# Tonys new workbench - lots of photos



## Anonymous (14 Jan 2007)

Hi all

Well, a trip to Philly's and Yandles with Bean lately resulted in me buying enough beech for a bench top and enough oak for the legs and base.

I started hacking wood around as a hobby about 15 years ago (just working on houses back then) and my first bench (10 years ago) was made form MDF. Around 7 years ago I made my second bench from 3" thick pine which has served me well for all these years but tended to need a fair bit of maintenance work.

Well, here I am making what I hope will be my last bench and so I gave the design and construction a lot (too much??) thought.

I read everything I could find and studied every picture and bench I could. The final design came out at 34 1/2" high (pine one at 36 1/2 " was too high), 74" long and 26" wide. The apron is 4" deep. the legs are 4 1/2" * 3" English oak.

The tools tray is just under full width this time (2/3 last time) and is removable in 5 pieces to allow me to clamp from the rear more easily.

So, here is how I made it (started work 23rd December 2006):

I ripped all the stock to rough sizes and then squared up the sides with the LV jointer







Next I smoothed all pieces using the 4 1/2 - no sandpaper was harmed (or used :wink: ) during the making of this bench.






I decided to add feet to the lower cross-piece in case of uneven surfaces. Glued on.






Next job was to cut 14 mortises in the legs and upper and lower cross-pieces using the hollow chisel mortiser - boring!!!






I cleaned out the mortises with a mortise chisel afterwards as they are through mortises and the sides are not too clean or even from the hollow chisel tool.






After that i could mark out the tenons and cut the shoulders on the tablesaw






And the faces on the bandsaw...






I cleaned the shoulder and faces and trimmed to a nice tight fit using the shoulder plane and skew block.












All tenons on legs completed and looking like this: (shorter tenons will be at bottom and are not through tenons). I used the draw-bore technique to secure the lower ones rather than wedging them.






As nearly all the tenons will be wedged, I made a guide block with a 5 degree slope and chiseled out the waste in the mortises to give a nice sloping face for the wedges to push the tenon faces against.






I cut some wedges at 5 degrees too - from an offcut of reclaimed mahogany that was lying around.






Needed to cut into the tenons at 5 degrees too - ready to accept the wedges of course  






I pre-finished all frame pieces using boiled linseed oil to help me when cleaning up any glue squeeze out.






Legs were mounted into top and bottom rails using wedges and draw bore - no clamps used. For info I use Titebond III if you're interested.






Lower tenons draw bored - an offset hole through the tenon to pull the joint tight when a dowel is driven through






Wedges were cleaned up with the 5 1/2 once everything was cured.






Next job was to do much the same with the longitudinal rails which were made from a 2" thick plank of poplar that I had saved.

Then final glue-up of the whole base assembly and an awkward clamping job!!











A bit of work with block plane once the glue was cured and the wedges look pretty good to me :wink: 






And the lower frame assembly is completed


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## mel (14 Jan 2007)

when youve got it made tony where are you going to put it ??
looks like your struggling for space there 
nice work and an inspiring project , thanks 
mel


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## Paul Chapman (15 Jan 2007)

Looking good, Tony.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## Anonymous (15 Jan 2007)

So, on with the top.

I ripped the beech boards down to size and then jointed the edges dead on 90 degrees (no room for error here!). I also sprung the joints with a 0.5mm dip in the middle as one of the boards on my old pine bench shrunk over the last 6" and opened up the joint :roll: 






Glued up and clamped the top boards (and a small piece at either end to form the end pieces of the tool tray) - I biscuit jointed all of them too as I find boards move around too much when clamping as the glue is very slippery.






I routed a tenon onto the ends of the bench top by running the router across the top and bottom of either end using a guide clamp. I left a bit of wood over-hanging and this was removed with a circular saw against the same clamp guide.






I decided to use a dovetail joint to hold the front and side apron pieces together. I decided on an uneven spacing (decorative) and cut the pins first.






I removed most of the waste with a coping saw






And then finished the job off with a chisel.






I marked the tails from the pin board and then cut as deep as I could using a DT saw to start the waste removal process. No routers used here as no room.






The rest of the waste is removed with various sized chisels - quite a job but I did rather enjoy it. Hand cutting dovetails gives me more pleasure than any other wood working task :shock: :lol:






After a while, they look like this






I then routed out a mortise in the side apron pieces to fit on the end tenons in the bench top - used the router table and then cleaned ends with a chisel






I fitted the front apron piece with biscuits and the side pieces are bolted on with 3 coach bolts but no glue to allow the wood to move over the years. The tenon on the bench end is about 20mm shorter than the corresponding mortise in the side apron pieces.

Next I glued some pieces on to form the back and front of the tool tray






Before fixing the top to the base, I mounted the main vice with the bench top upside down. Bolts through the front apron and coach bolts into a piece of oak bolted to the underside of the bench. I fitted a couple of cross pieces at this time too - for the base to bolt onto.






Here is the underside completed






I pre-finished the underside before mounting it on the base






I mounted the top to the base using 12 4" coach bolts. that won't come off :wink: :lol: 

I flattened it using the LV jointer again. I was really dreading this as the old pine bench needed a LOT of work to flatten it (and every year too).
in the end, it was planed flat with the LV jointer *in about an hour*. 
All it needed was two passes diagonally across the grain with a fairly course setting and then a few along the grain with a fine setting.

I literally couldn't believe my luck. I put it down to the care I took jointing the edges before glue-up and the biscuits registering everything nicely (or maybe the quality of that LV jointer plane :lol: ). 

I checked for flatness using an engineering straight edge and found it spot-on (no light shining through gaps) and then checked for wind with my winding sticks. Again, spot on :shock:






So, i just ran the ROS over it to finish the job off.


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## Paul Chapman (15 Jan 2007)

Looking even better than 10 minutes ago :lol: 

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## Jez (15 Jan 2007)

really great job, those DT's look great

i need to build myself a bench for my new workshop and this has given me alot of ideas  

cheers,
Jez


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## Anonymous (15 Jan 2007)

Well

This is where I am with it now.

I really only need to make and fit the tail vice - sometime :wink: 

I ripped out my old bench to give me a bit more room to work in. The bench is in its final position now. I needed to make a vice jaw, so cut a piece of beech and routed out most of the waste freehand






Then cleaned it all up using a bevel edged chisel






I then gave it the first coat of boiled linseed a few days ago. 






Next job was to drill some dog holes in the top - using a 20mm bit in a drill mounted on a super cheapo stand which was bolted to an MDF base with a little fence to help locate it and this was all clamped in place






All dog holes finished






I don't like metal dogs as i am always worried about the plane iron hitting one  and so i have started to make a selection of wooden dogs on the lathe. Here is the first one






I tested it (first use of the bench!!!) and it works a treat 






Earlier this evening I gave it the second coat of boiled linseed - warming the tone quite nicely.


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## Anonymous (15 Jan 2007)

Paul Chapman":s3mse9ss said:


> Looking even better than 10 minutes ago :lol:
> 
> Cheers :wink:
> 
> Paul



And after another 10 minutes? :lol:


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## Philly (15 Jan 2007)

Bravo!! =D> 
A proper bench, that!
Philly


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## Jake (15 Jan 2007)

Far too neat and tidy for my liking!


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## Paul Chapman (15 Jan 2007)

Tony":194q78p6 said:


> Paul Chapman":194q78p6 said:
> 
> 
> > Looking even better than 10 minutes ago :lol:
> ...



Hope that's it - I'm waiting to go to bed :lol: 

Very nice, Tony - a cracking job =D> =D> 

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## Gill (15 Jan 2007)

WOW!

=D> =D> =D>

Impressive or what? In fact, it's almost good enough to mount that little red Rexon scrollsaw on (which you guiltily tried to hide with a cloth so we couldn't see how you were shamefully neglecting it). 

:wink: 

Gill


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## Shivers (15 Jan 2007)

Thats a really nice bench--i always wished working in the trade that i had time to make one similar to that,it leads to an organized working enviroment.
once you get this shop stuff out the way then one can always start to think about designs & such--& start to be creative ---not having a comfortable working situation always dampens the creative spirit.

I've used wedged tenons myself before,from the pics you've shown--the one's i saw of the underframe?(not sure),you shouldn't wedge tenons so close to the ends,especially with oak(to brittle)it will eventually fail.Theres a massive tenon there(maybe a little oversize in width),usually the tenon should equate to a third of the recieving members width.so you have left a vulnerable weak spot at the top/bottom of the frame?.

the bench top is very nice.

regards .


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## Waka (15 Jan 2007)

Tony

Very nice bench.


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## Anonymous (15 Jan 2007)

Fantastic, I would be scared to use it, in case I scratched it :lol:


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## Anonymous (15 Jan 2007)

Gill":1aa8ugm7 said:


> In fact, it's almost good enough to mount that little red Rexon scrollsaw on (which you guiltily tried to hide with a cloth so we couldn't see how you were shamefully neglecting it).
> 
> :wink:
> 
> Gill



Oh you noticed that did you?  :lol: 

The poor thing could do with a bit of a workout and I do have 5 boxes to make for friends soon.....

By the way, happy birthday for last week :wink: ccasion4:


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## Anonymous (15 Jan 2007)

Shivers":3gjlux43 said:


> I've used wedged tenons myself before,from the pics you've shown--the one's i saw of the underframe?(not sure),you shouldn't wedge tenons so close to the ends,especially with oak(to brittle)it will eventually fail.




I think I am OK with this as effectively, it is all one piece of wood as I put loads of glue in there and when the thing is hammered home, all wood surfaces are touching and the oak and wedge are 'one'. The mahognay will deform to fill any slight deviations in the oak cut, but the cuts were pretty much straight.




> Theres a massive tenon there(maybe a little oversize in width),usually the tenon should equate to a third of the recieving members width.



Arrghh. I do know this but forgot in the heat (fun) of the build. 

Hopefully it will not be too weak in the end 

Cheers

TonyCrossedFingers


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## dedee (15 Jan 2007)

Tony,
Do you mean that instead of getting your web site finished you spent the past few weeks making that. I'm glad you did. Excellant.

Andy


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## Shivers (15 Jan 2007)

Tony":1ye1sq9e said:


> I think I am OK with this as effectively, it is all one piece of wood as I put loads of glue in there and when the thing is hammered home, all wood surfaces are touching and the oak and wedge are 'one'. The mahognay will deform to fill any slight deviations in the oak cut, but the cuts were pretty much straight


Yeah the frame looks very sturdy anyways--as an afterthought --maybe consider putting a peg through those tenons, the frame will last 200 yrs then vs 100 yrs,


regards.


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## Alf (15 Jan 2007)

Coo, proper job. =D> =D> =D> =D> But how are you going to bring yourself to really use it without having the urge to stroke it tenderly everytime you put anything (gently) on the top? :shock: Better take a chisel and get the worst over now... :wink: 

Cheers, Alf


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## Anonymous (15 Jan 2007)

Alf":la8z9byx said:


> Coo, proper job. =D> =D> =D> =D> But how are you going to bring yourself to really use it without having the urge to stroke it tenderly everytime you put anything (gently) on the top? :shock: Better take a chisel and get the worst over now... :wink:
> 
> Cheers, Alf



Thanks Alf

I err, placed an offcut of MDF on there when using sharp tools - not to protect the surface you understand


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## Alf (15 Jan 2007)

Tony, I'll talk you through it if you like. Just take a chisel, or better still a gouge, and gently - oh-so gently - take an tiny, tiny scoop out of the surface. Now _breathe_... Tomorrow, step two. Deepen the cut just a teeny bit. You can do it. :wink: Step three when you pick up the mallet may be a bit more traumatic mind...


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## Adam (15 Jan 2007)

Great stuff. Better than furniture!

I'm with ALF, I'd take a big chisel, a bloody great mallet, and take a great big gouge out the top. That way, its no longer a virgin top anymore, and you can start on new projects without a constant worry. Putting protective tops on work benches seems to (for me) defeat the object of them, being a _work_bench after all.

Anyway, I bet you are chuffed to bits, it looks superb, nice and heavy, flat, dog holes, everything you need for covering a wide range of projects.

Well done.

Adam


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## davos (15 Jan 2007)

great looking bench tony hope you dont mind me asking how much the wood cost to make bench as i realy must make one and i dont live to far from yandles wich is handy cheers dave


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## Lord Nibbo (15 Jan 2007)

As Alf says "Proper Job" I'll give it a month Tony before it's buried in tools and saw dust :lol: If you don't believe me see if you can spot the bench I built in this pic. :lol: 






Don't take any notice about the advice to christen it with a chisel, saws do a better job. :lol: :wink:


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## Anonymous (15 Jan 2007)

davos":lt1xwvrt said:


> great looking bench tony hope you dont mind me asking how much the wood cost to make bench as i realy must make one and i dont live to far from yandles wich is handy cheers dave



Actually, I meant to post that :roll:  

The steamed beech cost about £90 and I have quite a bit left over to make the tail vice

The hefty oak for the legs cost £20 - bargain of the century!!!!

The poplar for the lower frame was about £8 from Good Timber

The tail vice screw is axminster and was about £11

The main vice is one I bought years ago - can't remember how much. It is a record and cost me about £35-50


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## greggy (15 Jan 2007)

tony, no matter what people think , i have seen a lot of benches in my time and believe me ive seen a lot of rubbish. but yours is nice, very very nice maaaan. =D>


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## DomValente (15 Jan 2007)

Lovely bench Tony,think you'll find most of the trade members here will be the greenest, leastways I am, most of our benchtops only look good when we replace the hardboard cover.


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## nickson71 (15 Jan 2007)

Nice bench Tony .........


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## matt (15 Jan 2007)

Give me the bench and I'll do your website for you... :wink:


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## paulm (15 Jan 2007)

Think you should let Jacob loose on it for a while, break it in for you with a few well placed nails and screws etc rather than those namby-pamby wonderpups and turned bits of nonsense :shock: :lol: 

Cheers, Paul  

(Hoping Jacob has a sense of humour........ :wink: )


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## lucky9cat (15 Jan 2007)

Tony, that's fantastic. Makes me really regret not going the full hog when I built mine three years ago from recycled old pine roof joists. Great project write up too. I can blame you if I start remaking my bench now :wink: 

Ted


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## tombo (15 Jan 2007)

tony,

looks perfect to me, right height right length tool tray i like it  
So is it true? do you need a bench to build a bench?, i caved in and bought mine cause i just could not imagine achiving a good result using my workmate.

Tom


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## neilc (15 Jan 2007)

Well done Tony. It looks fantastic.

Neil


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## Fecn (15 Jan 2007)

Everyone's already said it before..

Looks superb!!!

Fecn


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## Anonymous (15 Jan 2007)

Alf":21foephg said:


> Tony, I'll talk you through it if you like. Just take a chisel, or better still a gouge, and gently - oh-so gently - take an tiny, tiny scoop out of the surface. Now _breathe_... Tomorrow, step two. Deepen the cut just a teeny bit. You can do it. :wink: Step three when you pick up the mallet may be a bit more traumatic mind...



Well, I've been looking at these tonight and can't find the ding :lol: You first :wink: 

t'was these pictures that were partly responsible for the start of 'project bench'


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## Anonymous (15 Jan 2007)

tombo":2vbqic2c said:


> tony,
> 
> looks perfect to me, right height right length tool tray i like it
> So is it true? do you need a bench to build a bench?, i caved in and bought mine cause i just could not imagine achiving a good result using my workmate.
> ...



oh yes, - it's a chicken and egg thing wink: 

Ha, i did try the 'buy a bench' approach. Santa (aka mrs tony) though it a little too expensive  :


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## Shultzy (15 Jan 2007)

Great looking bench, can't wait till I start mine.
Just a few questions

What was the extra alu fence on your saw for when you were cutting the tenons.
Did you band saw from both sides or just face side.
When you cut the tenons at 5 degrees, what thickness did you leave at the bottom.
I don't understand the phrase "sprung the joints with a 0.5mm dip in the middle" - can you explain
Is the "boiled linseed" bought as is or do you make it yourself.

Sorry about all the question, only way to learn

regards Stefan


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## Bean (15 Jan 2007)

Tony Very Good looks even better now it has a few holes in it :wink:


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## Colin C (16 Jan 2007)

I have two things to say  ( wait for it )

1/ That is a very very nice bench, well done Tony =D> =D> 

2/ That was one of the biggest LN and LV drive by's ( some one has been taking tips from Philly ) :wink: 

Getting me coat, dame dropped it but I am not going back for it 8-[


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## Anonymous (16 Jan 2007)

Shultzy":d0oc6y0l said:


> Great looking bench, can't wait till I start mine.
> Just a few questions



Thansk Stefan - happy to answer any questions 




> What was the extra alu fence on your saw for when you were cutting the tenons.


To stop the work racking and jamming when cutting the shoulders - if you run against the fence AND the mitre gauge, there is a real risk of kickback or non-alignment of cuts. The wood leaves the extra ali before touching the blade. This is standard practice.




> Did you band saw from both sides or just face side.



Just the face sides - I turned wood over and kept fence in same position for all cuts. I prefer to cut the faces slightly over size and then fine tune with a plane - this is quick and takes slight variations in mortise width into account.



> When you cut the tenons at 5 degrees, what thickness did you leave at the bottom.



More-or-less nothing. I drew a line with my square all around the wood and in line with the ends of the basic mortise. I then set my bevel gauge to 5 degrees and drew a line up the side of the wood from level with the end of the mortise at the bottom (used previous line as reference). I used the square again to extend this new line across the top face and clamped my guide block against this line. 
When I chopped the mortise to 5 degrees, I held the chisel very tightly against the block (fingers on back of blade and hand at back of block) and the chisel emerged just about in line with the bottom mortise ends (within a mm).



> I don't understand the phrase "sprung the joints with a 0.5mm dip in the middle" - can you explain



OK. Wood tends to shrink more at the ends than along the main pieces of a plank over time - this is due to the end grain taking in or giving up moisture more rapidly than the main faces and is why boards often have the ends painted when one buys them.

What I did was plane the edges dead straight from end to end, then started a plane cut about 6" in from the end and stopped it about 6" from the other. A few passes causes the boards to have a slight 'dip' in the middle (length of plane really determines the depth as it stops cutting pretty soon - called a 'stop shaving' by DC).
When I glued up the boards, the clamps closed them together and the ends are under compressive strain, thus if the ends do shrink a bit as the wood continues to dry out, the joint won't open up.



> Is the "boiled linseed" bought as is or do you make it yourself.



Rustins - £2.99 per bottle. You can see the bottle in some photos



> Sorry about all the question, only way to learn


No problem at all - I hope I have clarified, if not, then feel free to pm me and we can discuss further


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## CYC (16 Jan 2007)

=D> Superb.

It's beautiful.
I really enjoyed looking at your WIP pictures. 
I loved the dovetails, some job you did there!
Makes me want to get some hand tools :wink: :wink: hehe


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## Alf (16 Jan 2007)

Tony":dndj0f8d said:


> Well, I've been looking at these tonight and can't find the ding :lol: You first :wink:


See that little mark right in the middle of the front vice jaw? Careless drill bit. ](*,)







Mind you that was four or five years ago now, when the bench was quite young - it looks *much* worse now.

Cheers, Alf


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## Mike.C (16 Jan 2007)

Out of this world Tony, out of this world.

Cheers

Mike


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## Evergreen (16 Jan 2007)

Tony

My word, that one isn't going to shift in a high wind! Great work! Nice classic design with particularly interesting use of timbers. 

Regards.


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## Shultzy (16 Jan 2007)

Tony, thanks for the answers.

"I don't understand the phrase "sprung the joints with a 0.5mm dip in the middle"

Funny I remember doing this when I made my drawing board at school (it was made with loose tongues), never made the connection but it was a long time ago.


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## Chris Knight (17 Jan 2007)

Tony,
It's looking great - well done!


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## Bredbin (17 Jan 2007)

Fantastic bench Tony. I have been itching to get a very similar one built for which I have already bought some American white oak for the top. Fitting and hanging eleven new interior doors for Management (her other name) is now finished, so I can now get on with more important stuff. Important to me anyway!

Thanks for providing all the useful info.


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## Bredbin (18 Jan 2007)

What I meant to add was - I like the sound of the sprung joints, but it sounds like you are quite a deft hand with the plane, which I am not. When you say you start and finish the planer strokes 6 inches from either end, do the cuts stop dead or is there a slope as it were. I guess as we are only talking about a half mill then it doesn't matter, but I thought I'd check.

Planer novice.


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## RobertMP (18 Jan 2007)

Can I just ask about the vice?

I've just bought a woodworking vice to fit to my workbench. I notice you have a large wooden jaw fitted to the vice. Does that amount of overhang mean that you can't apply full pressure at the edges - or is the wood used and fixing screws/bolts so strong that you can?

I have some 1" hardwood ply that I was thinking of using for jaw liners but had never considered making them that much oversize.

I bought a second hand Record (marked 52 1/2 P) and it is a big un. 9" jaws that open over 12"


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## Anonymous (18 Jan 2007)

Bredbin":22vo4ql9 said:


> What I meant to add was - I like the sound of the sprung joints, but it sounds like you are quite a deft hand with the plane, which I am not. When you say you start and finish the planer strokes 6 inches from either end, do the cuts stop dead or is there a slope as it were. I guess as we are only talking about a half mill then it doesn't matter, but I thought I'd check.
> 
> Planer novice.



With the spring cuts, I pull the plane off the board whilst it is still moving - learnt how to do this from David Charlesworth's DVD on hand planing.

Then, when the cut is deep enough, one runs a complete 'through' pass along the entire board to sort of blend it all in


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## Anonymous (18 Jan 2007)

RobertMP":r2mfln5k said:


> Can I just ask about the vice?
> 
> I've just bought a woodworking vice to fit to my workbench. I notice you have a large wooden jaw fitted to the vice. Does that amount of overhang mean that you can't apply full pressure at the edges - or is the wood used and fixing screws/bolts so strong that you can?
> 
> ...



hi robert

The fixing is solid and I can apply full pressure but there is a little racking (twist). currently I use Al's idea to deal with this which is to pack the other side of the vice with a varying number of pieces of hardboard.

In most cases there is no problem and the vice clamps fine

the fixing is with 8mm bolts through 2 inches of beech and the vice jaw is also 2 inch beech. The rear of the vice si also bolted down with 10mm coach bolts into a big block of oak


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## Benchwayze (16 Mar 2007)

A lovely, plain and simple bench. 
Happy hours to you Tony.

I have given in and decided to get me a Nielsen. I am hoping that 'Bedrock' design is still in production.

John


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## MarcW (18 Mar 2007)

Awesome! =D> 

I like it!

You have a very nice tool coll... :-s tools  too


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## devonwoody (17 May 2007)

Another thread whilst I was doing my time in Oz.

Must get round to making myself a bit of furniture like that, I would have to have a number two bench to do those those other jobs like taking the car engine apart.


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