Prototype workbench build - WIP

[Bm101]

Nice work Matt. You must be well pleased with those dovetails as first attempts. =D> I like the walnut too. Proper Fancypants workbench.

 

[MattRoberts]

Nice work Matt. You must be well pleased with those dovetails as first attempts. =D> I like the walnut too. Proper Fancypants workbench.

Thanks Bm! I must confess, that dovetail was the best of the four. I wish I could blame it all on the cheap timber, but having seen others on the forum making flawless dovetails out of pine, I suspect it was my lack of skill too!

Still, I'm pretty sure I used the right technique, so I'd be interested to see what improvement there might be with decent wood and a bit more practice

 

[dzj]

Nice work Matt. You must be well pleased with those dovetails as first attempts. =D> I like the walnut too. Proper Fancypants workbench.

Thanks Bm! I must confess, that dovetail was the best of the four. I wish I could blame it all on the cheap timber, but having seen others on the forum making flawless dovetails out of pine, I suspect it was my lack of skill too!

Still, I'm pretty sure I used the right technique, so I'd be interested to see what improvement there might be with decent wood and a bit more practice

Your joinery is more than adequate!
It's a bench after all and a prototype at that.
Good job.

 

[MattRoberts]

After flattening the top, I could lay out the lines for the vices. I started with the Veritas inset vice, a lovely low profile vice I got from Axminster. The instructions gave all the measurements in some foreign language (something about inches?!), so I simply flipped it upside down and drew around it.

I used a router to cut the outer edges to the correct depth and parallel to the side of the bench top.

It was a simple enough task to smack the rest of the waste out with a chisel and do a little bit of clean up.

Having already cut the marking lines, I could then just chisel out the correct depth for the lip of the vice. Annoyingly, the two ends of the vice are ever so slightly tapered, and I wanted a nice fit, so I couldn't use the router to do the lip as well. In addition, I drilled a couple of holes as directed at the top end to allow for chips to fall through. Of course I didn't put a sacrificial backer piece on the bottom, and due to the horrendous layered fibres of the wood ended up blowing out a huge chunk of wood. Thank goodness I cut from the top down and not the other way around!

And here it is, very easy to fit and looking pretty swish by my reckoning! It's not as slow to use as I had feared, and the grip is brilliant.

 

[nabs]

very impressed Matt - do you still see it as a prototype, or is it being promoted to the final article?

 

[MattRoberts]

very impressed Matt - do you still see it as a prototype, or is it being promoted to the final article?

Thank you very much. It's a good question. I may look to replace the top for something more substantial such as ash - I've already dented this one when a clamp fell on it and took a chunk out of it with a rogue brad nail. Whilst a harder top would still have been damaged by both incidents, it would probably have been significantly less.

I think I'll run with it for a good while, and either upgrade if we move house in the future (with a workshop larger than a single garage top of the wish list), or I'll replace the top if it becomes too damaged.

 

[stuartpaul]

Matt, - interesting build and nicely done. Really can't believe that's a prototype, - that's a bench that'll outlast you!

 

[thetyreman]

that's turned out great matt, not sure I'd even bother with a hardwood version, this version you've made will last a lifetime. =D>

 

[Ttrees]

Nice bench Matt
That should get you some commissions
I'll bet you cant wait to use it now
Keep us updated on any additions, or ideas if you add any

Tom

 

[MattRoberts]

Thanks guys, appreciate it.

I've got lots of additions planned - first is a clamp attachment to hold clamps in place when doing panel glue ups.

I'm thinking of drilling a couple of holes in each side for threaded inserts, that way I can attach a variety of jigs to it. All will become clear!

 

[custard]

I've got lots of additions planned - first is a clamp attachment to hold clamps in place when doing panel glue ups.

You're right to put some thought into how you'll use your bench for glue-ups. Probably more projects go wrong during the glue-up stage than at any other point.

Personally I'd recommend that panel glue-ups are supported on waxed bearers.

You'll also see a plastic sheet underneath. Thoroughly cleaning up squeeze out (especially with PVA) takes more than just a wipe with a damp cloth, it's a wet business involving lots of hot water and scrubbing, so some protection for the bench is important.

The bearers mean you can sight across them by eye like they're winding sticks, and pack them accordingly to ensure the top bearer surfaces are parallel and true. And if the sash cramps won't stand up by themselves then little slotted feet can be useful, traditional Record sash cramps are excellent but they are inclined to fall over just when you least need it!

It might be worth using small matched blocks of scrap to keep the top sash cramps suspended above the workpiece. With iron sash cramps this prevents any iron staying on your work and means you can get in underneath the sash cramps to clean up the squeeze out.

The benefit of the waxed bearers is that they're sized to keep the workpiece about an inch above the sash cramps, again for access and to prevent iron staining. You can then just lift the cramped up workpiece off the bearers to clean up the underneath

And an old tooth brush will fit between the sash cramps and the workpiece to remove all traces of squeeze out.

 

[transatlantic]

Some good ideas there Custard. What brand of toothbrush would you recommend?

 

[Bodgers]

Sweet - love the dovetailed end caps.


Sent from my MI 3W using Tapatalk

 

[MattRoberts]

Thanks custard. I'm planning on tackling the issues you raise slightly differently. One of the key problems I'm trying to address is the clamps moving. I use those cheap Alu clamps (no Besseys here I'm afraid!), and because they're so lightweight they're constantly sliding all over the place.

I'm thinking about using two boards, one attached to each side of the bench top but spring proud. I'll cut notches in them, basically like merlons on castle battlements. These will allow me to place the clamps in the notches to keep them evenly spaced across the panel.

I do like the idea of the panel sitting proud of the clamps though, but I fear it won't be as effective on non-parallel clamps

 

[MattRoberts]

Sweet - love the dovetailed end caps.


Sent from my MI 3W using Tapatalk

Cheers! Not the daintyest of dovetails, but it was nice to try and include a few design details

 

[thetyreman]

have you modded the aluminium clamps yet? I put cheap pieces of pine in them and it made a big difference, much stronger than before and the don't sound horrible and clangy, and still lightweight but feel more solid.