Circular Saw for cutting Oak Sleepers - recommendations needed

[menatarms]

Have you worked out a cutting list, as randomly cutting things up so they fit in a car could well be very wasteful.


I would look to the future if buying a saw now, if the Dewalt will serve all your needs then no reason not to buy it, you'll probably need one to carry on with
making the bench anyway.


Will they not let you, then arrange for them to deliver your selection, my timber yard does.


Are you prepared to wait that long? they will probably be saturated, so inevitably no use for making any thing now that you want to stay in shape.

In all my years, only ever made mine of out of cheap redwood, rather spend my money on decent wood for making things.

No cutting list yet, still very early stages. First want to know what materials are realistically available.

At the moment I just know I want 2 workbenches, each with around 900x600 tops (could be upto 1000x700), ideally with a face/leg vise and a tail/wagon vise (overall, not each), with plenty of drawer storage underneath.

Yes could possibly go pick them out then arrange delivery, but I more and more am thinking I just don't want to wait so long to get cracking with it.

I would love the table to look great, I'm considering at the moment making a core of thick structural glulam (hardwood veneers), then covering the top with maybe 25mm of maple/oak, then framing it with a face of walnut/bubinga. I know it's a bit disingenuous, but it would enormously reduce the cost whilst still being very strong and looking great. Is there a reason people don't do this more?

 

[HOJ]

Is there a reason people don't do this more?

I always look at things from a practical point of view, not vanity, my benches get absolutely hammered and abused so cheap to replace is my mantra.

 

[Inspector]

I always look at things from a practical point of view, not vanity, my benches get absolutely hammered and abused so cheap to replace is my mantra.

I agree. You can spend a lot of time making showpiece benches, out feed tables, tool chests and wall hung cabinets but never actually make any nice furniture for the house you live in. My bench was of maple because it was cheap at the time and I had my father (Danish trained) along with all his factory machines to help with it. Everything since has been what was at hand including sheet goods that were functional and not pretty. My father feed us working for decades at a bench made of a solid core door and construction lumber. I keep it for sentimental reasons. Ultimately the choice is yours but I would rather spend some extra money on dry wood that I could get to right away because if you have to wait for it to dry, stuff will happen and you may never get to it.

Pete

 

[simonridout]

A member of my ‘men’s shed’ (actually a community shed, as all are welcome) has been making a bench, using softwood 100x 200 x 2.4 m treated sleepers, initially quite wet but drying out, during 2 four hour sessions a week. Legs were 100 x 100. Cross pieces similar, mortised and tenoned together. 200 x 50 for aprons, 50 x 50 for bottom rails, all very heavy and solid. As others have suggested, unless you plan to do fine cabinet making only, the top will get hammered in use, so design it to be sacrificial and replaceable.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

My main work bench is mostly made from 20mm plywood sheets cut and glued together so all the tenons were formed in place no cutting or chisels were needed the main parts are 100mm square. For the top I have a torsion box with a 96mm grid of 20mm holes (Festool design) I can disassemble it and the parts use construction J bolts and 200mm coach bolts. There are 2 sets of drawers that are captured when it is assembled. It is solid as a rock though I don’t do much with hand tools. I only needed a track saw and clamps to make it.


I also have a smaller set of drawers, again with a holy top. All of my workshop furniture has wheels so I can easily rearrange things when needed.


Neither of them are pretty but both are very functional.

 

[okeydokey]

A member of my ‘men’s shed’ (actually a community shed, as all are welcome) has been making a bench, using softwood 100x 200 x 2.4 m treated sleepers, initially quite wet but drying out, during 2 four hour sessions a week. Legs were 100 x 100. Cross pieces similar, mortised and tenoned together. 200 x 50 for aprons, 50 x 50 for bottom rails, all very heavy and solid. As others have suggested, unless you plan to do fine cabinet making only, the top will get hammered in use, so design it to be sacrificial and replaceable.

This sounds sensible - most, well at least my local fencing supplier will sell this timber from stock and deliver, from your location is Percy Hudson your local one google says they have good stocks.
Then you can cut at your leisure with as others have suggest a hand saw, if you want to get a move on with this job don't prevaricate just get this timber.

 

[TRITON]

You want one is a beam saw, one of these. Mafell 185Ec 450mm blade for the 185mm depth of cut.
Currently a snip at £4614.98 and available right now at Axminster tools

 

[Bingy man]

That's a good point, a chainsaw would be quite useful too for chopping up deadfall logs that I can turn into timber. The circular saw though I thought would be useful for this project even after the timber is back in the workshop, as realistically I can't crosscut these on the table saw even with a sliding carriage.

Plenty of cheap chainsaws available for under £100 . I recently purchased a 10” top handle for around £70 delivered..perfect for small logs and sleepers . The make was Parker brand -eBay ..

 

[Chubber]

Use redwood for frames and legs and if you must have it, laminated hardwood for the top. All manageable. You would save enough on the cost of a big saw to have a very posh top with the added extra of planning in end vices, dog blocks etc.

 

[TRITON]

Plenty of cheap chainsaws available for under £100 . I recently purchased a 10” top handle for around £70 delivered..perfect for small logs and sleepers . The make was Parker brand -eBay ..

Doesnt have to be a cheapo brand. B&Q have the Makita 14" electric for £102
Electric is fine for home use. Petrol is really only for people working in the middle of nowhere.

https://www.diy.com/departments/mak...oz2Gq-gAg2s0xkQYnYJMSSIxYRaTRrIIsocZAo4fx8OXA

 

[Fergie 307]

One point that is seldom mentioned is that, as long as your floor is up to it, a workshop crane is an extremely useful addition.

Since we built our house ourselves I designed an overhead crane into the build and though it doesn’t get used that often it does rather mean that I can move virtually anything anywhere it probably has a 1~2 tonne safe limit, though I have de rated it to 500kg. Now that is probably overkill for most but a floor standing double A fame and crossbar wheeled version is often useful.

The last big item I used it on was my 16” bandsaw, I don’t know exactly how heavy it is but something over 30kg I would guess and not something I would ever attempt without 3 or 4 people without the crane, but with it it was a trivial gob to position and move around single handedly.

Before that I put a steel workbench top on my welding table that was probably about 150kg.

This is a much lighter use but it means that a full sheet of 20mm plywood can be moved around View attachment 189888

So useful. When I built my workshop I used an I beam as the ridge piece supported on other beams on each side. The joists secured above the beam on large metal plates. Have two chain hoists, a big old pull the chain job, and a little electric one for when I'm feeling lazy. Really handy

 

[Fergie 307]

Doesnt have to be a cheapo brand. B&Q have the Makita 14" electric for £102
Electric is fine for home use. Petrol is really only for people working in the middle of nowhere.

https://www.diy.com/departments/mak...oz2Gq-gAg2s0xkQYnYJMSSIxYRaTRrIIsocZAo4fx8OXA

Used big petrol ones for years but now much prefer electric. Fine for smaller stuff and just so much more convenient, and quiet!
Mine is corded, but I can imagine a battery one would be even better.

 

[Bingy man]

Doesnt have to be a cheapo brand. B&Q have the Makita 14" electric for £102
Electric is fine for home use. Petrol is really only for people working in the middle of nowhere.

https://www.diy.com/departments/mak...oz2Gq-gAg2s0xkQYnYJMSSIxYRaTRrIIsocZAo4fx8OXA

I guess it’s just what you are used too , I just prefer petrol as it’s what I’ve always used , no problem with electric if that’s your or anyone else’s choice .