Byron Black Workbench [Beginner] Final Submission [Complete]

[ByronBlack]

Hi Wizer/Big Mac.

I've decided to go for a hand-held bowsaw and clean up with rasps/files and paper. My spokeshaves aren't upto it, and it's a little deep for router use (about 3" thick).

 

[nickson71]

couldn't you use a router and template to cut from one side part way ...... then turn over and change to a bottom bearing guided bit to complete the cutting

 

[ByronBlack]

Hi nickson - Aye, I could do that, but where's the fun?

I'm trying to do most of hte work on this bench using hand-tools and traditional techniques as much as possible (barring of course the primary milling).

If I really can't do it by hand, then i'll revert to the router.

 

[Benchwayze]

My bench is covered with timber and old shelves at the moment, so it's just 'over-dressed', rather than overkilled! Unless it dies from the weight!

But in truth, I had the underframe given me. It's complete with a sliding door cupboard and has good solid 4 x 4 legs in Douglas Fir. The top at the moment, is made from three 96" x 24" luan jointed boards, screwed together. I got the boards from B&Q. Very soft, but serviceable enough and I don't have to worry too much if I have an accident with a cutting tool.

Yes, I have a copy of 'The Workbench Book', but in the end, I use what fits in my workshop for now.

I am looking forward to seeing your finished project Byron.

John

 

[ByronBlack]

Update!!

I've finally got round to some more work. After a delayed period of acquiring tools and machinery, and then selling off. I've finally arrived at a satisfactory method for cutting the mortices. I've opted for a sawtooth forstner in a drill press. To aid repeatability, I made a table with a fence and a number of 'stops' set at the beginning and end of the mortices - i'll be editing this post later with photo's.

I tried a couple using a hand-brace and auger, without satisfactory results, it required a lot of cleaning up and I often went over the marking lines with the chisel resulting in quite an un-even mortice. So I resorted to the drill-press method, and have to say that it's a fantastic way of cutting mortices.

Tomorrow should see the chamfering and shaping of the trestle legs and feet, and then on to cutting the tenons to complete the base assembly.

 

[ByronBlack]

Photo's of drill press setup:

Drill press fitted with table and fence:

Adjustable stops for start and end of mortice:

Sawtooth forstner in action:

Lovely shavings/chippings:

Nicely cut mortice - ready to be smoothed by hand using rasps:

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Byron I think you need to look at this one, I'm gonna copy it. The best bit is the sacrificial round bit offset so you can just turn it when you knacker it up drilling to far.

Here is the thread

 

[Paul Chapman]

Great idea, LN - I think I'll copy that as well

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[ByronBlack]

Wow, thats a bit posh! I like it - definitly added to my ever-growing long list of workshop projects. I wish I could take 6months of work to spend on building workshop solutions

 

[BrianD]

Why isit i cannot see the pics that are in the link.

Any ideas? Perhaps they have been removed?

 

[ByronBlack]

None of my photo's have been removed, I can see them - try restarting your browser.

 

[tiler99]

I think he is referring you LNs post

 

[BrianD]

Lord Nibbo,

what I did mean was that the referred link to woodnet forum etc. does not show the pictures as referred to. Lord Nibbo any idea where else this can be found by chance?

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Looks like the original pics have been removed on the woodnet site Even I didn't copy them did anyone else copy them?

 

[ByronBlack]

Update Competition Entry

Well after what seems to be weeks of torturous malaise and frustration I finally had a breakthrough over the weekend despite my claims that I was going to leave it for a couple of weeks - I just couldn't, it was mocking me!

Change of plans:

I'm not ashamed to admit that my ambitions and plans far outreached my abilities. Hence the knackering up of the trestle feet and tops - I made a real pigs ear of the mortices. After many hours of contemplation and re-reading of 'The Workbench Book' Amazon Link I came across a design by Niall Barrett (Page 136). It used a bolt arrangement to join the rails and stretchers to the legs forgoing the trestle setup. This meant I could scrap the mistakes and use the wood I had for the top pair of rails for the internal stretchers - this was an excellent solution.

I do however have to point out that this bench was supposed to be a traditionally built heirloom piece, alas; I feel I am not yet experienced or good enough to produce such a piece, so this has been a good experience in many ways, mostly that I need to concentrate on the basics before trying to keep up with Nibbo et al

On to the pics:

Leg arrangments bolted together, and rails cut to size:

Using the MFT to clamp the piece, and a veritas block + chamfer guide, I planed a tapered small chamfer on the rails (I also did the legs)

Sanded to 120grit and smoothed using the veritas block, the legs arrangements are ready to fix to the rails:

MFT coming to some use again: The components are assembled using the flat top of the festool table:

Base Complete (just requires a finish)

Close up of the tapered chamfer. It's only a small detail, but I wanted to try and include at least some hand/craft element.

So there we go, some progress finally! The bolt-recesses in the stretchers and rails were created by using a kitchen worktop straight cutter and a ply template; thanks to the advise from numerous members I managed to do this quite successfully despite some failings in this department earlier in the project (Thanks to everyone who has helped me so far - it really is appreciated a great deal!!)

I shall be starting on the worktop this week with an aim to finish next monday. The top is going ahead as planed except I'm not adding a bread-board end as I'm staying close to the Niall Barrett design. Also like his, I'll only be having one vice at the front of the bench, unlike his however i'll be including a couple of rows of dog-holes and a number of holes for tool placement at the back of the bench. Loose ply tongues will be used to aid alignment as advised, now that I've got the hang of using templates and routers, this should be quite a straight-forward task.

 

[Paul Chapman]

That looks fine, Byron. Should provide a very sturdy base for your bench top.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

PS Even if you are planning on fitting only one vice, I'd be inclined to allow for possibly fitting a tail vice at some time in the future. If you want to do lots of hand work on the bench, I really do feel you would find a tail vice useful, if not essential.

 

[Lord Nibbo]

Like I said in the comments on your pics in Flickr BB, It looks pretty good to me. One question though or rather a suggestion, where you have added the blocks to repair the legs, why not turn one end round and have both repaired legs at the back, then when you make the top it would be easy to hide with a board fixed the length of the top.

 

[ByronBlack]

nibbo - I know what you mean about the repaired leg tops, that was the plan (to have both at the back) but I made yet another mistake with drilling the bolt holes for the rails, so had no choice but to have the legs this way otherwise the rail would have been twisted (hole alignment was off).

 

[Dave S]

Byron,
I can understand the emotions you have been going through lately with this project - I doubt I'm the only one reading this and seeing some of my own experiences. ( I have three different sized drawers in my workshop and none of them fit into the wardobe for which they were destined #-o )

I do think you you have managed to get around the mistakes well, and it looks like you will end up with a great bench at the end of it, even if it's not quite as you intended it to be. Glad you haven't lost heart.

Dave

 

[Sawdust]

Byron,

I hope I'm not raking up terrible memories, but what went wrong with the mortices - they looked fine in the pics where you were drilling them out and you thought you had found a great way of making them. What happened after that?

Cheers
Mike