# Hayward Workbench Build - Finished!



## Bodgers (23 Jun 2018)

This has been a longtime coming for me, but I have finally run out of excuses to start this Workbench build. The Black and Decker workmate isn't cutting it anymore. Don't expect regular updates here, I am expecting this to take up to a year to finish.

This is what I am building (from Hayward's How to Make Woodworking Tools book). This large scale print out has been on my workshop wall as motivation for a while...







The bench will be done in 100% Beech. I have about 5 slabs of 45-55mm thick boards (widths of 400-500mm) which I bought cheap for about £70. I also have some thicker stock of skip planed beech from Duffield timber for the top. All in, I've spent about £150 including a used Record vice that needs attention.






Day 1, I started by breaking up the slabs into stock for the legs. I used a track saw to establish a straight edge and then bandsawed the rest. This is is seriously heavy stuff to work with, I am having to take it slowly to protect my back. 






I have planed a couple of lengths so far, and it planes really nicely, if a little boring looking...it's only Beech after all... 






I'm no expert, so as I post, feel free to point out mistakes. 



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## ED65 (24 Jun 2018)

Can't wait to see those drawings which I've admired many times turned into the reality of a bench so I shall be watching with interest Bodgers. Hope it all goes well!


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## dzj (24 Jun 2018)

" I am expecting this to take up to a year to finish."

??
Once you've prepared the stock, the rest you could do in a day at an easy pace.
Good thing you don't do this for a living. 

Good luck, in any case.


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## Bodgers (24 Jun 2018)

dzj":3285kpi1 said:


> " I am expecting this to take up to a year to finish."
> 
> ??
> Once you've prepared the stock, the rest you could do in a day at an easy pace.
> ...


Err thanks. Or something.

I have very limited time in the workshop. 3 kids and a full time job and all that. 

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## Jacob (24 Jun 2018)

Looks a good bench but I don't see any point in the splayed back legs. Maybe just do them square in the normal way?


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## Fitzroy (24 Jun 2018)

I understand the year deadline. I cut the first board for my bench at least 6 months back, since then I’ve had a dozen other house related jobs, and spent more time with my growing family and as a result done little else. I’m actually thinking I need to make a plan/schedule with SWBMO agreeing a few hours each week and dedicate them to the bench else I’ll never move it forwards. 

Good luck with the build, I look forward to the updates whenever they come. 

Fitz.


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## Bodgers (24 Jun 2018)

Jacob":1bw3utxf said:


> Looks a good bench but I don't see any point in the splayed back legs. Maybe just do them square in the normal way?


Weight distribution and the tool well at the back I think.

If you look at Woodrights PBS episode on the mini Roubo it sort of makes sense.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&sourc ... 6SuO8nQTQR

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## Jacob (24 Jun 2018)

Had a look . Woodright's is a "fashion" bench, there's a lot of them about. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole! Difficult and pointless constructional details and a stupid all timber leg vice. 
Hayward's bench has just a bit of "fashion" input, but better ignored. 
Proper work benches tend to look really boring - not fashionable or interesting at all!


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## dzj (24 Jun 2018)

Bodgers":1wyy54er said:


> Err thanks. Or something.
> 
> I have very limited time in the workshop. 3 kids and a full time job and all that.
> 
> Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Tapatalk



No offence meant, Bodgers. Family obligations can be burdensome.


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## Beau (24 Jun 2018)

Looks like a great project and a handsome bench.

The splayed legs are probably not necessary but great way to practice skills and works perfectly when done.

Wish I could make one in a day :shock:


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## custard (24 Jun 2018)

I get that the angled legs look cute, but they'll add _at least_ 50% to your build time and _at least_ double the opportunity for a catastrophic cock-up. Are they _really_ worth it, especially when you're so time limited?

If the answer is yes then have a read of this.

leadwood-desk-t102286.html

It's a short WIP for a desk with similarly angled legs. One of the points I'd underline is the need for a full sized rod or plan whenever you're working with angles. You'll need it to get accurate dimensions for the side rails, plus it'll throw up a few interesting conundrums. For example, take the lower shelf, are you going to bevel the top edge of the lower long back rail to act a support for the shelf? And if so exactly what should the height of that back rail be in order to ensure the shelf lays flat, and what are the implications for laying out the M&T's at the ends of the rail? These are the sort of constructional detail that all need to be fully resolved on a full scale rod before you even begin cutting wood.

Good luck!


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## dzj (24 Jun 2018)

"Wish I could make one in a day "

Once you have dimensioned stock, cutting to length, making a dozen or so
M&Ts and gluing everything up is what any apprentice can manage easily in a day.
With the kit an average amateur/ DIY shop is equipped these days, most anyone can do it also.

Yes, family/ professional obligations can be a hindrance.


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## MattRoberts (24 Jun 2018)

Looking forward to seeing the progress Bodgers. Requesting the design - this is a bench you'll look at and use every time you're in the workshop, so build it however you like!

Sure a super simple 'boring' design might be the most functional, but creating one with a nice form without hindering function is surely a more rewarding feat?


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## Bodgers (24 Jun 2018)

custard":35gw9hap said:


> I get that the angled legs look cute, but they'll add _at least_ 50% to your build time and _at least_ double the opportunity for a catastrophic cock-up. Are they _really_ worth it, especially when you're so time limited?
> 
> If the answer is yes then have a read of this.
> 
> ...


I did come up with my own design which was actually more complicated, so I am actually seeing this as a simpler task than what I had planned. I was sort of hoping my skills would stretch to cutting angles, but I guess I am about to find out.

To answer the bevel question - yes. I hadn't thought too much past that as I am pretty much concentrating on the 'A frame' end bits for now as they will be glued - the rest will be knock down.

The drawings from the book are pretty limited...but I have extra info.

Don't laugh, but in a fairly recent issue of Popular Woodworking they guy from benchcrafted tools wrote an article about making this exact bench as a kids bench. So I have a copy of that to refer to as well.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&sourc ... capIPajwwo

http://benchcrafted.blogspot.com/2017/0 ... y.html?m=1


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## Bodgers (24 Jun 2018)

Jacob":1g8nx86h said:


> Had a look . Woodright's is a "fashion" bench, there's a lot of them about. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole! Difficult and pointless constructional details and a stupid all timber leg vice.
> Hayward's bench has just a bit of "fashion" input, but better ignored.
> Proper work benches tend to look really boring - not fashionable or interesting at all!


Well maybe, but I'm not arguing with Hayward. He knew what he was doing. It is simpler than the mini Roubo anyways.

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## Jacob (24 Jun 2018)

Bodgers":1da9iiog said:


> Jacob":1da9iiog said:
> 
> 
> > Had a look . Woodright's is a "fashion" bench, there's a lot of them about. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole! Difficult and pointless constructional details and a stupid all timber leg vice.
> ...


He was trying to introduce an original twist into yet another article about benches. All part of making a living as a writer - otherwise he'd only need to write one article about benches in his lifetime - there isn't that much to say!


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## Bodgers (24 Jun 2018)

Jacob":34mxnrw5 said:


> Bodgers":34mxnrw5 said:
> 
> 
> > Jacob":34mxnrw5 said:
> ...


I have a few of his books and I disagree. 

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## Stanleymonkey (24 Jun 2018)

I get that - good idea to sort out one night per week. Good for you to have something to look forward to.

I think that some jobs will get done quickly - but then I lose some weekend time and can't catch it up because of powertools and noise for the neighbours in the evenings. There are times as well when after a few disturbed nights you can't risk turning on the pillar drill or marking out something complex because your are so bl**dy tired!!

Good luck with the bench build - keep posting





Fitzroy":2o741nrw said:


> I understand the year deadline. I cut the first board for my bench at least 6 months back, since then I’ve had a dozen other house related jobs, and spent more time with my growing family and as a result done little else. I’m actually thinking I need to make a plan/schedule with SWBMO agreeing a few hours each week and dedicate them to the bench else I’ll never move it forwards.
> 
> Good luck with the build, I look forward to the updates whenever they come.
> 
> Fitz.


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## Bodgers (25 Jun 2018)

So I stole an hour last night to try and get the four legs prepped.

The original drawings, in imperial measures, call for a leg 3"X2". By the time I have planed down this stock to something straight, with parallel sides, I'm down to 44mm (1.7") thicknesses. So basically I am down to laminations to get the thickness.

As I am going to the effort of resawing lengths to do this, I am going to bump the thickness to around 60mm (about 2.5"), with the width at 85mm (about 3.5").

After resawing the thinner strips and planning down, I am facing that typical realisation of just how much timber bites the dust in the stock preparation. Kind of sad really.

Another realisation is how much beech moves; of the stuff I prepped a few days ago I am already seeing some movement in some of the pieces.






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## Jacob (25 Jun 2018)

Bodgers":1hn8xchp said:


> So I stole an hour last night to try and get the four legs prepped.
> 
> The original drawings, in imperial measures, call for a leg 3"X2". By the time I have planed down this stock to something straight, with parallel sides, I'm down to 44mm (1.7") thicknesses. So basically I am down to laminations to get the thickness.
> 
> ...


They look like long legs! Are you making the common beginners mistake of planing timber _before_ cutting it to length? Difficult and wasteful.


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## Bodgers (25 Jun 2018)

Jacob":1hh46vmk said:


> Bodgers":1hh46vmk said:
> 
> 
> > So I stole an hour last night to try and get the four legs prepped.
> ...


They are about 40mm over size. That's so I can just cut off any snipe from the thicknesser later. I'd rather do a fraction more planning if I can trim the ends. 

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## custard (25 Jun 2018)

Bodgers":1xswgpfp said:


> So I stole an hour last night to try and get the four legs prepped.
> 
> The original drawings, in imperial measures, call for a leg 3"X2". By the time I have planed down this stock to something straight, with parallel sides, I'm down to 44mm (1.7") thicknesses. So basically I am down to laminations to get the thickness.



Bodger's, I admire your determination on this project, but for a guy who's time limited you're making a load of extra work for yourself.

-A leg that's 3" x 1.7" is no different, for all practical purposes, than a leg that's 3" x 2". If you're really concerned than go for 3.5" x 1.7". I'm assuming from your photos that you're hand planing all your components? Previous generations of craftsmen, who did everything by hand, took the cutting list specifications as the opening point for negotiations! They certainly wouldn't have hesitated to amend those dimensions according to the raw materials at hand.

-Laminating from 1.7" to 2" is going to be massively wasteful in time and materials. You really want the lamina to be the same thickness to minimise movement once you've glued up.

-I get that you want to use up your Beech, but another option is PAR softwood for the legs and frame, and save your Beech for the top and front apron. 

By the way, I'm not being critical, there are a depressingly high percentage of people on this forum who never make a stick of anything, so anyone actually getting stuck into a meaty project automatically gets my vote. You're in the same position as plenty of others, the tightest restriction on your woodworking is _time_, so I'm just making some suggestions based on many years of practical experience as to how you might squeeze a bit more productivity from each hour in the workshop.

Good luck!


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## custard (25 Jun 2018)

Bodgers":2s03ouew said:


> I can just cut off any snipe from the thicknesser



My bad, I missed this, didn't realise you had access to machinery.


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## Bodgers (25 Jun 2018)

Yeah I have a thicknesser. I have bandsaw, but no tablesaw. So basically I'm establishing flat surfaces on one side with a jointer plane (plus edges) by hand, and then running through the thicknesser...

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## Bodgers (27 Jun 2018)

So I stole another hour this evening. More stock preparation. Concentrating on surfacing all 4 sides (square) on the two bottom rails.

I got lucky with the legs as the thinner sides didn't need much squaring off the bandsaw, on these rail pieces they are much longer and I had some work to do to get two sides square to each before running through the thicknesser. 

After planing the faces with the thicknesser, I started off with this...






And then after working down the length of the high side I ended up with this...






Square I think. 

There was also a long high spot along the length to sort as well (I actually did this first) I am no expert at this, but using a 1M long hard steel ruler I penciled in the high spots across the length and then eventually got one side flat across the length. 






So after running the other sides through the thicknesser, I now have two lower rails S4S, basically to length, and ready for joinery. Seems a small victory, but even with a planner and a bandsaw, it is hot work in this weather wielding a heavy wooden jointer plane. Maybe Custard is right about giving myself too much work to do 

This is real sweat:






Not sure if my stock prep process is optimal, but I am basically:

1. Ripping the live edge off the slab with a track saw
2. Roughly knocking any extremely high spots off one surface with a hand plane.
3. Bandsaw ripping using the tracksaw cut edge against the fence into strips.
4. Leveling one face by hand
5. Flip and run that through thicknesser
6. Flip and run other face through
7. Square one edge with a jointer plane
8. Run through thicknesser.



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## Just4Fun (28 Jun 2018)

Bodgers":2u6xvswu said:


> So after running the other sides through the thicknesser, I now have two lower rails S4S, basically to length, and ready for joinery. Seems a small victory, but even with a planner and a bandsaw, it is hot work in this weather wielding a heavy wooden jointer plane.


It may seem like a small victory but I always find that task strangely satisfying if I do a good job. I am curious though why you remark on a wooden plane being heavy. I find wooden planes lighter than metal planes, and often require less effort to use.


> Not sure if my stock prep process is optimal, but I am basically:
> 
> 1. Ripping the live edge off the slab with a track saw
> 2. Roughly knocking any extremely high spots off one surface with a hand plane.
> ...



I am certainly no expert, especially when it comes to using machinery, but I don't understand why you run both faces through the thicknesser even after you level one face by hand. What does the thicknesser do that you don't do by hand?


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## dzj (28 Jun 2018)

"I am certainly no expert, especially when it comes to using machinery, but I don't understand why you run both faces through the thicknesser even after you level one face by hand. What does the thicknesser do that you don't do by hand?"

You use a hand plane to get rid of twist , bow, etc. and then you run it through the thicknesser.


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## Jacob (28 Jun 2018)

Bodgers":2dt1rkbe said:


> ..........
> 
> Not sure if my stock prep process is optimal, but I am basically:


Should have started with a finished design drawing and cutting list


> 1. Ripping the live edge off the slab with a track saw


OK, but if you had done some cutting to length first you might not have to rip off so much from the edge


> 2. Roughly knocking any extremely high spots off one surface with a hand plane.


No. Too soon, you don't plane anything until cut to length and ripped to width and depth


> 3. Bandsaw ripping using the tracksaw cut edge against the fence into strips.


OK but you might consider cutting to length first (from your cutting list) depending on sizes of stock and components


> 4. Leveling one face by hand


Not until all cut to length i.e. all components sized (plus margin for planing etc) rough sawn. This is absolutely essential and is a basic mistake made by beginners. If very short lengths are involved these can be combined into more easily handled longer lengths but for many projects this won't be the case


> 5. Flip and run that through thicknesser
> 6. Flip and run other face through


I suppose that's OK but it's more usual to square one edge first, then mark up thickness and depth before starting on the other two faces


> 7. Square one edge with a jointer plane
> 8. Run through thicknesser.


OK!


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## Bodgers (28 Jun 2018)

Just4Fun":3cy3q7r2 said:


> Bodgers":3cy3q7r2 said:
> 
> 
> > So after running the other sides through the thicknesser, I now have two lower rails S4S, basically to length, and ready for joinery. Seems a small victory, but even with a planner and a bandsaw, it is hot work in this weather wielding a heavy wooden jointer plane.
> ...


The reason for that is I am hand planing one face just for basic flatness, do it doesn't rock on a flat surface and there is no twist etc, it isn't completely smooth so I run that through the thicknesser as well.

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## Bodgers (28 Jun 2018)

Jacob":2t99bnxa said:


> Bodgers":2t99bnxa said:
> 
> 
> > ..........
> ...



Not sure why you think I don't have a design etc. I have the Hayward basic design and The Pop wood article of the scaled down design which I have scaled back up to metric dimensions. 

Point taken on the length cutting, I have the front and back top rails to do next from the next slab, so I will do that. 

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## Jacob (28 Jun 2018)

Need design AND cutting list before you touch the timber. Then cut according to the list.
People get used to buying PAR from yards and assume that that is how you prepare timber, but a woodworker does it in a different order and doesn't do long lengths PAR.
Another rule of thumb is to always cut longest lengths and/or biggest sections first, from the smallest pieces of stock. Work through the cutting list in descending order of size and select stock from smallest first


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## Bodgers (2 Jul 2018)

Some small progress this weekend. I now have four legs (with their laminations) and two stretchers planed and cut roughly to length. I also have have everything else for the frame roughly cut, but needs planing.

Against, Custard's recommendation I pushed on with the uneven sized leg laminations, mainly because I'd already rough cut them and I didn't want to risk them going to waste. Also I am lazy 

Anyway, I got a couple of bottles of Titebond extend as I had heard good things about it for laminations and clamped them up.

3 of the legs have come out fine. So good I in fact that you can hardly see the glue line. 
Spot the glue line:






One of the legs is less fine. For whatever reason (under clamping or something) there are some small gaps. Aesthetically I am not worried as the frame is being painted. Structurally, time will tell.

Spot the glue line (or gap really):






Hopefully, I won't see any bad things happening due to the uneven size laminations.

Question. One of the short pieces I planed for the rails on the side 'a' frames has some checking in it. I was going to throw some epoxy in there. Or is it too far gone for that?






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## ED65 (2 Jul 2018)

That first glue line is a bit good! So great when they're literally invisible.

About the checked piece, I think once that's installed in the structure you'll be fine because it has nowhere to go. Obviously it would be best to make a fresh one without checks, but dried wood that has subsequently cracked can often stay stable because the cracking relieved stresses that needed to be relieved. 

If you won't be using this board for a while it would be worth storing it in a plastic bag to maintain the MC.


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## Bodgers (2 Jul 2018)

ED65":1tc84563 said:


> That first glue line is a bit good! So great when they're literally invisible.
> 
> About the checked piece, I think once that's installed in the structure you'll be fine because it has nowhere to go. Obviously it would be best to make a fresh one without checks, but dried wood that has subsequently cracked can often stay stable because the cracking relieved stresses that needed to be relieved.
> 
> If you won't be using this board for a while it would be worth storing it in a plastic bag to maintain the MC.



Thanks, interesting advice on the bag - I will do that. These are slabs sat in my garage workshop for about 18 months, so I wondered what surprises would be in store once I started milling. 

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## MusicMan (2 Jul 2018)

I doubt that keeping them in a big would help. Yes it would stop it drying out more, but drying would continue once open up and then it would start to move again.

The checks have occurred because the wood has now become more uniform in water content. They are permanent. If you want, you could run a circular saw along the checks, and fill with a slip of beech. But they won't significantly alter the strength of the bench when assembled.


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## custard (2 Jul 2018)

Bodgers":1ahtyp6k said:


> Thanks, interesting advice on the bag - I will do that.



That'd be a daft thing to do.

Turners sometimes put wet, part-turned bowls in plastic bags to slow down the drying process and prevent splits. But you're in a completely different situation, you've got seasoned timber and what's more, it's already being stored where it will finally reside. So anything you do to arrest or accelerate it's natural movement will only be storing up problems for later! Don't waste time with foolishness, just crack on and get your bench built.

Looking good by the way, the shakes and the glue line gap are purely cosmetic, they'll make no difference to the final integrity.


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## Bodgers (6 Jul 2018)

I did as intructed, and cracked on.

Not much progress though as I decided to have a tidy up; things were getting out of hand with all the slab milling.

I have cut the 15 degree angles on the back legs, which I am pretty happy with. I am now coming to terms with the complexity of the joinery of those angles (yes I know I was warned). I was going to cut the tenons on the rails by hand, but I'm now making a 75 degree jig for cutting them on the band saw. We will see if that pans out.

I am about to start ordering some hardware for the knock down elements. Hayward states that the stub tenons with bolts are stronger anyway on the rails. I am ordering M10 cross-dowels rather than just nuts for these, as I think if those were around in 1949 he would have used them.






Question. On the main front apron he suggests screwing it on. In the picture this suggests interference with the joints on the legs at the top. I was thinking of using threaded inserts here, like these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veda-TYPE-THRE ... ref=plSrch

Will these be strong enough? I was going to have something like M8 bolts (resessed into the front apron) going through the apron into the inserts in the leg. To get a bolt at the top, that will mean putting an insert right where the top mortice/joint is. Not sure if that is an problem, or over thinking.


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## DTR (6 Jul 2018)

Can't you just arrange the screws so that they miss the tenon in the top rail? I screwed my apron on, no problems so far.


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## Bodgers (6 Jul 2018)

Maybe. M8 bolts are pretty chunky though. I think they will be close to the mortice.


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## RickG (6 Jul 2018)

Nice work Bodgers. When I come to build a bench, I hope mine looks half as well made. 

Silly question relating to the sloped back legs; will the narrower top restrict the bench-depth available for the threads of the bench vice?
There's a good Sketchup version of this bench at: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/ ... ench?hl=en

I'm sure the threads I have on my Record 52 that are waiting to go in are longer than the 10" that's in the Sketchup version I've looked at.


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## Bodgers (6 Jul 2018)

RickG":5qamco8v said:


> Nice work Bodgers. When I come to build a bench, I hope mine looks half as well made.
> 
> Silly question relating to the sloped back legs; will the narrower top restrict the bench-depth available for the threads of the bench vice?
> There's a good Sketchup version of this bench at: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/ ... ench?hl=en
> ...


It is a good question. I have a used and old Record 52 1/2 quick release vice and I have long suspected that it will be too big. It is a nice vice though, but needs some cosmetic work. 

It is 430mm from the back jaw to tip of the threaded rod. If I recess it a bit into the front apron there is about 360mm before it hits the back apron. The only option then is to add 50mm to the underside of the bench where the vice sits do it lowers it to clear the back apron and tool tray.

Total width including the tool tray is about 585mm.

Shame, I might have to resort to a 7" vice. The one in Hayward's book looks even smaller!




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## custard (6 Jul 2018)

Bodgers":2y55f6g6 said:


> The only option then is to add 50mm to the underside of the bench where the vice sits do it lowers it to clear the back apron and tool tray.



Unless the top is really thick you'd have to do that anyway with a 52 1/2, so there's every chance you'll be okay.

And if not, well it's not the end of the world. For moderate scale projects (and they're the only ones that stand a decent chance of actually being completed!), a smaller vice is perfectly adequate.

And provided you use beefy screws like no 12 or 14, they'll be fine for attaching the apron, it's not like you'll be parking a locomotive on it.

So, all in all, I reckon you're looking good!


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## ED65 (7 Jul 2018)

Bodgers":o3ea3dbu said:


> I am about to start ordering some hardware for the knock down elements. Hayward states that the stub tenons with bolts are stronger anyway on the rails. I am ordering M10 cross-dowels rather than just nuts for these, as I think if those were around in 1949 he would have used them.


Perfect alignment or you're stuffed... are you sure you want to set yourself up for that? You are drilling quite deeply into end grain where many bits have a tendency to wander and follow the grain.

I'm sure you've seen lots of other bench designs of more recent vintage that use a similar fixing methed, they almost always use a slightly oversize drilled hole, mortise or D-shaped recess to set the nut into and provide some wiggle room to ease the fitting.


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## Bodgers (7 Jul 2018)

Ok, you have scared me off. I will go for a nut and a D mortise.


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## Jacob (7 Jul 2018)

Bodgers":173j8lh6 said:


> ......... I have a used and old Record 52 1/2 quick release vice and I have long suspected that it will be too big.


No it's the bench which is too small. Madness not to fit one of the best vices you can get if you've already got one.


> Shame, I might have to resort to a 7" vice. T.........


If you can't fit the big vice then you need to modify the bench design until you can. To fit a smaller and inferior vice is to get your priorities utterly wrong! Unless you don't intend to use the bench of course.


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## Bodgers (7 Jul 2018)

Another way of looking at it is that I have redo hours of milling to gain me 50mm extra opening width. I don't want to make room for a wider bench anyway.


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## custard (7 Jul 2018)

Bodgers":3upub6sn said:


> I don't want to make room for a wider bench anyway.



Exactly.

For years I was a hobbyist woodworker in central London with a tiny workshop. I had a 5' bench fitted with a Record 52E quick release vice, and here is that exact vice, shown next to its big brother a 52 1/2.











Would have I preferred the 52 1/2? Yes, of course. 

Was I in any way disadvantaged with the 52E? Absolutely not.

Using a bandsaw, a lunch box/bench top thicknesser, and a small lathe I still produced a houseful of high quality hardwood furniture plus loads of windsor chairs.

The key lessons for successful working in small spaces is to scale everything accordingly, and resist the temptation to fill your limited space with cheap crepe machinery.


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## Bodgers (7 Jul 2018)

Thanks Custard, that's a useful side by side. The 52 1/2 looks like the exact one I have. It is huge. I will hang on to it anyway, because you never know.

Got my eye on a few 52Es on the site who's name shall not be mentioned.


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## ColeyS1 (7 Jul 2018)

I'm thinking of remaking my spare bench after chopping 2 foot off and having a ripsaw on the end of it a few years ago. I looked on ebay for second hand ones before settling on some drapers for £90 each.




I couldn't stretch to the price of new records and didn't think it was worth trying to renovate some second hand ones. Fingers crossed they'll do the job.

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## custard (7 Jul 2018)

Bodgers":2l6dsesi said:


> Thanks Custard, that's a useful side by side. The 52 1/2 looks like the exact one I have. It is huge. I will hang on to it anyway, because you never know.
> 
> Got my eye on a few 52Es on the site who's name shall not be mentioned.



I'm still not convinced the 52 1/2 won't slot straight onto your bench. The 52 1/2 is designed to fit on a bench where either the bench top, or the top plus packer, is about 92mm thick. So if you need at least a 50mm packer to clear the back apron then any top that's 42mm or less gets you there. And a 42mm thick, solid Beech top is more than adequate for your purposes. Even if you're planning on using the bench to chisel out deep hardwood mortices then you'd do the heavy bashing over a leg.


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## Bodgers (7 Jul 2018)

More progress today. At this rate I'll be finished before the year's out.

I have the first joint on the work bench done. And its an angled one. I am tackling the 'bare-faced' tenons at the back of the 'A frames' here. Entirely hand cut other that than the initial cut down the length of the tenon. My cheap ECE tenon saw isn't good, and I haven't the skills to compensate. My dazoku hasn't the depth to cut that either. So one bandsaw cut got me out of a spot. A bit naff, but I gorilla glued an offcut on to the workpiece to get the cut angle right on the bandsaw.






Shoulder was cut with the dazoku:






I cut way too conservatively away from my knife lines, so I had a load of chisel pairing and planing to do. The router plane didn't quite have enough depth. Anyway, I ended up with this:










I moved on to the mortices, which for the back legs I chickened out and did a sort of bridle joint. I used an off-cut to guide the chisel (something seen in the Hayward book):






After much tweaking the joint came together and was square. More timber framing standard than fine woodworking, but it's a start:














Back sticky out thing will be trimmed flush.

And this mess on a workmate is why I need a bench with a tray:


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## Bodgers (18 Jul 2018)

Some more progress. 

Chopped out the front mortises.






Cutting the tenons. Used a tip I saw from Jeff Miller (chair guy) by clamping a guide down to cut the shoulder of the tenons. Works very well.










Finished A frame. Things got a little 'wild' on the glue-up, hence the mess  I have two of these now. Moving on to the stretchers next; I have a plan to make a jig to drill out for the cross-dowel hardware...


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## Bodgers (21 Jul 2018)

With the A-frames finished, and the stock for the stretchers prep'd, I have moved on to the business of attaching these in Hayward's recommended way - knock down bolts. 

Undeterred by ED65's warning on the cross-dowels/bed bolts, I pressed on and made a jig. This jig is inspired by a Fine Woodworking article, and I liked this one as it actually works with the idea that you won't be able to drill the hole square.

This is it:





Fairly simple, a thin bit of ply in a groove (made with my Record plough plane) that acts as a fence. You push a dowel or drill bit into the hole you've drilled for the bolt (which can be out of square) and then place the jig and its fence up against the dowel/drill bit. The distance between the fence and the guide part of the jig is half that of the width of the whole (in this case 5mm, in a 10mm hole). You can then draw a line that follows the path of the hole and intersects where you need the cross dowel.

Test piece with an intentionally misaligned hole:






Lining up the jig:






After drilling at the intersect, and pushing a drill bit into the hole you can see it aligns perfectly:






Bolt in place:


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## custard (21 Jul 2018)

Bodgers":3r04jtw9 said:


> With the A-frames finished, and the stock for the stretchers prep'd, I have moved on to the business of attaching these in Hayward's recommended way - knock down bolts.
> 
> Undeterred by ED65's warning on the cross-dowels/bed bolts, I pressed on and made a jig. This jig is inspired by a Fine Woodworking article, and I liked this one as it actually works with the idea that you won't be able to drill the hole square.



Good for you!

Every cabinet maker I've met uses a similar jig for bed bolts, some are more sophisticated and use a pair of dowels sized to match the drill bit, others basically follow your chosen method of using the drill bit itself as a reference surface. 

Well done for figuring out the solution, and well done for first testing it's effectiveness on a piece of scrap. It's refreshing to read a post that's about practical solutions to practical problems, instead of endless agonising over this tool versus that.

=D>


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## DTR (22 Jul 2018)

Watching with interest  I like the jig; simple, effective, cheap!

Do you intend to join the top to the apron in any way? I don't recall seeing it mentioned in Hayward's instructions. On my bench I joined the two using chunky dowels for alignment only (no glue). Over time as the bench has settled, a gap has opened up between the apron and top at one end. I have thought about taking them apart and glueing them together permanently.


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## Bodgers (22 Jul 2018)

DTR":rl39enju said:


> Watching with interest  I like the jig; simple, effective, cheap!
> 
> Do you intend to join the top to the apron in any way? I don't recall seeing it mentioned in Hayward's instructions. On my bench I joined the two using chunky dowels for alignment only (no glue). Over time as the bench has settled, a gap has opened up between the apron and top at one end. I have thought about taking them apart and glueing them together permanently.


Thanks. In the book he just says to nail or screw it on. Nails would be quite interesting given I am building with his recommended timber - beech.

My current idea is this:






Basically the apron piece is rebated to match the legs (as in the diagram) and at this point I plan to drill holes and tap these M8 inserts in, possibly with a bit of epoxy. Two on each side. The bolts will be counter bored in the apron so they don't stand proud. Hopefully it won't fall apart.

Edit: I just realised you meant apron to the top and not to the frame.

Good question! The book is silent in this. I assume they aren't glued together to allow for wood movement. But the problem there is when the wood moves there might be a lip or gap where the two meet at right angles - as you have said.

I notice in a kids bench version of this, the guy from Walkemoore tools does glue them together so they are one piece (as a sort of one piece giant L-profile). Which is my preference, but very unsure.

Maybe the solution is to glue it at the front and only allow the wood to move towards the back... suggestions needed...


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## DTR (22 Jul 2018)

Wood movement between the top and the apron shouldn't be a problem as the grain is in favour..... unless you meant something else??


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## custard (22 Jul 2018)

Bodgers":13fsc43e said:


> Maybe the solution is to glue it at the front and only allow the wood to move towards the back... suggestions needed...



Not glue. Coach bolts are best, failing that really thick steel screws. In both cases screw up through the cross rails into the top. If you screw at a slight angle pointing out then you've given yourself a bit of play for movement, and that's all you'll ever need for this job.


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## Bodgers (22 Jul 2018)

custard":1c8jezn9 said:


> Bodgers":1c8jezn9 said:
> 
> 
> > Maybe the solution is to glue it at the front and only allow the wood to move towards the back... suggestions needed...
> ...



That covers the top to the frame, but I was more thinking the front apron to the top itself. Show they be attached to each other in anyway to avoid a gap or lips where they meet at 90degrees?


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## custard (22 Jul 2018)

Personally I wouldn't glue the apron to the top. Without glue it's an easy matter to whip the top off in the future if you want to adjust the vice or pass the top through a thicknesser. But that's just my reasoning, it's probably not a huge deal either way.


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## Bodgers (22 Jul 2018)

Thanks Custard


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## Bodgers (29 Jul 2018)

I'm about half way... A video update on progress...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZojSjRF7Vqk


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## will1983 (30 Jul 2018)

Looking good Bodgers. Keep going!


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## Bodgers (31 Jul 2018)

The good thing about doing the base first is that you have most of a bench to work with to finish the top. 

Some late night flattering on the front apron, before it hits the thicknesser...





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## Beau (31 Jul 2018)

Nice work there Bodgers. 

Not sure you name is fitting really but Very Gooders doesn't have the same ring to it


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## Bodgers (5 Aug 2018)

I came across the first real problem in the project today. Very annoying, but inevitable really.

Basically, I bought a load of this slabbed beech ages ago, and I am fairly impressed with it for the money. I spent £80 for 5 boards each over 2m long and widths of between 400-550mm. Average unplaned thickness was only 38mm though, so without going for a fully laminated top I knew I would have to buy a few lengths of thicker stuff.

So I bought some sawn euro Beech from Duffield Timber. I thought it looked fine at the time. But I have basically decided to junk one of the lengths of the 3. It wasn't cheap as it was 56mm thick stuff. One of them was basically a banana. It took me a full hour of very sweaty planning to get one side vaguely flat. After flipping it and thickness planing it, my flatting wasn't quite enough and it still had some bow in it. After sorting that out and then thicknessing it, I was down to about 42mm thick! Which is way under the 50mm I am shooting for. So annoying. One of the other pieces looks bad as well.

So I have either got to switch to the effort of a fully laminated top or go back to Duffield timber during the week. I still have a slab and a half left of the other stuff, so maybe enough to do a laminated top.

So this weekend I switched to the restoration job on the smaller Record vice I recently got from that auction site. Yes, that auction site.



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## custard (5 Aug 2018)

56mm down to 42mm in Beech and with a hand plane is very hard graft indeed! I hope you have better luck with your remaining boards.

Laminating is of course an option, but it'll really test your hand plane skills to get reasonably tight glue lines, and as there'll be quite a few pieces you'd need to be consistent. Maybe you can take the unplanned dodgy board back and swap it for something better? I don't know if this yard lets you self select, but if you explain what you're doing there's every chance you'll get a sympathetic hearing, most timbers yards will go the extra mile to help the hand tool worker.

Good luck!


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## Bodgers (6 Aug 2018)

custard":vi8z2659 said:


> 56mm down to 42mm in Beech and with a hand plane is very hard graft indeed! I hope you have better luck with your remaining boards.
> 
> Laminating is of course an option, but it'll really test your hand plane skills to get reasonably tight glue lines, and as there'll be quite a few pieces you'd need to be consistent. Maybe you can take the unplanned dodgy board back and swap it for something better? I don't know if this yard lets you self select, but if you explain what you're doing there's every chance you'll get a sympathetic hearing, most timbers yards will go the extra mile to help the hand tool worker.
> 
> Good luck!


Yep, good for the fitness levels though
In fairness, probably about 3mm of that was on the other side on the thicknesser.

I will decide on the laminations today depending on the prices at Duffield I think. I would attempt to take it back, but they are primarily trade and have only relatively recently started doing more retail. I kind of get the impression it would be a hassle. Maybe worth a shot though.


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## Bodgers (7 Aug 2018)

So I went to Duffield yesterday. I mentioned about the banana boards and they said "that's Beech for you".

They've moved the larger Beech stock away from the retail area now, but despite it being lunch time a guy helpfully got a forklift and brought a stack for me to pick through. 

I got a single 65mm thick, 190mm wide beast (which gave me a nasty abrasion to my arm getting it out of the car) so what I am going to do is shoot for a 60mm top with this being the back lamination and I will slice the rest of the 50mm ish stock up sideways into 60mm laminations to get to my required top dimensions. Lots of work ahead...

In the meantime, here is a shot of the newly milled apron clamped in place...


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## Bodgers (14 Aug 2018)

Nothing too much to report, other than I got the 62mm thick piece surfaced on 4 sides. Next step is splitting the other bits up for the laminations. A real pain to do the edges to be honest. I have decided I am not entirely happy with my ECE jointer plane. 

I seem to be getting a lot of clogging with shavings in the mouth. At one point I had chip breaker issues with stuff getting trapped between the breaker and the blade. That's mostly resolved after I flattened the leading edge of the breaker where it contacts the blade and retighted the bolts to the blade. Still not 100% happy though. 

Blade is sharp enough to slice through paper but often it just seems to bite and dig in random spots and then just glide over stuff. No problems with my ECE jack plane, sharpen it and it just works like a dream. I might sell it and get a no.7 or something.


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## custard (14 Aug 2018)

Bodgers":9cn54d27 said:


> I have decided I am not entirely happy with my ECE jointer plane.
> 
> I seem to be getting a lot of clogging with shavings in the mouth. At one point I had chip breaker issues with stuff getting trapped between the breaker and the blade. That's mostly resolved after I flattened the leading edge of the breaker where it contacts the blade and retighted the bolts to the blade. Still not 100% happy though.
> 
> Blade is sharp enough to slice through paper but often it just seems to bite and dig in random spots and then just glide over stuff. No problems with my ECE jack plane, sharpen it and it just works like a dream. I might sell it and get a no.7 or something.



There isn't a woodworker alive who hasn't stood where you are now, frustrated with progress and hoping a change of tool will provide the solution. 

Maybe it will, maybe it won't. 

I find once you get up number 6 or 7 metal bodied planes then if the sole needs flattening it can take an awful lot of time and effort, disproportionately more than with say a 5 1/2. I don't know why that is, but that's always been my experience. So I wouldn't buy a used Stanley or Record 07 and expect it to be working sweetly ten minutes after it arrived in the post.

I don't have an ECE jointer, but I've used them in the past. Personally I didn't like the lateral adjustment mechanism, and for the method of edge jointing I prefer I find wooden jointers are a bit too thick in the body. That doesn't make me right and the ECE jointer wrong, it's just personal preference. And I know a couple of craftsmen who use them regularly and their work is faultless, so there's no doubt they can deliver the goods.

Personally I'd stick with what you've got a bit longer. Maybe try a less aggressive cut. When you first plane a rough sawn board (or even a timber yard planed board), it's normal that the early strokes aren't as productive as you'd like, If the iron is set too aggressively you can be taking a nice fine shaving in the hollows but then come to a juddering halt when the iron hits a high spot. You should set the depth of cut so it's appropriate for the high spots, after that you just have to be patient and keep planing away until the high spots are gone and you're taking a uniform cut everywhere. Even if that means a lot of initial strokes where you're only kissing the board in a few isolated places.


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## Bodgers (15 Aug 2018)

Thanks Custard. I think I made the mistake of buying the top end ECE jointer with the fancy height adjuster thinking it would be be better when I would probably have been better off with the standard wedge version. It is very fiddly, I much prefer the lever cap wedge in the ECE jack I have, despite it not having a chip breaker.

Anyway, before I start edge jointing the laminations I think I am going to take a step back and experiment a bit with it, try some different things and techniques on waste bits, see if I can improve things.

Another thing to note about wood planes - I am not entirely convinced about how they are holding up. Despite the sole on this jointer being some sort of Lignum Vitae, it already has a chip out the mouth area and a chip out of the front corner and it is only a few months old. The body of the jack plane is looking fairly scratched uup as well. They are there to be used I suppose, but metal planes would hold up better I think. Maybe I'm just not careful enough 

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## Bodgers (25 Aug 2018)

A brief update.

So, I gave up on the fantasy of having the top made of two or three wide slabs, so it is now going to be one wide-ish slab, and lots of 42mm laminations.

After lots of band sawing to split the boards up, and then hand planing the faces, and then thicknessing the reverse side, I have all the faces done. I now need to get the top and bottoms squared off and surfaced (and trimmed to the same heights), and the glue up can begin.

There are a couple of the pieces that have bowed a little, but as the faces are completely smooth, I've found with some light clamp pressure they can be encouraged to meet flush without any problems, so I assume this is ok. I am going to do it the slow way by gluing up a couple of laminations at a time to keep it manageable. 

I am going to leave one of the pieces very short, as I have a new plan to fit a tail vice. More on that later.


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## MusicMan (30 Aug 2018)

Looking very good. That'll be fine.


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## Bodgers (30 Aug 2018)

So I finally got all the laminated strips planed up to the same height, so next step was to start the glue up.

I know you don't need biscuits/dominoes/dowels to align this sort of laminated top, but I am just interested in making the glue up going as well as possible. I also noticed some of the pieces have a very slight bow that can be encouraged into alignment by using this method.

So I cut some of my own dominoes and marked up 5 locations across each length.






I am doing the first 2 sections, one strip at a time, just to see how it goes. If that turns out ok, I'll do the rest in one shot. 






I am not entirely happy with the colour/grain matching across these strips. Yes, I know it is just a bench, but I see this project as practice for better things. The only thing I suppose I should worry about is grain direction matching for when I come to flatten it. 

A side project started up a week or so back - an old Record vice restoration. I went for the smaller vice in the end. As this has been suggested it has a whiff of 'fashion' bench about it, I decided to add extra bling with a metallic paint job:


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## Suffolkboy (1 Sep 2018)

Watching this thread with interest. 

I have just bought a heap of Beech with the intention of building a bench... 

Not only that but I was given an old Record Vice today which I intend to tart up to go on said bench... I won't copy you entirely though, I'll paint my vice red. 

Seriously tidy work though. I hope mine turns out half as good as yours is looking.


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## Bodgers (2 Sep 2018)

I promised myself I wouldn't overcomplicate this, but a few weeks back I bought this:






This is one of those wood threading kits (from Axminster). Yes, they aren't the greatest quality, but there was no way I could pay £200+ for the hight quality one from Dieter Schmid for the 38mm version. 

The cutter set came with two taps. No idea what the difference is. One seems to have a shallower thread at the start.

The reason for this is that I am going to build a wood screw tail vice into the top. I am basing this off what Chris Albee (Mosquito) did with his on Lumberjocks. 

I don't have a lathe, or any lathe skills, so I bought a large (from GS Haydon) 60mm wide dowel for the screw 'hub' and a 38mm dowel for the thread. I will mortise these together somehow. I still could do with a lathe as I need cut a slot/groove in the thread so that it can be captive in the bench top with a collar. I will try and cobble together something with a drill and do it with a bench chisel or saw. Could get interesting.






As the thread cutter is cheap, I have done the recommended thing and bought linseed oil. The dowel will sit in this for a few hours before cutting. Hopefully, the cutter steel won't disintegrate at the first attempt.






So I have now glued up enough of the laminations to get to the point of the proposed tail vice at the front. It is a seriously heavy bit of timber now. This shows the dominoes I used with each lamination. 






I am reasonably happy with the glue lines. It seemed to work ok, bring the slight bow into alignment on some of the strips.






So, to make room for the large tail vice screw thread, rather than cutting it once the top was done, I am modifying the two lamination strips that are involved with the vice. One strip will have the thread running underneath it, and the one next to I cut short that will contain the actual sliding dog. This means the block of wood sliding up and down the thread will be sort of offset, but it will leave the main sliding dog slot completely open if I needed to slot a long work piece all the way through the workbench top and clamp it.

I cut a section out of one strip to allow space for the thread. This leaves a relatively thin top at that point, but I will reenforce it with dominoes.






The workbench top end cap will then capture the threaded rod.






This is shows a dry fit of the two cut pieces with the final laminated row at the front. No glue yet.


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## AndyT (2 Sep 2018)

Interesting and ingenious!
The tap with the smaller diameter tip will be easier to use first, as the tip will fit into the hole and keep things square.
The other one will let you tap to the bottom of a blind hole if you need to.
On a large diameter like that I think it might be slightly wider as well, so you don't have to strain and remove all the wood in one go.
You'll need to hone the cutter in the thread box / die. It's like a carver's v gouge. I like to think of it as honing three tools - two chisels connected by a small diameter gouge. Not just two chisels - it's easy to get a strange long point at the intersection if you just treat it as two chisels.


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## Bodgers (2 Sep 2018)

AndyT":1dcrowmr said:


> Interesting and ingenious!
> The tap with the smaller diameter tip will be easier to use first, as the tip will fit into the hole and keep things square.
> The other one will let you tap to the bottom of a blind hole if you need to.
> On a large diameter like that I think it might be slightly wider as well, so you don't have to strain and remove all the wood in one go.
> You'll need to hone the cutter in the thread box / die. It's like a carver's v gouge. I like to think of it as honing three tools - two chisels connected by a small diameter gouge. Not just two chisels - it's easy to get a strange long point at the intersection if you just treat it as two chisels.



Ahh, that make sense with the taps.

Didn't realise that the die cutter would need honing. I have diamond stones up to 1200 grit, so I will see what I can do.


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## Bodgers (15 Sep 2018)

Progress creeps along.

I have now:

Done the joinery for the end caps and top part of the front apron. I hand cut these.

I have put rebates into the front apron to seat it into the legs. These will be bolted on with threaded inserts.






Created an overly complicated moving dog for the tail vice.

Moving Dog

Cut the threads on the tail vice dowel and the moving dog. I finally went with a square tenon rather than a round for attaching the vice hub to the threaded shaft, and I'll be gluing it up with slow set epoxy to fill any gaps there might be inside the joint.











I am sending the Axminster tap and die back though. The blade on the die is awful. I got 80% of the way down the dowel and there was a crunch. I poured extra linseed oil on it (after having previously soaked it overnight in the oil - hence the very orange look to it) and ploughed on. The final 20% was very slow. After it was done I removed the die and it there was a chunk missing from the blade. The steel seems like it has the quality of a rich tea biscuit. I would have expected it to just get slowly more blunt. Anyway it is done.

I have come to a point now where things are getting interdependent. The joinery on the end caps is dependant on the sizing of the front apron and top and also dependant on the critical positioning of the tail vice screw. It is a bit stressful to be honest. I have a feeling a mess up now will result in some time costly re-do's.


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## skeetstar (16 Sep 2018)

Bodgers, apologies if someone has already mentioned this, but I recall early in the thread that you expressed an intention to paint this bench? To my mind it would be a shame to cover up that beautiful timber and more importantly evidence of your incredible handiwork with paint.

Anyway all looking good. I am very envious. My benches are sheet ply set on a timber framework against a wall, maybe one day I will try and emulate your build..


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## Bodgers (16 Sep 2018)

skeetstar":2c5w7uqc said:


> Bodgers, apologies if someone has already mentioned this, but I recall early in the thread that you expressed an intention to paint this bench? To my mind it would be a shame to cover up that beautiful timber and more importantly evidence of your incredible handiwork with paint.
> 
> Anyway all looking good. I am very envious. My benches are sheet ply set on a timber framework against a wall, maybe one day I will try and emulate your build..



I am going to paint the frame and leave the top and apron. When I say leave, I have some Fiddes Hardwax oil finish for that.

Reasons to paint it are:

Beech isn't that interesting to look at.

I like benches I've seen with the painted frame - the Hayward bench in Pop woodworking is an example of that.

The stock I've used in some of the legs isn't that nice. There are bark inclusions and some bits that have checks that I have filled with epoxy, so it isn't as if I have painting over finest quilted maple or anything.




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## DBT85 (9 Oct 2018)

Bodgers":1mjplm6u said:


> Err thanks. Or something.
> 
> I have very limited time in the workshop. 3 kids and a full time job and all that.
> 
> Sent from my Redmi Note 5 using Tapatalk


Just wanted to add that I feel your pain. I looked the other day and its been a full 5 months since I last updated my project thread as the bench is basically done, but still needs a tiny bit of flattening, finishing and my vice jaws properly done.

I've used it a couple of times for small jobs but with so much else going on I've just not been able to get in there! Very frustrating.

Yours looks to be going swimmingly!


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## Phil Pascoe (10 Oct 2018)

... its been a full 5 months since I last updated my project thread ...

I've one going that's twice as old, but life sometimes gets in the way.


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## dzj (10 Oct 2018)

phil.p":vgoag9ih said:


> ... its been a full 5 months since I last updated my project thread ...
> 
> I've one going that's twice as old, but life sometimes gets in the way.



I started a 2 over 3 chest of drawers in June. 
So far I've sorted the feet. Somewhat.


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## DBT85 (10 Oct 2018)

phil.p":boueyplf said:


> ... its been a full 5 months since I last updated my project thread ...
> 
> I've one going that's twice as old, but life sometimes gets in the way.


Nice to know its not just me!


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## Bodgers (10 Oct 2018)

DBT85":2qrzlvdd said:


> Bodgers":2qrzlvdd said:
> 
> 
> > Err thanks. Or something.
> ...



It still feels slow, especially as the end is in sight now. I'm still ahead of my (admittedly a bit pessimistic) schedule of 12 months though.

I will probably post an update soon-ish. The tail vise is almost done and I'm now doing the tool tray. So it will just be the front vice to put back together after the re-paint/resto and then apply paint and finish. I am going to leave the lower shelf bit until later as the other half is wanting my workshop time to build a built in wardrobe for one of the kid's bedrooms, and it has been effectively delayed due to this bench build.


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## will1983 (11 Oct 2018)

I started a 7' sideboard build 3 months ago, levelled and sanded the solid ash top ready for finish and its been propping up a wall in the conservatory ever since.

I keep telling the Mrs that it is "acclimatising" and therefore its not worth doing anything else until it is sorted! :wink:


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## Phil Pascoe (11 Oct 2018)

I've had stuff "aclimatising" for twenty five years .........


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## Bodgers (28 Oct 2018)

Nearly there now.

Here is the current state (whilst smoothing and scraping the top yesterday):












Jobs to do:

Attach and flush up front apron.
Fit Record vice.
Tool Tray needs clips underneath to bring it flush into the rebate.
Bench dogs
Glue tail vice handle
Paint base and waxoil on the top

Video:

https://youtu.be/kOX9Si_5_Gg


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## Bm101 (28 Oct 2018)

Great to see the video. Don't be so hard on yourself! Great work fella.


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## Turnr77 (28 Oct 2018)

Great looking bench there, but I was wondering ........


> Jobs to do:
> 
> Attach and flush up front apron.
> Fit Record vice.
> ...



Is Tool Tracy related to Biscuit Tim?


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## Bodgers (28 Oct 2018)

Whoops, auto correct


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## Bodgers (30 Oct 2018)

I started fitting the vice last night.

These Record quick release vices are a pain to fit. Dealing with the various fitting points whilst wrestling with the weight of it is not pleasant. I dread to think how bad this would have been with the large 10" record I still have. 

I have also messed up.

I want the vice back jaw to be inset flush with the apron (yes, I know Sir Paul doesn't do it this way and has it stuck out, but I wanted it like this).

I underestimated just how much material in the apron I needed to cut away and now I am completed commited. I have basically only left about 20% of the original width, which I think seriously reduces it's ability to act as a stiffener for the bench frame. So annoying. Anyway, I have a thick strip of beech I am going to add to the back to add some material back in.


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## Phil Pascoe (30 Oct 2018)

There is a thread on fitting them if you search for it (I lose the will to live searching for stuff) - it involves clamping a piece of 4" x 2" or something in the jaws to support the vice at very nearly the correct height, so that when you're faffing about trying to get the mounting bolts/screws in you're not trying to carry it as well. Or turn the bench upside down if you you have space.


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## AndyT (30 Oct 2018)

I think there are several, but this is a good one

vices-fitting-a-record-bench-vice-t25365.html


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## nabs (30 Oct 2018)

I don't think you have anything to worry about on the integrity of the apron bodgers - everyone who fits a vice ends up cutting a big hole in it anyway and I think the bracing effect on the legs would still be more than adequate even if the apron was made of a much thinner bit of wood than your current version. The bench looks excellent btw - don't get disheartened now!


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## Bodgers (9 Dec 2018)

It has been a while since I updated this, but it is now complete. So it took 6 months in the end. It was suggested that it would take a few weekends, I said it might take a year. Reality is that with a full time job and grabbing bits of time where you can, a project like this takes 6 months. And it isn't even a great standard or anything.

A summary:

https://youtu.be/X2nTC8eYyXY











[


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## MusicMan (9 Dec 2018)

And very nice it is too. I have been enjoying (and developing) my own bench for 25 years now and I am sure you will do so too.

Keith


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## Trevanion (9 Dec 2018)

Very nice work Bodgers!

In regard to that snapped bolt on the Vice, have you tried drilling a smalling hole so you could hammer an allen key in to try and loosen it off? You might not have enough space for that though so maybe one of those screw extractors like these: https://www.screwfix.com/p/screw-extractor-set-5-piece might do the job. I think snapping a bolt is one of the worst feelings known to man, perhaps snapping a tap is a little worse.


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## John15 (9 Dec 2018)

A very nice bench Bodgers. Congratulations.

John


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## AndyT (9 Dec 2018)

Very very nice - a familiar illustration brought to life! 

=D> =D> =D> =D> 

Will you be working your way through the rest of the "How to make Woodwork Tools" booklet?  

I agree with Trevanion on the sheared bolt. Tackle it now before you get used to it.
Neat way of fitting the lamp on, btw.


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## Bodgers (9 Dec 2018)

AndyT":3s8kj1k2 said:


> Will you be working your way through the rest of the "How to make Woodwork Tools" booklet?


Ha! I love the illustrations in the Tools for Woodworking book. There are a few things in there that I am planning to give a go.



Trevanion":3s8kj1k2 said:


> Very nice work Bodgers!
> 
> In regard to that snapped bolt on the Vice, have you tried drilling a smalling hole so you could hammer an allen key in to try and loosen it off? You might not have enough space for that though so maybe one of those screw extractors like these: https://www.screwfix.com/p/screw-extractor-set-5-piece might do the job. I think snapping a bolt is one of the worst feelings known to man, perhaps snapping a tap is a little worse.



I haven't tried that. I tried drilling with a large bit, which went badly and then tried something like a 4mm bit which then span off the middle and snapped. 

I will give this a go.


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## custard (9 Dec 2018)

Beautifully neat and tidy, a really professional job; and it's just so_ pretty_ that you'll be inspired to do excellent work every time you go into the workshop!

=D>


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## StraightOffTheArk (9 Dec 2018)

I've really enjoyed reading your write-ups and the finished article looks fantastic and I'm sure will be used for a long time to come.

Tara a bit,

SOTA


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## Fitzroy (9 Dec 2018)

That’s bob on, nicely done!


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## thetyreman (9 Dec 2018)

nice to see it finished, good job! =D> that's a nice bench


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## Bm101 (9 Dec 2018)

Great job Bodgers.
I've really enjoyed the build and the occasional hiccups and solutions. Fantastic result. I really like the paint now, though I wouldn't have done it, it looks smashing. The end vice is a cracking result. =D> 
If anyone missed/ hasn't clicked on the youtube link, take a look.
Nice work.


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## Jacob (9 Dec 2018)

Bodgers":3h7znsvp said:


> ...
> These Record quick release vices are a pain to fit. Dealing with the various fitting points whilst wrestling with the weight of it is not pleasant. I dread to think how bad this would have been with the large 10" record I still have. ...


Sorry this is a bit late as you have finished (well done, looks good!)
But anybody having to fit a Record or similar pattern vice will find it's very much easier if you tip the bench on its back and fit the vice to the (now) horizontal surface of the front.


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## nabs (9 Dec 2018)

lovely job bodgers, it looks very professional. I wish I had thought of painting the legs on mine. 

A couple of questions: does the lamp slide along on its little wooden block? Also, is your the quick release working on your vice - the lever is at a very jaunty angle!


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## Bodgers (9 Dec 2018)

nabs":20ev3pfu said:


> lovely job bodgers, it looks very professional. I wish I had thought of painting the legs on mine.
> 
> A couple of questions: does the lamp slide along on its little wooden block? Also, is your the quick release working on your vice - the lever is at a very jaunty angle!



It does slide, yes. Because of the height and weight of the lamp, you have to have one hand on the top though to steady it while moving it.

The quick release is working great, but you are right, it is off angle. I released this after fitting and haven't taken it apart yet to correct it. When I sort the rear bolt out I'll do that as well.


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## DannyEssex (10 Dec 2018)

Great work Bodgers!!! That looks awesome =D>


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## DTR (10 Dec 2018)

Looks great!! =D> =D> =D> Love that lamp too!


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## BigMonka (10 Dec 2018)

Looks fantastic Bodgers - nice job with the photography of the finished article too!


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## StraightOffTheArk (10 Dec 2018)

Jacob":ffxau8rf said:


> Sorry this is a bit late as you have finished (well done, looks good!)
> But anybody having to fit a Record or similar pattern vice will find it's very much easier if you tip the bench on its back and fit the vice to the (now) horizontal surface of the front.



It seems so obvious when you put it like that, and yet when I fitted my vice...
Oh well, I'll remember for next time!

Ta for the tip

SOTA


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## Racers (11 Dec 2018)

StraightOffTheArk":5ztbq5iw said:


> Jacob":5ztbq5iw said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry this is a bit late as you have finished (well done, looks good!)
> ...



Tipping the bench is only possible if you have the room your bench is empty and light enough , both things make it impossible for me, I use the easer method of clamping a plank to the floor in the vice to support the weight.

Nice bench.

Pete


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## ED65 (12 Dec 2018)

That looks marvellous Bodgers, well done! Love the colour choice for the frame.


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## El Barto (12 Dec 2018)

Fantastic job mate. You must be chuffed. It looks beautiful.


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## sundaytrucker (15 Dec 2018)

Great job Bodgers. I think the painted base looks smart and suits the style of workbench. When I eventually build my own bench I plan to paint the base (black).


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