How Close is Good Enough?

[Jim Koepke]

Congrats Bill!

+1 on that,

jtk

[Dan Barr]

Congrats! Now you're ready to play!

[David Eisenhauer]

Good stuff Bill. Way to go.

[Bill McCarthy]

Well, I'm pleased to announce I've just completed the assembly of my first bench. I was actually shooting for yesterday, but I'll accept today. Tomorrow I go for some surgery and won't be able to lift anything heavy for 6 weeks. This would be considered heavy. I don't know how much it weighs, but while manipulating it (so I could flatten and square the sides), it slipped and landed on my foot. My foot is all black and blue.

Its a total of 3' wide and 6' long. The well in the middle is 10 1/4" wide 2" deep. I used red oak for the jaws of the vice, and installed it the way Paul Sellers shows in his blog. The vise itself is a 9" Eclipse, with a quick release. Paul shows two ways of building the legs, one way accommodating a tail vise and one without. I've constructed the legs such that in the future, I can come back and add a tail vise.

After I've recovered enough from the surgery, I plan on finishing it. I'm guessing that would be a good "light duty" project.

Because I've done this in a bed room, I've put masonite on the floor to protect the carpet. I may have to figure a way of securing it to the wall. Even though it is heavy (a total of 30 2x4s), the masonite is slippery and it slides around a little.

Also, because I was told you guys like to see pictures, I've attached a few.

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[Jim Koepke]

Looks good Bill.

You might fine a little bit of rubber under the legs will stop the sliding. It may be advantageous to be able to move the bench away from the walls at times.

jtk

[David Eisenhauer]

Outstanding Bill. That bench will have you flying like the wind when you recover from surgery (and a black/blue foot). You ought to just use the bench on the carpeted floor like Brian H does and see if that causes you to start turning out laser accurate joinery like he produces. Just a thought. I don't know about all of this level stuff as I think it is highly overrated and takes the fun out of chasing something across the table on its journey towards the floor.

[Bill McCarthy]

You ought to just use the bench on the carpeted floor like Brian H does and see if that causes you to start turning out laser accurate joinery like he produces. Just a thought.

I'll probably stick with the masonite. The option for the laser, which in addition to cutting the joinery also Zaps the sawdust before it hits the floor, was just too expensive (besides, I thought this was supposed to be about working with hand tools. Are you implying that Brian cheats by using a laser?).

I don't know about all of this level stuff as I think it is highly overrated and takes the fun out of chasing something across the table on its journey towards the floor.

Don't worry Dave. Even though the bench, inexplicably, turned out level; I did leave lots of sharp edges and corners that I can jamb my hands and head against while diving to catch those errant pieces that don't want to stay put.

[Noah Magnuson]

Do I need winding sticks that are longer than 6 ft? (I don't think I have enough space in the room to get back far enough to see the entire 6 ft at the same time.)

Now the answer I'd prefer to hear is that I don't need to concern myself with that, thus no need for longer winding sticks. I also sometimes find myself living in a fairy tale too, where everyone lives happily ever after.

Usually, your eye can be used for surprising accuracy sighting down the length of a board's edges, but if you want the assurance of a full-length straightedge, drive a brad/pushpin into the corner and pull a length of fishing line along the edge.