# Workbench Build



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Design Requirements *

After doing some reading here and spending some time in my shop I have come to the realization that I need a standalone workbench for my shop.

Right now I have 2 benches that I call "Table top benches" meaning they serve as counter space for equipment and a large soldering station. What I need is a bench that I can access all 4 sides on, has adequate clamping ability and is solid while being mobile at the same time.

I also need it to not only serve as a woodworking bench but also a metal working bench. Meaning I need a machinists vise on it but at the same time I don't want to sacrifice space on the top of the bench for the mounting of said vise.

My initial thoughts are to build a traditional solid top bench with an overhang on one end that can be un-screwed by 2 large machine screws with a center pivot point rod that will allow it to flip. That way I can have a metal working side and flipped it will be a wood working side.

I am going to do some sketching (not sketchup but pencil and paper) to work out the details on that. I have a pretty good idea of how to pull that off but we shall see.

As for the mobile part there are a number of options available for that I just need to decide on one.

The other requirement is that it shouldn't break the bank. My wife and I are expecting our first child (a son  ) and I can't spend too much on my "Hobbies" right now so it will probably be built with construction grade lumber from our local big box store rather than from a mil but some pricing will ultimately decide that.

So, there you have it the bare bones of the bench. I would love any ideas or thoughts on this and or any critiques of the proposed design. I really want to have this thought through before any money is spent as I plan on this being around for a WHILE (hopefully be able to hand it down to my son).

More to come when I get some plans drawn up and priced out.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Design Requirements *
> 
> After doing some reading here and spending some time in my shop I have come to the realization that I need a standalone workbench for my shop.
> 
> ...


I don't fully understand your plan for the flip section but I can help with an idea to make the basic structure very strong and rigid at a minimum financial outlay. This may not be the bench for you but some of the construction concepts might be of help.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Design Requirements *
> 
> After doing some reading here and spending some time in my shop I have come to the realization that I need a standalone workbench for my shop.
> 
> ...


Yep, it is difficult to explain. I'll have some sketches of what is in my head in the next post but basically I plan to have one end of the bench over hang the base more than the other side. This end will be separate from the rest of the top with a pipe dead center running longways of the top to allow that overhang to "flip". One side will be a wood top and blend with the other half (really less than 2/3) of the top for working with wood on and the other side will be covered in either a steel plate (my boss at work has a S ton of this at his house and is on board to help me with this) or stainless steel with a nice machinists vice secured on it.

I am still working out the fine details of the flipping mechanism but between me and him we have a preliminary plan that seems solid.

The cool thing is the plan still allows a wagon vise on that end which when flipped will let me clamp different appliances in there such as an anvil or bench sized brake etc while still functioning as a wagon vise on the wood side.

Basically I need 2 benches with room for 1 so this is going to have to pull double duty. Did that clarify anything?

Oh and thanks for the link! Your bench looks great and I might incorporate some of the design ideas into this one.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Styrofoam Modeling....*

Work has kept me pretty busy this week and I haven't had time to do a proper sketch of the bench as I have it in my head but, I did have a few minutes tonight to toss together a small "scale" model of the basic shape and function of the flip top design I have in my head.

Basically it rides on a central pivot rod with dowels (probably steel or hardwood.. haven't decided yet) to keep the top aligned when secured together. I am still working on how to secure it. I am tossing around the idea of making the central pivot a screw with a wheel crank on the end of the bench. This would do 2 things..

1. Make the flip portion cinch up against the other half tightly

2. Would make the split portion of the bench into another vise type apparatus that can be used with bench dogs for horizontal clamping etc etc in the center of the bench.

Drawbacks of that are that the screw would have to be one hefty screw to hold the weight of the top alone while "flipping". I plan on making a trip to my local Fastenal and pricing out some 3/4 to 1" threaded rods for the vises and will see what they have there as far as a pivot screw devise they may have.

Other options are placing recessed latches on either side of the top to latch it shut with and making the central pivot out of plumbing pipe. This would be cheaper and probably easier but might interfere with side clamping if the latches aren't done just right.

That is all to be worked out once I can get some real planning and pricing done.

So here is how it functions in very crude form. They are in order from wood top to metal top. Note the dowel in the center acting as the pivot and the toothpicks are the alignment dowels (not aligning the model very well admittedly lol).

The black square is the wagon vise, the blue triangle is the machinists vise and the other blue square is a side vise. I may end up trying my hand at a leg vise instead but I need to do more reading ont he pros and cons of both types before I make that decision. I may do both.. on on each side of each other.. hmm…




























I am also researching hardwoods for the laminated top. I live in the PNW.. you would think that would be an easy find around here but I have found only a couple suppliers within an hour of my house on Whidbey Is that I plan to have a look at and price out some lumber. Figuring BF is new to me so this could get interesting. That trip will have to wait till my tax return is here and I can get a buddy with a truck to help me out. I am not fitting too much lumber into my 4 door Toyota Corolla lol!

What would be the best economical hardwood for the top that will actually last a couple generations? Also any brainstorming ont he flip top portion would be great.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Styrofoam Modeling....*
> 
> Work has kept me pretty busy this week and I haven't had time to do a proper sketch of the bench as I have it in my head but, I did have a few minutes tonight to toss together a small "scale" model of the basic shape and function of the flip top design I have in my head.
> 
> ...


If you want a good local hardwood you might have a look around some small mills for some arbutus (I'm Canadian… you call it madrone). It is beautiful stuff and can be had in large clear pieces. I used it on my bench for the strength requiring pieces and it worked out very well. It's also a dream to work with. I got mine , clear, in 2" at a small mill for $4 / fbm.


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## Boatman53 (May 21, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Styrofoam Modeling....*
> 
> Work has kept me pretty busy this week and I haven't had time to do a proper sketch of the bench as I have it in my head but, I did have a few minutes tonight to toss together a small "scale" model of the basic shape and function of the flip top design I have in my head.
> 
> ...


If the main reason for flipping the top is to have a machinist vise to use, why not mount the vise to a block of wood that can be held in the wagon vise opening. If there is more to flipping the end that I'm missing and you still want that feature I would not use dowels for alignment, I would use a good sized screw to cinch it down. The wagon vise can generate a lot of force when used against dogs. Force that will try and separate the top pieces.
Jim


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Styrofoam Modeling....*
> 
> Work has kept me pretty busy this week and I haven't had time to do a proper sketch of the bench as I have it in my head but, I did have a few minutes tonight to toss together a small "scale" model of the basic shape and function of the flip top design I have in my head.
> 
> ...


Boatman, That is a good point and something I hadn't even considered. Like I said.. I tend to over engineer things. I might go in that direction all things considered. My initial thoughts on the flip portion would have a stainless covering on the machinist side to allow a pounding surface that wont chew up the wood top with metal shavings etc but the securing mechanism is proving to be causing more troubles than it is solving.

Hmm.. I have more planning to do now. I do like the idea of clamping the vise in the wagon vise when needed.


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## Boatman53 (May 21, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Styrofoam Modeling....*
> 
> Work has kept me pretty busy this week and I haven't had time to do a proper sketch of the bench as I have it in my head but, I did have a few minutes tonight to toss together a small "scale" model of the basic shape and function of the flip top design I have in my head.
> 
> ...


Pounding that far away from the legs is going to have a bouncing effect even with a solid top. The split will make it even more pronounced. Just more things to consider from real shop experience, I had some real lousy benches for too long.
Jim


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## Sarit (Oct 21, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Styrofoam Modeling....*
> 
> Work has kept me pretty busy this week and I haven't had time to do a proper sketch of the bench as I have it in my head but, I did have a few minutes tonight to toss together a small "scale" model of the basic shape and function of the flip top design I have in my head.
> 
> ...


Have you considered a hinged metal working section that just flip up and on top of the bench. For woodworking it can be flipped off the top and left hanging off the edge.
From my experience its tricky to get large flip top systems w/ alignment pins to work just right. 
The slightest error will result in either a loose fit or an inability to flip to one side.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Styrofoam Modeling....*
> 
> Work has kept me pretty busy this week and I haven't had time to do a proper sketch of the bench as I have it in my head but, I did have a few minutes tonight to toss together a small "scale" model of the basic shape and function of the flip top design I have in my head.
> 
> ...


After taking the comments and concerns from you guys into consideration. I think I am going to employ the K.I.S.S. method to this and make the top one solid piece and devise a removable vice mount of some kind.

I REALLY appreciate all the inputs. You guys brought up some concerns I hadn't considered and were all very valid.

Now.. back to the drawing board Again lol..


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## Boatman53 (May 21, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Styrofoam Modeling....*
> 
> Work has kept me pretty busy this week and I haven't had time to do a proper sketch of the bench as I have it in my head but, I did have a few minutes tonight to toss together a small "scale" model of the basic shape and function of the flip top design I have in my head.
> 
> ...


Good luck, can't wait to see what's next.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Styrofoam Modeling....*
> 
> Work has kept me pretty busy this week and I haven't had time to do a proper sketch of the bench as I have it in my head but, I did have a few minutes tonight to toss together a small "scale" model of the basic shape and function of the flip top design I have in my head.
> 
> ...


Thanks Jim,

BTW.. I just had a look at your chain kits for a leg vise. I just might be placing an order for one of those!


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## Boatman53 (May 21, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Styrofoam Modeling....*
> 
> Work has kept me pretty busy this week and I haven't had time to do a proper sketch of the bench as I have it in my head but, I did have a few minutes tonight to toss together a small "scale" model of the basic shape and function of the flip top design I have in my head.
> 
> ...


If I can help let me know.
Jim


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*It begins....Kinda*

Ok, so after tossing around some overly complex ideas and trying to reinvent the wheel I have finally settled on building a Hybrid Roubo style workbench. The design is tested and it works very well for what it does so why mess with success.

I plan on 2 vices. One wagon end vise and a leg vise. I had to do a lot of reading on the leg vise vs. a side vise to see what all the rage was about. I had never heard of a leg vise until a month ago when I discovered this website lol. After reading the pros and cons it does seem that the leg vise is the way to go.

I have poured over hundreds of pictures, plans and videos of different versions of this bench and really like the way the Benchcrafted vises operate with a hand wheel rather than a lever. It looks (and from reviews) seems like it would be easier to adjust and just looks nice. Yes I tossed in the looks card. If I am going to build something that will be around for a long while I can at least spend time making sure it looks good as well as functions well. Just me though.

I, however, have no intention of paying $400 for a hand wheel a 13" section of rod and a flange. I went to my local Fastenal store after work today and picked up a 6' (yes I said 6 FEET!) peice of 1" #5 ACME threaded rod and 2 nuts to match. They only sell it in 6' lengths or else I might have gone with less but this gives me plenty for 2 vises plus some and it cost less than $100 for the whole kit and caboodle.

This would be one HUGE vise if I used the whole piece!




























Add to that I also found a couple hand wheels online at Reid Industrial Supply. I ordered one 8" cast iron hand wheel and 1 5" wheel. The larger of the 2 is for the leg and the smaller one is the end vise.

The 8" wheel was around $23 and the 5" was only $17 so total so far for the leg vise and end vise hardware I am out $130. I might sell off some of the threaded rod that I don't use to recoup some costs or might hang onto it for later use (which there is always a later use right?).

Here are the wheels.. http://www.reidsupply.com/sku/BSW-8/










It is un drilled and I need to add a handle but that should be a matter of doing some drilling into cast iron. That shouldn't be too hard (I know metal! Still learning wood!). And devise a method of coupling the rod to the crank. I'm heading out to look at plumbing fittings and such to see what I can come up with.

I'm still working out what kind of wood I plan to use and where to get it at so no saw dust just yet but hopefully sometime this weekend or next I can get started cutting wood.

As always suggestions are very welcome. Thanks for reading!


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## grfrazee (Jul 17, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *It begins....Kinda*
> 
> Ok, so after tossing around some overly complex ideas and trying to reinvent the wheel I have finally settled on building a Hybrid Roubo style workbench. The design is tested and it works very well for what it does so why mess with success.
> 
> ...


Good looking with the cast iron wheels. I've had in mind to replace the lever-style handle on my tail vise with a wheel and didn't really have any idea where to look.

Is there some trick to drilling through cast iron? I've drilled through steel a few times, but mostly I think I got my with large amounts of 3-in-1 oil as lubricant and not much knowledge. Any pointers would be appreciated.

If I hadn't already made my moxon vise, I would probably offer to buy some of that threaded rod from you. Can't wait to see how the build goes.


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## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *It begins....Kinda*
> 
> Ok, so after tossing around some overly complex ideas and trying to reinvent the wheel I have finally settled on building a Hybrid Roubo style workbench. The design is tested and it works very well for what it does so why mess with success.
> 
> ...


Welding is an option isnt it? Sounds like a plan though, ive bren meaning to check out fastenal for the same thing.. guess i will soon. Still some time before i can build a bench and the price for such materials overwhemed me as well and has put me off.. ill keep an eye out for your progress and maybe i can follow suit


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *It begins....Kinda*
> 
> Ok, so after tossing around some overly complex ideas and trying to reinvent the wheel I have finally settled on building a Hybrid Roubo style workbench. The design is tested and it works very well for what it does so why mess with success.
> 
> ...


@grfrazee - If you have drilled through steel than you can drill through cast iron. It is a bit softer than steel. The only thing you have to be careful of is cracking the iron. It has a tendency to crack if it gets too hot so just gooooooooo slowwwwwww and use copious amounts of lubricant only nipping about 5/16" at a time similar to using a Forstner bit. I plan to drill a 1/4" pilot hole and just gradually increase the bit size to just shave out the hole up to 1". I still need to order some 1" bits though. Going to give the HF ones a try.

@Justin Bonnell - It is possible to weld cast iron but it is a lot harder to do. It just doesn't like to take a weld very well due to the structure of the metal. I am still waiting on the wheels to arrive but once they do I will take a lot of pictures of the assembly process so you guys can do the same if you wanted at some point.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*More work on the vise plus a failed trip to the local mill...*

This morning I went over to my bosses house so we could weld up the bolt bracket for the leg vise. He had some scrap plate metal on hand and a plasma cutter (want one lol). He made quick work of the job and within an hour I have a rough plate with a large bolt attached to it.

He left it up to me to clean it up and drill the mounting holes plus I owe him lunch tomorrow heh. He ALSO gave me a practically new angle grinder so I can cut up the 6' rod to length so that is a bonus. either I am about to get screwed over at work and he is softening the blow or he was just feeling generous either way I am a happy camper.

(sorry 'bout the blurry pic..)










The back side. He flush mounted it through the plate.










Like I said I just have to clean that up, drill 4 holes and shoot it with some gloss black enamel.

I also stopped by ACE hardware on Sat to look at their pipe fittings to try and piece together the hub and flange for the wheel portion of the vise.

I initially came up with this stack up..










But after fiddling with it I'm just not happy with how smooth it spins. So I have placed an order with Reid Supply for a flange mounted bearing with 2 set screws to use instead of that floor mount flange. My only concern about the bearing is how well it will handle the side pressure from clamping but I am willing to give it a try. It was cheap enough to test out.

I am still waiting on the hand wheels to arrive so untill then any type of mating hardware is all theoretical until I have the actual wheel in hand to see how it is shaped on the rod side. They do have a line drawing on their site with dimensions and it says that the hub is 1 7/8" in diameter. I measured the inside diameter of the reducer I am going to use to mate the rod to the hub with and if you measure in the grove of the threads it is Juuuuuuuuust a hair smaller than 1 7/8". This means that depending on how exactly the hub follows the line drawing I could very well just hammer this thing onto it and it would never go anywhere. I got a special hammer for that task  Gotta love a BFH!










So that is one option. The other is to grid it out till it slips over and secure it with a set pin. Once the wheels arrive I will be able to finalize the puzzle.

One other addition to the vise hardware is a thrift store find of quite possibly the ugliest dress anyone has ever seen. I spotted it while the wife was browsing maternity wear and when I saw it hanging there it dawned on me that I need some suede for the vise jaws. This is all suede and only cost me $9! Plenty there for multiple projects.










In other news. I made a stop at my local lumber supplier here on the island. They have a nice variety of hardwoods and exotics but only carry 4/4 stock and I need 8/4 (at least would like 8/4). They had some zebra wood there that I might pick up for some accents on the bench but so far no wood for the top to be found anywhere. I still have a couple more options but they are either a Ferry ride away or an hour drive north. So considering that I will need to recruit someone with a truck to haul it to my house I need to know for sure what they have. Uncle Sam is supposedly releasing my money tomorrow so I can finally start seriously considering the wood choices on this.

I am really hoping to start making saw dust by next weekend but we shall see how the ride works out this week. Hopefully someone will be willing to go looking at wood with me (sounds worse that it was ment to sound…)

Thanks for reading and updates to come. Advice and suggestions are always welcome.


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## grfrazee (Jul 17, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *More work on the vise plus a failed trip to the local mill...*
> 
> This morning I went over to my bosses house so we could weld up the bolt bracket for the leg vise. He had some scrap plate metal on hand and a plasma cutter (want one lol). He made quick work of the job and within an hour I have a rough plate with a large bolt attached to it.
> 
> ...


According to this PDF, you should be able to find ash, white oak, and bigleaf maple in your area. Any of them would make a great bench.

If you're looking for the…ahem…cheaper route, douglas fir should also be plentiful around you as well.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *More work on the vise plus a failed trip to the local mill...*
> 
> This morning I went over to my bosses house so we could weld up the bolt bracket for the leg vise. He had some scrap plate metal on hand and a plasma cutter (want one lol). He made quick work of the job and within an hour I have a rough plate with a large bolt attached to it.
> 
> ...


Yep that stuff grows all over the place here the problem is finding it for sale in a reasonable distance from my house. I had also considered Douglas Fir (like seriously considered it) but have decided to use it for the base and keep searching for the top.


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## grfrazee (Jul 17, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *More work on the vise plus a failed trip to the local mill...*
> 
> This morning I went over to my bosses house so we could weld up the bolt bracket for the leg vise. He had some scrap plate metal on hand and a plasma cutter (want one lol). He made quick work of the job and within an hour I have a rough plate with a large bolt attached to it.
> 
> ...


Not a bad idea. The DF is good for the undercarriage since it is inexpensive and strong. Good luck in finding material for the top. I'm spoiled with having a lumbermill within an hour drive from where I set up shop, and their prices can't be beat.

There are some suppliers that carry pre-laminated counter tops of hardwood, usually beech or maple. I think IKEA has some, and maybe McMaster-Carr or Grainger. They're usually only ~2" thick though, so you'd have to stack two of them to have a serviceable benchtop (not to mention sanding off the finish). Granted, they're fairly pricey, but considering time for laminating your own, it may be worth it.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*I've Got Wood! *

I was on the phone with that lumber yard just down the street this morning just asking if they could get what I needed (they don't have much on hand) and they called up their mill and it turns out they can get me some 8/4 6" -8" x 9' - 10' Red Oak stock for 4.50/BF. That was a smidge higher than I was looking to pay but they will deliver it to my house for free which saves me a lot on gas so it was a deal.

I placed an order for 60bf of the Red Oak and they will have it in on Thursday so it looks like I'll be kicking up dust finally this weekend. I am going to go with Douglas Fir for the base since it is plentiful at my local orange store in various sizes and for cheap. I'm also planning to look at some of the exotic boards they had in the yard for some accents on the leg vise and end caps (why the heck not right?).

No progress pics of any kind just yet but it was an exciting day to finally get a supplier for the top!

Only thing left to do this week is make some room in the shop for the delivery and possibly make up a storage rack of some kind to keep it off the floor while I am building.

Now… I do have a question.. What kind of prep work on the wood will I need to do once I get it? I have only ever worked with big box wood before and never wood from a saw mill. I assume I'll need to square an edge and plane to an even thickness then rip? Or square, rip then plane? How green is it usually? If it is green how long does oak typically take to dry enough to work? I guess I need to get a moisture meter. Any in particular on the market that don't break the bank?

Sorry for the question spam I am just trying to prepare for Thursday.

Thanks for reading and keep those comments coming!


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## grfrazee (Jul 17, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *I've Got Wood! *
> 
> I was on the phone with that lumber yard just down the street this morning just asking if they could get what I needed (they don't have much on hand) and they called up their mill and it turns out they can get me some 8/4 6" -8" x 9' - 10' Red Oak stock for 4.50/BF. That was a smidge higher than I was looking to pay but they will deliver it to my house for free which saves me a lot on gas so it was a deal.
> 
> ...


You may need more than 60 boardfeet. Just as a quick check, a 2'-0" x 4" x 8'-0" benchtop will is exactly 64 boardfeet in volume (4" x 24" x 96" / 144). You will lose thickness and width on those boards during milling. I probably would have gotten at least 70 boardfeet to be safe, assuming your benchtop is similar to the dimensions I just described.

Do some Googling for rough-sawn board milling and you should be able to answer your preparation questions. The green-ness of the boards depends on whether or not the boards are kilned/air-dried or not. If I recall correctly, oak is pretty wet when freshly cut.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *I've Got Wood! *
> 
> I was on the phone with that lumber yard just down the street this morning just asking if they could get what I needed (they don't have much on hand) and they called up their mill and it turns out they can get me some 8/4 6" -8" x 9' - 10' Red Oak stock for 4.50/BF. That was a smidge higher than I was looking to pay but they will deliver it to my house for free which saves me a lot on gas so it was a deal.
> 
> ...


The dimensions planned for the top are 4" x 24" x 72" which works out to 48/bf. I could also extend the length of it to 84" and it would still come in under at 56/bf but I think a 6' length is just right for the room it's going in.

I'm excited to receive my first actual wood order. I also can't wait to finally start cutting wood on this thing! It's going to be a learning experience all the way through and I know I will be bugging you guys with more stupid questions as I go along lol.


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## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *I've Got Wood! *
> 
> I was on the phone with that lumber yard just down the street this morning just asking if they could get what I needed (they don't have much on hand) and they called up their mill and it turns out they can get me some 8/4 6" -8" x 9' - 10' Red Oak stock for 4.50/BF. That was a smidge higher than I was looking to pay but they will deliver it to my house for free which saves me a lot on gas so it was a deal.
> 
> ...


I just bought 3 red oak 9/4×10 x 18' for $30.
they were clean to no knots any where.
Did I do alright?


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*What have I got myself into! Oak Delivered Today..*

It was an exciting day here at the Airframer household…

While I was at work my wife waddled out to the garage to take delivery of 66/BF of 8/4 Red Oak. Now I just need to figure out how I am going to mill this stuff to size. I have a Skill Saw which should do it I just need to go grab some saw horses to build a rip jig on.

From what I can tell it is dry not green but I am not real sure how to tell for sure. I do think I'll see if I can find a moister meter just to be sure.

All the pieces are 2" thick and width varies from 6" to 8" and all are just over 10' long with 5 of those pieces in total. I should have more than enough for the 4" x 24" x 72" top and have some left over for whatever needs it. I am pretty stoked to finally have this piece of the puzzle figured out and here.

The OTHER thing that showed up today were the hand wheels from Reid Supply I had ordered last week. 1 8" and 1 5" . Now that I have those in hand I can finally finalize the plan on how to mate them with the threaded rod. The bearing flanges should be here tomorrow and that should finish up the vise hardware.

Looks like it will be a fun weekend and that I need to warn the neighbors I;ll be running the skill saw on Saturday lol. Or hell, they make enough noise on their own… might not warn them at all!

Here is some wood pron for you guys… any suggestions on how to dimension this stuff with minimal tools?


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## affyx (Jan 1, 2008)

Airframer said:


> *What have I got myself into! Oak Delivered Today..*
> 
> It was an exciting day here at the Airframer household…
> 
> ...


nice timbers!


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## camps764 (Dec 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *What have I got myself into! Oak Delivered Today..*
> 
> It was an exciting day here at the Airframer household…
> 
> ...


Nice haul! Depends on what you mean by "minimal tools"

If you mean, lunch box planer (12-13") table saw and skill saw you can totally do it.

Could potentially do it with a skill saw and # 5 jack plane…a #7 might help but not necessary.

I think you could get your edge jointing done with just the skill saw, a long straight piece of 1/2" (or 3/4") MDF and some hot glue.

Flattening everything might be another story.

Regardless I am incredibly jealous of the lumber and those hand wheels are BAD ASS!


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *What have I got myself into! Oak Delivered Today..*
> 
> It was an exciting day here at the Airframer household…
> 
> ...


I'm intrigued…


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *What have I got myself into! Oak Delivered Today..*
> 
> It was an exciting day here at the Airframer household…
> 
> ...


Smitty.. I am intrigued as well lol. This is my first major foray into a major wood project so I am curious how it will end up too. Stay tuned…

Camps.. Ripping with a skill saw. I understand the sled/fence thing but I have always wondered (and am having a hell of a time finding out) how does one clamp the board to get a full rip? I mean if the underside needs to be clear of the cut what supports the board off the ground/workbench or saw horses without cutting through said support devises? This bit of geometry has my head hurting thinking about.

Thanks John!


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *What have I got myself into! Oak Delivered Today..*
> 
> It was an exciting day here at the Airframer household…
> 
> ...


Depth of cut barely through, and the horses will show evidence. Or put sacrificial scrap underneath. Typically plywood…


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *What have I got myself into! Oak Delivered Today..*
> 
> It was an exciting day here at the Airframer household…
> 
> ...


Thanks Smitty! I actually feel dumber now for not thinking of the sacrificial board riser.. makes perfect sense.

Now.. lets say I was a sadist and wanted to rip these with a human powered rip saw.. do I hang it over the edge of the bench.. climb on top and go at it or is there another safer method? (not that I am seriously considering this option.. but it has crossed my mind).


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *What have I got myself into! Oak Delivered Today..*
> 
> It was an exciting day here at the Airframer household…
> 
> ...


Have you heard of Chris Schwarz? He has demonstrated French Cuts… Start it as normal, once in it far enough, sit at the cut, turn the saw teeth away from you, and continue cutting while sitting. There's a video when he was on Roy Underhill's show. All that said, it'd be plump crazy to rip 2" red oak by hand. You'd be one of my heroes….


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *What have I got myself into! Oak Delivered Today..*
> 
> It was an exciting day here at the Airframer household…
> 
> ...


Hah! I found that episode you mentioned here I have heard of Chris Schwarz and had read through some of his blog but somehow missed a lot of the sawing articles. That is a great episode and he has some good reads as well. Thanks again!


----------



## Bogeyguy (Sep 26, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *What have I got myself into! Oak Delivered Today..*
> 
> It was an exciting day here at the Airframer household…
> 
> ...


Just a thought. Have you considered sending the lumber back to the supplier and having it returned S4S?


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *What have I got myself into! Oak Delivered Today..*
> 
> It was an exciting day here at the Airframer household…
> 
> ...


Congrats and post pics as you build


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Picked up the last pieces of the puzzle today..*

I visited my local orange store today and picked up the materials for the base. I am using 4×6 Douglas Fir for the legs and 4×4 DF for the stretchers. I had to have them rough cut them to size so they would fit in my car and I might still need to go back and get a bit more but this will get me going.

I also got a new toy. A 9" bandsaw to help with some of the ripping. I was trying to avoid using too many power tools on this but I don't think I am up to ripping by hand 8/4 red oak and I have been wanting a band saw for a while so this was the perfect reason to finally get one. It's just a Ryobi but all the reviews are positive so I'mma gonna give it a go.

I also made a quick stop at the lumber supplier that I got my oak from to have a look at their on hand selection of exotic woods. I eyed a VERY nice looking piece of Padouk that found it's way into my car. I'm going to use it here and there for accent wood. I is 3 b/f total 1" x 6 1/2" x 6' 3" ish in size and has a beautiful grain on it.

I also test drilled a center pilot hole in the hand wheels and cast iron is surprisingly easy to drill into so I am off to my closest HF to get a set of bits that go up to 1". This is going to greatly simplify the vise installation. As promised I will make a video of me drilling the 1" hole in the wheel so if you guys want to build a not-so-benchcrafted leg vise you can see how I'm going about it.

That's where I am at now. Looking to start planing and ripping either tonight or first thing tomorrow morning!

Here is today's haul and as you can see there is a workbench in there somewhere… now we just have to start finding it.




























Feel free to comment hell even make fun of me here. I appreciate any feedback I can get!


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Picked up the last pieces of the puzzle today..*
> 
> I visited my local orange store today and picked up the materials for the base. I am using 4×6 Douglas Fir for the legs and 4×4 DF for the stretchers. I had to have them rough cut them to size so they would fit in my car and I might still need to go back and get a bit more but this will get me going.
> 
> ...


Remember to relieve the tension on the blade of your bandsaw when it's not being used. Your blade will last longer and your cuts won't drift as much so soon.


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## affyx (Jan 1, 2008)

Airframer said:


> *Picked up the last pieces of the puzzle today..*
> 
> I visited my local orange store today and picked up the materials for the base. I am using 4×6 Douglas Fir for the legs and 4×4 DF for the stretchers. I had to have them rough cut them to size so they would fit in my car and I might still need to go back and get a bit more but this will get me going.
> 
> ...


that is nice lumber for the orange store, ours has nothing 4×4 or larger that isn't pressure treated. looking forward to seeing your build


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## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Picked up the last pieces of the puzzle today..*
> 
> I visited my local orange store today and picked up the materials for the base. I am using 4×6 Douglas Fir for the legs and 4×4 DF for the stretchers. I had to have them rough cut them to size so they would fit in my car and I might still need to go back and get a bit more but this will get me going.
> 
> ...


Looking good. I'm a big fan of padauk. It'll mellow from that bright orange, but it's still beautiful wood.

I'm curious how that small Ryobi bandsaw will do ripping 8/4 oak. Make sure you give yourself a healthy margin of error, as a) a 9" bandsaw can't use a wide blade (like 1/2" or larger) for straight-ripping b) the table will be pretty small and c) the motor will be fairly underpowered.

I'm not saying it can't be done. But you're going to have to go slow, mark off the cut line so you can keep it straight, and have to clean up the rough surface with a jointer or hand plane. Better still to borrow some time on a good table saw. Best of luck!


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Picked up the last pieces of the puzzle today..*
> 
> I visited my local orange store today and picked up the materials for the base. I am using 4×6 Douglas Fir for the legs and 4×4 DF for the stretchers. I had to have them rough cut them to size so they would fit in my car and I might still need to go back and get a bit more but this will get me going.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all the tips guys. As for the band saw I am building a table extension w/ripping fence to help with the size issue. I will probably have to watch the feed rate for sure. I'll let you know how it goes.. *fingers crossed.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Picked up the last pieces of the puzzle today..*
> 
> I visited my local orange store today and picked up the materials for the base. I am using 4×6 Douglas Fir for the legs and 4×4 DF for the stretchers. I had to have them rough cut them to size so they would fit in my car and I might still need to go back and get a bit more but this will get me going.
> 
> ...


Good call on using power tools for the ripping. The old timers would never make a top out of more than 2 pieces of wood. Thats just way to much ripping to do by hand. Curious to see how the little band saw did. I'll read on…


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Leg Vise Hardware Finished..*

I spent the morning at the drill press working my way up 1/16" at a time from 1/4" up to 1" for the screw to feed through into the hand wheel. The larger the bit got the more difficult it became but if you go slow and don't try to force the press it goes pretty smoothly.

Make sure you have your pilot hole absolutely centered before you drill. Mine was oh so slightly off and it became very noticeable the larger the hole got and that took some doing to mill it closer to center. I'll pretty that up later but it functions VERY smoothly and I haven't even greased the bearing or nut yet.

Here is my Not-So-Benchcrafted Leg Vise setup… and the mess I made at the drill press.























































Next up for today is to get the wood either ready for milling or milled. Depends on how much I have to do to get the band saw setup and wheels balanced.

Thanks for reading.


----------



## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise Hardware Finished..*
> 
> I spent the morning at the drill press working my way up 1/16" at a time from 1/4" up to 1" for the screw to feed through into the hand wheel. The larger the bit got the more difficult it became but if you go slow and don't try to force the press it goes pretty smoothly.
> 
> ...


Getting there!


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise Hardware Finished..*
> 
> I spent the morning at the drill press working my way up 1/16" at a time from 1/4" up to 1" for the screw to feed through into the hand wheel. The larger the bit got the more difficult it became but if you go slow and don't try to force the press it goes pretty smoothly.
> 
> ...


This came out great. Everyone should put one of these on their steel leg vise screw. Those hand wheels are so cheap! The trick is getting the drill bits that will drill the right sized hole.

PurpLev is helping me get one milled to put on my wagon vise. I cant wait!


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise Hardware Finished..*
> 
> I spent the morning at the drill press working my way up 1/16" at a time from 1/4" up to 1" for the screw to feed through into the hand wheel. The larger the bit got the more difficult it became but if you go slow and don't try to force the press it goes pretty smoothly.
> 
> ...


The bits were the easy part. That set in the above picture goes up to 1" and is from HF for $29. One 1" drill bit from Ace was $39 and these have done the job on 2 wheels so far! My only issue is while the hole will be centered on one side it will be off center on the other side where the bit came out. I have some wander in the press it seems but even then they all spin true so I am thinking it might be the casting.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Finally Making Saw Dust!*

After a bit of hemming and hawing over how to rip this wood to size and exactly what size to rip it to I have finally started to cut wood!

I measured them all out and I can either get a 16" top with a 3.5" thickness or a 24" top with a 2.5" thickness ao I have decided to go with the wider thinner top with a tool tray. I am still trying to decide on a tool try in the middle or a plane stop in the center with a tool tray on the outside. Anyone with experience with those please let me know the pros and cons of both options..

It has been a learning day for sure. This is the first time using a circular saw in about 20 years and also the first time ever ripping rough cut lumber to size. I have a system now and it's working pretty good. I was able to get about halfway through before I had to go and get some medicine for the wife who is either having some pregnancy issues or is just plain sick. Shoudl be finished up tomorrow and be able to start planing the faces and gluing them up. It's a 3 day weekend for me and my goal is to have the top glued before work on Tuesday.

And of course I had to document the first cut of the workbench 

More to come!


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## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Finally Making Saw Dust!*
> 
> After a bit of hemming and hawing over how to rip this wood to size and exactly what size to rip it to I have finally started to cut wood!
> 
> ...


Wow, that is alot of cutting with a circular saw. Nice job… I take it you don't Have a table saw yet. Way to make it happen and get'er done. Look fwd to seeing this bench being built!
Ps; Hope your wife is feeling better.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Finally Making Saw Dust!*
> 
> After a bit of hemming and hawing over how to rip this wood to size and exactly what size to rip it to I have finally started to cut wood!
> 
> ...


Sounds like you have gotten off to a pretty good start


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Finally Making Saw Dust!*
> 
> After a bit of hemming and hawing over how to rip this wood to size and exactly what size to rip it to I have finally started to cut wood!
> 
> ...


Open the garage door man, you dont want to breath all that dust!


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finally Making Saw Dust!*
> 
> After a bit of hemming and hawing over how to rip this wood to size and exactly what size to rip it to I have finally started to cut wood!
> 
> ...


I did eventually crack the door and put a fan in the window blowing out. That cleared the air pretty quick but made it darn cold in there lol.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Finished cutting the top and started planning out the wagon vise..*

FINALLY! Finished rough dimensioning of the wood for the top. In the process have become good friends with my Skill Saw.. even though it is only the cheap 12A model it is a beast and a work horse lol. I have also decided to cheat and count it as a "had tool" since I hold it in my hand and push it with my hand lol.. so this is still mostly hand tool built so far!

Rough dimensions of the top are 2 5/8" X 23 1/2" x 75" and that will reduce down a bit after I smooth the faces for glue up. I could have made it a bit bigger if I hadn't screwed up the first 4 cuts with the skill saw (yes.. there is a learning curve.. and no, you can't cut a straight line free hand. Don't even try lol). But over all I am VERY happy with that size. I have decided to make it a split top since I have more width than I had originally figured I would have. Which again begs the question.. tool tray in the middle or a sliding plane stop? Or both? I have to think on this.

Here are the pics of the dry run on the top and a pic of the HUGE mess I have made of the Garage that needs to get cleaned up before I do anything else. It's an accident waiting to happen.























































I have also settled on the design for the wagon vise. It will be loosely based off of the Maguire Wagon vise with a bit of the Benchcraft vise tossed in. Stay tuned for more on that.

Here is the Maguire vise for those who have never seen it (I'm probably the only one).










I value any and all feedback from you guys so keep it coming! Thanks for reading.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finished cutting the top and started planning out the wagon vise..*
> 
> FINALLY! Finished rough dimensioning of the wood for the top. In the process have become good friends with my Skill Saw.. even though it is only the cheap 12A model it is a beast and a work horse lol. I have also decided to cheat and count it as a "had tool" since I hold it in my hand and push it with my hand lol.. so this is still mostly hand tool built so far!
> 
> ...


Finished drilling the 1" hole for the threaded rod into the hand wheel last night. I am heading off to my bosses house again today to weld up the frame for the wagon vise. I'll post an update once that is finished.


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Finished cutting the top and started planning out the wagon vise..*
> 
> FINALLY! Finished rough dimensioning of the wood for the top. In the process have become good friends with my Skill Saw.. even though it is only the cheap 12A model it is a beast and a work horse lol. I have also decided to cheat and count it as a "had tool" since I hold it in my hand and push it with my hand lol.. so this is still mostly hand tool built so far!
> 
> ...


Your bench is shaping up nicely.I have a tool tray, but it just becomes a catch all and it has irritated for the past 30 years. That said, those who work a lot neater than myself probably find tool trays very useful.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finished cutting the top and started planning out the wagon vise..*
> 
> FINALLY! Finished rough dimensioning of the wood for the top. In the process have become good friends with my Skill Saw.. even though it is only the cheap 12A model it is a beast and a work horse lol. I have also decided to cheat and count it as a "had tool" since I hold it in my hand and push it with my hand lol.. so this is still mostly hand tool built so far!
> 
> ...


I have read that about the tool tray. If you look at the pic of my shop you can see that I am not one of those "neater" workers. I might consider not adding a tray lol.


----------



## yuridichesky (Jan 9, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finished cutting the top and started planning out the wagon vise..*
> 
> FINALLY! Finished rough dimensioning of the wood for the top. In the process have become good friends with my Skill Saw.. even though it is only the cheap 12A model it is a beast and a work horse lol. I have also decided to cheat and count it as a "had tool" since I hold it in my hand and push it with my hand lol.. so this is still mostly hand tool built so far!
> 
> ...


Taking into account amount of sawdust I can see what a battle it was! 

Look forward to seeing your wagon vise. Putting a wagon vise into my benchtop was real breakthrough in my bench build, huge improvement.


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Finished cutting the top and started planning out the wagon vise..*
> 
> FINALLY! Finished rough dimensioning of the wood for the top. In the process have become good friends with my Skill Saw.. even though it is only the cheap 12A model it is a beast and a work horse lol. I have also decided to cheat and count it as a "had tool" since I hold it in my hand and push it with my hand lol.. so this is still mostly hand tool built so far!
> 
> ...


Man I need a welder friend… I have seen the McGuire wagon vise, its a beauty! Cant wait to see how it turns out.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finished cutting the top and started planning out the wagon vise..*
> 
> FINALLY! Finished rough dimensioning of the wood for the top. In the process have become good friends with my Skill Saw.. even though it is only the cheap 12A model it is a beast and a work horse lol. I have also decided to cheat and count it as a "had tool" since I hold it in my hand and push it with my hand lol.. so this is still mostly hand tool built so far!
> 
> ...


Yuri, yes.. yes it was quite the battle lol.

Mauricio, I am a firm believer that everyone should know at least ONE person who can weld. It sure makes life easier (and cheaper  ). He has said he would teach me which is sometime I am really looking forward to. Welding is on my short list of things I haven't done yet lol.

I am cutting all the pieces to size for the vise hardware now and should be heading over there to get them welded up today. I hope to have some pics and an update on that tonight….. Stay tuned.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Wagon Vise Hardware..Mostly Done..*

Spent the day piecing together and cutting iron for the wagon vise hardware and skid. As I had mentioned in the previous post this is what I am getting my inspiration from…










I am using the same hand wheel as on the leg vise just a smaller diameter. I have also added a tapered copper fitting to the end of the screw that fits into a bearing that will be pressed into the wood under the table to add both stability to the screw and a bit more of a smooth crank.

I wasn't able to get any of the welding done today but should be able to get 'er done this week sometime. Here it is mocked up. If you notice the gap between the 2 angle brackets on the bottom. They have been drilled 1 size larger than the rods and sandwiched between them will be a poly cutting board bearing drill to the exact diameter of the rods. Should work just as good as a Teflon bearing with a bit of wax added.

Here is today's stopping point and a group shot of the 2 vises… you will also see how much of that 6' threaded rod is left…. Moxon anyone?


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Hardware..Mostly Done..*
> 
> Spent the day piecing together and cutting iron for the wagon vise hardware and skid. As I had mentioned in the previous post this is what I am getting my inspiration from…
> 
> ...


This is going to come out awesome man! Great work. Good idea for the plastic slide pieces.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Hardware..Mostly Done..*
> 
> Spent the day piecing together and cutting iron for the wagon vise hardware and skid. As I had mentioned in the previous post this is what I am getting my inspiration from…
> 
> ...


Thanks man! I hope so… so far all I have are some sticks and a picture in my head. I hope it all turns into something soon lol.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Hardware..Mostly Done..*
> 
> Spent the day piecing together and cutting iron for the wagon vise hardware and skid. As I had mentioned in the previous post this is what I am getting my inspiration from…
> 
> ...


That is some deep thinking going on there. Very cool, looks like it's coming together. (I'll know it only when I see it…) Great stuff!


----------



## yuridichesky (Jan 9, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Hardware..Mostly Done..*
> 
> Spent the day piecing together and cutting iron for the wagon vise hardware and skid. As I had mentioned in the previous post this is what I am getting my inspiration from…
> 
> ...


Man, I'm so envious…

Cool stuff, really.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*First real issue.. Suggestions needed*

I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.

After sweeping up and re-stacking










Still need to clean off the wall benches though!










As I was re-stacking the lumber I noticed some issues with the 4X6 fir posts I had bought for the legs. I went with those because

A) They were inexpensive and easily acquired at Home Depot.

B) They were a nice heavy size and should be easy to use with little dimensioning involved and no glue ups to do.

I guess I was careless at the store and failed to inspect the wood close enough after they cut them to a rough size for me (so they would fit in my car). Last night as I was moving them around I noticed a rather large cavity going up the center of one of the legs. It extends almost the full length and has started to blow out the top face of the leg. As far as I can tell this chunk of wood is worthless as a leg unless you guys know of some kind of wizardry to fix it.

After noticing that I had a closer look at the other legs and none of them are very clear at all. All of them have hairline cracks, sap runs and knots or all three at once.

Now I have to rethink my base. I guess I could use these to make a couple saw horses and hunt down some better wood.

Any Ideas?

Pics of the culprits..
































































I have decided to spend the night sharpening my planes while I think on this.

Also I have a couple other questions..

Is there a minimum thickness for the skirt? My top will be around 2 5/8" thick once planed flat. Everything I have read about the end cap and skirt they always seem to be closer to 4" thick. Is that just a looks thing or is there a structural need for that?

Why is there usually only an end cap on one end of the bench and not both?

When laminating the top do I need to make sure all the grain is the same direction? I would think opposing grain stackup would be more stable I just worry about the planing process.

I think that's about all I have for now.. I am sure there will be more questions soon lol.


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## GlennsGrandson (Jan 29, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *First real issue.. Suggestions needed*
> 
> I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.
> 
> ...


I can't help you with the skirt questions as mine doesn't have one.

I would get some different lumber for your legs/base…That stuff looks kind of shoddy and unstable, sorry to hear about it. Use it like you said and make some saw horses or something.

Alternate the end grain like so ()()()(), not )))))). That way if it has a tendency to cup it will hopefully help to offset, although with that much lumber and glue I wouldn't foresee any problems. Although I cared less about end grain orientation and more so about which side of the board was showing on the top and how the adjacent pieces fit together dry.

Best wishes


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *First real issue.. Suggestions needed*
> 
> I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.
> 
> ...


That bench is AWESOME! OK, now I am less concerned with the skirt/end cap size and now just need to figure out what to build the base out of now. I would like to keep it from the available stuff at HD since it is right there and it won't cost too much (I have already spent more on this than I had originally planned to).

Anyone know wtf kind of tree "Common Whitewood" comes from?


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *First real issue.. Suggestions needed*
> 
> I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.
> 
> ...


Okay, I'll (respectfully) endorse what you have as being fine for the legs. Pick the best two for the fronts, and move on. I see lumber that has all the integrity needed for bench legs… Clean it up with a smoother and go!

More input (but do what you want!!!)

Aprons needed? Zero. Endcaps? Only considered with a wagon vice.

Thickness of top? Just under 3" is what I have, with no issue. 6' long, 24" deep.

!


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *First real issue.. Suggestions needed*
> 
> I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.
> 
> ...


And Grant has a bench that ROCKS, btw…


----------



## tsangell (Jan 10, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *First real issue.. Suggestions needed*
> 
> I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.
> 
> ...


Agree w/ Smitty. If you need to repair a crack or a split you can fill it with epoxy or patch it w/ wood (dutchman or butterfly, for example.)


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *First real issue.. Suggestions needed*
> 
> I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the help guys. The only problem I have with using these is that 3 of the 4 of them are usable but the one pictured with the hole/crack is a void that runs almost the entire length of the leg and neither end is suitable for use as a tenon filled with epoxy or not.

I think what I am going to do is pick up 1 more of these and replace this leg. Thanks for the boost of confidence. I was feeling slightly kicked in the nuts when I found that guy lol.


----------



## GlennsGrandson (Jan 29, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *First real issue.. Suggestions needed*
> 
> I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.
> 
> ...


Smitty, these guys are also correct, if you want you could fill the voids or pick your best faces and use them for the front. I definitely considered all 4 faces of each leg and decided which side that I wanted to show off. Personally I wouldn't want to fuss with filling them and just get pick out some new ones. Not that any of us are made of money but the common "whitewood" (which I have no idea which tree it comes from) isn't to terrible in price and to reiterate what you said you can use the "bad" ones for other things.

I have had good results with JB Weld Wood Epoxy from Menards. It is a 2:1 mix ratio and it is *super* penetrating. So that is good and bad, you know that it will get a great bond but if you think that there is even the slightest chance if it finding it's way out on the other side (i.e. knots, hairline cracks) just do yourself a favor and throw some masking tape over it. Another con is that it really does take 24 hours to set and be able to sand. Also, it is so penetrating that even if you overfill a void when you come back the next day the surface of the epoxy will probably be lower than the surface of the wood (concave rather than convex) and will require another touch up. I've never had to do more than two applications. It dries crystal clear and sands (with some effort) well. I should probably do a review on this stuff because I have never been able to find any other reviews on this product, it might be fairly new..

Let us know what you decide!


----------



## Flocktothewall (Jan 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *First real issue.. Suggestions needed*
> 
> I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.
> 
> ...


ever thought of laminating two 2×4's instead? The Home center around me has junk 2×4 but I was able to get a few 2×12's that were clear of any knots, and used them for my bench top, clean vertical grain.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

Airframer said:


> *First real issue.. Suggestions needed*
> 
> I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.
> 
> ...


depends on what your plans are for this workbench - are you just throwing something together - then simply use what you have, it should hold up fine. you should joint and plane the edges which will crisp them up a tad, but you'll still have those cracks most likely (depending how deep they go). OR , are you building a heirloom workbench - in which case do it once, and do it right - get some new boards. laminating is a good way to go.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *First real issue.. Suggestions needed*
> 
> I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.
> 
> ...


I think I have a path to go in now. I am probably going to go have a look at some 2Xsomethings at HD and if I don't see anything there I'll stop by the yard I got the oak from and see what they have there.

PurpLev, I am hoping to get close to heirloom quality on this (though my skills may have other ideas lol) My wife and I are expecting our first child A SON! *insert a Tim the tool man Taylor grunt here* and while I have never inherited anything from my parents I would like to be able to hand this down to him eventually. I like your thoughts on that and you are right.. I need to do it right once and that will save me money and headaches in the long run.


----------



## NatalieM (Jan 6, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *First real issue.. Suggestions needed*
> 
> I finally got fed up with tripping over things and wading through a sea of saw dust last night. That was all it took to finally clean up the mess made by the ripping process and reset to start on the base.
> 
> ...


Grant,
I'll be watching for that review on the JB weld.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Moxon In Work... The vise to help build the bench.*

Just a quick update before I leave for work. I was trying to clean up one of the legs last night with a hand plane and realized this is not an easy task without a vise of some sort. That prompted me to start building the Moxon vise that is in the plans for the bench first. I can then use it to help build the rest of the bench.

I'll get more detailed into the process once it's finished but here is some teaser shots for you guys.



















Stay tuned more to come!


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Moxon 2... Adventures in wooden Handwheels*

The last update was pretty brief and short of details so I hope to make up for it with this one.

I just finished up 1 of 2 wooden handwheels for my Moxon vise. I decided to go with wooden ones instead of cast iron for 1 simple reason…. they would be free lol. Well sorta I did already pay for the wood but it is mostly made from scraps and a chunk of the padauk I bought to add contrast to the bench with.

I cut the main wheel out on the band saw and used a hole saw set to cut out the smaller rings from oak and more padauk. That is where the simplicity ended. While those were gluing up I used a small left over piece of the acme rod to make a homemade 1" 5tpi ACME tap to tap the hole with.



















This is the test threading into some crummy cedar scraps I had laying around. I figured if this stuff would hold a thread the padauk would be no issue at all. As you can see it holds nice and tight!










With that done I could get back to the wheel it's self. Gluing up..



















I let that sit over night and today after work I chucked it into my drill press and drilled the spokes with a forstner bit and sanding drum. I then started to sand it smooth.

That part was fun and went pretty quick which then left the scary part.. tapping the hole. I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out and for all I knew it was going to end up destroying the wheel but this was the plan and I just had to see how it went.

As I started it began pulling the grain up and chipping it off a bit around the hole opening. At this point I almost gave up in frustration but I decided to press on and see how this would play out. I went slow only turning a quarter turn at a time then backing out the tap to clear the threads. It probably took about 15 mins to get the hole completely tapped and it spins really smoothly!

This only left dealing with the chipout issue. I then had a stroke of inspiration and chucked up my 1 7/8" forstner bit and simply shaved down past the chipout section. Boom! Problem solved.

I had originally planned to make the hub and wheel on solid threaded piece but after the problems I had tapping just the wheel I was in no mood to attempt it on the hub. I decided to just drill it out to the full 1" and use it as the free spinning washer portion of the vise assembly.

Back onto the drill press they went to get final sanding and a coat of bees wax and here it is all purtied up..




























Now all I have to do is make another one JUST LIKE IT! I wish I had done both at the same time now lol…

Feedback is again.. always welcome! Thanks for reading.


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## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 2... Adventures in wooden Handwheels*
> 
> The last update was pretty brief and short of details so I hope to make up for it with this one.
> 
> ...


Very cool!


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 2... Adventures in wooden Handwheels*
> 
> The last update was pretty brief and short of details so I hope to make up for it with this one.
> 
> ...


Wow! A stroke of genious making your own tap from that piece of ACME rod. That wheel turned out perfectly.


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## emart (Mar 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 2... Adventures in wooden Handwheels*
> 
> The last update was pretty brief and short of details so I hope to make up for it with this one.
> 
> ...


nice work. ive had some interesting experience with acme rods when i built my behemoth vise for my shop.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 2... Adventures in wooden Handwheels*
> 
> The last update was pretty brief and short of details so I hope to make up for it with this one.
> 
> ...


Thanks guys! It was certainly a couple of days worth of trial and error. Fortunately I FINALLY have a full day off of work tomorrow so I hope to get mostly done with the second wheel and the rest of the vise tomorrow. Stay tuned for updates on that.


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## Holbs (Nov 4, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 2... Adventures in wooden Handwheels*
> 
> The last update was pretty brief and short of details so I hope to make up for it with this one.
> 
> ...


i really like this idea, framer. i'll try my luck on it thru the summer as i can see a need for hand wheels in some upcoming projects.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 2... Adventures in wooden Handwheels*
> 
> The last update was pretty brief and short of details so I hope to make up for it with this one.
> 
> ...


This came out great man. I love the idea of a wooden hand wheel.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 2... Adventures in wooden Handwheels*
> 
> The last update was pretty brief and short of details so I hope to make up for it with this one.
> 
> ...


The handwheels turned out awesome. I definitely want to try that sometime.


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## BillWyko (Feb 19, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 2... Adventures in wooden Handwheels*
> 
> The last update was pretty brief and short of details so I hope to make up for it with this one.
> 
> ...


I'll definitely be trying my hand(wheel) at this. Pardon the pun


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Moxon 3.. Almost done.. I think..*

So, have you ever wondered how to plane a large piece of wood for a work bench without a workbench? Yep, me too lol. This was another day full of learning. Lesson one was that the blade I had on my band saw was too wide to cut the hard wood and that was why I was having so much trouble with drift. Number two was that my Bucks Brothers 6 1/2" block plane is actually a decent little worker now that I have tuned it up. Lastly… it is hard as hell trying to face plane 36 X 5 3/4 X 2 oak without a way to secure it. I needed to take the thickness down to 1 3/4" or as close as I could get and flatten the faces so it will close up nice and tight.

What I ended up doing was attaching a wood clamp to each end fo the board and set it flat on the floor and shoved it up against the wall to act as a plane stop. That worked pretty good for the long horizontal strokes but when I switched to cross grain it wiggled too much to be useful. Luckily I have a very helpful wife who volunteered to stand on one of the clamps to hold it still lol. That was a sight.. a pregnant woman standing precariously atop a 12" wooden clamp. So between the 2 of us we go them planed flat and down to 1 7/8" thick. 1/8 " fatter than I had hoped but I'm calling it close enough.

I also got started on the second hand wheel. I cut out all the pieces and they are gluing up as we speak. I should be able to finish those up tomorrow and maybe this vise which will then allow me to get started on the rest of the bench finally!

Here are today's progress pics and a giant pile o' shavings made by one cheap but usable hand plane…


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 3.. Almost done.. I think..*
> 
> So, have you ever wondered how to plane a large piece of wood for a work bench without a workbench? Yep, me too lol. This was another day full of learning. Lesson one was that the blade I had on my band saw was too wide to cut the hard wood and that was why I was having so much trouble with drift. Number two was that my Bucks Brothers 6 1/2" block plane is actually a decent little worker now that I have tuned it up. Lastly… it is hard as hell trying to face plane 36 X 5 3/4 X 2 oak without a way to secure it. I needed to take the thickness down to 1 3/4" or as close as I could get and flatten the faces so it will close up nice and tight.
> 
> ...


Do you have sawhorses? Clamp it to those then you can sit on the board or use the wall to brace the sides of the sawhorses. That works for the faces at least, but I can't think of a better way for the edges than what you did unless your sawhorses have a vertical face to clamp to. Your hand planed boards are looking great though so I'd say keep it up.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 3.. Almost done.. I think..*
> 
> So, have you ever wondered how to plane a large piece of wood for a work bench without a workbench? Yep, me too lol. This was another day full of learning. Lesson one was that the blade I had on my band saw was too wide to cut the hard wood and that was why I was having so much trouble with drift. Number two was that my Bucks Brothers 6 1/2" block plane is actually a decent little worker now that I have tuned it up. Lastly… it is hard as hell trying to face plane 36 X 5 3/4 X 2 oak without a way to secure it. I needed to take the thickness down to 1 3/4" or as close as I could get and flatten the faces so it will close up nice and tight.
> 
> ...


Nope, no saw horses. I REALLY need to get some next week though. I can't imagine gluing up the top with out them and like you said that will make the face planing a lot easier.


----------



## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 3.. Almost done.. I think..*
> 
> So, have you ever wondered how to plane a large piece of wood for a work bench without a workbench? Yep, me too lol. This was another day full of learning. Lesson one was that the blade I had on my band saw was too wide to cut the hard wood and that was why I was having so much trouble with drift. Number two was that my Bucks Brothers 6 1/2" block plane is actually a decent little worker now that I have tuned it up. Lastly… it is hard as hell trying to face plane 36 X 5 3/4 X 2 oak without a way to secure it. I needed to take the thickness down to 1 3/4" or as close as I could get and flatten the faces so it will close up nice and tight.
> 
> ...


You could build them if you really needed to, but I think you can find them reasonably cheap. You could also lay your 36" boards on longer boards you've leaned against the wall. Not great, but it might work if you didn't mind securing the boards into the wall or something solid.

You might like some of the tricks in these videos for building a bench without a bench. I'm a fan of his stuff.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 3.. Almost done.. I think..*
> 
> So, have you ever wondered how to plane a large piece of wood for a work bench without a workbench? Yep, me too lol. This was another day full of learning. Lesson one was that the blade I had on my band saw was too wide to cut the hard wood and that was why I was having so much trouble with drift. Number two was that my Bucks Brothers 6 1/2" block plane is actually a decent little worker now that I have tuned it up. Lastly… it is hard as hell trying to face plane 36 X 5 3/4 X 2 oak without a way to secure it. I needed to take the thickness down to 1 3/4" or as close as I could get and flatten the faces so it will close up nice and tight.
> 
> ...


Oh hell yeah.. I have watched that entire series a few times. Good stuff! Payday is wednesday so I'll hop over to HD and pickup a couple saw horses then. I also need to have a look at some new wood for the legs of the bench. My fir legs have oozed a ton of sap out of themselves over the last week and I just can;t bring myself to use them on this bench…... I could still make some saw horses out of them though.. hmmm.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 3.. Almost done.. I think..*
> 
> So, have you ever wondered how to plane a large piece of wood for a work bench without a workbench? Yep, me too lol. This was another day full of learning. Lesson one was that the blade I had on my band saw was too wide to cut the hard wood and that was why I was having so much trouble with drift. Number two was that my Bucks Brothers 6 1/2" block plane is actually a decent little worker now that I have tuned it up. Lastly… it is hard as hell trying to face plane 36 X 5 3/4 X 2 oak without a way to secure it. I needed to take the thickness down to 1 3/4" or as close as I could get and flatten the faces so it will close up nice and tight.
> 
> ...


Your assistant is very brave


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## yuridichesky (Jan 9, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 3.. Almost done.. I think..*
> 
> So, have you ever wondered how to plane a large piece of wood for a work bench without a workbench? Yep, me too lol. This was another day full of learning. Lesson one was that the blade I had on my band saw was too wide to cut the hard wood and that was why I was having so much trouble with drift. Number two was that my Bucks Brothers 6 1/2" block plane is actually a decent little worker now that I have tuned it up. Lastly… it is hard as hell trying to face plane 36 X 5 3/4 X 2 oak without a way to secure it. I needed to take the thickness down to 1 3/4" or as close as I could get and flatten the faces so it will close up nice and tight.
> 
> ...


Similar situation here: started out with couple of stools and sheet of plywood on them. Then built moxon vise, then started workbench. Now I have benchtop with wagon vise installed, and things move much faster (but still not fast enough, legs are almost ready, and this "almost" happened two weeks ago).

Great work, btw!


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 3.. Almost done.. I think..*
> 
> So, have you ever wondered how to plane a large piece of wood for a work bench without a workbench? Yep, me too lol. This was another day full of learning. Lesson one was that the blade I had on my band saw was too wide to cut the hard wood and that was why I was having so much trouble with drift. Number two was that my Bucks Brothers 6 1/2" block plane is actually a decent little worker now that I have tuned it up. Lastly… it is hard as hell trying to face plane 36 X 5 3/4 X 2 oak without a way to secure it. I needed to take the thickness down to 1 3/4" or as close as I could get and flatten the faces so it will close up nice and tight.
> 
> ...


Holly craap, did you say you did all that with a block plane?


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Moxon 3.. Almost done.. I think..*
> 
> So, have you ever wondered how to plane a large piece of wood for a work bench without a workbench? Yep, me too lol. This was another day full of learning. Lesson one was that the blade I had on my band saw was too wide to cut the hard wood and that was why I was having so much trouble with drift. Number two was that my Bucks Brothers 6 1/2" block plane is actually a decent little worker now that I have tuned it up. Lastly… it is hard as hell trying to face plane 36 X 5 3/4 X 2 oak without a way to secure it. I needed to take the thickness down to 1 3/4" or as close as I could get and flatten the faces so it will close up nice and tight.
> 
> ...


Norm.. Yes, yes she is lol. She had a lot of fun though.

Yuri.. Your bench is looking great! I can't wait to see it all finished up!

Mauricio.. Yep, block plane lol. I have a 14" Jack plane but it still needs sharpening and setup and I was in a hurry to get started so I busted out the block plane. Not going to lie.. I am a little sore this morning lol.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*New Crank Handles... *

After finishing up one of the hand cranks for the Moxon vise I realized that the poor excuse of a turning I did on my leg vise crank handle just wasn't going to cut it.

So after that revelation I scrounged up some scraps of Padauk and Oak and started piecing together a segmented stackup that would become my new crank handles for both the leg and wagon vises.





































Once the glue was set on those I cut different sized plugs out with my hole saw set which works out nicely because it drills the pilot hole along with cutting the circle. This makes it easy to stack these up together.



















Those 2 plus a section of a 1" oak dowel. I got excited to start shaping this and forgot to take any pics of the raw stackup but I did get some action shots and some after pics.




























I sanded it with progressive grits from 80-1500 then a blue scothbrite pad. Those pics are after the initial coat of poly was applied. I have 2 on it now and waiting to add the third and final coat before waiting a day to do final wet saning and polishing. As usual updates to come.

Thanks for reading!


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *New Crank Handles... *
> 
> After finishing up one of the hand cranks for the Moxon vise I realized that the poor excuse of a turning I did on my leg vise crank handle just wasn't going to cut it.
> 
> ...


Nice! And turned on the drillpress. I like that as I don't have a lathe. "Blue Scotch Pads"? Never saw those. What grit are they comparable to? Source?


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *New Crank Handles... *
> 
> After finishing up one of the hand cranks for the Moxon vise I realized that the poor excuse of a turning I did on my leg vise crank handle just wasn't going to cut it.
> 
> ...


I don't know what grit they would be but you find them at the grocery store and they are meant for use on non-stick surfaces. I have found them to be even finer then the green ones so I usually finish up with one of those.

They are sold as Scotch Brite Non-Scratch or No-Scratch pads


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *New Crank Handles... *
> 
> After finishing up one of the hand cranks for the Moxon vise I realized that the poor excuse of a turning I did on my leg vise crank handle just wasn't going to cut it.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. I have green, grey, and white ones and have heard of maroon but the blue are new to me. I'll try em and see where they fit in the "grit scale"


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*More Moxon... Finally doing some glue ups..*

I finally got off my arse and started to finish up this Moxon vise. I really can't wait to have this guy functional. It will make building this bench a lot easier as far as hand planing goes.

So far both hand wheels are done and ready to go..



















Then I got started gluing up the rest of it. This was kinda a test run for the bench top glueup and I'm glad I did this first. I first tried to dowel the clamp "leg" (no idea what it's real name is) you know.. the bit that sticks out of the back to use with some hold fasts. Well that didn't go so well. I don't have a dowel jig so most of the holes were just a hair off from each other and after about 5 mins of pounding it hadn't yet bottomed out so out came the flush cut saw and I ended up doing it the old fashioned way with no dowels. I'm going to have to fine tune the joint once the glue is dry but it will hold and do just fine.

I also glued a strip of Padouk to the top of the front jaw for no other reason but to purty it up a bit.




























Once the Padouk was setup I decided to round off the top edge ala Schwarz style and again.. to purty it up a bit. No Idea why.. just seems like a good idea lol.

My first time using a spoke shave.. this guy is a lot of fun and went reasonably well and drama free.



















That is where it sits right now. All that is left is to drill some holes and assemble it then finish and add some leather to the jaw. Stay tuned!


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *More Moxon... Finally doing some glue ups..*
> 
> I finally got off my arse and started to finish up this Moxon vise. I really can't wait to have this guy functional. It will make building this bench a lot easier as far as hand planing goes.
> 
> ...


Great work. I love the wheels.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *More Moxon... Finally doing some glue ups..*
> 
> I finally got off my arse and started to finish up this Moxon vise. I really can't wait to have this guy functional. It will make building this bench a lot easier as far as hand planing goes.
> 
> ...


Thanks Don! It will be nice to actually finish something for a change lol.


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *More Moxon... Finally doing some glue ups..*
> 
> I finally got off my arse and started to finish up this Moxon vise. I really can't wait to have this guy functional. It will make building this bench a lot easier as far as hand planing goes.
> 
> ...


Man this is really looking sweet! Cant wait to see it in action!


----------



## jap (Oct 10, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *More Moxon... Finally doing some glue ups..*
> 
> I finally got off my arse and started to finish up this Moxon vise. I really can't wait to have this guy functional. It will make building this bench a lot easier as far as hand planing goes.
> 
> ...


nice handles


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *More Moxon... Finally doing some glue ups..*
> 
> I finally got off my arse and started to finish up this Moxon vise. I really can't wait to have this guy functional. It will make building this bench a lot easier as far as hand planing goes.
> 
> ...


Becarful Jap, nice handles means something very diffrent in England from what I understand.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Finishing up The Moxon!*

I banished myself to the shop today in an effort to finally finish up the Moxon vise build for the bench. Lets just say it was an unqualified success!

The day started out with drilling the pilot holes for the threaded rods. I finally put to use another flea market find. This old B&D drill works great and was only $15! The only downside to it is the 1/4" drive but fortunately I was still going to be able to fit this in my drill press.



















Once the pilot holes were drilled to establish the 4 holes that needed to be enlarged I drilled the fixed jaw to 15/16" and threaded it using my homemade tap once again. Really glad I made this thing!



















Then came a couple recessed set screw holes…










Tested it out and I came out with just barely 3" of clamping capacity!










Then came the suede.. another thrift store find. These came from an ugly all leather skirt they were selling for $9. I still have enough to do my 2 other vises plus a ton more stuff.



















Wiped on some BLO and BOOM! Moxon is ready to go!























































They spinnin'!










Now I can clean up and get started on the rest of the bench. Hopefully I can get this done before our baby arrives.. or at least before he finished high school lol.

Stay tuned for more and thanks for watching!


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up The Moxon!*
> 
> I banished myself to the shop today in an effort to finally finish up the Moxon vise build for the bench. Lets just say it was an unqualified success!
> 
> ...


Very nice, I like the home made tap, and those contrasting woods look great


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up The Moxon!*
> 
> I banished myself to the shop today in an effort to finally finish up the Moxon vise build for the bench. Lets just say it was an unqualified success!
> 
> ...


That tap has come in very handy lately. I'm really happy with how the two woods look together. I plan on incorporating that contrast elsewhere in the bench build. Thanks for reading!


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up The Moxon!*
> 
> I banished myself to the shop today in an effort to finally finish up the Moxon vise build for the bench. Lets just say it was an unqualified success!
> 
> ...


let the dovetailing begin!!


----------



## BillWyko (Feb 19, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up The Moxon!*
> 
> I banished myself to the shop today in an effort to finally finish up the Moxon vise build for the bench. Lets just say it was an unqualified success!
> 
> ...


Beautiful work & congratulations on the baby on the way. I'd like to see more on the wood hand wheels. Love those things.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Clean up and Reset.. Laminating the top Part 1*

Not much "Progress" over the last couple days unless you consider a good cleaning of the shop progress (which I kinda do). The place had become a safety hazard and I just wasn't able to focus on anything with all the clutter and dust about so it had to be delt with before moving forward with anything else.

I started out like this..



















And after a full day of cleaning and re organizing some tools I got it to a working condition..



















As a side note.. the wife and I visited our favorite thrift shop here in town that we regularly scout for deals on tools and household items. Earlier that day she had mentioned that we need to get me a shop vac.. I agreed but the $50 price tag has been pushing it lower on the priority list until I saw this guy in the corner of the thrift shop..










$7 and it was mine. I do need to get a hose and filter for it which may end up making it not such a good deal but we shall see.

Anyhoo back on track.. With the shop clean I finally am motivated (and have the space) to start laminating up the top of the bench. I am however once again torn between having a tool tray and not having one. My latest adventures have shown me that I DO need some temporary storage for my hand tools while working which is pushing me hard towards the tray. That would also allow me to add some thickness to the top since it won't be as deep as before.

Last chance for anyone to weigh in on this issue. I'll be gluing either tonight or early tomorrow. Here are some shots of the rehearsal. I wanted to see how much work needed to be done to get the boards to laminated tightly… not too much but some… time to resharpen some blades and give Paul Sellers method a go! Wish me luck!


----------



## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Clean up and Reset.. Laminating the top Part 1*
> 
> Not much "Progress" over the last couple days unless you consider a good cleaning of the shop progress (which I kinda do). The place had become a safety hazard and I just wasn't able to focus on anything with all the clutter and dust about so it had to be delt with before moving forward with anything else.
> 
> ...


If you are following Paul Sellers' method you won't need 'good luck' only sharp irons.

Best Regards with your Bench build.

Work Safely and have Fun. - Grandpa Len


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Clean up and Reset.. Laminating the top Part 1*
> 
> Not much "Progress" over the last couple days unless you consider a good cleaning of the shop progress (which I kinda do). The place had become a safety hazard and I just wasn't able to focus on anything with all the clutter and dust about so it had to be delt with before moving forward with anything else.
> 
> ...


Thanks Len!

I had an epiphany just now while I was arranging boards trying to figure out how I wanted the top. I have decided on a half tray across the back side. I can then double up my top to get a good thickness and have a solid row of dog holes in front of the leg vise and have a place to keep my tools handy while working. If anyone sees a downside to this let me know but I think it will do exactly what I was wanting.

Kinda like this…

------------------------
------------------------
------------------------
[--Tool Tray-]-------------
------------------------

If that makes any sense to anyone but me that is..


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Clean up and Reset.. Laminating the top Part 1*
> 
> Not much "Progress" over the last couple days unless you consider a good cleaning of the shop progress (which I kinda do). The place had become a safety hazard and I just wasn't able to focus on anything with all the clutter and dust about so it had to be delt with before moving forward with anything else.
> 
> ...


Sounds like it will work.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Laminating The Top 2.. *

Sorry about the blog spam today but…..

It. Has. Started! FINALLY! I set up my saw horses and have jumped into planing the boards flat so I can get them glued up nice and tight. Broke out my $18 new model Stanley SB4, sharpened the blade for the first time and gave it a go. This is the first time I have used it since I bought it. I wasn;t sure what to expect as most the reviews for the newer cheap Stanley planes are less than steller but I gotta say.. this guy does the job!

I am about halfway through the 12 boards that will make up the top but I am having a blast and making lots of fluffy shavings.

The best part about all of this is that unlike when I use my power tools my wife could stand out there and we could have a conversation while I was working! I think my lean towards hand tools is the right direction for me.

Today's Money shots and a bonus short video of me working. I would love some critiques of my technique which evolved over the afternoon till I think I finally got it figured out. Also be nice…. I am just glad my bald head didn't glare out the camera!

Enjoy!



















Carpet of shavings..


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Laminating The Top 2.. *
> 
> Sorry about the blog spam today but…..
> 
> ...


wife could stand out there and we could have a conversation while I was working

I just turn up the radio.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Laminating The Top 2.. *
> 
> Sorry about the blog spam today but…..
> 
> ...


Yeah lol.. It just means that I will be able to hear the baby monitor while I am working.. which means work won't have to come to a halt once the little guy arrives. Just slow down a lot lol.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Laminating The Top 2.. *
> 
> Sorry about the blog spam today but…..
> 
> ...


well, congrats on the new guy.


----------



## tsangell (Jan 10, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Laminating The Top 2.. *
> 
> Sorry about the blog spam today but…..
> 
> ...


I just turn up the radio.

I laughed out loud. So did my wife.


----------



## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Laminating The Top 2.. *
> 
> Sorry about the blog spam today but…..
> 
> ...


which means work won't have to come to a halt once the little guy arrives. Just slow down a lot lol.

Hahahaha. Good one.

-ian, who's been working at a glacial pace thanks to his two boys


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## Henndoe (Oct 22, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Laminating The Top 2.. *
> 
> Sorry about the blog spam today but…..
> 
> ...


You laugh I have a permanent baby monitor in the garage. She slowed me down but if you love wood you get out every spare second you get and that's the second she falls asleep.


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Laminating The Top 2.. *
> 
> Sorry about the blog spam today but…..
> 
> ...


Looks like fun man, listening to music is a plus too. I see a Stanley #7 in your future though…


----------



## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Laminating The Top 2.. *
> 
> Sorry about the blog spam today but…..
> 
> ...


What an adventure it will be


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Leveling.. Well.. Evening The Top..*

More progress on the top today. I finally found a full day off of work to spend a good amount of time in the shop today.

The day started out innocent enough. The plan for the day was to knock down and even out the thickness of all the boards making up the top so it will be easier to level once it is assembled.

As you can see I was less than accurate when ripping the Oak for the laminated pieces..




























I started out just scrubbing away the squeeze out and the high boards. As I got closer to even with one of the outside edge boards it became evident that I had (despite what I thought was careful planning) laminated the last board with the grain running opposite all the others… Well poo..










I contemplated this for a bit and figured since it is on the outside and not the middle the only correct thing to do was cut it off and add a new one.

So out comes the circular saw and accessories for a quick run down the top..



















And then my Atkins rip saw to finish up.. (I really need to get on with tuning this guy up..)










With that board removed I have a 9 1/2" slab to even out. I'll re add the missing board between the dog strip and the skirt later on if I think it is needed. I might end up liking this depth (which will come to around 14" when it is all said and done).

A few more hours of scrubbing and the top side of the bench is even and actually almost level! It still has a bit of a dip in the center but that will be taken care of once my No 6 arrives .



















Now.. the other side! which is in much worse shape as far as evenness of the boards..









I spent another hour or so scrubbing away at that side and allllmost have it evened out but I'll have to finish that up tomorrow. My arms are tired and the wife misses me so that is all the shop time I have for today.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more! Comments and critiques are always encouraged (your comments keep me motivated to keep going!)..


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Leveling.. Well.. Evening The Top..*
> 
> More progress on the top today. I finally found a full day off of work to spend a good amount of time in the shop today.
> 
> ...


AF, the 6 will be there soon. I haven't been able to send the 6 yet but I will get it sent tomorrow. Sorry about that. I did do some extra flattening to the sole, sharpened the blade, and boxed it up ready to go. It should be ready to go right out of the box.

By the way remember since you are flattening your top with hand tools you dont have to flatten the whole bottom side. You just have to work the spots where the mortises will be, make those spots flat and parallel to the top.

Flattening both sides is only necessary if you are going to run it through a machine.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Leveling.. Well.. Evening The Top..*
> 
> More progress on the top today. I finally found a full day off of work to spend a good amount of time in the shop today.
> 
> ...


Thanks Mauri. I'm not worried about the No 6. I know it will get here.

I'm not trying to level the bottom so much as even out the thickness. I am mostly trying to get each joint down to the glue line so they can disappear. I am done with that bit and have flipped the top back over so I can start fitting the rest of it together. It is almost starting to look like something finally!


----------



## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Leveling.. Well.. Evening The Top..*
> 
> More progress on the top today. I finally found a full day off of work to spend a good amount of time in the shop today.
> 
> ...


Getting there! Yer gonna make me have to start on making me a decent bench soon!


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Leveling.. Well.. Evening The Top..*
> 
> More progress on the top today. I finally found a full day off of work to spend a good amount of time in the shop today.
> 
> ...


Nice work AirFramer, she's going to look nice, good job.


----------



## WhoMe (Jul 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Leveling.. Well.. Evening The Top..*
> 
> More progress on the top today. I finally found a full day off of work to spend a good amount of time in the shop today.
> 
> ...


2 things if you have not started the glue up of the second slab. 
Have you thought about maybe re-ripping some of the boards to even out the widths a little more? That would save some plane work. Unless you like that kind of torture…lol
Also, look into clamping cauls. Or, wrap 2 or more pieces of wood in wax paper that will be longer than your glued up slab will be wide. Place them crosswise to where you plan to do the gue up. Position them about 1-2 feet in from the ends ofthe wood you are gluing up. Then when you clamp the pieces being glued up. The surface setting on the wax paper cross beams should be fairly flat. Once dry, the flat sie should reqire much less planing to make flat.
Hopefully you understood my description and it helps on your nex round of glue ups.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Leveling.. Well.. Evening The Top..*
> 
> More progress on the top today. I finally found a full day off of work to spend a good amount of time in the shop today.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the suggestion Mike. I only have 2 more strips to glue onto the top. One is the dog strip which is, by design, thicker than the rest of the top by 1" and the skirt which is thicker than that to provide sufficiant clamping ability on the leg vise so the cauls wont be much help there but now that the top portion is evened out I can at least keep then evened up when gluing easier.

Unfortunately I have run out of glue so that whole operation will have to wait so I am moving onto the base next (finally) expect updates on that soon.


----------



## 559dustdesigns (Sep 23, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Leveling.. Well.. Evening The Top..*
> 
> More progress on the top today. I finally found a full day off of work to spend a good amount of time in the shop today.
> 
> ...


Nice job, I have enjoyed following this project. As always, thanks for sharing with us.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Leveling.. Well.. Evening The Top..*
> 
> More progress on the top today. I finally found a full day off of work to spend a good amount of time in the shop today.
> 
> ...


It's looking good.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Leveling.. Well.. Evening The Top..*
> 
> More progress on the top today. I finally found a full day off of work to spend a good amount of time in the shop today.
> 
> ...


I used dowels to align my top pieces for glue up, saved me a ton of work afterwards.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Leveling.. Well.. Evening The Top..*
> 
> More progress on the top today. I finally found a full day off of work to spend a good amount of time in the shop today.
> 
> ...


Thanks Don.

Mauricio, I might do that for the next few pieces. I must say though.. the "flattening" went faster than I thought it would though I am feeling it this morning lol.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*

Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.

Here is the deal. I am active duty military so I know I WILL be moving at some point. With that in mind I have to be mindful of what I build and the fact that I will need to load it into a truck at some point.

My second project for my shop was to be a tool cabinet for my various hand tools and such. Right now they are scattered all over and tucked away wherever I can find room. This bothers me to no end. I absolutely hate not having a home for each tool. Perhaps it is the number of years spent in aviation maintenance and having proper tool control drilled into me or my natural AR nature but I have to have a central container for all these tools soon.

Now the quandary is that I can have 1 very heavy item that takes up a set amount of space in a moving truck or multiple slightly less heavy items taking up a lot of space in a moving truck. I would like to try for option number 1 if I can.

I have read and re read CS's book on workbench design and I know his thoughts on under bench storage but I have seen examples that work (see Smitty's bench) and I like the idea of using the space under the bench for more than a junk/saw dust collector.

Here is my initial thoughts on how to accomplish this most effectively. Keep in mind this is my first Sketchup attempt. The measurements are arbitrary since I am just doing a rough draft and the joints are rudimentary at best but this is just to get a visual of what is inside my head and see how they fit together.

I battled with the straight leg or splayed leg debate for a bit and went with the splayed. One because of the added stability and two it provides more storage space and the 20 degree tilt of the back legs makes for the perfect hand plane storage rack. I would like to make that rack hinge up to allow more storage behind it on the backside of the cabinet but that may now work out. I'm going to try and see if I can find a way to make it work.

So anyhoo.. here is what I am talking about. Let me know what you think, even if I am completely off my rocker (which is entirely possible).



















I look forward to your thoughts. You guys haven't steered me wrong yet!


----------



## hiswillus (Jan 24, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


As a noob studying design for my work bench I would first off be concerned about vices being built into the bench. Will the angle interfere with any of those. Also the straight legs are often recommended to be flush to the bench front for clamping support. Weight also is a major concern. This bench looks pretty light. If it needs to be light then you might want to integrate a system where sand bags can be added when you reach your destination. It has also been recommended by many to wait even up to 3 years to build a bench and to just make a make shift bench until you learn through experience what you need for the kind of work you will be doing. Hope this helps.


----------



## grfrazee (Jul 17, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


Check out Mosquito's bench build. It looks like what you've envisioned is similar to what he's doing for his bench.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


Air - I see what you've got in mind and I think it's worth pursuing. The plane rack on the backside of the bench makes sense to me as well.

For the cabinet below the top, yes, it works well. I have a ton of stuff in the drawers below the top AND have clearance for all the hold downs / hold fasts in my arsenal. Just make sure you allow for clamping down on thin material and you're golden; that space is wasted otherwise.

@his: I've not seen the 'wait up to three years to build a bench' recommendation but really couldn't disagree more. To the contrary, jump in and get 'er done with all you have at your disposal. Bench building is a remarkable learning experience, and if you cover the essentials in the design (weight, flush surfaces, work holding for faces, edges and ends), there's little reason to hold off.


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


Woohooo! Splayed leg benches of the world unite! We are creating a legion of splayed leg benches!

I like the idea of the tool board on the back. I would imagine its a good place to put saws. You could even make it where the board just rests on cleats and it could have a handle cut into for easy transport.

I was just using that space on my bench to keep a sacrificial board I use for gluing and finishing. I dont like it there much but there is definitely opportunity to do something with the space.

As far as the weight of the bench I would wory about that. Thats what the splayed legs are for. They not only grip the ground well but they tralsfer all the weight into the ground rather than relying on inertia/mass to keep the bench still. Plus I bet it will be plenty heavy anyway.

Make sure to add extra length to the rough length of the back legs, I cut it a little to close and almost didn't have enough length when I cut them to final length. Especially since you are going with 20degrees (mine were 15degrees. Dont think there is any advantage to 15 vs 20, just saying.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


*hiswillus* I am not worried about the weight of the bench. There will be plenty there to keep it stable and still. My comments on the weight were meant to illustrate the fact that I would rather only have one elephant to move rather than 5 lol. So building the tool cabinet into the bench just makes sense to me. I am going to have to side with Smitty on the wait 3 years thing. I have learned soooo much so far on this bench build and I have just barely scratched the surface. It is a tool and I can't think of a better one to learn on than something that is customized to your needs and will be around for a while.

*Smitty* After your cabinet build would you say it would have been easier to do before final assembly with the top or after to make sure everything clears?

*Mauricio* Thanks for the heads up on the splayed leg length. Just another pitfall I hadn't thought much about up till now.


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


Air, I think I'd do it after the fact and not change. It fits just right and can come out if I ever need it to.


----------



## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


Looks like a solid design. Roy builds one pretty much like that on the Woodwright's Shop.

Curious, what is The Schwarz's reasoning against under bench storage? I forget the name for the vertical board with holes for various clamping assistance that goes on the front of a bench between the top and the stretcher and can be made to slide back and forth, but maybe under bench storage would interfere with that.


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


Tim, you're looking for a sliding deadman. His primary reason, as I recall, is "it interferes with clamping."

The deadman has holes that originally held a peg that in turn supported ends of boards when jointing an edge. I've used a Veritas hold down in said holes to really pinch work against the front of the bench for work as well, but can only use it at the holes that are higher than the cabinet, true. But 90%+ of the clamping I do with the deadman includes the Stanley #203 clamp in a 1" hole. It has some tail end to contend with, so my cabinet is set back a couple inches, but it's not an issue.


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


use whatever design seems fitting for your taste. as for moving/breaking down - I made my bench with 2 sets of support legs each consists of 2 legs and 2 cross bars, and I have those 2 sets connected with 2 rails that are attached with bolts that keep it all snug together. provides for very stable stout support and can be taken apart for minimal size/weight and fits in a moving truck (the only heavy large part is the top). you can see it in pictures in my workbench blog and can do similar concept with the sprayed leg design.


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


+1 to what Purp said. I dont think you were talking about disassembling the bench for moving but if you were here is a picture that will get the juices flowing. It's the McGuire version of the splayed leg bench.

It would be easy to bolt the top on to the top stretchers to make it removable. However you would need a stub tenon to resist the force of the leg vise against the top.


----------



## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


Sliding deadman, that's the one, thanks Smitty. At some point your walls interfere with clamping too so I guess you've got to compromise somewhere. If you can design your storage so that it doesnt keep you from clamping what you need to like you did it sounds like a win win.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


I've never had my under bench storage bother my clamping. I also like it because when I'm in that extra lazy mood, the drawers double as a deadman.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


No plans to make a break down bench. Once this thing is put together it will stay that way. For some reason furniture that breaks down just reminds me of IKEA or the cheap "do it yourself" furniture of my youth lol. This is going together and staying that way.

The deadman just requires some careful planning as far as drawer/door placement is concerned. I hope to get more done on the base this weekend time willing so stay tuned for more updates on that.


----------



## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


*Mauricio* I have always wondered about the stub tenon to resist the wracking forced of the leg vise on a break down bench like the one pictured above. I have drawn a few versions of this joint and I am not satisfied with any of my solutions…have you ever seen anyone elses version? Or do you have one of you own you could share?

I could just use bullets, but that seems so weak.


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


Ryan one idea that does not require the stub tenon (on the leg any way) is the splayed leg moravian bench. This is designed as a breakdown bench. Wasnt that what you were thinking of building.

The stub tenon is actually on one of the "jaws" of the leg vise that is morticed into the top so it pinches aganist itself instead of againts that top. I'm not sure if thatmakes sense. here is a picture.

Look at the stub tenon to the right of the bullet. 


















If you do that you might as well make the whole leg vise a sliding leg vise. All you would have to do is rout a groove the lenth of the bench instead of just the mortice. That and add the bottom sliding rail.


----------



## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


Thanks Mauricio.

Airframer. Sorry I highjacked a bit. I was just curious when it came up. I was wondering how big you shop is? Will your bench always live in the center of a room? If so I think your handplane storage is a pretty good idea, so long as they stay secure. The issue I would have would be walking around to the back to get them…and my bench has to be against a wall.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Rough Plan For The Base.. Opinions Needed..*
> 
> Well, I bit the bullet and finally installed Sketchup. I am very far from proficient at it but I was able to mock together a rough draft of what I have planned for the base of this bench.
> 
> ...


RG, The walking around to get the planes is something I have though about and I am working on a solution to that. My "shop" is a one car garage with a small alcove off to one side. I am building this one so I can have a bench I can walk around (my other 2 benches are anchored to the wall) but it will probably get pushed against a wall for storage from time to time. I plan to make this the central piece of the shop with everything else designed around it. My other thinking is that since the plane storage is going under the tool well, most the planes that need to get put away will be in the tool well right above it … but the best laid plans lol.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Where we are at since last update...*

OK, so I haven't had much progress going on since my last update other than finishing up the glueup of the top.




























I still need to trim up the ends and get the skirt glued up but this is the end width of the top plus tool tray. Once I finished with that my wonderfully tuned and sharpened #6 arrived from Mauricio which showed me just how lacking and out of shape my current selection of tools were.

So I have set upon a side mission of getting the tools I have collected to build this bench with in good working order. If your tools don;t work then end result of your project will suffer the consequences (and so will your back and shoulders lol).

I am wrapping up my hand planes and have built up quite a nice selection of them.










Next up will be learning saw sharpening. I have about 5 saws, some rip and some crosscut as well as a dovetail saw and a backsaw that all need some bit of attention or another. These will be crucial in the upcoming steps of cutting tenons and trimming the top.

After that will be sharpening up my small selection of chisels and we will be off to the races once again.

So right now my benchtop is acting as..well… a bench top on sawhorses lol.

HOWEVER…. I did get a workbench related project finished today.

Some of you may remember my earlier attempts at bench press turning a crank handle for my hand wheels.

The first version was pretty rough and looked like poo on a stick. I then turned a second one which worked ok but just never quite looked right.

I had every intention of replicating the second handle for use on the smaller wheel but when I was done I realized I REALLY liked what came out of the "lathe" only problem was it looked nothing like the first one and made it look pretty bad as well.

So off it came and yet another handle was turned and this time I can officially call them a set and done!

Off with the Pics! For all you Sailors out there…. there is a clue as to what will come for the handwheels in the third pic… second clue is that it will be fancy ;-)




























So what to do with the old handle? Well make an awl out of it of course!



















Stay tuned for more. I really hope to have some progress made on this very soon. Thank you for reading.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Where we are at since last update...*
> 
> OK, so I haven't had much progress going on since my last update other than finishing up the glueup of the top.
> 
> ...


progress. Keep it coming.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Where we are at since last update...*
> 
> OK, so I haven't had much progress going on since my last update other than finishing up the glueup of the top.
> 
> ...


Thanks Don. I hope to see more progress soon as well.. this thing needs to get built!


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*

Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.










Now as I sit here preparing to cut my first ever dovetails (seriously have never done this before) I need to get my saws in order. I have been putting off sharpening these for a while now and it is time I gave them some attention. What spurred this on was last night I picked out a cutoff from the oak pile to make a quick saw bench out of and when i started to cut it to length all of my cross cut saws just laughed at me and went no where with it. I think a butter knife is sharper.

So basically this will set me back a few more weeks probably but I need to build up a saw vise and get these sharpened up before they will be of any use to me.

I am also going to replace the gents handle on my 8" Crown with a new handle. I have a piece of cherry picked out for that.

So that is where the bench stands (or lays I should say) for now. Hopefully sometime before my soon to arrive son graduates high school this will get finished up!

My soon to be sawbench top ready to get flattened.










Somewhere in this pile are some legs I am sure of it…










The Crown about to get a facelift..










The offending saws.. right to left are.. Atkins Rip Saw, No-Name Cross Cut Saw, Disston Rip Saw and Tyzack and Sons Tenon Saw.


----------



## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...


Nice, Airframer! That DT saw will be pretty sweet when you rehandle it. I also like that tenon saw you have there.


----------



## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...


Airframer. I have some extra sharpening gear…send me a PM with watcha need and I will make it (or at least some of it)happen.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...


Well, the first attempt at the new handle failed.. well not so much failed as "I learned a lot from the build" lol. It was all going too well up till I started to mortise in the saw back (I even managed to cut the blade slot freehand perfectly! ) the mortise is too long and a smidge too wide so it looks funny. Time to start over armed with the knowledge gained from this attempt.

*@RG I just might hit you up for that stuff. I need to wait till payday next week before doing any spending though.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...


you're building quite a collection.


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...


Nice collection, I agree. Don't wait until you get a saw vice to get them sharp. Two scrap pieces of hardwood on each side of the saw blade then clamp it all in a vice works fine, but it's a bit of a pain to adjust. Better is to rip down the center of a piece of hardwood but stop just before the end (drilling a hole makes a good stop). Then slide that piece over your blade and clamp that in your vice. Saw that trick in a saw sharpening video on Paul Seller's master class site. It's free if you sign up. All a saw vice gets you I think is higher up and a little easier adjustment. Saw sharpening was intimidating to me at least, but it is a lot easier than I thought it would be. I did watch a lot of video on it though.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...


Thanks guy! I just posted some pics of the handle replacement surgery Here


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...


I might be willing to trade for a saw handle…

I too am flat broke till pay day.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...


if its cherry, i'd go BLO. I love the way cherry reacts to blo and the oils from your hands along with natural cherry darkening.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...


Alright man, your almost fully equipped now. Lets see some DT's!


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...


*Mauricio* Alright already! lol.. I DO need that saw bench and I DO still need to sharpen up atleast the big rip saw there. I have about 6' of 4/4 cherry to rip as a skirt before I can cut anything. I'm truckin' along on these projects though so it will.. be… soon!


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...


;-) Sounds good man, just making sure you keep your eye on the ball buddy! If you don't get this bench done before the baby comes its going to be a 2yr project. Bust out the circular saw and edge guide and Git er done man!

Just passing along the encouragement I needed and got when I was building my bench….


----------



## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Getting Ready To Cut Some Dovetails..*
> 
> Ok, so I got a little distracted with getting my hand plane assortment ready for work. I still have a couple more to go and another on the way but as it sits now I have a fully functional selection of old Stanleys that should get me wherever I need to go with them.
> 
> ...












Brandon was kind enough to give me this motivational poster. I feel the need to pass it along.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Forward Progress finally... Top Glue Up done and Legs started..*

So, it has been a few months since I have done any work on the bench. I think I needed a mental reset and to get through the rest of my wife's pregnancy distracted by small projects.

Now that that is over with and my shop is in a manageable condition again finally I can get back to work on this elephant of a project.

Having a newborn in the house has limited my available time in the shop but that seems to have focused my energy when I DO get in there to get something done while I can. So in short bursts of 5 - 30 mins depending on time of day and his temperament I have been able to finish gluing up the top of the bench and today I stopped by the local orange store and picked up some lumber for the legs finally.

The legs are made of 2 2X6 cedar planks laminated together. Why cedar? Why not. I needed some legs and the fir posts I had bough have pissed sap all over my shop floor over the last couple months and I shudder at the thought of running one of my Stanleys over that gunk so they are relegated to some other project down the road. The ceder is a nice stable wood, looks good and was reasonably priced so that is what I bought… whether or not I regret that later is to be decided. If you guys have any thoughts on that PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

As of writing this I am waiting on glue to dry on the legs and once that is done it will be time to clean them up and square them up then ready them for mortising and tenoning 

Progress pics to catch everyone up.










"Final" depth minus the front wall of the tool well..









LEGS!


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Forward Progress finally... Top Glue Up done and Legs started..*
> 
> So, it has been a few months since I have done any work on the bench. I think I needed a mental reset and to get through the rest of my wife's pregnancy distracted by small projects.
> 
> ...


Very nice progress AF  I don't see why cedar won't work for the legs either…


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Forward Progress finally... Top Glue Up done and Legs started..*
> 
> So, it has been a few months since I have done any work on the bench. I think I needed a mental reset and to get through the rest of my wife's pregnancy distracted by small projects.
> 
> ...


progress is good. I can't think of a reason to not use cedar either. I like cedar. Its an absolute joy to plane.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Forward Progress finally... Top Glue Up done and Legs started..*
> 
> So, it has been a few months since I have done any work on the bench. I think I needed a mental reset and to get through the rest of my wife's pregnancy distracted by small projects.
> 
> ...


You aren't kidding Don! As you can see I have been having too much fun planing this stuff


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## sgmdwk (Apr 10, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Forward Progress finally... Top Glue Up done and Legs started..*
> 
> So, it has been a few months since I have done any work on the bench. I think I needed a mental reset and to get through the rest of my wife's pregnancy distracted by small projects.
> 
> ...


Chuckling at the pile of shavings. Those who don't use hand planes will never know the pleasure that comes from a sharp iron. Looking forward to your next post.


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Forward Progress finally... Top Glue Up done and Legs started..*
> 
> So, it has been a few months since I have done any work on the bench. I think I needed a mental reset and to get through the rest of my wife's pregnancy distracted by small projects.
> 
> ...


^I need to find a good vintage jack plane for my Grampa. The other day he was watching me true up my tray bottoms on my toolchest and he grabbed his buck bros plane and started asking me how to tune it up (mind you he hates hand tools…or so he tells me). The planes sole is 1/8 out of flat and the casting is not thick enough to fix that.

*Airframer*, your bench is really starting to shape up to be a proper monster. Good work.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Forward Progress finally... Top Glue Up done and Legs started..*
> 
> So, it has been a few months since I have done any work on the bench. I think I needed a mental reset and to get through the rest of my wife's pregnancy distracted by small projects.
> 
> ...


It looking good Eric! The only knock on Cedar I can think of is the lightness but you should be alright. It will look good though thats for sure. I love the lock of western red cedar.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Forward Progress finally... Top Glue Up done and Legs started..*
> 
> So, it has been a few months since I have done any work on the bench. I think I needed a mental reset and to get through the rest of my wife's pregnancy distracted by small projects.
> 
> ...


Thanks Mauricio! I have been a bit concerned with the weight of the legs so far but I DO have plans for some sort of under bench tool storage which should makeup any weight lost in the base. Plus the weight of all the steel that will be going into the vises. Should be good to go.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Standing on it's own 4 legs...*

Time for some catch up and an update. Most of you who follow the workbench thread on the forum have already seen most of this but I feel compelled to keep this blog alive and I really need to resist the urge to spam the forum with progress updates and keep them here lol (sorry about that guys!).

So we left off with the legs being glued up so naturally the next step was to square them up and make them more "leg" like. I had to get creative with the clamping to make this happen so I invented a *********************************** wagon vise lol.




























Those who followed Mauricio's build will recognize this #6  Now on it's second bench build lol.










Which left me with 3 square legs and 1 whose glue up didn't make the cut and had to be replaced.










Then it was onto the mortising of the top and fitting the legs. I'll just let the rest of the pics speak for themselves here. This was my first "real" joinery and I had A LOT of fun and learned a lot chopping all these out. All said and done they all fit pretty good and will only need a little plugging on the sides along the top to clean them up.

















































































































































Next up is the deadman mortise on the under side of the bench and stretchers.. stay tuned for more!


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Standing on it's own 4 legs...*
> 
> Time for some catch up and an update. Most of you who follow the workbench thread on the forum have already seen most of this but I feel compelled to keep this blog alive and I really need to resist the urge to spam the forum with progress updates and keep them here lol (sorry about that guys!).
> 
> ...


Very nice work. Those angled mortises turned out great


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Standing on it's own 4 legs...*
> 
> Time for some catch up and an update. Most of you who follow the workbench thread on the forum have already seen most of this but I feel compelled to keep this blog alive and I really need to resist the urge to spam the forum with progress updates and keep them here lol (sorry about that guys!).
> 
> ...


Great work, perfect angles! So cool to see the #6 on its second bench build! I hadn't even thought of it that way, pretty cool.


----------



## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Standing on it's own 4 legs...*
> 
> Time for some catch up and an update. Most of you who follow the workbench thread on the forum have already seen most of this but I feel compelled to keep this blog alive and I really need to resist the urge to spam the forum with progress updates and keep them here lol (sorry about that guys!).
> 
> ...


Lookin good AF, almost there. Thought about how to do the short stretchers with the angled mortise? I had a thought of maybe dovetails cut into side of the legs and dowels through the tails? I don't know.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Standing on it's own 4 legs...*
> 
> Time for some catch up and an update. Most of you who follow the workbench thread on the forum have already seen most of this but I feel compelled to keep this blog alive and I really need to resist the urge to spam the forum with progress updates and keep them here lol (sorry about that guys!).
> 
> ...


The side stretchers are in coming and I will explain the whole process when it happens. I am still working out the details but I think what I have planned will work…. I think lol.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Standing on it's own 4 legs...*
> 
> Time for some catch up and an update. Most of you who follow the workbench thread on the forum have already seen most of this but I feel compelled to keep this blog alive and I really need to resist the urge to spam the forum with progress updates and keep them here lol (sorry about that guys!).
> 
> ...


*AF*, gimme a break. Your setting the bar WAYYYYY high! Outstanding joinery. I'm gonna go and sulk now.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Standing on it's own 4 legs...*
> 
> Time for some catch up and an update. Most of you who follow the workbench thread on the forum have already seen most of this but I feel compelled to keep this blog alive and I really need to resist the urge to spam the forum with progress updates and keep them here lol (sorry about that guys!).
> 
> ...


Eric, If you're really new to this stuff you better go see a physic and find out what famous woodworker you were in a previous life!!

Excellent work.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Standing on it's own 4 legs...*
> 
> Time for some catch up and an update. Most of you who follow the workbench thread on the forum have already seen most of this but I feel compelled to keep this blog alive and I really need to resist the urge to spam the forum with progress updates and keep them here lol (sorry about that guys!).
> 
> ...


Hah Don.. nope I have never really done much with woodworking before… well just before joining this site this year. Having a blast learning new stuff though 

Thanks a lot Gentlemen and stay tuned for more..


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Top Trimming and Prepping for the Deadman..*

First things first I trimmed the tenons that I left long flush with the top. My HF flush cut saw took care of that pretty quickly.










Then I wanted to square up one end of the bench.



















Eventually I will cut a tenon in here for the end cap.










The other end is waiting on the end caps and wagon vise hardware to determine where it will be cut.

Then I wanted to carve out the deadman groove before I forgot and ended up trying to cut it out upside down and backwards lol.

I also wanted to try out the Paul Sellers method of chopping a mortise here. It really IS as easy as he makes it look and I highly recommend anyone giving it a try. Once you get a rhythm going it goes pretty quick.

Here are some pics of the process and a quick video of the last 6 inches getting cut. It's a pretty boring video but you will see the process at least.





































































I would say the total time spent on the whole process was about 3 hours spread out across 2 days because of my work schedule.

Up next will be prepping and gluing up the stretchers and hopefully finishing the base. Then on to the vises. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Top Trimming and Prepping for the Deadman..*
> 
> First things first I trimmed the tenons that I left long flush with the top. My HF flush cut saw took care of that pretty quickly.
> 
> ...


Excellent work. Way to toe the line!!


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Top Trimming and Prepping for the Deadman..*
> 
> First things first I trimmed the tenons that I left long flush with the top. My HF flush cut saw took care of that pretty quickly.
> 
> ...


Eric, don't think I can keep up. Great work.


----------



## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Top Trimming and Prepping for the Deadman..*
> 
> First things first I trimmed the tenons that I left long flush with the top. My HF flush cut saw took care of that pretty quickly.
> 
> ...


Major galoot points Eric, well earned.


----------



## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Top Trimming and Prepping for the Deadman..*
> 
> First things first I trimmed the tenons that I left long flush with the top. My HF flush cut saw took care of that pretty quickly.
> 
> ...


Kickin a$$ and takin names!


----------



## terryR (Jan 30, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Top Trimming and Prepping for the Deadman..*
> 
> First things first I trimmed the tenons that I left long flush with the top. My HF flush cut saw took care of that pretty quickly.
> 
> ...


Extra credit for your high level of determination! You should send Narex a photo of that groovy work…who needs a routah?


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Top Trimming and Prepping for the Deadman..*
> 
> First things first I trimmed the tenons that I left long flush with the top. My HF flush cut saw took care of that pretty quickly.
> 
> ...


Way to go Eric, you didnt let your lack of router stop you.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*End Caps and Tool Well Started.. Two Steps Forward and Whatnot..*

Well, yesterday was almost a wash. The day started strong. I got everything setup to rip the bench side tool well wall to size. Then I decided to kill a few electrons and use the circular saw to get the job done quickly. Simple enough right? Well the saw decided to go walking about halfway through the cut for some reason and basically made that piece of cherry unusable. That almost has me sworn off of power tools for all but the hardest tasks. With power tools when things go south it happens in a hurry and there is almost no recovery time but when working with hand tools you get the chance to stop, adjust and carry on.

Anyway, enough of that rant. That left me with a couple choices. Redesign the endcaps and tool well to accomidate the cut error or go out to HD and drop some $$ on a new piece of wood. I reluctantly opted for the HD route.

I came home with a piece of 4/4 oak that fit the bill along with some "common" wood for the well bottom that has some really nice quilting all the way through it. According to the guy who I spoke to there the "common" species around here is spruce. whatever it is this is a nice looking piece of wood. I just have one knot along one edge to deal with and it is basically 100% clear as well 

I tried to get a pic of the quilting in this guy. You can see a bit of it here…



















I also got some maple for the parallel guide and possibly a plane swap build ;-)










So after that I started cutting the wagon ends tenon so I can fit the endcap there and begin laying out the vise hardware.



















Then I glued up the back of the tool well. This is yet another error on my part. I had intended to gut the groove for the well bottom in this before glueup but that slipped my mind in my rush to get this clamped so now I will have to do that with it installed on the bench.










Here's hoping today goes better than yesterday did…


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *End Caps and Tool Well Started.. Two Steps Forward and Whatnot..*
> 
> Well, yesterday was almost a wash. The day started strong. I got everything setup to rip the bench side tool well wall to size. Then I decided to kill a few electrons and use the circular saw to get the job done quickly. Simple enough right? Well the saw decided to go walking about halfway through the cut for some reason and basically made that piece of cherry unusable. That almost has me sworn off of power tools for all but the hardest tasks. With power tools when things go south it happens in a hurry and there is almost no recovery time but when working with hand tools you get the chance to stop, adjust and carry on.
> 
> ...


Its looking good.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *End Caps and Tool Well Started.. Two Steps Forward and Whatnot..*
> 
> Well, yesterday was almost a wash. The day started strong. I got everything setup to rip the bench side tool well wall to size. Then I decided to kill a few electrons and use the circular saw to get the job done quickly. Simple enough right? Well the saw decided to go walking about halfway through the cut for some reason and basically made that piece of cherry unusable. That almost has me sworn off of power tools for all but the hardest tasks. With power tools when things go south it happens in a hurry and there is almost no recovery time but when working with hand tools you get the chance to stop, adjust and carry on.
> 
> ...


Problems using tools with tails? Been there, done that! My nemesis is the routah. I can ruin more free hand work in five min than any one else. I double dare ya
Edit, dropped word. IPhone impaired


----------



## terryR (Jan 30, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *End Caps and Tool Well Started.. Two Steps Forward and Whatnot..*
> 
> Well, yesterday was almost a wash. The day started strong. I got everything setup to rip the bench side tool well wall to size. Then I decided to kill a few electrons and use the circular saw to get the job done quickly. Simple enough right? Well the saw decided to go walking about halfway through the cut for some reason and basically made that piece of cherry unusable. That almost has me sworn off of power tools for all but the hardest tasks. With power tools when things go south it happens in a hurry and there is almost no recovery time but when working with hand tools you get the chance to stop, adjust and carry on.
> 
> ...


Very nice work, Eric! You won't need those sawhorses much longer at the rate you work.

+1 to preferring handtools. slow and steady wins the race!


----------



## TimC (Sep 17, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *End Caps and Tool Well Started.. Two Steps Forward and Whatnot..*
> 
> Well, yesterday was almost a wash. The day started strong. I got everything setup to rip the bench side tool well wall to size. Then I decided to kill a few electrons and use the circular saw to get the job done quickly. Simple enough right? Well the saw decided to go walking about halfway through the cut for some reason and basically made that piece of cherry unusable. That almost has me sworn off of power tools for all but the hardest tasks. With power tools when things go south it happens in a hurry and there is almost no recovery time but when working with hand tools you get the chance to stop, adjust and carry on.
> 
> ...


Looking good!


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Finishing one endcap and cutting my first dovetails..*

Yesterday started with the bench side of the Toolwell. I glued up the back wall the night before and yesterday morning it was time to remove the clamps and rip that to the correct thickness. I decided to do it this way so I could clamp the other side to this one as a cutting guide. It worked pretty well.










A quick pass with the No 4 and it is done.










Then I trimmed up the leading edge where the dovetails will be and started on the mortise in the endcap. I used the same process as the deadman groove. The more I do this the better and faster I seem to get at it.



















I was feeling good about everything until I went to fit it to the end of the bench…. I had measured the piece wrong and it turned out to be upside down! Measure twice cut once folks. This could have been a disaster but it looks like this endcap will work on the other end with some tweaking so that is ok I suppose.



















So that meant starting a new endcap. Measured 3 times this time 'round and chopped out another mortise. This resulted in a nice blister on my hammering hand and a nicely fit endcap on the correct end of the bench finally 














































At this point the transition from endcap to the bench bothered me. I decided to fix that with a gap filler between the endcap and the first leg.










I was going to stop here for the day but I got a bug up my arse and decided it was all or nothing and started on my first ever dovetail. I was pretty nervous about this but how hard could it be? It's just cutting a few lines right? Well yes it is but different. One problem is that the bench top doesn't fit into my Moxon vise so it had to stay horizontal throughout this process and also the tails are slightly larger than my DT saw. I had to cut holding the saw sideways on my knees and finish the cut with my flush cut saw which is the only other saw with the same kerf size. Made for an interesting couple hours (yes hours lol.)

The pins were a bit easier as they DID fit into my moxon vise unfortunately I have discovered that my fret saw is possibly the worst saw ever manufactured so removing the waste between was a lot of fun… I see a new fret saw in my near future.

Anyway.. I'll finish this up with the usual series of pics taken during the process. The end result is a slightly loose and kinda ugly joint but I'm actually pretty proud of it considering. I just have 3 more of these joints to do before the bench is done  The good news is.. now that this is fitted I can FINALLY start on the wagon vise. I am really wanting to get a vise on here of some sort soon to help build the rest of the bench with. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing one endcap and cutting my first dovetails..*
> 
> Yesterday started with the bench side of the Toolwell. I glued up the back wall the night before and yesterday morning it was time to remove the clamps and rip that to the correct thickness. I decided to do it this way so I could clamp the other side to this one as a cutting guide. It worked pretty well.
> 
> ...


Eric, gotta love that long horizontal rip. Well done. And those dividers still are impressive !!


----------



## SRRieman (May 31, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing one endcap and cutting my first dovetails..*
> 
> Yesterday started with the bench side of the Toolwell. I glued up the back wall the night before and yesterday morning it was time to remove the clamps and rip that to the correct thickness. I decided to do it this way so I could clamp the other side to this one as a cutting guide. It worked pretty well.
> 
> ...


Nice build, I've checked out a couple of your other projects in the past and have liked what I've seen. Name catches on too ofcourse, but nevertheless good work. Check this out though - charles neil has a video on youtube somewhere, I think it's part of his pie chest series. In the video he makes some dovetails that were pretty gappy, not saying yours are…but I'm trying to learn the techniques myself. In the video, he has a pretty clever way of hiding the gaps. Try looking for it, I'm sure you'll be interested in giving it a shot.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing one endcap and cutting my first dovetails..*
> 
> Yesterday started with the bench side of the Toolwell. I glued up the back wall the night before and yesterday morning it was time to remove the clamps and rip that to the correct thickness. I decided to do it this way so I could clamp the other side to this one as a cutting guide. It worked pretty well.
> 
> ...


*Kevin* - this was the first time I had used them.. was happy to see they actually work as intended lol.

*Scott* - thanks for the heads up on that. I'll do some searching for those videos. I am pretty sure a few shims cleverly placed will do the trick though.


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing one endcap and cutting my first dovetails..*
> 
> Yesterday started with the bench side of the Toolwell. I glued up the back wall the night before and yesterday morning it was time to remove the clamps and rip that to the correct thickness. I decided to do it this way so I could clamp the other side to this one as a cutting guide. It worked pretty well.
> 
> ...


Those DT's will clean up fine! Great progress man!


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing one endcap and cutting my first dovetails..*
> 
> Yesterday started with the bench side of the Toolwell. I glued up the back wall the night before and yesterday morning it was time to remove the clamps and rip that to the correct thickness. I decided to do it this way so I could clamp the other side to this one as a cutting guide. It worked pretty well.
> 
> ...


glue 'em, stuff 'em and call it a day. Great progress. This bench came together pretty quick.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Wagon Vise Build is a Go Finally..*

This has been a relatively slow week build wise. I had a series of 15 hour nights at work which kept me out of the shop for most of it.

I did, however, find a few minutes here and there to get some work done on the wagon vise for the bench. I need to knock this out so I can finish up the endcaps and get started on the leg vise and stretchers then finally assemble the darn thing.

I am fashioning this after the benchcrafted wagon vise which is a departure from my original plan of the Maguire vise but this one is simpler with fewer parts. Simpler means less chance of failure and that sits fine with me.

The first step was to determine where the threaded rod would go and then build everything around that. For this I simply printed out the build instructions for the BC vise and used their layout template to find the center of the rod. Then I drilled a 1" hole which I then used to mark the bench with.










Then I found a cherry cutoff and made a couple cuts on the MS to get it into shape as a push block..




























Then I cut a notch in the wagon block to slip over the push block to get the center of gravity under the wagon block and not behind it.










I also cut a notch in the top of the push block which I forgot to take pics of but you will see in a minute anyway..

After that I drilled and carved out a nut sized hole for the 1" Acme nut to sit in… pretty proud of myself here.. this is as close to a perfect fit as I will ever see come out of this shop lol..










This is where it kinda slid downhill a bit. After a dry assembly I realized that I hadn't taken the top thickness into account and my wagon block was WAY too short. So after what I thought were some careful measuring and number crunches I laminated a piece of cherry to the top so it will match the dog strip.. well Math makes me sad most the time and this was the case here.. I was still short so I decided (for Brandons sake  ) to make the wagon block a contrasting color from the dog strip. Thus explains the Padauk top layer on this. So here is my happy rainbow of a wagon block that now sits a bit proud of the top. That will allow me to plane it down perfectly flush once completely assembled.



















Now that the block was done I can now use it to layout the mortise in the rod side of the vise.










Then out came the bit and brace to hog out as much material as possible since getting a chisel far enough in this will be difficult to say the least and my routah plane isn't finished yet…














































Then a dry assembly and this is where it sits now.



















I still need to fit a block in the end of the mortise for the support bearing to fit into but first I need to fabricate the rails and base so I can get the alignment just right.

Turning this pile of steel into said rails and base is this weekends project 










More to come. Thanks for reading!


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Build is a Go Finally..*
> 
> This has been a relatively slow week build wise. I had a series of 15 hour nights at work which kept me out of the shop for most of it.
> 
> ...


You've got drive!

Your build is coming along superbly. I will stay tuned to your vice build. I'm determined to get buy with purchasing only the lee valley screw for my wagon vice. Perhaps I can gain inspiration (aka steal ideas) from your build.


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Build is a Go Finally..*
> 
> This has been a relatively slow week build wise. I had a series of 15 hour nights at work which kept me out of the shop for most of it.
> 
> ...


Eric, severe envy heading your way on this. So many wagon vices popping up, none of them on my bench!

Your build is looking great, even the rainbow block!  That steel doesn't stand a chance, you got this. Great series of pics to go with the story, too.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Build is a Go Finally..*
> 
> This has been a relatively slow week build wise. I had a series of 15 hour nights at work which kept me out of the shop for most of it.
> 
> ...


Eric, your doin' it! Can't wait to see the finished vise. How did you make all those auger holes uniform depth? Count turns or depth stop?


----------



## CL810 (Mar 21, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Build is a Go Finally..*
> 
> This has been a relatively slow week build wise. I had a series of 15 hour nights at work which kept me out of the shop for most of it.
> 
> ...


Looks good AF!


----------



## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Build is a Go Finally..*
> 
> This has been a relatively slow week build wise. I had a series of 15 hour nights at work which kept me out of the shop for most of it.
> 
> ...


Keep doing the good work Eric!


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Build is a Go Finally..*
> 
> This has been a relatively slow week build wise. I had a series of 15 hour nights at work which kept me out of the shop for most of it.
> 
> ...


Thanks folks. I am determined to finish this before the end of summer. This build has dragged on long enough lol.

*Smitty* - The thought of retrofitting a wagon vise to your bench makes me shudder but, of anyone could make it happen you could lol.

*Kevin* - I made a tape "flag" attached to the chuck that once at the correct depth it touched the square I have standing on end to keep the brace vertical.. you can almost see it in this pic..


----------



## terryR (Jan 30, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Build is a Go Finally..*
> 
> This has been a relatively slow week build wise. I had a series of 15 hour nights at work which kept me out of the shop for most of it.
> 
> ...


Looks awesome, Eric. Thanks for sharing all the photos.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Build is a Go Finally..*
> 
> This has been a relatively slow week build wise. I had a series of 15 hour nights at work which kept me out of the shop for most of it.
> 
> ...


*Eric*, thanks. BTW I spy a couple of Fender axes in the background.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Build is a Go Finally..*
> 
> This has been a relatively slow week build wise. I had a series of 15 hour nights at work which kept me out of the shop for most of it.
> 
> ...


I thought I posted an atta boy on this, but the "on the bench" shot must have blinded my senses. Either that of the internet swallowed the wrong post!


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Build is a Go Finally..*
> 
> This has been a relatively slow week build wise. I had a series of 15 hour nights at work which kept me out of the shop for most of it.
> 
> ...


HAH! 'twas probably the glare from the top 'o' my head ;-)

Thanks Don!


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Wagon Vise Cont'd......*

So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…










I started with one of the thin pieces. I measured and scored a line the full length to mark the depth of the channel for the 2 rails.










Measured for the rail length..










Then with this piece on top I stacked all 3 pieces and clamped them together and cut the first rail to length with a cut off wheel in my angle grinder. Gotta love the smell of burnt metal in the morning 



















Next without un-clamping them I drilled the holes for the steel rivets that will hold them all together.. (I broke a bit in one of the holes so I had to drill a neighboring one.. ignore the hole with the x on it lol..)



















Then I un-clamped the stack.. flipped the top piece with the score mark upside down and placed it into the middle of the stack and riveted them together. This creates the channel in the rail.



















A quick test fit to see how she slides and it works like a charm 










Then I drilled for the mounting screws and countersunk them..










After that I could use the mounting holes to mount it to the side of a scrap 4×4 and using the cutoff wheel trim off the excess from the middle layer on the back.










Hit that with the flap disc and we have 1 rail ready to go…



















Rinse and repeat for the other side and both rails are done..










Next comes the sled. For this I am using the wider piece and a thinner piece that is the size of the wagon block.

Measured the length of the block and cut the guides to length..










The next step I forgot to get pics of mainly because it requires 3 hands to keep everything aligned before clamping. Basically I placed both guides on the bench, laid the steel plate on top and then the wagon block on top of that and squared everything up and adjusted the guides till they were just a smidge wider than the slot in the rails. Marked that up, clamped and then drilled for the rivets. This is where everything ended tonight because I forgot to go get some shorter rivets for this part of the build today.

Here is where we sit for tonight.




























I hope to get this all assembled and functional tomorrow (fingers crossed on that).

As always more to come..


----------



## widdle (Mar 10, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


Wow…impressive…


----------



## Belg1960 (Jan 3, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


Eric, I love solutions like this. I have never seen a wagon vise no less try to create one from scratch, I will watch the rest of the build with great interest. If I can ask what will hold the huge nut in the nicely cut recess when the vise is reversed??


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


Damn, I needs me an angle grinder and a rivet-popper-thinger, this awesome!!! Love the picture telling too, it's great!


----------



## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


AirFramer for President of the Genius Club!

Impressive work Eric, keep at it Bro.


----------



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


Great work Eric and a great design too.


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


This bench is going to be awesome, and you can say you did everything but the threading yourself. Pretty cool


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## DonBroussard (Mar 27, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


More great progress, Eric! I am just thinking that, if you didn't "have" to stop to document the process for our benefit, you'd probably be finished already! Thanks for taking pics and writing up your story. I'm enjoying every update.


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## BigRedKnothead (Dec 21, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


I love how your willing to push yourself. Must be paying off. I've only been on LJS 6months, and it seems like you've grown a lot as a woodworker.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


*Eric* , Its going to be a remarkable vise. Don't see how it could ever sag. I'll send you my address for shipping. I guess I could pay for the shipping!


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


Thanks everybody! Just a note that I forgot to put in the write up.. everything you see here (minus the handwheel, Acme rod and bearing) can be purchased at your local hardware store. I got all the steel at HD and the riveter at Ace. The other 3 items can be found online relatively cheaply as well. I added it all up last night and grand total for the wagon build so far is 'round about $80. Compared to $369 for the BC version I think I am on top a bit. not quite as nice as that one but it should function just the sa

*Smitty* - Yes.. yes you do need one. It's a whole lot of fun lol.

*Waho* - I'll have to withdraw my nomination for that club… I'm more of the "Cheap Dumba#@ who doesn't know any better" club type ;-)

*Mos* - I have been trying to do as much fabricating on this as I can mostly for the reason you stated. That and it is just simply cheaper to put in the extra few minutes to do it yourself. Although.. still not as cool as building this in an apartment on a workmate 

*DonB* - The documenting is part of the fun!

*BRK* - Thanks Man!

*Kevin* - I am pretty sure you could make this yourself ;-) I think the shipping would cost more than the materials involved lol.


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


well, to be fair, I did most of the work on a workmate and/or folding table in my parents' garage, but thanks 

Cost was also part of why I ended up making my own wooden screws, as opposed to buying hardware for the leg vise and wagon vise… I like the wooden screw on the wagon vise, but I'm not sure I'm sold on the leg vise yet. I'm thinking at some point it may have to get replaced with a larger diameter one


----------



## Boatman53 (May 21, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


Nice job Eric. I love how you put that wagon vise together.
Jim


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


sweet.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


sweet.


----------



## CL810 (Mar 21, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


Impressive indeed! Favorited this for my bench build down the road.


----------



## Cantputjamontoast (Jan 1, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


I am very interested in this .
I have a couple of large diam. screws that need some guidance

Thank you for sharing this


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd......*
> 
> So, we left off with this pile of steel waiting to be turned into a wagon vise…
> 
> ...


+1 to what Smitty said. This blog opens up a whole new realm of possibilities I have never thought of with simple bar stock, rivets, and an angle grinder. I need to buy me these tools!

The vise is going to be great!


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Wagon Vise Cont'd...Again...*

Well, I didn't get as far as I had hoped yesterday but progress was made…

I finally got the shorter rivets and attached the runners to the base plate. If I had been able to find 3/16" thick plating large enough to make this all one piece that probably would have been better but this will work.










Then I drilled the dog hole, which was an experience in and of it's self. My drill press doesn't do straight holes so I was free handing this. I discovered that I don't have a 3/4" auger bit for my brace so I had to kill some electrons to do this. After many failed attempts to put a straight hole in some scrap wood to use as a guide I finally got it "mostly vertical". The hole leans a bit to one side but I think I can deal with that. I also used my dremel and cut an exit hole through the base plate for the dog.










Then I positioned the block onto the base and a couple wacks with a mallet marked where the rivets were. That allowed me to recess those spots so it would sit flush with the bottom.










Outlined the block, measured and drilled for the mounting screw holes..










Then a trip to the oil stone to flatten and polish up the runners a bit..



















Attached the block and now it was time to sort out the shims and rails and get everything aligned.



















Did a dry fit and marked the mounting holes for the flange bearing.. drilled, tapped and installed..



















I had to attach a block at the end of the channel for the stop bearing. This bit was tricky. The OD for the bearing is 1 1/2" and my biggest bit is 1". So I started with a 1 1/4" hole cutter and gut to the depth needed. That was followed by a 1" spade bit. That was then followed up by some free hand dremeling to get to the size needed.




























Mixed some 5 min epoxy and with some shimming and creative clamping got the bearing seated in just the right spot to hold everything aligned straight..



















Glued up some shims for the rails and now we wait on more shop time to get this finished up. Almost there I think..


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd...Again...*
> 
> Well, I didn't get as far as I had hoped yesterday but progress was made…
> 
> ...


Eric, I'm still amazed at what your are doing. Keep it up.

Had to leave my bench build alone for a few weeks, hope to be back at t this week.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd...Again...*
> 
> Well, I didn't get as far as I had hoped yesterday but progress was made…
> 
> ...


that's gettin 'ur done!!!


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd...Again...*
> 
> Well, I didn't get as far as I had hoped yesterday but progress was made…
> 
> ...


Really cool man. I like the use of the bearing. My bearing is just a little piece of wood with a hole in it.


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd...Again...*
> 
> Well, I didn't get as far as I had hoped yesterday but progress was made…
> 
> ...


Nice work. Only went with 1 dog hole in it? Was there a reason it was so long with only one dog?


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd...Again...*
> 
> Well, I didn't get as far as I had hoped yesterday but progress was made…
> 
> ...


*Mos* - you mean other than the fact that I hadn't even thought about that till you said something? No… now it's bothering me. Stuck at work right now. I'll have a look and see what I can do about that tomorrow.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd...Again...*
> 
> Well, I didn't get as far as I had hoped yesterday but progress was made…
> 
> ...


I am definitely impressed with your abilities, AF…

I was thinking one do would be sufficient, but now that Mos mentions it, multiple dog holes mean less travel tome for the user?


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise Cont'd...Again...*
> 
> Well, I didn't get as far as I had hoped yesterday but progress was made…
> 
> ...


Not saying it's an issue, I was just curious. I opted for single dog, and short wagon because I had a pretty limited amount of room for the whole wagon vise, so I wanted to maximize the travel of it. I just didn't know if there was reason for a longer wagon or not, as I hadn't researched that any


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Going Backwards Again.. But for a Good Cause..*

Last night a fellow LJ asked a question that had me pondering all night at work. He asked why only one dog hole in such a big block. I really had not thought about that and it makes sense to have a shorter block with only one dog. You get a lot more travel and use out of the vise and what is the use of having a vise that is only partially mission capable?

So this morning I sat down and stared at the wagon block for a bit trying to work out what I was to do and that is when I noticed a few errors in construction besides the crooked dog hole in a large block.. the sides were sloped upwards and the top wasn't flat. That is why my initial attempt at a straight dog hole using a jig resulted in a piss poor hole. Then I went to remove the sled and found one of the attaching fasteners had snapped in half during assembly (something I hadn't noticed) it was forward of the dog hole so that kinda settled the short long block question. So now the entire block assembly was irritating me and I thought about what my Grandpa (who was a West Texas oil worker his entire life) told me once when I was 10 and trying to half ass my way through setting up a fishing pole… "No point in wasting the time if you aren't willing to slow down and do the damn thing right".. so I set up to do some over hauling of the block.

First thing first.. remove the laminate on top so I can add a new (square) one.










After that was off I glued up another rainbow. Planed the top of the block flat this time and plugged the dog hole.



















While that was gluing I measured and cut down the sled assembly to it's new length..



















Drilled a new mounting hole and added a couple more rivets to the aft end just to strengthen it up a bit while I was at it. Then set up for a new dog hole. This time the hole came out MUCH straighter and it is something I can very much live with.

So now with all this stuff gluing up I figured I would go ahead and epoxy in the nut into the block so it can cure up overnight while I am at work.










So like I said in the title.. a few steps backwards but now I have the chance to get it right and have a finished product that doesn't bug me everytime I look at it lol.

After the glue dries and the new laminate is added I can cut down the block and finally do some final assembly on this. I hope to have a moving wagon vise vid in the very near future. Stay Tuned…


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Going Backwards Again.. But for a Good Cause..*
> 
> Last night a fellow LJ asked a question that had me pondering all night at work. He asked why only one dog hole in such a big block. I really had not thought about that and it makes sense to have a shorter block with only one dog. You get a lot more travel and use out of the vise and what is the use of having a vise that is only partially mission capable?
> 
> ...


Bravo! (Your grandad was right…)


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Going Backwards Again.. But for a Good Cause..*
> 
> Last night a fellow LJ asked a question that had me pondering all night at work. He asked why only one dog hole in such a big block. I really had not thought about that and it makes sense to have a shorter block with only one dog. You get a lot more travel and use out of the vise and what is the use of having a vise that is only partially mission capable?
> 
> ...


it was just an innocent curiosity, I swear! lol At least it looks like you're happier with your results this time around. Looking forward to seeing a functional wagon vise. I know when I got mine working, I spent probably half an hour just planing random scraps… I couldn't help myself! lol


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Going Backwards Again.. But for a Good Cause..*
> 
> Last night a fellow LJ asked a question that had me pondering all night at work. He asked why only one dog hole in such a big block. I really had not thought about that and it makes sense to have a shorter block with only one dog. You get a lot more travel and use out of the vise and what is the use of having a vise that is only partially mission capable?
> 
> ...


Thanks Smitty.

Mos.. no blame being passed. I'm glad you said something now rather than later lol.


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Going Backwards Again.. But for a Good Cause..*
> 
> Last night a fellow LJ asked a question that had me pondering all night at work. He asked why only one dog hole in such a big block. I really had not thought about that and it makes sense to have a shorter block with only one dog. You get a lot more travel and use out of the vise and what is the use of having a vise that is only partially mission capable?
> 
> ...


Way to go Eric, take the time and get it right. The shorter block will also give you more space for vertical clamping.


----------



## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Going Backwards Again.. But for a Good Cause..*
> 
> Last night a fellow LJ asked a question that had me pondering all night at work. He asked why only one dog hole in such a big block. I really had not thought about that and it makes sense to have a shorter block with only one dog. You get a lot more travel and use out of the vise and what is the use of having a vise that is only partially mission capable?
> 
> ...


Nice save man.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Going Backwards Again.. But for a Good Cause..*
> 
> Last night a fellow LJ asked a question that had me pondering all night at work. He asked why only one dog hole in such a big block. I really had not thought about that and it makes sense to have a shorter block with only one dog. You get a lot more travel and use out of the vise and what is the use of having a vise that is only partially mission capable?
> 
> ...


Nicely done AF.

I tend to do things hastily too often. I'm hoping to develop more patience and thoughtfulness in this fine joinery endeavor. Mostly, I hope I can recognize if I'm doing something I will regret, and just as importantly, correct it early rather than late.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Going Backwards Again.. But for a Good Cause..*
> 
> Last night a fellow LJ asked a question that had me pondering all night at work. He asked why only one dog hole in such a big block. I really had not thought about that and it makes sense to have a shorter block with only one dog. You get a lot more travel and use out of the vise and what is the use of having a vise that is only partially mission capable?
> 
> ...


I tend to do the same thing. Once in a while you just have to take a breath and start over.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Going Backwards Again.. But for a Good Cause..*
> 
> Last night a fellow LJ asked a question that had me pondering all night at work. He asked why only one dog hole in such a big block. I really had not thought about that and it makes sense to have a shorter block with only one dog. You get a lot more travel and use out of the vise and what is the use of having a vise that is only partially mission capable?
> 
> ...


Thanks for the support guys lol.

Yep, I have always believed that problems don't exist only solutions that haven't been found yet.

Hopefully I can get the rails on tomorrow and start some forward momentum again


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Wagon Vise is Alive!*

Well, after the setback I spent most of this morning and a few hours after work finishing this up.

After the initial assembly there were some sticky spots that got fixed with a chisel and then there was some major sticking towards the end of the run on the end cap side of things. That took about 3 hours to get figured out. The bearing flange needs to be shimmed on one side so I need to come up with a creative tapered washer of some sort. Am kinda leaning towards a leather compression washer but we will see what works best. Right now I just have a shim under one corner holding it in position.

I was so in the zone that I didn't take any pictures of the rebuild but it went mostly the same way as the initial build.

So… it's not perfect or even pretty but it works and I made it lol. I still want to polish the threads and lube it up real good but here is a Mos style video of the vise in motion.

The bench is upside down but you can clearly see the plate moving.






Next up is to cut the dado on the end caps and tool well walls and back to dovetailing them together.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise is Alive!*
> 
> Well, after the setback I spent most of this morning and a few hours after work finishing this up.
> 
> ...


Well done AF! At the rate you work, the entire bench should be complete before dinner. Please post pics.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise is Alive!*
> 
> Well, after the setback I spent most of this morning and a few hours after work finishing this up.
> 
> ...


Oh yea, he's doin' it!


----------



## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise is Alive!*
> 
> Well, after the setback I spent most of this morning and a few hours after work finishing this up.
> 
> ...


Excellent Eric, you've really pumped this bench build out. Its gonna be really nice all put together.


----------



## terryR (Jan 30, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise is Alive!*
> 
> Well, after the setback I spent most of this morning and a few hours after work finishing this up.
> 
> ...


That's awesome, Eric. Set backs are normal…how you deal with them shows your skill and intestinal fortitude! Bud, you get an A+ in my book all the way around…


----------



## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise is Alive!*
> 
> Well, after the setback I spent most of this morning and a few hours after work finishing this up.
> 
> ...


Good show Eric!


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise is Alive!*
> 
> Well, after the setback I spent most of this morning and a few hours after work finishing this up.
> 
> ...


Very nice


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise is Alive!*
> 
> Well, after the setback I spent most of this morning and a few hours after work finishing this up.
> 
> ...


When do I get my prototype for evaluation? I can't wait!


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Wagon Vise is Alive!*
> 
> Well, after the setback I spent most of this morning and a few hours after work finishing this up.
> 
> ...


Really amazing job on this Eric!


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Endcap Part Deux....*

Now that the wagon vise is sorted out and functioning quite well I might add (am having too much fun with it right now tbh).. Last night after work (1am.. pretty sure my neighbors hate me right now) I decided to go ahead and make the 1" dog for the vise.

Fairly straight forward. Sanded the 1" dowel slightly to give it a smooth fit (using the vise to do it no less  )










Then cut to length, cut an angled notch at the top and then used my 1/4" chisel to cut a grove down the back. I then cut a scrap of pig skin and glued it into the groove fuzzy side up to give it some grip in the hole. I also added some to the face of the dog.

Turned out OK. I'll probably re-do it soon because I'd like it to be a bit longer but it works pretty good for now.





































This morning I turned my attention to the other endcap. Measured and laid out all my cuts.










Then hogged out the waste from the area just aft of the dovetail.










After that I cheated a bit and set my circular saw to the depth of the tenons shoulder and cut 2 lines. One is the length of the tenon and the other is the shoulder cut. I used the first cut as a saw guide to finish it off with the hand saw. If I had a stair saw I probably would have used it for the shoulder cut but alas I haven't gotten around to that build yet.










Flush cut the bottom of the tenon on the back wall and then it was just a matter of chopping off the waste between the cuts. This is pretty fun if you haven't ever done it.










(BTW I am really impressed with the NAREX chisels now that I have started using them. Good bang for the buck)










Then a test fit… That'll do pig…




























Next up are 3 more sets of dovetails and some channels around the bottom of the tool well and this can be assembled together finally.

It's almost looking like a proper bench now… almost..










Stay tuned…


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Endcap Part Deux....*
> 
> Now that the wagon vise is sorted out and functioning quite well I might add (am having too much fun with it right now tbh).. Last night after work (1am.. pretty sure my neighbors hate me right now) I decided to go ahead and make the 1" dog for the vise.
> 
> ...


*Eric*, gutsy moves! Tenon fit looked pretty tight. Bottom of the tool well should push that slight bend out and I think plywood would be your best material choice. More stable, less chance of expanding too much.


----------



## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Endcap Part Deux....*
> 
> Now that the wagon vise is sorted out and functioning quite well I might add (am having too much fun with it right now tbh).. Last night after work (1am.. pretty sure my neighbors hate me right now) I decided to go ahead and make the 1" dog for the vise.
> 
> ...


If it expands too much, Eric will just growl at it and it'll retract.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Endcap Part Deux....*
> 
> Now that the wagon vise is sorted out and functioning quite well I might add (am having too much fun with it right now tbh).. Last night after work (1am.. pretty sure my neighbors hate me right now) I decided to go ahead and make the 1" dog for the vise.
> 
> ...


I have a beautiful piece of Spruce for the well bottom. It's clear and has some very nice birds eyes all the way through it. Found it at HD in the "common" section. I also plan to make the dados slightly deeper then the bottom is wide to accommodate any expansion of the top (hopefully).

Also.. the temp in the shop stays pretty stable throughout the year so if anything it will contract more than it will expand. This is the warmest it gets around here and it's just a hair above 71 outside today


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Endcap Part Deux....*
> 
> Now that the wagon vise is sorted out and functioning quite well I might add (am having too much fun with it right now tbh).. Last night after work (1am.. pretty sure my neighbors hate me right now) I decided to go ahead and make the 1" dog for the vise.
> 
> ...


*waho*,Oh, I hadn't thought about that! Bad Till


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Endcap Part Deux....*
> 
> Now that the wagon vise is sorted out and functioning quite well I might add (am having too much fun with it right now tbh).. Last night after work (1am.. pretty sure my neighbors hate me right now) I decided to go ahead and make the 1" dog for the vise.
> 
> ...


Great progress Eric! I like the leather on the dog idea.

Are you planning on putting 1" dog holes on the rest of the bench? Just curious because most dog accessories and hold fasts fit 3/4" holes.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Endcap Part Deux....*
> 
> Now that the wagon vise is sorted out and functioning quite well I might add (am having too much fun with it right now tbh).. Last night after work (1am.. pretty sure my neighbors hate me right now) I decided to go ahead and make the 1" dog for the vise.
> 
> ...


Nope the rest will be 3/4". The only reason that one is 1" is because I needed to scoot it over to center so that was the best course of action as far as I could tell.. aside form starting over a 3rd time…


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*

Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.

We left off with a partially fitted end cap in the last blog. A bit more progress has been made there. I have the Dovetails cut and "fitted (will require more plugs and shims.. perhaps by the 4th dovetail I will have this figured out?)

As before I added a filler piece..










Love these things!










Put on some SRV and got to work..



















This time I positioned the top in a more saw friendly position. Helped a lot.. (which inspired the saw bench.. see how this goes?).





































Then I wanted to add some support to the back wall of the tool well. I have been worried about the thickness of the wall since I added it. I seems to me it would flex too much during seasonal expansion of the top so I added some oak to the back side as a support..

I didn't spend too much time making it pretty.. it's on the bottom and covered anyway. I just needed it to funtion… I think it will do fine.










Then this morning I started on the dados that will hold the tray bottom in. I opted to just chop out the ones on the end caps since stopped dados can get tricky with a plow plane and I would have had to chop most of it out anyway to get the plane to work properly. The new mallet just laughed at this and it took all of about 20 mins from layout to finished for both sides to be done.























































Test fit and checking if it is consistent across the bottom.. pretty darn close enough..




























Now time to get this iron sharpened and get the other 2 walls done.. but that is for tomorrow.










Thanks for reading and stay tuned..


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


Nice, when I did the dovetails for my endcaps and tool tray, I also used my saw bench, but I used a tenon saw lol


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


My tenon saw is among those that need sharpening. I have to use this and finish up with my flush cut saw. Takes a bit more time but works so far.


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


if it works it works lol


----------



## timd (Jul 21, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


Nice technique on the workbench and a salute to SRV. Trying to hit a few of his licks myself.


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


Sweet progress man. The DT's have gotten much better.

Is that blood splatter I spot on the old mallet?

Looking forward to seeing the plow plane in action!


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


its coming together nice….


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


Looking fine and +1 to what Maur said about the plow!


----------



## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I saw the blood drops on the mallet, too. CSI: lumberjocks.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


HAH! I had to scroll up to see what you guys were talking about. That is Padouk shavings on the mallet (it does look a bit gruesome though doesn't it lol).


----------



## DonBroussard (Mar 27, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


@Eric-Fine work going on in the shop. I saw what look like blood drippings too-thought you had finished your mallet in Type A. Dovetails and mortises are looking very well. More galoot points on the way-you should be able to get a couple of nights' hotel stays with all those galoot points building up!


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


You are bulldozing this build. I am quite impressed. Dovetails are looking good!


----------



## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Back at it.. Fitting the Tool Well...*
> 
> Well, now that I am done distracting myself with mallets, saw benches and cleaning it is time to get back at this. I have set an arbitrary deadline of September(ish) for completion of this bench so it is time to ramp things up a bit.
> 
> ...


I had the same thought on the "blood spatter" shot.

Can't wait to see that plow put to use. Keep up the good work sir.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*

We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.

To start I needed to cut the remaining dovetails so I would know where the dados should stop to not be seen on the out side of the bench.

I am sooooo glad this is over with. I would love to say I got better with each one but I really didn't. I did learn something new on each one but the mistakes kept coming and it will be fun cleaning these up but oh well… they are done and out of my hair now.














































Now to cut the well bottom to length..










Then I got started on the front and back wall of the toolwell. I scored a couple very deep lines to outline the cut then went over the line with a chisel to further score it.

After that it was a matter of getting my plow plane (Thanks Ryan!) usable and cut the dado. The blade is a 1/2" blade and the well bottom is almost 3/4" so I had to cut the groove and then chop the rest with a chisel.

It came out pretty darn good really. Nice and tight (but not too tight for movement).





































Then the front wall was a totally different story. This piece of oak has the most difficult grain pattern I have ever worked with. It seemed to change direction about every 4 inches. After fighting through tearout and such I got it "cleaned up" and fitted. Not as pretty as I had hoped but it will do and I will probably be the only one to see the bad spots.



















Then it was just a matter of putting it all together to make sure it all lines up and fits.










And whalla! The top is ready for final assembly! I had to have my wife help me lift it back onto the saw horses lol. I really need to weigh this thing.










I also checked a couple of tools for fit.

My large Atkins rip saw just barely sits below the top edge..










And my no 7 is a bit too tall to sit upright but fits nicely on it's side.



















Now to get this put together and start on my stretchers, leg vise and deadman. Almost there! Pretty excited about that 

Stay tuned!


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


Moving right along Eric. I love that Ohio Tools Plow.


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


Very nice work


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


Man… You are moving.

Top is looking great!


----------



## kenn (Mar 19, 2008)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


It is a lot of work but you are in the home stretch now, looking good.


----------



## lysdexic (Mar 21, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


Beautiful. Remind me again what your plan is for dog holes.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


3/4" holes roughly 3" on center is my plan. I am trying to decide if I need to flatten first then drill or drill then flatten. I'm guessing flatten first.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


I'd flatten first to.


----------



## lysdexic (Mar 21, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


+1 to DonW


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


Great action shots Eric. I bet that plow plane sings a beautiful song.

The top is looking great. I think you'll like the tool well. At least I do. Make it much easier to keep tools from falling off the bench. I little compressed air cleans it out in a second.


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


Eric, well done!~ Benchtop is looking great, I'll be you can't wait to use it. On the 'ramp' discussion, how about including one on a single side and see how you like it?


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


I kinda like the idea of one ramp… my OCD might win out and include a second one though.. you know… to keep things even lol.


----------



## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing up the Toolwell... All downhill from here.. I think..*
> 
> We last ended with the second dovetail and the end caps mortised for the tool well ends. After a week of no progress in the shop I finally had some time this weekend to get something done.
> 
> ...


Awesome post. I am quite behind but this bench is going together very nicely.

At least one ramp needed though. Not a toolwell fan (even though I have one), without ramps it would REALLY by annoying to clean up.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Final Assembly of the Top...*

I couldn't wait till tomorrow to put the top together. This did not go without it's fair share of oh sh#t moments one of which almost had me starting the whole thing over almost.. But I'm getting ahead of myself..

I had planned to use pegs instead of bolts. I am trying to keep the number of mechanical fasteners to a minimum on this so lets have a go at it..

Marked out the location of the peg holes and drilled just the end caps..










Then fitted them and marked the hole locations on the tenons..










After they were marked I marked slightly inboard of that mark to suck the ends up nice and tight to the bench top. I drilled these out all but one hole slightly elongated to allow for expansion.. I might have f'd that away but we will see how it goes..










After that I drilled for the pegged dovetails. I chose to peg these as well as glue them because of how loose they are from my stunning handy work..

This required some specialized equipment lol..




























Then cut and shaped some pegs and went to work gluing this up..










Which went fine until I was pounding the peg into the front left corner dovetail. I wasn't paying attention to the bottom of the dovetail until I heard a crack split noise ( we all know that noise ) .. apparently something had shifted quite a bit since I drilled the hole and the bottom hole did not line up with the rest and I had beat the peg straight into the bottom pin splitting it off of the endcap.

After unleashing a flurry of profanities I quickly cut the bottom of the peg flush with the bottom tail and glued up the split before it completely let go of the endcap.

This…. I did not get pictures of but it glued up relatively seamlessly and since it is not on the wagon vise end I am not too worried about it.

So after letting my heart get back into my chest I finished up the pegs and cut some shims for the dovetails..










Just needed a few LOL!




























After those dried I flush cut the dt's with the bench and couldn't resist trying it with the legs on.

Pretty exciting to get it to this point.



















But I still have a ways to go before I am allowed to use it for anything…










Gotta keep the eyes on the prize and not get distracted lol..


----------



## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Final Assembly of the Top...*
> 
> I couldn't wait till tomorrow to put the top together. This did not go without it's fair share of oh sh#t moments one of which almost had me starting the whole thing over almost.. But I'm getting ahead of myself..
> 
> ...


GitRdun! Glad nothing completely devastating happened.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Final Assembly of the Top...*
> 
> I couldn't wait till tomorrow to put the top together. This did not go without it's fair share of oh sh#t moments one of which almost had me starting the whole thing over almost.. But I'm getting ahead of myself..
> 
> ...


Its getting close now.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Final Assembly of the Top...*
> 
> I couldn't wait till tomorrow to put the top together. This did not go without it's fair share of oh sh#t moments one of which almost had me starting the whole thing over almost.. But I'm getting ahead of myself..
> 
> ...


I'm highly impressed with the determination you have displayed in this build. I really don't know how you are managing it. I'm guessing you stayed up late last night. Ant the bench looks beautiful. I am sure this had to be a very exciting night.

I think you just gave me an epiphany! A to do list!


----------



## kenn (Mar 19, 2008)

Airframer said:


> *Final Assembly of the Top...*
> 
> I couldn't wait till tomorrow to put the top together. This did not go without it's fair share of oh sh#t moments one of which almost had me starting the whole thing over almost.. But I'm getting ahead of myself..
> 
> ...


The main problem I seem to have with my to do list is that crap gets added faster than I can cross stuff off! Looking good, keep at it and you'll be making stuff soon.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Final Assembly of the Top...*
> 
> I couldn't wait till tomorrow to put the top together. This did not go without it's fair share of oh sh#t moments one of which almost had me starting the whole thing over almost.. But I'm getting ahead of myself..
> 
> ...


The list came about because I didn't want to forget or skip an important step at this late stage in the game. I realized last night I should have waited to assemble the tool well until the base was finished so I could drawbore the beck legs in. Now I'm going to have to wedge them. Not a major setback but could have been avoided had I just thought ahead a bit.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Final Assembly of the Top...*
> 
> I couldn't wait till tomorrow to put the top together. This did not go without it's fair share of oh sh#t moments one of which almost had me starting the whole thing over almost.. But I'm getting ahead of myself..
> 
> ...


Eric, end in sight! And remember "follow the List, Eric" (star wars voice in your head)


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Final Assembly of the Top...*
> 
> I couldn't wait till tomorrow to put the top together. This did not go without it's fair share of oh sh#t moments one of which almost had me starting the whole thing over almost.. But I'm getting ahead of myself..
> 
> ...


Looking great Eric, the DT's look a lot like the ones on my bench.

Great to see another splayed leg bench come to life!


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Final Assembly of the Top...*
> 
> I couldn't wait till tomorrow to put the top together. This did not go without it's fair share of oh sh#t moments one of which almost had me starting the whole thing over almost.. But I'm getting ahead of myself..
> 
> ...


I'll say it again: that top is beautiful… And good on you for creating a punchlist and holding out for completion. Very tough to do, but I know how effective it can be to prevent an attack of "90% is good enough"...


----------



## sb194 (Feb 19, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Final Assembly of the Top...*
> 
> I couldn't wait till tomorrow to put the top together. This did not go without it's fair share of oh sh#t moments one of which almost had me starting the whole thing over almost.. But I'm getting ahead of myself..
> 
> ...


I almost lost it when I saw the pictures with the shims. That was classic. Trust, mine will probably need the same thing done to it.

Looking forward to the finished bench.

Sean


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Stretchers and Shelf*

Now that I have a list I suppose I have no excuse not to at least attempt to finish this thing. So this week I got started on list item #1… The stretchers.

I had originally planned to build them out of the same ceder that the legs are made from but changed my mind in the name of weight and durability.

So I rummaged through my pile of oak cut offs left from the top and found a slab just the right length for the long stretchers. I figured I would figure out what to do about the short ones once I got to that point.










So I cut that to length and ripped it in half with my circular saw (yes I have a few galoot deductions in thsi blog.. I'll do a few extra laps at PT next week as my penance) giving me 2 pieces roughly 2" x 3 1/2" .. basically an oak twobafore.










Then I started cleaning them up and getting them 4 square. I started out like this using my saw bench to hold it steady..










At which point I looked to my left at a standing wood working bench with a functional wagon vise and smacked myself in the face lol…. WHAT WAS I DOING?

So I moved the wood to the bench and clamped a stop block on the bench and went to town. This was the first time using this as an actual bench and NOW I see what all the fuss is about! I can honestly say that if not for the fact that I needed these to be as big as they were I probably wouldn't have stopped planing them lol.

I would also like to add that the wagon vise performed beautifully!



















Once those were good to go fun time was over and it was time to flip the bench.. again. This is becoming less and less easy and fun with each flip ugh..

then I measured the stretchers to the legs while they were installed. I have read enough bench build blogs to note this method as the best way to make sure everything lines up.



















Then I went about cutting and chopping the M/T joints one at a time each being fit individually. This took place over about 3 workdays. Spent a few hours before and after work getting these done and they each got better than the first (maybe I should just start on the last one next time lol)..









































































Then came the short stretchers. As was noted in an earlier blog my back legs go through the top at an angle but the front legs go through straight. This was an oversight on my part which would make mating the base to the top almost impossible with a traditional stretcher configuration. Someone suggested some half lap dovetailed stretchers and I liked that idea. One it moves them out of the way of the leg vise's parallel guide and the front and back legs can be installed separately then connected by the short ones after installation.

This though.. presented it's own challenges. I am just about out of oak and I needed 2 more stretchers lol. I have always planned on using a couple oak stair treads from HD for the shelf on the base. They are flat, a full inch thick and actually cheaper than the oak lumber they sell. So me and the boy took another field trip to HD and picked those up. After measuring them I figured out that after trimming them to fit I would have enough left over for my stretchers.. boom.. bonus!





































I still need to dowel and glue that up but that can wait..

First things first was to make sure the legs were equidistant from each other and measure out the short stretchers.



















Once that was done I laid out and cut the tails then clamped and transferred them to the legs for the pins..

Broke out the Moxon for this duty..



















Cut the edges with my HF flush cut saw then again lost some galoot points by using my drill press and a forstner bit to clean out the waste in the pins.

After that was done I used the same saw to cut up to the two outside edges. This made for a very clean bit of dovetailing lol..










Test fit went good so I proceeded on the other side.. I did have one incident with a forstner bit gite on the front of the one of the front legs (of course.. ). But it just gives it some character and should clean up decently I think.



















Then I doubled up the side stretchers.. I really need some smaller F clamps..










And here we are.. one item off the list.



















(The short ones haven't been glued yet in this pic..)



















Goal for this weekend is to get the leg vise fully installed, base installed and top flat. We shall see just how much of that actually happens.

Thanks for reading the rather long winded post … in an even more long winded blog!


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Stretchers and Shelf*
> 
> Now that I have a list I suppose I have no excuse not to at least attempt to finish this thing. So this week I got started on list item #1… The stretchers.
> 
> ...


Very nice. It's lookin' pretty good!


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Stretchers and Shelf*
> 
> Now that I have a list I suppose I have no excuse not to at least attempt to finish this thing. So this week I got started on list item #1… The stretchers.
> 
> ...


Scary good progress Eric. Forstner over bit & brace? negative galootness!


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Stretchers and Shelf*
> 
> Now that I have a list I suppose I have no excuse not to at least attempt to finish this thing. So this week I got started on list item #1… The stretchers.
> 
> ...


You just keep plugin. It's great!


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Stretchers and Shelf*
> 
> Now that I have a list I suppose I have no excuse not to at least attempt to finish this thing. So this week I got started on list item #1… The stretchers.
> 
> ...


Great progress Eric!

Now I see why you used the forstner bit, to get a consistent depth. It's just that you missed out on some fun by sawing and splitting out all that waste with a chisel and mallet. ;-)


----------



## lysdexic (Mar 21, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Stretchers and Shelf*
> 
> Now that I have a list I suppose I have no excuse not to at least attempt to finish this thing. So this week I got started on list item #1… The stretchers.
> 
> ...


Impressive sir.


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Leg Vise #1.. Started the Chop...*

Today was almost a wash. Had errands to run this morning and the boy had a Dr appointment this afternoon ANNNND I have to work tonight so not much in the way of free time in the shop but was able to get some progress made on the leg vise. And I am happy to report that no electrons were killed during todays progress  I have some Galoot points to recover lol..

First things first I had to flip then rotate my top so I could get some measurements made and have access to the wagon vise. Flipping is fun and rotating it is even more fun lol.










Then I got all my vise hardware together. It has been a few months since I last got everything together so I was relieved to find everything in one piece still lol.










Now, if you read the instructions for the BC glide vise which is more or less what this is designed after it says to measure for the parallel guide you install the nut at it's farthest point. Hold that on one side of the leg and measure from the front of the leg to the flange. Ok that makes sense.. then it says subtract the chop thickness.. wait what? Doesn't the PG go through the chop?.. moving on it then says to add the thickness of the leg.. now hold on a second.. why did I go through the song and dance of balancing this on the side of the leg if I am going to just add that back in? Then it says to add 2" for the upper guide wheel (which I won't have but added it anyway because of the chain vise hardware) then add back in your chop mortise..

So basically they made a very simple measurement very complex. Basically… measure from the nut to the flange and add 2".

So that is what I did lol..



















It came out to just a hair short of 19 3/4" so I rounded up and added in my 2" which gets me 21 3/4" of parallel guide. Hopefully that turns out to be correct.

Got out my piece of maple and cut it to length.










Then my attention turned to the chop it's self. I have had my last large piece of red oak sitting on hold for the leg vise since I started ripping them for the top. However now that I look at it again.. I might have held back a better looking piece lol.










I measured out for the screw hole and drew out the rough shape then ripped the side down with my increasingly dulling new Stanley disposable saw.










Then came the curved shoulders. I pondered this cut for a bit and decided to notch it out and then carve out the waste. Worked like a charm!




























Broke out the #4 and the #130 to clean up the cuts and whala.. one half finished. I'll smooth the curve out more when I do the final shaping/sanding.



















Then simply repeat these steps on the other side..



















Then into the wagon vise it went to get flattened and smoothed out. And here is the rough product so far. I plan to laminate a 1" thick piece of cherry onto the front to thicken up the chop a bit. Right now it is a little under 2" and I would like to get it closer to 3" if I can.

I also measured it out for clearance of the base joinery and it looks to be close but I think I can persuade it to squeeze in there somehow.

That's all for now. I hope to get much more done tomorrow so stay tuned.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #1.. Started the Chop...*
> 
> Today was almost a wash. Had errands to run this morning and the boy had a Dr appointment this afternoon ANNNND I have to work tonight so not much in the way of free time in the shop but was able to get some progress made on the leg vise. And I am happy to report that no electrons were killed during todays progress  I have some Galoot points to recover lol..
> 
> ...


almost everything you do is by hand, yet you bought the magic leg vice. that just makes me smile. And ii think that's the first time I seen someone actually use a #130.. I can see the end now.


----------



## Belg1960 (Jan 3, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #1.. Started the Chop...*
> 
> Today was almost a wash. Had errands to run this morning and the boy had a Dr appointment this afternoon ANNNND I have to work tonight so not much in the way of free time in the shop but was able to get some progress made on the leg vise. And I am happy to report that no electrons were killed during todays progress  I have some Galoot points to recover lol..
> 
> ...


Seems like the new mallet is coming in very handy. When I started reading your text about measuring the length of the parallel guide, wow talk about making an easy measurement hard. LOL Am really enjoying looking over your shoulder on this build, I'm guessing from the what you have posted that you prefer to work mostly with hand tools. I just wonder why then are you using that el cheapo saw??


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #1.. Started the Chop...*
> 
> Today was almost a wash. Had errands to run this morning and the boy had a Dr appointment this afternoon ANNNND I have to work tonight so not much in the way of free time in the shop but was able to get some progress made on the leg vise. And I am happy to report that no electrons were killed during todays progress  I have some Galoot points to recover lol..
> 
> ...


*Don* - If you are refering to a Benchcrafted vise then no no nono.. I did nothing of the sort. This was modeled after it using the measurements provided on their documentation but I made it myself. If you look back about 40 blog entries I have the build process of that in there somewhere lol (good god.. has it been 40 blog entries for this bench?) The Chain Vise hardware was provided by Jim at a great price for me to test out and review.

*Pat* - Yep the new mallet works Great! I am using the cheapo saw because I needed a sharp saw now and don't have the time to get all the needed sharpening supplies and time to learn how to sharpen the saws and stay on track of my deadline on the bench. So a cheapo saw was the best option for now. Don't worry I have a few nice vintage saws in the wings waiting for their time to shine.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #1.. Started the Chop...*
> 
> Today was almost a wash. Had errands to run this morning and the boy had a Dr appointment this afternoon ANNNND I have to work tonight so not much in the way of free time in the shop but was able to get some progress made on the leg vise. And I am happy to report that no electrons were killed during todays progress  I have some Galoot points to recover lol..
> 
> ...


*Eric*, you really think 2" of oak is not thick enough for the leg vise?


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #1.. Started the Chop...*
> 
> Today was almost a wash. Had errands to run this morning and the boy had a Dr appointment this afternoon ANNNND I have to work tonight so not much in the way of free time in the shop but was able to get some progress made on the leg vise. And I am happy to report that no electrons were killed during todays progress  I have some Galoot points to recover lol..
> 
> ...


I'm sure it would be but everything I have read about leg vises says thicker is better?


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #1.. Started the Chop...*
> 
> Today was almost a wash. Had errands to run this morning and the boy had a Dr appointment this afternoon ANNNND I have to work tonight so not much in the way of free time in the shop but was able to get some progress made on the leg vise. And I am happy to report that no electrons were killed during todays progress  I have some Galoot points to recover lol..
> 
> ...


^ it boils down to aesthetic beefiness.

And ditto an Don's comment, re: the #140 in use. That's a first for me, too.

Eric, it's looking great, well done!


----------



## Tugboater78 (May 26, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #1.. Started the Chop...*
> 
> Today was almost a wash. Had errands to run this morning and the boy had a Dr appointment this afternoon ANNNND I have to work tonight so not much in the way of free time in the shop but was able to get some progress made on the leg vise. And I am happy to report that no electrons were killed during todays progress  I have some Galoot points to recover lol..
> 
> ...


Another step closer, lookin good!


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #1.. Started the Chop...*
> 
> Today was almost a wash. Had errands to run this morning and the boy had a Dr appointment this afternoon ANNNND I have to work tonight so not much in the way of free time in the shop but was able to get some progress made on the leg vise. And I am happy to report that no electrons were killed during todays progress  I have some Galoot points to recover lol..
> 
> ...


This is going to be a really great looking bench Eric!


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #1.. Started the Chop...*
> 
> Today was almost a wash. Had errands to run this morning and the boy had a Dr appointment this afternoon ANNNND I have to work tonight so not much in the way of free time in the shop but was able to get some progress made on the leg vise. And I am happy to report that no electrons were killed during todays progress  I have some Galoot points to recover lol..
> 
> ...


Thanks guys ;-)


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Leg Vise #2.. Another Item Off The List...*

Once the chop was shaped it was time to get started attaching the hardware to it and making some holes. I had hoped to have this completely finished by the end of last weekend but I missed that deadline by a day… close enough I think.

First up was the parallel guide.

I measured out the mortise and marked some holes to be drilled out. Then got my brace and bit out and hogged out the waste.



















Getting better at drilling straight holes  Nearly all of them landed right on the line on the backside!










Cleaned that up with a chisel and fit the guide to the chop.










Then clamped the chop to the leg and marked the mortise for the guide to go through the leg and repeated the process.





































Then measured out the screw location.. drilled that and attached the flange.





































The prepped the guide for installation. Taped up to keep squeeze out off the wood and pegged into place..



















Once that was dry I peeled the tape and fit it to the leg and drilled the screw hole through it using the chop as a guide to align everything.



















Then I needed to drill the mounting holes into my nut flange and thread it onto the leg to mark for mounting.














































Then I made and installed a roller bracket.



















From this point on I was very laxed in taking pictures. I found a rhythm and just went with it. I had really planned to get a bunch of pics of the chain installation but oh well. It's on there and that's what matters lol.

Before installation of the chain I needed to do some fitting to the lower roller bracket. This is not an issue with the kit it's self but of my layout error in putting the side stretcher the same level as the guide. I will also need to fit the shoulder to the bracket once it comes to final assembly.



















This is the point where the pictures stopped lol. But I just simply followed the instructions step by step for the Chain Vise installation and it all came together just as it should.




























Nearly 9 1/2" capacity.. should be enough lol..










I didn't have a can on hand to crush but it did flatten a plastic cup with no effort . Once the leg is attached to the bench I'll get a video made of it moving.

Annnnnd that is one more thing off the "To Do" list. I do still need to do the final shaping/sanding of the chop and cut it flush with the top but I want to get the legs on before I do that just to make sure everything is measured correctly.










Final base assembly and the Deadman is next.. stay tuned. Almost done


----------



## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #2.. Another Item Off The List...*
> 
> Once the chop was shaped it was time to get started attaching the hardware to it and making some holes. I had hoped to have this completely finished by the end of last weekend but I missed that deadline by a day… close enough I think.
> 
> ...


When do you sleep?!


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #2.. Another Item Off The List...*
> 
> Once the chop was shaped it was time to get started attaching the hardware to it and making some holes. I had hoped to have this completely finished by the end of last weekend but I missed that deadline by a day… close enough I think.
> 
> ...


nice!

that chain setup is a great idea


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #2.. Another Item Off The List...*
> 
> Once the chop was shaped it was time to get started attaching the hardware to it and making some holes. I had hoped to have this completely finished by the end of last weekend but I missed that deadline by a day… close enough I think.
> 
> ...


Very nice indeed, Eric. Well done.


----------



## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #2.. Another Item Off The List...*
> 
> Once the chop was shaped it was time to get started attaching the hardware to it and making some holes. I had hoped to have this completely finished by the end of last weekend but I missed that deadline by a day… close enough I think.
> 
> ...


Eric, it's going well, quite impressive. Tick list is meltingggg!


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #2.. Another Item Off The List...*
> 
> Once the chop was shaped it was time to get started attaching the hardware to it and making some holes. I had hoped to have this completely finished by the end of last weekend but I missed that deadline by a day… close enough I think.
> 
> ...


Really nice setup Eric. Great work.


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #2.. Another Item Off The List...*
> 
> Once the chop was shaped it was time to get started attaching the hardware to it and making some holes. I had hoped to have this completely finished by the end of last weekend but I missed that deadline by a day… close enough I think.
> 
> ...


Eric, you need a new handle, "The energizer bunny"


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Leg Vise #2.. Another Item Off The List...*
> 
> Once the chop was shaped it was time to get started attaching the hardware to it and making some holes. I had hoped to have this completely finished by the end of last weekend but I missed that deadline by a day… close enough I think.
> 
> ...


Thanks Guys  It's getting close to the end now!

*Brian* - What is this sleep you speak of?

*Don* - My wife may disagree with you on that….


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Attaching the Base #1..*

I got started attaching the base to the top last night. Only got about halfway through it because it was late and I didn't want to rush through it and mess something up. But so far so good.

This is mostly a short picture post but you should have an idea of what is going on here..

Once more flip and rotate the top..










Then measure out the side stretcher by the leg vise for clearance of the chain bracket..




























Then got everything drilled and ready for drawboring… then got to it..
































































And here we have it. Two front legs and a stretcher permanently attached to the bench top 










I'm hoping to have the back legs and side stretchers installed tonight and then this bench can finally stand on it's own 4 feet permanently. I really can't wait to put away those plastic saw horses!

Stay tuned..


----------



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Attaching the Base #1..*
> 
> I got started attaching the base to the top last night. Only got about halfway through it because it was late and I didn't want to rush through it and mess something up. But so far so good.
> 
> ...


in the home stretch now!


----------



## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Attaching the Base #1..*
> 
> I got started attaching the base to the top last night. Only got about halfway through it because it was late and I didn't want to rush through it and mess something up. But so far so good.
> 
> ...


I like the bigger hammer technique


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Attaching the Base #1..*
> 
> I got started attaching the base to the top last night. Only got about halfway through it because it was late and I didn't want to rush through it and mess something up. But so far so good.
> 
> ...


Yeah lol.. I wasn't messing around here lol! We all know that a bigger hammer fixes everything


----------



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Attaching the Base #1..*
> 
> I got started attaching the base to the top last night. Only got about halfway through it because it was late and I didn't want to rush through it and mess something up. But so far so good.
> 
> ...


Wow, wow, wow.

I'm glad you can keep those parts, cuts and alignments straight because it looks quite impossible from this side of monitor. Great work, just two more legs to go and it's a bench!


----------



## BTimmons (Aug 6, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Attaching the Base #1..*
> 
> I got started attaching the base to the top last night. Only got about halfway through it because it was late and I didn't want to rush through it and mess something up. But so far so good.
> 
> ...


You're a beast, man. The pace of your work amazes me.


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Attaching the Base #1..*
> 
> I got started attaching the base to the top last night. Only got about halfway through it because it was late and I didn't want to rush through it and mess something up. But so far so good.
> 
> ...


Almost done man! I cant believe you were able to stop at that point, your so close to finishing!


----------



## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Attaching the Base #1..*
> 
> I got started attaching the base to the top last night. Only got about halfway through it because it was late and I didn't want to rush through it and mess something up. But so far so good.
> 
> ...


I also like the little sledge hammer. I been seeing the English Woodworker use one in his blog and I think I need one now.


----------



## lysdexic (Mar 21, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Attaching the Base #1..*
> 
> I got started attaching the base to the top last night. Only got about halfway through it because it was late and I didn't want to rush through it and mess something up. But so far so good.
> 
> ...


You go girl!


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Attaching the Base #1..*
> 
> I got started attaching the base to the top last night. Only got about halfway through it because it was late and I didn't want to rush through it and mess something up. But so far so good.
> 
> ...


Yeah Maur, that hammer is something like $3 at Wal-Mart int he cheap tools bin. It has come in handy on multiple occasions. You always need to have a bigger hammer on hand ya know..


----------



## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Finishing the Base and Flattening the top....*

I FINALLY found enough free time between work shifts to get the back 2 legs and side stretchers attached. Since I glued up the toolwell before installing the back legs I wasn't going to be able to drawbore them into place so I decided to wedge them instead.

So a couple relief holes and a bit of saw work later they were ready to go but first I needed to do the long stretcher.

Again, drill and offset the tenon.. make some pegs and get all my ducks in order for this operation since it will be time critical once it is started lol..




























Then I bashed some pegs and applied glue to the leg tenons and fit it all up..



















Then I had to quickly flip the bench and remove the saw horses, add glue to the wedges and pound those into the two legs before the open time on the glue was up… that was fun..



















Then I made sure everything would line up and boom! There's a bench in my shop suddenly!










After that I glued in to side stretchers and let it sit overnight.

This morning I started on the permanent install of the leg vise. I needed a hole in the back leg to allow the screw to pass through so I threaded it in just till it touched the back leg and marked a line around to the other side.



















Drilled a 1 1/4" hole through there and re-installed the chain to the vise. The I needed to flush up the top of the vise with the bench top.










Then I couldn't resist a test run lol..










Still needs some leather on the shop but this thing holds like crazy! And the Chain Vise hardware does it's job superbly! It just opens and closes with no fussing with pins or wedges and such.

If any of you are interested in this system for your bench give Jim aka Boatman53 a message and he will get you set up.

Here she is with the vise installed..










Then I decided to skip ahead a bit and flatten the top before the deadman. Seems it would be easier to use the bench to make that and to do so I need some dog holes.

I used a straight edge to check for low spots and found a nice hump down the center of the bench.










So with a little love from my #3, #5, #6 and finally the Craftsman #7 I was both tired and satisfied with calling it flat enough.

That was also fun… said no one ever lol..










So there are 2 more things off the list which grew by 1 over night because I realized I didn't add the base assembly to the list for some reason. So it became # 2.5 lol.










Now to get my brace setup and ready for some dog holes


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## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing the Base and Flattening the top....*
> 
> I FINALLY found enough free time between work shifts to get the back 2 legs and side stretchers attached. Since I glued up the toolwell before installing the back legs I wasn't going to be able to drawbore them into place so I decided to wedge them instead.
> 
> ...


Looking fantastic. Chain vise is badass. Grain in top… Beautiful. Joinery… Manly. Galoot index readings are tweaking the meter.

Very nicely done, Eric.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing the Base and Flattening the top....*
> 
> I FINALLY found enough free time between work shifts to get the back 2 legs and side stretchers attached. Since I glued up the toolwell before installing the back legs I wasn't going to be able to drawbore them into place so I decided to wedge them instead.
> 
> ...


The end is sooooo close. Very nice.


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing the Base and Flattening the top....*
> 
> I FINALLY found enough free time between work shifts to get the back 2 legs and side stretchers attached. Since I glued up the toolwell before installing the back legs I wasn't going to be able to drawbore them into place so I decided to wedge them instead.
> 
> ...


Please lotta pics on the dog holes. You gotta 16" sweep?


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing the Base and Flattening the top....*
> 
> I FINALLY found enough free time between work shifts to get the back 2 legs and side stretchers attached. Since I glued up the toolwell before installing the back legs I wasn't going to be able to drawbore them into place so I decided to wedge them instead.
> 
> ...


I have pics but am withholding any new pics till she is finished (spoilers and all lol). Yes I am THAT close !

Not sure what you are asking about sweep? Do you mean brace sweep?


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## lysdexic (Mar 21, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing the Base and Flattening the top....*
> 
> I FINALLY found enough free time between work shifts to get the back 2 legs and side stretchers attached. Since I glued up the toolwell before installing the back legs I wasn't going to be able to drawbore them into place so I decided to wedge them instead.
> 
> ...


I assume that he is talking about brace sweep. It takes a lot of torque and elbow grease to drill a row of dog holes in a solid oak bench top.

If it helps, I took a chunk of cut-off and drilled a 3/4" hole nice and square at the drill press. It was about 3" thick. I then used that as a jig to get the dog holes started. Once the dog hole was an inch or so deep, I free handed the rest of the drilling. I did use the dewalt cordless.


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing the Base and Flattening the top....*
> 
> I FINALLY found enough free time between work shifts to get the back 2 legs and side stretchers attached. Since I glued up the toolwell before installing the back legs I wasn't going to be able to drawbore them into place so I decided to wedge them instead.
> 
> ...


Looking great man! Wow that screw is long, what is the capacity on that leg vise?


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

Airframer said:


> *Finishing the Base and Flattening the top....*
> 
> I FINALLY found enough free time between work shifts to get the back 2 legs and side stretchers attached. Since I glued up the toolwell before installing the back legs I wasn't going to be able to drawbore them into place so I decided to wedge them instead.
> 
> ...


The leg vise has a 9 1/2" capacity. I left the screw long on purpose so I could fit the length to the bench. I trimmed it up yesterday finally.


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## Airframer (Jan 19, 2013)

*Dog Holes and The Sliding Deadman *

Last night after flattening the bench I couldn't wait any longer to get some holes drilled in the top. I have been kinda dreading this part because it is one of those permanent type things in a major component of the bench.

Earlier I had mentioned that I didn't have a 3/4" auger bit for my brace…. well that turned out to not be true lol. The problem is that I can't math. Turns out I have a 12/16" bit and for those of you following along that simplifies into 3/4" DOH! Why not just label it 3/4"!!!

So I laid out the holes 3 1/2" on center and started drilling….










And drilling…..










And drill.. well you get the picture. 16 holes total. This went surprisingly quick and all the holes are "mostly straight" good enough to hold a dog in place or a holdfast.

Then I stood back to admire my handy work when I noticed a layout error.. well 2 to be exact. I had measured 3 1/2" between dog holes just fine except I started the measurements from the END of the wagon vise instead of the center of the dog on the wagon vise. That leaves a wide spot between the vise and the first dog of almost 5" . I might have to come up with a creative dog solution to bridge the gap there.. not sure at this point.

The other issue is my 3 holdfast holes none of which line up with a corresponding dog hole. This will make producing a plane stop difficult but not impossible. Oh well.. you live and learn.



















Then this morning I started on the Sliding Deadman.

Rummaged through my lumber pile and pulled out a piece of 4/4 cherry that fit the bill. and cut it to fit into the space between the top and front stretcher.










Then squared it up and flattened the faces using my new holding ability! Soo much fun!



















Then tried to figure out what to do about the rail. I remembered a pair of half round strips that were cut off of the boards I will be using for the shelf.










That should do nicely as long as I can figure out a way to make a matching cove on the deadman.

I stared at it for a bit and realized the cove would me roughly the shape as a half round file. Clamped it into my legvise (giggity) along with the cut off from it to act as a fence and I got the cove started with a half round rasp. Once a grove was started I cut a short piece or the rail and wrapped some 80 grit around it and shaped the cove to fit the rail in this manner. Worked out pretty good. Finished it up with successive grits of 150 and 220 and whalla a nice cove to ride upon the rail!










Then I fit a tenon to the top in line with the groove ont he bottom of the top. Attached it with glue and finish nails from the backside and to my very pleasant surprise it actually slides very effortlessly and aligns nicely with the top!





































Then I prepped the stretcher for glueup of the rail and cut out a door for the deadman to be installed or removed from.




























As for the hole layout on the deadman it's self I was flying blind on this. I decided to use the 2 holdfast holes in the leg as a starting point. I wanted at least one hole to line of with one of those so measuring it out gave me a starting point. The holes are spaced 2" apart with 2 rows of 1" holes for my Stanley #203 and a corresponding set of 3/4" holes for other bench accessories.










I had to drill offset recesses for the #203 to mount into.










Hit the sides of it with my round over plane and swiped my #3 across the front a couple times to smooth it out and remove the layout lines and BOOM a sliding deadman!

Which equals a complete usable workbench  !!!!



Thank you for following along. There will probably be one more entry as I get the shelf installed and some finish on it but I'm going to go build some stuff on this now and worry about that later


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Airframer said:


> *Dog Holes and The Sliding Deadman *
> 
> Last night after flattening the bench I couldn't wait any longer to get some holes drilled in the top. I have been kinda dreading this part because it is one of those permanent type things in a major component of the bench.
> 
> ...


Wow. What a great build. I joined in late. Guess I will need to go back and read the entire series.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Airframer said:


> *Dog Holes and The Sliding Deadman *
> 
> Last night after flattening the bench I couldn't wait any longer to get some holes drilled in the top. I have been kinda dreading this part because it is one of those permanent type things in a major component of the bench.
> 
> ...


Well done Eric, thanks for sharing.


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## RaggedKerf (Aug 5, 2012)

Airframer said:


> *Dog Holes and The Sliding Deadman *
> 
> Last night after flattening the bench I couldn't wait any longer to get some holes drilled in the top. I have been kinda dreading this part because it is one of those permanent type things in a major component of the bench.
> 
> ...


Great work man, loved the method on the sliding deadman!


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## mochoa (Oct 9, 2009)

Airframer said:


> *Dog Holes and The Sliding Deadman *
> 
> Last night after flattening the bench I couldn't wait any longer to get some holes drilled in the top. I have been kinda dreading this part because it is one of those permanent type things in a major component of the bench.
> 
> ...


And another beautiful splayed leg bench is born! Great show Eric, you will love it!


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Airframer said:


> *Dog Holes and The Sliding Deadman *
> 
> Last night after flattening the bench I couldn't wait any longer to get some holes drilled in the top. I have been kinda dreading this part because it is one of those permanent type things in a major component of the bench.
> 
> ...


I cannot comment any further until Bondo pose is completed.


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