Bench Update

[Mark Drayton]

Thanks Doug. Three replies to one question! Very helpful replies - issues I hadn't considered as I was thinking about mounting the vise slightly further in (to the right) than yours to avoid a leg, retaining a short piece of bench top at its original depth to the left of the vise. That might not be such a good idea, or even possible, to allow the hinge pin to slide in without making an excessive width notch. Food for thought. Maybe adding a 2 17/32" skirt to the front of the existing solid skirtless top would be an easier solution. Bench restoration is scheduled to start next Monday!

Mark

[Doug Shepard]

Yeah Monte - Sam's original thread had a good description of why & how he came up with this. I can confirm though that it's way harder than face grain ply.

[Monte Milanuk]

Interesting... I'm just finishing up my first 'woodworking' bench - Norm's NYW bench and I'm already looking for something else I've been looking at some sort of laminated top, but I didn't want to spend the $$$ on hard maple for a bench top, and have some concerns about the 'hardness' of a top made from fir or pine, even laminated strips there off. I'll have to experiment a bit - I've got a work-cart project coming up that would probably work just fine for a 'test bed'...

One other question... though this might be more for Sam, since he's had his for a few years and presumably put some miles on it in that time - hope he's reading

How does it hold up w/ regards to dog holes and such... no problems w/ holes getting 'loose' or oblonged from use/abuse?

Thanks,

Monte

[Brian Dormer]

Oh darn! I never thought about recessing the vise and bringing the apron behind it like that....

Back to the CAD program - time to make more design changes.

[Gary Muto]

That bench is fantastic. I'd be afraid to scratch or ding it up.

[Lori Kleinberg]

Wow, Doug that is one sweet looking workbench. Use it well.

[Jameel Abraham]

Jameel, my Noden bench is rock solid. If you saw one wobbling, I have to imagine it was not set up properly, such as having the stretchers properly adjusted.

Musta been it! Thanks Jim

[Doug Shepard]

I've been cleaning up the GaShop most of the day. Some of you may recall that the Noden Legs were what was enabling me to even fit a workbench in my limited space. The plan is to raise the bench to max height when it's not in use and existing stuff slid under the bench. Well I start trying to raise the bench way up and it wont go past a certain point. This is with the casters engaged. It ends up just trying to pivot/rotate up on the casters on the opposite side from where you're lifting once you get it so high. So after puzzling for a while I crank the casters up so that all the weight is on the leg panels. Voila - no problem getting the bench to adjust to various heights. Not sure what's causing this and it's not a huge deal. I'll just have to raise it up first after use, then engage the casters to slide into it's spot. But it sure is puzzling.

[Doug Shepard]

Finally got my small punchlist of things completed from when I first posted.

-Finish touchup in a couple spots - Done
-Easing the dog hole edges - Used a 1/8" roundover bit from SMC advice. I was originally thinking of a champfer bit and I'm glad I went with the roundover - it worked great
-Drilling dog holes in the Twinscrew jaw - Done
-A tiny bit more shimming underneath for the UHMW rub strips.
Got that all tweaked and the twinscrew turns very smooth now out until the final 3-4" of extension when it wants to sag more and gets a bit stiffer to crank. I think over time once the screws have cut a bit deeper into the UHMW rub strips it's going to be good for the full length.

I had also been planning on a full width bench stop and threw this one together from leftover purpleheart, oak dowel, and some scrap ebony to wedge the dowel. It's 3/8" x 1-3/4" and hangs over the bench edges about 1/2" so there's something to grip and work it up out of the dog holes.
BenchStop01.jpgBenchStop02.jpg

Also decided to put a couple of these in the front edge as well.
BenchStop04.jpgBenchStop03.jpg

Seems a bit absurd that the first real project that's going to come off this is a dog house, but it was also meant as an assembly table as well, so....