[Sarge240]

Gentleman, some of you may remember my Workbench Build that was started about 6 months ago (?), which has taken an extensive amount of time to complete. Below is the Link to the original thread:

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/workbench-project-50745/

I decided I was going to do a write up for the entire build from day one. I believe that this could help beginning woodworkers with their ideas and assist in the basics that i learned from the project.

Background:

I wanted to build a Holtzeppfel style bench using only hand tools, which is the reason that this took so much time. I will begin with the selection of wood:

I used Construction Green Lumber, DOuglas Fir 4x4. Why 4x4? Density and strength mainly. I liked the idea of less hassle with 2x4s, and the flexibility with 4x4 face gluing. Specifically, the idea of having four sides to choose from rather than two as a 2x4.

 

[Sarge240]

I then grabbed a lumber crayon, faced all the boards together and marked where the obvious gaps were. This allowed me to hand plane the edges to create a flat surface.

I used the clamps to tighten them down to where i could see where the gaps would be, then used a Scrub PLane to flatten those areas. Finally, i smoothed up the top with sandpaper, working from 150 to 320 grit. The tearout from the planes was unavoidable, mainly because i was not experienced enough to pay attention to grain pattern when laminating the faces together. If i had done that, i would have had almost no tearout. I am almost positive that the soft green DF would have some, but not as much. In the end, its flat, looks good, and is strong as oak.

 

[Sarge240]

The scrub plane is a Harbor Freight $10 plane, which is pretty narrow and light weight. I asked Dave Paine if he could turn the blade into a rounded scrub blade, and he did this for me easily. Needless to say, this little plane did the trick, taking of pretty significant shavings with little effort. Dave has a talent with sharpening and restoring/modifying planes. I am glad to have worked with him, and grateful he was so kind.

 

[Sarge240]

Now that the top was planed and ready for face gluing, i began the legs and frame.

Using the scrub plane, i worked 4x6 Douglas Fir and made a flat surface, then began the mortises for the frame joinery

 

[Sarge240]

For the joinery, i bought a Harbor Freight Mortise Gauge, which did the trick, but to be honest, this thing isnt that good. It was definitely subpar in performance, as the pin would catch grain and follow it. I had to bear hard on it to avoid that, and eventually gave up. I then began using the combination square, and it worked alot better.

 

[Sarge240]

error with uploading pics.....files failed

 

[Sarge240]

Attempt at uploading photo....file failed....tried 8 different files...all failed....

 

[Dave Paine]

Attempt at uploading photo....file failed....tried 8 different files...all failed....

Drat, I was just enjoying the show. Was a nice build thread so far. :sad:

Likely you need to manually resize the files.

If you need help, send me the files in an off-site email and I will resize to fit the forum's file size constraints.

 

[Sarge240]

This is extremely frustrating, it wont let me upload any, and i downloaded google picasa to edit the size, and it wont let me edit the size.....annoyed!

 

[Sarge240]

Okay lets try this again:

I used crappy chisels, green soft wood, and it was NOT easy to chop each mortise. After a week i finally ordered the Narex chisels from Lee valley. HUGE difference.

 

[Sarge240]

The finished saddle mortise, the drawbore technique

 

[Sarge240]

Cutting the pin using a lumber crayon sharpener

 

[Sarge240]

Fairly straight forward, I just drilled the hole, offset slightly on the tenon, and slammed the pin through:

 

[Sarge240]

Next i added the "skirt" which is the same size as the top, just requiring dovetails for the end caps.

Since i did not have, nor did i WANT to spend $40.00 on a dovetail marker, i made my own.

 

[Sarge240]

Next was the end cap, and the hole for the wagon vise. I also put 3/4 inch square slides into the skirt and top, allowing for movement of the wagon vise. I wanted to note that it was up to this point where i had been free of power tools. I had no choice but to use the router for the slides, as there was no way to have them accurate without a router.

 

[Sarge240]

I also used the router to round the inside edges of the dog holes. This had to be done in order to save the bench top from cracking and flexing under the stress of the holdfasts. Shown are the Gramercy Tools Holdfasts. The set of two cost $35.oo shipped. Not too bad, and they work great.

I ensured that the dog holes matched the distance the hold fasts could reach, making sure that they didnt touch.

 

[Sarge240]

Comparison of the cheap Taiwan made holdfast, and the Gramercy one.

 

[Sarge240]

The completed bench. I am proud to say that i used power tools a total of 4 times, the rest was done by hand. I hand cut the tenons, hand chiseled each mortise, sawed each dovetail, and assembled each joint without glue and by hand.

I also needed to add that the tool tray underneath is removable. It sts on the strethers, but can be taken out. Due to the picture loading issue, i omitted around 15 pictures.

I cannot begin to touch the tip of the iceburg on the stuff i learned. I would like to extend a special thank you to Dave Paine. Without him i would not have been able to complete this project within a decade. Thanks Dave!!

 

[Sarge240]

More completion pics. Also wanted to note that i took strips of leather and placed them inside the wagon vise and the face vise. This was fairly simple, but cutting leather with scissor isnt really easy to do!

 

[MasterSplinter]

WOW! Outstanding job!