OTT ... or not?

[Cheshirechappie]

My comment was only really "unfair" if you take it literally or seriously. Just for the avoidance of any doubt, the comment was not intended seriously - and certainly not literally, as I hope the ridiculousness of some of my example 'dedicated benches' made clear to most people.

I thought you were serious and have spent the past few hours Googling for information on these special benches and ordering wood on spec. Now what do I make with a pile of Rosewood? :shock:

How about a nice Roubo-style sharpening station? Something with 6" square legs and a 4" stainless-steel clad top should be just about sturdy enough, and will resist slops from waterstones. You may have to laminate up for thickness, though.

Alternatively, a coopered bucket for offcuts would look good in rosewood. Perhaps inlaid with holly, and with a patinated investment-cast bronze handle.

( )

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

a bench for losing his pencils and tape-measure amongst the shavings and offcuts.

I got that one

 

[Benchwayze]

Lovely bit of craftsmanship, but I'm not convinced by the choice of timber. It all looks a little gawdy and seems an inappropriate use of valuable tropical hardwood. I would have been more impressed if it had been made in local Maple or similar.

Nice job.

Do they have a lot of Maple in Ireland?

I believe snake-wood is a little scarce over there.

 

[n0legs]

a bench for losing his pencils and tape-measure amongst the shavings and offcuts.

I got that one

I lose my patience at mine and the diazepam just disappears on it.

 

[MIGNAL]

Lovely bit of craftsmanship, but I'm not convinced by the choice of timber. It all looks a little gawdy and seems an inappropriate use of valuable tropical hardwood. I would have been more impressed if it had been made in local Maple or similar.

Nice job.

Do they have a lot of Maple in Ireland?

I believe snake-wood is a little scarce over there.

An Irish guy once sold me a big chunk of 'Irish Ebony'. I was pretty impressed that Ebony grew in Ireland, until someone told me it was bog Oak.

 

[KenHMT]

Hi Guys,

Neat site you've got here and thanks for mentioning ours!

Our site (HomemadeTools) organizes tool builds in one convenient location with the goal of reaching more interested builders than possible for any single forum.  We always fully credit the original builder by linking back to your original forum thread, credit your username, and include a small image (similar to those displayed by Google Images) of your tool.

If you'd like to have any of your homemade tools featured on our site, just send me a message.  We'll add your tool ASAP and post in the thread with links to your new entry.

That dovetailing bench was a beautiful piece of work.

Ken

 

[rafezetter]

Hi Guys,

Neat site you've got here and thanks for mentioning ours!

Our site (HomemadeTools) organizes tool builds in one convenient location with the goal of reaching more interested builders than possible for any single forum.  We always fully credit the original builder by linking back to your original forum thread, credit your username, and include a small image (similar to those displayed by Google Images) of your tool.

If you'd like to have any of your homemade tools featured on our site, just send me a message.  We'll add your tool ASAP and post in the thread with links to your new entry.

That dovetailing bench was a beautiful piece of work.

Ken

I've just this day found your site while looking for inspiration for a veneer hammer - looks to be a very good reference site - If I make anything worthy of display I'll give you a holler (so don't hold your breath!)

 

[mind_the_goat]

Interesting viewpoints here. What's the difference between building a fine workbench with exotic materials compared to building fine furniture ? Either could be made perfectly functional with plywood and machine tools and both could be considered a waste of rare materials. Someone making such an item for themselves does it purely for the pleasure gained firstly through the making process and secondly through the everyday pleasure of looking at a beautiful object that is also fulfilling a function. Of course appreciative comments from others adds to the pleasure of having made it. At the end of the day the guy built this because he wanted to, and because he could, which is why most of the non-professionals here build things. It would only be OTT if he started with a budget of £500 and gave himself a week to build it.

 

[KenHMT]

Hi All,

I thought you lot might be interested in perusing our UKWorkshop entries. Since I can't post a direct link, just go to our Sites tab and move over to Page 2 where you'll find UKWorkshop currently at #80 on the list.

We have tool builds from the following UKWorkshop builders: Alf, Pete Maddex, kinsella, rxh, markturner, jimi43, Niki, Hemsby, santiniuk, Finial, RogerP, and Eric The Viking

As always, if you'd like to have any changes made or if you've got a new tool to contribute, just send me a note and I'll take care of it.

Best regards,
Ken