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That it can!

English is a weird language. What he means, I think, is that he built a bunch of cheap benches to see what he liked.

I'm definitely not going more than 8': more than that and I'll just start pushing everything to one end instead of putting it away.

Just at the moment (I may well change my mind four times in the...

Thanks, Mike! That's definitely encouraging. And I suppose if I decide I really want a bigger bench I can find space for a third. :D

Thanks! Part of the problem is that I'm not sure what I'm going to end up making. This is the first time in a decade I've had access to electricity in my shop, so I've almost entirely made smaller...

I can work with a 10' board easily. 12' would be a stretch, and I doubt I could manage anything longer. It's a basement shop, but fortunately in a relatively new house, so the ceiling is nearly 8'...

Nice! That's a big chunk of wood, alright!

Ah, the joy of so many options. Aren't you glad we have the internet for things like this?

Almost every tool lives in the Dutch-style toolchest immediately behind me when I'm at the bench. I do...

Yup! As you say, I can edge plane a long board, but face planing thinner boards is the problem. Unfortunately I can't see your image, but I assume it's a thick piece of poplar.

When I did the...

Yeah... while the bench I have has served me well, it's just not long enough. Planing a board more than about 45" long is challenging, and I'm likely going to start work on a project that's a...

Hey folks! I was about ready to start converting a slab of red oak into a six-and-a-half-foot long bench, when a realization hit me: I was planning on a six foot bench because that's what would...

Mine is made out the scrap wood I had handy at the time: 1x8 pine, with 2x2 cedar for a fence. It certainly isn't as stable as plywood or MDF would have been, but I've been using it for a few years...

A cheap ryoba from Home Depot. It was the first saw I used that was actually sharp, and convinced me that all those other tools I'd hated might be nicer if I learned to sharpen them. (It's also a...

In my tool chest, I have:

- 24" transitional jointer, most likely a Siegley (That's who made the iron, anyway.)
- Stanley #5
- Stanley #4, mostly used with a shooting board
- Stanley #3
- 2...

I don't have one of just the sawbench, but it's at least no blocked in this shot. I ran out of scrap 2x4, so it got two legs on one end and one leg on the other. As an added bonus, it sits pretty...

Excellent. Thanks, and I'll hopefully check this evening to see if the screw is right.

Yeah, I've never really needed a thread gauge before... there's really not much else that will substitute on this, though!

I'll see what I have... it may be time to restock my small screw box.

...

Hey folks! I found a Fulton combination plane in good shape at a price I couldn't resist. It appears to be functionally identical to a Sargent-built Craftsman I already had, except that it's got...

No problem. I just got a note from the seller that she had picked both of them up at a junk store in Scotland while on vacation. So we know how they got to the US. But how did they get to where...

I'd love to have seen it! I'm always amazed by the way the most skilled craftsmen can manage that level of precision. It speaks of a lot of hours of practice.

Sounds like a good problem to have! I'm going to need to do something about storage... with these two (and the 1/2" bead I also ordered) I'll have to reorganize my Dutch tool chest.

I've got a broken finger at the moment, which pretty means I'm out of the shop for another few weeks (and typing slowly!). In the meantime, I'm spending my time online. On Friday I found a...

I had a similar experience; dull tools left me hating them!

I got a set from Garrett-Wade last year, and I love them!

Good to know! I mostly use a sawbench or a bench hook, but another option is always welcome.



Thanks! I built a pair of toy chests, roughly 30"x20"x25" on it, and did most of th work of...

Not sure what happened there... what I wrote is that I'll take the leg vise off to test other styles.

It sounds like people think there's a problem with putting the vise all the way at the left...