Bench is Finished! (Pictures)

[Roy Wall]

Hi John,

Slick looking bench and although this thread is 6 months old, I wanted to ask how the bench is working out seeing how that you only have access to 2 (2 1/2? ) sides of the bench?

Do you ever move to bench to access it all around? The reason for my questions is that I'm planning a bench that will most likely only be accessed by two sides and i wanted to see how it was working out.

I think I will end up placing my bench on wheels but the plan is to keep it more or less in a corner.

Chris,
I think John has a new basement shop (see thread in General WW forum) but still plans on putting it up against a wall ---he shows a shop/ tool layout in one of his threads

[John Dingman]

Hi John,

Slick looking bench and although this thread is 6 months old, I wanted to ask how the bench is working out seeing how that you only have access to 2 (2 1/2? ) sides of the bench?

Do you ever move to bench to access it all around? The reason for my questions is that I'm planning a bench that will most likely only be accessed by two sides and i wanted to see how it was working out.

I think I will end up placing my bench on wheels but the plan is to keep it more or less in a corner.

Chris,

I have never worked with my bench away from the wall. I am going to try it in the new basement shop. I'll let ya know how it works out.

Thanks,
John

[Gabriele Piccini]

Hi John,


I must say I am new on this forum and I am trying to achieve my own workshop and therefore a workbench too.
I have just bought the timber and I have chosen "black locust" because I wanted a strong and hard wood.
Reading your post I saw you chosen for Douglas Fir which is a sweet wood, isn't it?
Did I do a wrong thing to have purchased an hard wood like black locust (false acacia)?
What do you think about my timber?

[John Miliunas]

Hi John,


I must say I am new on this forum and I am trying to achieve my own workshop and therefore a workbench too.
I have just bought the timber and I have chosen "black locust" because I wanted a strong and hard wood.
Reading your post I saw you chosen for Douglas Fir which is a sweet wood, isn't it?
Did I do a wrong thing to have purchased an hard wood like black locust (false acacia)?
What do you think about my timber?

Piccini, first of all, a BIG WELCOME to SMC!!! Hope you enjoy your stay here! OK, I'm probably not the same "John" you were asking, but I still think I can assist. Fear NOT with your choice of wood! Doug Fir, although not as hard as what you have chosen, will do the job admirably. But, having said that, IMHO the Locust will outlive both, us and the Fir! It's an extremely stout wood, should have minimal movement and, once done, I'll bet you could park a truck on it! So, IMHO, you did NOT do wrong! Fact is, I'd be thrilled to have something like that in my own shop! Now, we'll be expecting pics of your bench and don't be shy about doing some "in progress" pictures, either!

[Gabriele Piccini]

Piccini, first of all, a BIG WELCOME to SMC!!! Hope you enjoy your stay here! OK, I'm probably not the same "John" you were asking, but I still think I can assist. Fear NOT with your choice of wood! Doug Fir, although not as hard as what you have chosen, will do the job admirably. But, having said that, IMHO the Locust will outlive both, us and the Fir! It's an extremely stout wood, should have minimal movement and, once done, I'll bet you could park a truck on it! So, IMHO, you did NOT do wrong! Fact is, I'd be thrilled to have something like that in my own shop! Now, we'll be expecting pics of your bench and don't be shy about doing some "in progress" pictures, either!

Hi John,
I couldn't have better welcome from this forum: a good encouragement to build my workbench.
But You must excuse me because I am not much able with acronyms: what means IMHO?

[Dave Anderson NH]

I don't know if European Black Locust is the same as the type we have here in the US. If it is, you have picked a material that will be a bit difficult to work, but which is very stable and dense. One of the greatest properties of this wood is its extreme resistance to rot. In the northeastern US it is prized by boatbuilders for frames and even hull planking. A friend of mine built a wonderful little sailing dingy with all of the hull and frames made from Black Locust. It's heavy, but it will outlive at least 3 generations of his family. Fence posts are also made of the stuff and the standard joke is that one Black Locust post will outlast 5 post holes.

[Mike Weaver]

Hi John,
I couldn't have better welcome from this forum: a good encouragement to build my workbench.
But You must excuse me because I am not much able with acronyms: what means IMHO?

Hi!
It means In My Honest Opinion.
You're likely to see a lot of abbreviations here and one site that might help with translating them to phrases is Urban Dictionary at: http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Hope that helps,
-Mike

[Marc Hills]

I made the trestle base of my workbench out of Douglas Fir, and while it's a very nice wood, I selected that primarily because of cost and availability. I believe that black locust is a much harder, denser wood; highly desirable traits for a workbench.

Aside from the impact those attributes have on workability, as Dave Anderson pointed out, I'd imagine that your timber choice is much superior to Douglas Fir. Good luck with your bench project and welcome to SMC!

[Gabriele Piccini]

Hi All You,


I don't know if my timber is the same of your. However I think it is because it's hard, heavy and very bit difficult to work.
From Your answers I must deduct that my choose is good, isn't it?

[John Dingman]

I built the bench out of Doug Fir because at the time, I couldn't afford anything else, and I wanted a bench with good vises. It has been ok. It's softer than I would like, but it doesn't make me want to cry when I run a chisel into the top The material you have selected will make an outstanding bench. Best wishes to you in your woodworking efforts. Keep us posted with pics of the bench.


Kind Regards,
John