It’s finished. Well, except for gluing the leather on the vises and a coat of oil (blo:varnish:ms) on the shelf. That will have to wait for warmer weather when I can have windows open. Apparently not everyone appreciates essence of blo. I will add holes for the Grammercy holdfast as needed.
For inspiration I used a combination of Schwarz’s Workbenches (1st book), Bob Lang’s article about his split-top bench in Pop. WW magazine, Benchcrafted web-site info, and what I learned watching the many other bench builds here on the creek.
Some numbers.
94” long,
26.5” wide with 2” center pull-outs/stops, 4, each about 2 ft. long
34” high
2&7/8” thick
364 lb. I weighed each sub-assembly as it went together and was surprised the weight was so high, since most of the top is Douglas Fir.
The legs are a bit over 5x5”. The legs and upper and lower end stretchers are glued and pegged (3/8”WO). The legs have a tendon 1.5” into the top.
The shelf boards are 1 & 3/8” SYP shiplapped with a 778.
The bench is not against a wall so I went with a little extra width.
Top: DF from 4x4 post, with white oak for the dog strip
Legs & stretchers & shelf: SYP
Leg vise: screw from Lee Valley & WO chop
End vise: Record 52ED (9”) w/ red oak chops
Deadman: DF
Benchcrafted barrel nuts & bolts for the long stretchers.
Overall I’m very very happy with it. It’s so much nicer chopping mortises on a decent bench. No bounce! I was even using the tops when they were upside down on my old workbench.
The center pull-outs (don’t know what else to call them) are notched so they are flush with the 2 top halves. When flipped over they are about 3/8” proud for planning stops and can be left out for clamping. I made 4 of them, each about 2 ft. long. I wanted more options than having just one the length of the bench. They are supported by oak 1” (full) X1” that are screwed only to one half of the top so moisture generated movement won’t be a problem.
I didn’t want to rout a groove to house the top of the deadman. Instead I attached angle iron (1.5” x 1/8”) to the underside of the top. This meant the that deadman wouldn’t be usable the full length of the stretcher. You lose whatever the width of the deadman is. 8” here. On the back of the deadman I attached oak with a groove that straddles the angle iron. I cut out a small notch, about ½”, out of the back of the oak to act as a stop so the deadman registers against the iron. Hope that makes sense.
For those who may want to add a deadman to an existing bench I think this would be an easier approach than taking the top off and routing the groove. Not even an option if your bench top is glued on.
If there is a next time:
Be much more careful when selecting stock. But I was impatient to get started. And I swear some of those DF 4x4s looked a lot better in the store than they did after I got home with them.
I did a poor job of milling the lumber. I’m sure more experience will help. I was hoping for a thicker top.
I did a lousy job boring the holes for the knock-down stretchers. I tried Bob’s ring trick on the bit, too. But in the end it went together.
It just seemed like I spent too much time on what should have been a straightforward process.
Instead of running around after skateboard wheels and bearings and hardware, I’d order the “Benchcrafted Roller Bracket Hardware”. I didn’t save enough to make much of a difference and they are a great USA company.
Thanks for looking.
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