The whats on your bench besides sharpening stones thread

[Chris Griggs]

Hi friends,

Wow, as I write this the top three thread on the forum are about sharpening. As one of the main perpetrators of sharpening discussions that go on and on and on....and on....etc... I feel it is my duty to start a thread about something other than sharpening stones.

So here's what I'm up to lately. I've been working on this cabinet for DVDs and small books for well....way to long. Just can't seem to get as much time in the shop as I would like and I'm not that fast a woodworker anyway...so it goes I guess. Anyway, I don't have any super recent pics of it on me but here's a few from a while back when I was looking at hardware options.

IMG_20130415_205820_678.jpg IMG_20130415_204516_867.jpg

Its farther along now. Just need to hang the doors, nail on the t&g back, slap some finish it and install the hardware.

I do have some recent pics of the finish options I was considering. I asked George what he liked for figured maple and he said his favorite was Thai/Siam Seedlac. Well, I ended up ordering that from shellac.net along with some "Dark Brown Biyasaki" seedlac as well as some Kusmi seedlac which is lighter and more refined. Here it is slapped on a test piece (though not all that evenly)...from left to right it goes Dark Brown Biyasaki, Thai/Siam, Kusmi, bare wood

IMG_20130519_130705_554.jpg IMG_20130519_130729_349.jpg

I decided to go with the Biyaski (again on the left). I quite like it...its got a nice deep carmel tone w/o the oranginess of amber shellac. Here is on one of the door panels (which I prefinished) with BLO first applied underneath.

IMG_20130427_184127_488.jpg

Anyway that's what I've been up to in terms of actual woodworking. What's on your bench?

[Jim Koepke]

No pictures of the current project, a potting bench.

My first thought was this was a thread about what items might always be found on top of our benches.

For my bench, there is almost always a 1" chip brush with the bristles shortened. It is used to clean the dust and shavings out of planes after use. After that there is usually at least one pencil and a try square, followed by a marking knife.

jtk

[Chris Griggs]

My first thought was this was a thread about what items might always be found on top of our benches.

For my bench, there is almost always a 1" chip brush with the bristles shortened. It is used to clean the dust and shavings out of planes after use. After that there is usually at least one pencil and a try square, followed by a marking knife.

I like that idea. Let's expand it to include this topic or current projects. Pretty similar for me, my bench pretty much always has my 6" double square on it, at least one pencil, a marking knife, and more often than not one 3/4" to 1.5" chisel and my oak mallet.

Actually my bench almost always has tons of crap all over it, but those things are almost always in the mix.

[Steve Beadle]

Unless I need more room to work on a particular project, my workbench is home to my "FrankenCaddy"--a kind of catch-all tool rack that houses most of the tools I use frequently. The attached picture does not show modifications/additions made since the caddy was first built. If I need to move it, there are hand-holes in the upright ends. The caddy holds all my eclectic collection of chisels, my marking tools, a collection of rulers, etc. Each end (you can't see this in the picture) also has places for a mallet, two saws, and other implements.
ToolCadyHiAngleFront.jpg

[Harold Burrell]

Hi friends,

Wow, as I write this the top three thread on the forum are about sharpening. As one of the main perpetrators of sharpening discussions that go on and on and on....and on....etc... I feel it is my duty to start a thread about something other than sharpening stones.

So here's what I'm up to lately. I've been working on this cabinet for DVDs and small books for well....way to long. Just can't seem to get as much time in the shop as I would like and I'm not that fast a woodworker anyway...so it goes I guess. Anyway, I don't have any super recent pics of it on me but here's a few from a while back when I was looking at hardware options.

IMG_20130415_205820_678.jpg IMG_20130415_204516_867.jpg

Its farther along now. Just need to hang the doors, nail on the t&g back, slap some finish it and install the hardware.

I do have some recent pics of the finish options I was considering. I asked George what he liked for figured maple and he said his favorite was Thai/Siam Seedlac. Well, I ended up ordering that from shellac.net along with some "Dark Brown Biyasaki" seedlac as well as some Kusmi seedlac which is lighter and more refined. Here it is slapped on a test piece (though not all that evenly)...from left to right it goes Dark Brown Biyasaki, Thai/Siam, Kusmi, bare wood

IMG_20130519_130705_554.jpg IMG_20130519_130729_349.jpg

I decided to go with the Biyaski (again on the left). I quite like it...its got a nice deep carmel tone w/o the oranginess of amber shellac. Here is on one of the door panels (which I prefinished) with BLO first applied underneath.

IMG_20130427_184127_488.jpg

Anyway that's what I've been up to in terms of actual woodworking. What's on your bench?

Wow...awesome stuff!

And what a WONDERFUL job prepping the wood for finish.

I gotta ask...what did you plane them with? What was the bevel angle? What kind of stones did you sharpen them on?








Sorry...couldn't resist...

[David Weaver]

Kitchen cabinet parts. I wish I could say something more interesting, but that's pretty much it.

And a couple of air tools. No sharpening stones though.

[dan sherman]

Parts of a pair of Jatoba end tables that are being pre-finished, and a bunch of chisels that need resharpened.

[Edward Mitton]

Let's see.....OK, the bench is piled with a lot of parts and pieces of a camper trailor restoration I'm currently immersed in. Over here are a couple pieces of hand planes scattered about that I was doing restoration work on before the camper showed up. And in this corner (under a camper vent cover), a small box of vintage hand tools picked up at a yard sale last week that I haven't had time to put away in the "to be restored" bin. Oh, and here's a pine scrap that's still in the bench vise that I was using to test a newly sharpened chisel....ah, here it is, a wood project - the leg pieces of a lathe stand that I hand-sawed to size a couple of weeks ago. Don't know when I'll be able to get back to that one...Oh, geez, gotta go mow the lawn and clean the pond, but first I need to go through this pile of junk mail that somehow landed on my workbench......

[Shaun Mahood]

I'm working on a 3 piece hard maple table top with breadboard ends . I didn't put enough work in when straightening the edges because I was too excited about doing my first tongue and groove, so now I'm alternating between adjusting that and flattening the 3 pieces to match each other. After that I get to try my first breadboard ends - I think I'm going to actually make sure they are straight this time. I now see why hard maple is not really recommended for hand tool only work, but I am definitely getting a workout.

[Chris Griggs]

I like this thread. Interesting to hear what other folks are working on. Steve's franken caddy is pretty cool too! I'd love to see more pics of what folks are working on if anyone gets a chance.

I just got home and took a shot of my bench as I last left it. I was close. The mallet is there, as is my 4" double square (though I guessed my 6"), and in that little package dealy-wacker in the back left corner (in front of the backsaws are my 2 marking knives). In the little slot wrack thingy on the back you can obviously see my backsaws (though I don't really count those as being on my bench all the time even thought they are alway hanging there). You can also see my 1.5" 750 which along with one of my Veritas chisels. Things I didn't guess...a marking gauge which is also almost always there and just to the right of the stanley 750 handle you can see the handle of my new LN float that is rapidly becoming something that lives at the bench (more on that wonderful tool later).

IMG_20130524_163043_712.jpg

Wow...awesome stuff!

And what a WONDERFUL job prepping the wood for finish.

I gotta ask...what did you plane them with? What was the bevel angle? What kind of stones did you sharpen them on?


Sorry...couldn't resist...

Jeez Harold! With questions like that people are going to think that sharpening is somehow important in woodworking

Thanks for commenting. It's coming along ok. A little rougher around edges than I would like (which can be seen in person, better than the photo) but it will be nice piece of furniture despite a number of boogers. The panel was planed with a regular stanley bailey No. 4C (type 18 I believe). It has the stock iron in it with the stock chipbreaker set very very close. It is hollow ground at around 30 degrees but for a finished surface like this I jigged it up in my exclipse guide and put a 35 degree MB on it (the 35 degree bevel gives some nice edge longevity). I am pretty sure I finished up the blade with a few strokes on CrOx, but I can't recall, as I often just go to work right from my Naniwa Snow White 8k stone. In the previous pic the figure looks extra intense since it was shot at an angle under somewhat raking light. It does have a nice mix of curl and light birdseye figure but its less intense looking from head on. Here are some head on cell phone shots of the cabinet in its current state.

IMG_20130524_160208_363.jpg IMG_20130524_160320_385.jpg

[steven c newman]

Needed a small box for use as an "IN" box for mail. Bench (at least that is what I call it)SDC15136.jpgSDC15138.jpgSDC15129.jpgSDC15142.jpgwork. Something simple, just nail and glue boxSDC15182.jpgSDC15183.jpgedges eased with a block plane. About the size of a "normal" letter. may have to make an "out" box later? Oh, and the "shop" i work out of? Called a Dungeon Shop.

[Chris Griggs]

I'm working on a 3 piece hard maple table top with breadboard ends . I didn't put enough work in when straightening the edges because I was too excited about doing my first tongue and groove, so now I'm alternating between adjusting that and flattening the 3 pieces to match each other. After that I get to try my first breadboard ends - I think I'm going to actually make sure they are straight this time. I now see why hard maple is not really recommended for hand tool only work, but I am definitely getting a workout.

Sounds like a fun project, though I hear ya on the maple. I'd rather work walnut or cherry. Would love to see some pics if you have a chance.

[Mark Baldwin III]

mistakes, mostly.

[Chris Griggs]

mistakes, mostly.

hahahahahah. Choked on my beer. That answers going to be tough to beat! I can relate!

[John T Barker]

My current project is a bowl that I am making out of a big piece of burl. I'm not turning it but I want it to look turned so I made a router jig to do that. Now I need to make a new router jig to flatten the top of the burl...pretty much an overarm router.
On my bench is a collection of tools of every kind that I used to make the jig and the ones I used to make the first burl bowl. Way too much crap, no other way to put it.

John