Bench Reconfiguration Diary

[SpondonBassed]

3 minutes ago, Si600 said:

It's also spruce, fir, pine, whatever. Is that a particularly brutal wood for cutting edges?

Maybe @Christine can give you some pointers.  You've seen the Sharpening Guide at the top of the Build Diaries haven't you?

[Si600]

22 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

Maybe @Christine can give you some pointers.  You've seen the Sharpening Guide at the top of the Build Diaries haven't you?

I have up to a point. I don't have a wet grinder so I've got a honing guide. My waterstone fell off the bench and smashed the corner off whilst I was whaling away with the chisel earlier. Not happy about that.

[Si600]

A few days of despondency and general meh.

Really hacked off by this:

This where I'd got to when I was moaning:

To make me feel better, my shopping turned up, this is the screw and handle. Just going on a hypothetical box between the jaw edges, the screw location and the opening, that box is going to be 220mm x 220mm x 140mm when it's finished.

I decided that I'd change approach on chopping this section out. The chisel probably could be sharper, but it's mostly poor technique that was the problem, as any fule kno.

One finished:

The view from the bench as it were:

Edited June 1, 2020 by Si600

[Si600]

Both "halves" of the front leg are finished. A long not quite a mortice for the St. Peter's cross and two housing dados.

One housing dado I'm happy with, and one I'm very happy with. Bearing in mind I've only made about ten in my entire life!

Checking the screw fits the dados before gluing. You can see the full width of five pieces in this test.

And glue stops play for the day. I'm not going to glue all the bits in at once, getting the stretchers (?) square was hard enough as they slid around under clamping pressure.

Edited June 6, 2020 by Si600

[Si600]

Fück. I've just realised I've made a mistake. The big stretcher has to come off.

Maybe.

I've not left enough space vertically for the nut on the screw. I can cut a triangle out of it to fit, or I can move it.

Vote Now!

 

*Edit*

That's not coming off, at least not without making more of a mess. Small notch out of the stretcher then.

Edited June 6, 2020 by Si600

[Si600]

Technical query.

The nut that goes on the back of the screw is lining up with the retaining screw holes nearly bang on the glue lines.

I can twist the nut so that they go into solid wood, or I can have it square. They're only retaining screws, AFAIK anyway, so will they be OK in the glue line?

[SpondonBassed]

You should be fine as long as you drill pilot holes.

[Si600]

First up, some horror show shots for @Geek99 to demonstrate that Build Diaries isn't only populated by the likes of skilled genii. There are those who are embarking on their first serious woodworking projects 😉

The notch for the vice screw nut and housing dado the screw goes through.

This hole is for the pin that holds the top of the St Peter's cross.

Infill between the stretchers before the other part of the leg goes on.

The other side of the leg. The drill bit is to align the holes, as that is a critical point in the operation of the vice.

Hopefully my witterings about laminations and four fifths of a leg now make more sense to @SpondonBassed.

Edited June 7, 2020 by Si600

[Geek99]

Jeez- it looks like I did it .... 

[SpondonBassed]

3 hours ago, Si600 said:

my witterings

If witterings made sense they just wouldn't be witterings.  I have enjoyed the quality of them so far.

Still, I think I get the idea now.

[Andyjr1515]

I'm rubbish at envisioning such things.  But I think I've just worked out how this works!

And if it does work eventually, @Si600, consider the idea stolen!

[Si600]

Just a couple of pictures to demonstrate how far I've got.

If anyone cares my entire tool kit for doing this is generic DIY shed hardpoint handsaw, 350mm tenon saw and 20mm chisel. A Record no. 5 and Stanley no. 60 planes and my luxury, (sounds like desert island discs) a Starrett combination square.

The supervisor came down to check up on progress.

Obviously now I've posted the pictures even I can see a set square, steel rule, marking knife and big rubber mallet which are also in my tool set!

Edited June 9, 2020 by Si600

[Si600]

More has happened. Will the horror never end I hear you cry.

First up, a little tidying up on the front leg, chamfering the edges, squaring off the foot and so on. The foot is going to have a filler before it's finished.

Today I've added the first half of the back leg. I don't glue both sides on at once simply because they move so much. The little clamps doing nothing are end stops so I know that the legs are parallel. The only way I could think to do it was running a tape measure alongside a square to ensure that the outside dimension was the same top and bottom.

Then it's just a case of getting glue on it and squeezing it up.

Of course, the thing moved despite the stops, any tips on how to avoid that happening? Less glue, screw it together?

Edited June 12, 2020 by Si600

[Chienmortbb]

54 minutes ago, Si600 said:

More has happened. Will the horror never end I hear you cry.

First up, a little tidying up on the front leg, chamfering the edges, squaring off the foot and so on. The foot is going to have a filler before it's finished.

Today I've added the first half of the back leg. I don't glue both sides on at once simply because they move so much. The little clamps doing nothing are end stops so I know that the legs are parallel. The only way I could think to do it was running a tape measure alongside a square to ensure that the outside dimension was the same top and bottom.

Then it's just a case of getting glue on it and squeezing it up.

Of course, the thing moved despite the stops, any tips on how to avoid that happening? Less glue, screw it together?

Screw it then take the screws out when glue is dry and dowel the holes?

[Si600]

I was thinking that I might dowel them anyway once I'm done just to really over engineer it against it racking. I'll dowel the other half and see how that goes.

[Chienmortbb]

Just now, Si600 said:

I was thinking that I might dowel them anyway once I'm done just to really over engineer it against it racking. I'll dowel the other half and see how that goes.

I love dowels.

[SpondonBassed]

1 hour ago, Si600 said:

Of course, the thing moved despite the stops, any tips on how to avoid that happening? Less glue, screw it together?

Panel pins.

[Si600]

It's got legs, it knows how to use them...

Well sort of.

The nut has been fitted, I don't think that the face is actually square, but I'm not sure I can get it out now either.

All cut to length, not cut brilliantly unfortunately, but hooray for planes. Being blockboard the end grain is all over the place so it's a bit of a pig.

Screw fitted for test and a trial fit to make sure that the bolt holes in the top plate actually line up.

From the end. The astute amongst you will notice that the front leg doesn't actually touch the floor. This is deliberate.

The floor isn't level, I considered making the legs to fit, but then decided that if I end up moving it, which once we change our heating system and the big brown 5000 litre oil tank goes, I may very well do, having legs that only fit one spot of floor is a bit restrictive!

It's currently upside down on the bench being varnished.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Si600

[Andyjr1515]

Looking good!

[LukeFRC]

I like this thread

[Oopsdabassist]

Its fascinating to read/watch...I have absolutely no idea whats going on....but its fascinating!!!!

[samhay]

There's nothting quite like a good bench WIP. Thanks.

One thought on your latest progress. Usually the leg-side vice chop extends all the way to the top of the bench - ie.. the leg is flush with the side of the bench. Your latest photos show a lip between the bench top and the leg. Are you planning on leaving it this way, or do you have some work left to do on the edge of the bench?

Also, where is the cross coming from? I'd love one of these, but have been reluctant to spend Benchcrafted money on one.

Edited June 19, 2020 by samhay

[Si600]

Making a set of legs: A critique.

Today I R put the legs on the bench.  Points in no particular order.

1) It's solid AF.  I can't make it rack front to back, side to side is a bit sloppier.

2) It's as near square as dammit lengthwise. Vertically from the bench top not so much unfortunately.

3) The individual sets of two laminations are four square, which I'm very happy with.  As full units they're not great, the back leg in particular is very out on the cut dimension.

4) It's a little short as @samhay points out above.  I had always planned to make it the same size as the bench top excluding the edging, but why, I don't know.  There's no reason to have done that, except, and this is in hindsight rather that being planned, it can have a removable fixed jaw plate which can be swapped if it gets tatty. Saves having to repair the leg proper, but I've only just thought of it.

In general, I'm happy with what I've made.  Yes, more care could have been taken, more thought should certainly have gone into it but I've learnt a lot and I've enjoyed doing it.

The next step is cutting the chop, no idea why it's called that, and making the cross.  Again, as pointed out above, Benchcrafted crosses, although nice, are shockingly expensive.  I have seen a guy who uses a sliding thing at the bottom, like a peg board but with a length of bicycle chain as a mechanism. http://ancorayachtservice.com/?page_id=196

Here is my St. Peter's Cross......

It's a length of 20mm square mild that my brother in law had in stock behind his workshop.

Edited June 19, 2020 by Si600

[Si600]

Oh, and to steal a quote from the doyen of Build Diaries, this is how I'm doing it. It doesn't necessarily follow that this is a) the right way, b) the only way, or c) it'll ultimately even work.

Edited June 19, 2020 by Si600

[Stub Mandrel]

Funnily enough I read the first post and thought... leg vice...

One day I would like enough bench space to fit both my big metalworking vices (both found at the recycling bank in the days when you could make withdrawals - ones a record No. 3 🙂 ) about 3 foot apart so I can hold long things at both ends.