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Thread: WIP saw bench

  1. #1
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    WIP saw bench

    Building a split top saw bench for my shop in white ash. Been doing everything by hand including dimensioning.









    Also so worth mentioning that I am, for the most part, no longer sanding. Happy to say it to, I did not have carpel tunnel agitations until I began using a ROS a few years ago.
    Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 12-16-2014 at 9:10 PM.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  2. #2
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    Looks good. I'll be interested to see how it comes out. I need to make one for myself too.

    And you have carpet in your shop? Sounds nice to work on but a pain to clean up.

  3. #3
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    It looks great so far. It's going to be too nice to saw on

    How's the ash to work with hand tools?
    -- Dan Rode

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

  4. #4
    Brian,

    Looks good.

    You are a better man than I, Joinery by hand, always. Dimensioning, that's why the machines take up half my small shop :-).

    ken

  5. #5
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    Thanks gents,

    Ryan, this is my take on the ones that Daniel Rode and Judson Green built last year.

    Daniel, it works very nicely. It splits easily which is good and bad, and finishes beautifully off the plane. Also helps that most of the stock available to me is very nicely rough sawn.

    Ken, lol! I do it mostly because I'm tired of dragging boards back and forth to the mill, I need to take 1/4" off the top boards, so they will likely be jointed by hand and planed by machine just to save some effort. I've taken that kind of material off before, but it gets old quick.
    Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 12-16-2014 at 11:20 PM.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  6. #6
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    I was planing to make a similar saw bench. Then Highland Woodworking decided to offer Schwarz's new class "Build a Pair of Saw Benches". Turns out Chris has converted to building benches using Windsor Chair techniques. The class explores the tapered mortise and tenon joints essential to attaching legs to Windsor Chairs, a topic I am very interested in. Another skill the course teaches is making octagonal chair legs using a hand plane. Since I do not own a lathe and, have no experience turning and prefer rustic Windsor Chair designs this is another skill I am very interested in. So I signed up for the class a week or two ago.

    I think Chris' class will be the perfect skill builder for the class I signed up for today at Country Workshops: Drew Langsner's "Rustic Windsor Chairmaking".

  7. #7
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    That will definitely be a cool class, post up the results! I have always been a bit nervous about the hell tenons (fox wedge tenon) involved in that sort of build.

    worth checking into japanese saw horses as well, I might build a set at some point.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  8. #8
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    I need to make one for myself too.
    My suggestion is to make two. Especially when you want to crosscut a piece it is convenient to have a resting bench for the cut off.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    My suggestion is to make two. Especially when you want to crosscut a piece it is convenient to have a resting bench for the cut off.

    jtk


    I have only one saw bench, but have a pair of saw horses at the same height as the bench. Works fantastically and the saw horses can also double for... saw horses - low ones.


    Looking good so far Brian! More pictures please!
    I got cash in my pocket. I got desire in my heart....

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by ken hatch View Post
    Brian,

    Looks good.

    You are a better man than I, Joinery by hand, always. Dimensioning, that's why the machines take up half my small shop :-).

    ken
    yep, same here. But I do need a new pair of saw benches...

  11. #11
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    I hope two of the saw benches we make in the class will stack well. Probably best to put one top face down on the other. The pictures I have seen illustrate they are shaped a little more like a stool than a typical saw bench. Regardless, I think I will find many uses for them. Apparently these two benches are used in tandem with the sawing taking place between the two. The tops are listed as being 8"x16" and they look like small work benches in the pictures. I will have to restrain myself from going at that thick poplar top with drawknife and spokeshave to make it into a proper windsor seat. The red oak and poplar are the species I can get for the least/no cost too.

    Yes "the hell tenons"! I had a problem drilling the angles using the methods Galbert taught in the Windsor Chair class I took. Petter used mirrors and a hand drill. My eyes had a real problem focusing on those objects at different distances quickly. I am anxious to see if Schwarz and Langsner have methods better suited to old eyes with oddly corrected vision. I think Langsner is around my age and also has corrected vision. I have noticed Schwarz wearing glasses recently too. Galbert seems to have hawk eyes.

    I looked up pictures of Japanese saw horses. I believe Brian's are built with similar tools\designs\techniques? I missed that connection at first because I recently read Odate's book. Odate often works sitting on the floor. He tends to use shorter work rests. Interesting that many Japanese experts tend to get their feet into the woodworking process too. Scares me a little though, do I want to risk both my hands and feet. Will more targets of opportunity increase my chance of injury?

    Here is a link to Schwarz's recent Blog discussing the evolution of this class\project.


    Have a Party, Build a Sawbench

    Posted on December 7, 2014 by Chris Schwarz
    Last edited by Mike Holbrook; 12-17-2014 at 10:08 AM.

  12. #12
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    Works fantastically and the saw horses can also double for... saw horses - low ones.
    Often when doing some carving or other seated tasks two of my saw benches are set up like an 'L' at the end of my bench. This allows me to scoot around to get different angles of attack on a work piece.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  13. #13
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    I hope two of the saw benches we make in the class will stack well.
    This is something that should be considered (asked about) before beginning the build. There are various ways for this to work depending on the style of saw bench being built. One easy way is to make a long bench and a short bench so the short bench is shorter than the distance between the legs of the long bench.

    A recently viewed episode of the Woodwright's Shop used a tapered dovetail to hold the legs in a thick slab. It looked like it would be a great saw bench.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  14. #14
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    Thanks Judson!

    Jim I saw that as well, great episode in fact!

  15. #15
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    Brian,

    Very nicely done!

    Stew

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