I like the clean, no nonsense lines. On another note, your shop looks really nice, would love to see some more photos of the shop and some details on what decisions you made while setting it up and what you learned in that process.

-- Fritz Oakland, Ca http://www.muegenburg.com (dedicated to my other hobby)

View Blake's profile

Blake

2243 posts in 412 days


posted 348 days ago

Beautifully Done!

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

View johnjoiner's profile

johnjoiner

146 posts in 431 days


posted 348 days ago

Nice looking bench, Lynnard.

A couple questions:
- Are the legs mortised into the top? If not how’s the top attached?
- Do those leg bolts hold it pretty steady when you push sideways on the bench like when you plane something with that sweet-looking jointer in the photo?

-- johnjoiner

View CharlieM1958's profile

CharlieM1958

4589 posts in 756 days


posted 348 days ago

I made my bench just about 10 months ago from douglass fir as well (I wanted Southern Yellow Pine as recommended by Chris Schwarz but it just isn’t available here locally). Have been real happy with the result, I built with a MC of just under 9%.

Chris, I guess one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Down here, southern yellow pine is the only thing that’s cheap and plentiful, and the only thing it is used for pretty much is rough construction.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

View TreeBones's profile

TreeBones

1456 posts in 561 days


posted 348 days ago

This is a great firs project.

-- Ron, Twain Harte, Ca. Portable on site Sawmill Service http://westcoastlands.net/Sawmill.html http://westcoastlands.net/SawBucks2/phpBB3

View cajunpen's profile

cajunpen

5345 posts in 603 days


posted 348 days ago

Very nice bench. Should last you for many years of great projects.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

View Thos. Angle's profile (online now)

Thos. Angle

3430 posts in 500 days


posted 348 days ago

Good job

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

View Lynnard's profile

Lynnard

5 posts in 349 days


posted 348 days ago

Thanks guys for all your kind words!

View Damocles's profile

Damocles

135 posts in 366 days


posted 348 days ago

Looks great…smooth and clean! Well done…

-- Living on the square...

View Todd A. Clippinger's profile

Todd A. Clippinger

2671 posts in 637 days


posted 347 days ago

I love it, thanks for sharing!

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

View Chris 's profile

Chris

1259 posts in 529 days


posted 346 days ago

I Like It!

Especially considering I have not built a bench for myself yet! I have really enjoyed reading all the different approaches people have taken in building their own benches. I sure gives me ideas as well as some inspiration.


-- Chris

View rikkor's profile

rikkor

8574 posts in 412 days


posted 346 days ago

Great bench. Wish I had room for one.

-- Maplewood, MN

View Grumpy's profile

Grumpy

6721 posts in 389 days


posted 345 days ago

No excuses now Lynnard. Great projects lie ahead.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

View oicurn2it2's profile

oicurn2it2

78 posts in 375 days


posted 344 days ago

very cool on the verge of tackling a work bench my self thanks for the boost

-- "when you think youre going to slow, slow down just a little bit more" .... Pop's

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