Workbench Advice

[Tim Cooper Louisiana]

I read a post somewhere that said the front of the bench takes the most damage. Some folks used SYP but with the first board being hard maple. I'm a sucker for light and dark wood being used together. I was planning on using black locust for the leg chop and the end cap. I hope these are the right terms. I am going to go Roubo. I do want to make sure I use something that will move well with the SYP if I'm going to laminate the first board with something different. Hope that I am making sense.

[Jim Koepke]

I read a post somewhere that said the front of the bench takes the most damage. Some folks used SYP but with the first board being hard maple. I'm a sucker for light and dark wood being used together. I was planning on using black locust for the leg chop and the end cap. I hope these are the right terms. I am going to go Roubo. I do want to make sure I use something that will move well with the SYP if I'm going to laminate the first board with something different. Hope that I am making sense.

You are making good sense. I do not know that what ever the front piece is will have to move the same as SYP. Wood usually moves with the grain and not over the length.

Most of the work gets done on the front of the bench. Things like mortise and dovetail chopping.

jtk

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Most of the work is done on the front of the bench. If you are sawing or chiseling, or doing anything that might result in damage to the bench surface, you should think about using a bench hook. That way, the damage is to the bench hook (which can be quickly and easily replaced), as opposed to your bench top, which you are about to put a lot of time and effort into building, and which you would have to go to a lot of time and effort to repair.

[Jim Koepke]

Most of the work is done on the front of the bench. If you are sawing or chiseling, or doing anything that might result in damage to the bench surface, you should think about using a bench hook. That way, the damage is to the bench hook (which can be quickly and easily replaced), as opposed to your bench top, which you are about to put a lot of time and effort into building, and which you would have to go to a lot of time and effort to repair.

My bench hooks have saved the top of my bench from a lot of damage.

If you lift your saw handle a little, a bench hook can redirect the damage to the middle of the bench. DAMHIKT!

Damage to the bench top is one reason my planes are usually on their side on my bench. Same with chisels being on the bench bevel down.

Even with all that care, there are still plenty of nicks and scrapes.

jtk

[Lenore Epstein]

DAMHIKT!
jtk

We need an acronym dictionary for SMC! I've been active on dozens of forums over the years, but I've never had to research as many internet-isms as I have here. 😳

[Jim Koepke]

We need an acronym dictionary for SMC! I've been active on dozens of forums over the years, but I've never had to research as many internet-isms as I have here. 😳

DAMHIKT = Don't Ask Me How I Know This

There is a list as a Sticky at the top of the Off Topic Forum

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...st-Of-Acronyms

It comes in handy.

jtk

[Lenore Epstein]

Nice! So far I've done well with Google, I'm just not used to feeling so ignorant about Internet jargon.

[Jim Koepke]

Nice! So far I've done well with Google, I'm just not used to feeling so ignorant about Internet jargon.

I do a quick shot of Googling or head scratching when one comes up that I haven't seen.

I do not have a cell phone anymore. When I did, I didn't do texting. It was weird when my son's family visited last December. They all had mobile devices. My son set us up with a Wi-Fi router and they would all have out their iPods, iPhones and iPads tapping away.

jtk

[Chris Hachet]

My bench hooks have saved the top of my bench from a lot of damage.

If you lift your saw handle a little, a bench hook can redirect the damage to the middle of the bench. DAMHIKT!

Damage to the bench top is one reason my planes are usually on their side on my bench. Same with chisels being on the bench bevel down.

Even with all that care, there are still plenty of nicks and scrapes.

jtk

I actually prefer the look of a well used bench...

[Tim Cooper Louisiana]

Hello Creekers!

Bench update: I had planned to use SYP and go with a split top Roubo, but then I saw some pictures and well...desire sometimes wins. Cherry and Soft Maple split top Roubo. It was going to be soft maple top, with cherry gap stop and end cap. Due to some supply issues, the bench dog row was changed to cherry, and the front laminate is hard maple. Still more work to go, but this is the benches current status:

Bench 034.jpg

[Brian Holcombe]

Beautiful work Tim!

[Mike Holbrook]

Tim, can I borrow your friend and his shop to make my bench, please! Actually I am holding of due to a planed move. I have a small Hammer bench I bought. I have also been waiting for my bench wood to dry, a water pipe broke/was damaged in the ceiling of the room housing my wood. This thread has given me some good ideas. Still trying to decide whether to use my Adjust A Bench base for my main bench or use it for a work table. I like the Moravian bench design mentioned early in this thread, it reminds me of the 21st century workbench design I also like but may work better in a smaller shop.

[Luke Dupont]

Hey Tim,

I also second everyone else's advice to build your first bench out of SYP.

I've built several "junk" benches just to gain experience and figure out what I like. I'm about ready to build a good bench, now! But, I'm glad I made the cheap ones - I've learned a lot about what I do and don't need.

Your experience will probably be different, but I've found I don't need:

1) Height. I made my first benches far too low, and I still would prefer something just a bit taller than what I'm using now. I'm not a tall person - only 5'8", but doing small detail work on a low bench (wrist or knuckle height) was absolutely killing my back. Even planing on a 30" bench was killing my back. I've found 36" to be ideal for my height - it's still just short enough that I can comfortably plane, and high enough that I can do detail work without being in pain. I'd recommend making your bench on the higher side - you can always cut it down to size, but it's hard to go back and make it taller.

2) Much weight. I need some, of course, but honestly, I don't do a lot of super heavy work, and my benches, though very light, haven't exhibited much of a problem at all with movement or tipping despite only being in the 50-60lbs range, which is ludicrously light by many people's standards. Again, this is probably in part because I prefer to do somewhat smaller, more delicate work, though I still do bigger projects on occasion.


And I've found I do need:

1) A tool well. Haven't had one in any of my benches, and they've all had narrow tops. Nowhere to put one's tools makes for a perpetually cluttered benchtop in my case - worse yet, with things occasionally falling off!

2) A portable bench that can break down, fold up, or some combination of the two. I work in different places a lot. A huge, weighty, bulky bench that is permanently together and permanently stationary is not for me.


That's just an example of what I've learned; your experience, and your preferences will most likely be different.

What part of Louisiana are you in, btw? I'm in Hattiesburg, MS - may be relatively close.

[Tim Cooper Louisiana]

Hey Luke. I am about 4 hours NW of you . I've never been to Hattiesburg, but I should visit to show homage to the greatest football player of all time. SYP would have made a good bench probably, but it's too late now hehe.

[Tim Cooper Louisiana]

I still need to choose and apply a finish. Other than that...finished!