Well known UK woodworkers like Paul Sellers and Richard Maguire do a great job of showing how to build a workbench with a minimal set of tools and without an existing bench. I was lucky to have a bench already, but Sellers and Maguire both go through their instructional videos using a couple of sawhorses...
Well known UK woodworkers like Paul Sellers and Richard Maguire do a great job of showing how to build a...
The bench is finished! I am very pleased with the holdfasts, they were made by
Simon James and I got mine from Classic Hand Tools, delivered next day at the
very reasonable price of £49 for the pair including delivery.
Some people have trouble using holdfasts on thin tops, I experimented on the
front apron...
The bench is finished! I am very pleased with the holdfasts, they were made by
Simon James and I got...
Tradition has it that you should either use a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil* and turpentine or not bother with a finish at all. I still like to do a bit of tool fiddling now and then – which often involves some grubby metalworking – so I decided to put a finish on mine to...
Tradition has it that you should either use a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil* and turpentine or not...
As I mentioned earlier, my brilliant plan of drilling separate holes for the guide rods and screw for the vice was not a success. The holes have to be positioned exactly right and, although I had the holes in the right place, it seems I had not drilled them completely square and the rods were...
As I mentioned earlier, my brilliant plan of drilling separate holes for the guide rods and screw for the vice...
I have now flattened the top and rear apron – it took about an hour and forty five minutes (for the rear I just took off the grungy surface but made no effort to flatten it). This is in addition to the time I spent previously removing the high spots on the top and doing the...
I have now flattened the top and rear apron – it took about an hour and forty five minutes (for the...
I did the initial flattening of the top in about 40 minutes – I used my wooden jack plane to take off the high points and then the wooden jointer to work across the grain. The result is not pretty but is reasonably flat, and I will clean it up on another day.
The apron took...
I did the initial flattening of the top in about 40 minutes – I used my wooden jack plane to take...
Today’s update consists entirely of making holes – hole 1 is for the bench stop, hole 2 (more of a trench really) is to accommodate the top of the rear jaws of the vice.
My brilliant plan for the vice is to fit it on the inside of the apron and, so it will sit...
Today’s update consists entirely of making holes – hole 1 is for the bench stop, hole 2 (more of a...
Earlier today I flattened the undersides of the 3 boards that will make up the top. It did not take long – an advantage of the planked top design, since you only have to worry about getting the boards reasonably flat, the idea being that any twist or bowing/cupping along the length will be removed...
Earlier today I flattened the undersides of the 3 boards that will make up the top. It did not take...
Preparing for the top simply involves getting all the parts that receive the top planks flat and level.
Here is the bench glued and nailed up:
Getting things flat and level means using a plane – or in my case several.
Over the past couple of years I have bought and refurbished a number of old...
Preparing for the top simply involves getting all the parts that receive the top planks flat and level.
Here is...
glued and nailed – not a complicated job, but I rehearsed it just in case. What could go wrong I hear you ask? Well, nothing major but my nails were slightly too long and poked out the other side of the legs. I suppose only I will know but they lurk there nonetheless, waiting to impale...
glued and nailed – not a complicated job, but I rehearsed it just in case. What could go wrong I hear...