Hacker Bench Progress Report

[Tom LaRussa]

I have the two leg assemblies all glued up and have trimmed the ends of the bench top. The joinery is ugly as all getout, but it's pretty strong.

Next step is to cut the lengthwise stringers and M/T them into the leg assemblies, then attach the whole thing to the top.

The pic below shows a dry fit of what the underside of the bench will look like. Nothing is attached to the top yet.

I'll post some more detailed "what I learned at school today" type comments later. Right now I have an intense circular-saw induced need for a hot shower.

[Jack Hogoboom]

Looking good Tom!! How do you plan to attach the top to the leg assembly?

Jack

[Tom LaRussa]

Hi Jack,

Looking good Tom!! How do you plan to attach the top to the leg assembly?

Lag bolts up through the horizontal thingie under the top.

Same deal for attaching the vises.

I figure it will be much easier than using countersunk bolts down through the top -- and then having to plug the holes.

I just have to remember to leave enough top thickness so I can plane the top true from time to time.

[Chris Padilla]

Mmmm, lag bolts... 3/8" or 1/2" monsters? I like it...I may copy it until I figure out what the heck I am going to build.

[John Miliunas]

Hey Tom, are those the "budget" vises from Woodcraft? If so, what do you think of them?

[Tom LaRussa]

Mmmm, lag bolts... 3/8" or 1/2" monsters? I like it...I may copy it until I figure out what the heck I am going to build.

I'm using 3/8 inchers about 1 1/2" deep (actually UP) into the top -- two each in the center sections of the horizontal thingie, (that hold the legs).

Not sure about the outside edges. Probably more lag bolts, but I'll have to countersink them at least partially because of the angle there.

[Tom LaRussa]

Hey Tom, are those the "budget" vises from Woodcraft? If so, what do you think of them?

John,

I'm not familiar with the "budget" vises at Woodcraft. For that matter, I'm not familiar with much of anything at Woodcraft, on account of I can't ever seem to get their wedsite to work, they've never sent me a catalog, (which may be because I've never been able to get their website-based request thingie to work), and the nearest store is a good 90 minutes away, which is a long way to drive to go to a store where I really can't afford anything anyhow.

How's that for too much information?

In any case, I've always understood that "Woodcraft" and "budget" are fairly close to mutually exclusive terms.

The vises I'm using are Record knockoffs that you see at various places around the web:

• Amazon used to sell the Record unit for $109.99 until Record disappeared -- http://www.epinions.com/Record_Quick...2ED_Shop_Tools
• Amazon still sells a very similar unit with the Jet brand on it for "only" $89.99 -- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...054718-3763950
• Woodworker's Supply sells vises that look identical for $59.99 -- http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/search.exe?BP=1
• Highland Hardware has a very similar unit, except in a prettier blue color, for $79.99 -- http://www.tools-for-woodworking.com...OD&ProdID=2794
• Rockler has it in light blue for $75.99 -- http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=2147&sid=AFC00
• Dieter Schmidt sells another nearly identical unit, but get this, they apologize for the lousy paint job and explain that the customer should accept this defect because it was calculated into pricing the vise at only 109 Eeors! -- http://www.fine-tools.com/G307780.htm

The vises I'm using have exactly the same configuration as those listed above, including a quick-release lever that functions in exactly the same manner as described on one of the aforementioned websites.

But I didn't pay 109 Eeors for mine; nor did I pay $109.

I didn't pay $89.99, or $79.99, or $75.99...

Heck, I didn't even pay $59.99 -- FOR THE PAIR!

I got these puppies for just $19.99 each!

Yep, you read that right!

$19.99 per unit!
http://www.wttool.com/p/2108-0080

Holy Guacamole, Batman!

Now, aren't you glad you asked?

Oh, by the way, I have not had a chance to evaluate their performance under real-world, i.e., mounted under a bench, performance, but they seem like quite a steal for the price. They weigh a ton, arrived from whatever part of China they hail from without any rust, everything that is supposed to move does so, and those things which are not supposed to, don't. All-in-all, my preliminary evaluation is that these are very vise-like vises.



Tom

p.s. Sorry about the windbag answer, but my tool budget is SOOO overspent that the only gloats I'm liable to have in the tool dept for quite a while will be about money that I manage NOT to spend.

[Jim Becker]

Tom, if you use more than one lag bolt on each side, don't forget you'll need to slot the top of the leg assembly to accomodate wood movement by allowing the bolts to slide when the top moves. My Sjoberg bench only uses one bolt per side for that reason...it's centered on the bench and can be cranked tight. The benchtop can then expand and contract width-wise (which is the direction of the majority of any movement) without being encumbered by fasteners.

[John Miliunas]

Tom, when it comes to GREAT deals at GREAT savings, NO post is going to be considered getting "windbagged"! Not by me, anyway! I will be checking that out SOON! Just need to find out what s/h would be, because my Woodcraft has, what's probably the same thing, on a Mgr's. Special for $30.00 bucks right now.

[Tom LaRussa]

Tom, when it comes to GREAT deals at GREAT savings, NO post is going to be considered getting "windbagged"! Not by me, anyway!

Thanks John!

IMHO, far too people appreciate getting a really good deal these days. I don't look on it as saving money for the sake of saving money -- it's saving money so I can buy MORE tools -- or even some wood now and then.

Just need to find out what s/h would be, because my Woodcraft has, what's probably the same thing, on a Mgr's. Special for $30.00 bucks right now.

At 22 lbs per, you're probably better off getting them from Woodcraft.

Which reminds me that I left off one of the key parts of my low-price gloat. Wholesale Tool only has seven locations, but one of them is right here in Tampa, so my shipping cost was ZERO.

BTW, I checked, the nearest location to you is in Indy, which is a bit of a hike, I think.

[Tom LaRussa]

Tom, if you use more than one lag bolt on each side, don't forget you'll need to slot the top of the leg assembly to accomodate wood movement by allowing the bolts to slide when the top moves. My Sjoberg bench only uses one bolt per side for that reason...it's centered on the bench and can be cranked tight. The benchtop can then expand and contract width-wise (which is the direction of the majority of any movement) without being encumbered by fasteners.

Whoa! Nice catch Jim. Thanks!

I'm pretty sure I knew that already -- at some deeply buried level -- or maybe I just want to think that I knew it, or just don't want to admit that I didn't know it, or ... something.

In any event, it sure as heck was not running around in conscious memory, and since I hope to get the top attached tomorrow -- if not today -- I was probably going to build a self-racking bench. I was even planning to use glue in addition to the lag bolts -- don't know what the heck I was thinking!