Finished Today!


popper

Recommended Posts

I'm a guild member and a member of the Hand Tool School. I would like to thank Marc and Shannon for their videos and email support though the build.  

 

I built my bench with mostly hand tools, except for the planing marathon for the top and the 3/4" wide 1 1/2" deep by 47" long mortise for the deadman, which was the last thing and I was about to be a dead man myself.  

 

I used walnut for the legs, chop and end cap, got it from a local supplier.  Eric at Bellforest worked with me to get the rest of the wood I needed for the build, which was all maple.  I was really happy to find 16/4 walnut for the legs.

 

This was only the second real woodworking project I have done.  I think I did a good job.  There are things that I know I can improve on but that will come with time.

post-16107-0-64050800-1421028880_thumb.j

post-16107-0-93054900-1421028884_thumb.j

post-16107-0-67237200-1421028891_thumb.j

post-16107-0-05396300-1421028896_thumb.j

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Popper, that is a great accomplishment and you should be very proud. It looks great! :)

 

You do realize that you built it backwards, right? :o  ;)  :P  :D

 

Kidding! You lefties always freak me out.

Only Karl would have caught that one! Mmmm.

Sweet bench OP

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Popper, that is a great accomplishment and you should be very proud. It looks great! :)

 

You do realize that you built it backwards, right? :o  ;)  :P  :D

 

Kidding! You lefties always freak me out.

Lol  I only wished that Marc and Benchcrafted would have made plans for lefties.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a beautiful bench. The fact that it's only your second project gives me hope when I start my bench project.

One thing I hadn't considered was the lefty aspect. I am a lefty and am trying to understand the benefits of this configuration. Is it just that the vise being on the right would allow me to hold the wood better when working it with hand tools? Are there other aspects I'm missing?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a lefty but I plane righty...that is to say, my right hand is on the tote.  The only benefits that I know of to having the bench in the correct orientation are 1) not having the chop in your way when planing long boards (it will be at the end of the board instead of the beginning, and you'll tend to bump your legs on it if you're planing the "wrong" way) and 2) when planing using the tail vise, you'll be planing against a stationary dog instead of against the movable dog attached to the vise...which theoretically, over the years, could take a toll on the mechanism and loosen it up.  Theoretically.

 

Aside from that, I know of no other advantages.  But they probably exist and I just haven't realized them.

 

 

Nice job, Popper...that's a beauty.  Just out of curiosity, I have to know...why the finger joints on the end cap instead of dovetails?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a lefty but I plane righty...that is to say, my right hand is on the tote.  The only benefits that I know of to having the bench in the correct orientation are 1) not having the chop in your way when planing long boards (it will be at the end of the board instead of the beginning, and you'll tend to bump your legs on it if you're planing the "wrong" way) and 2) when planing using the tail vise, you'll be planing against a stationary dog instead of against the movable dog attached to the vise...which theoretically, over the years, could take a toll on the mechanism and loosen it up.  Theoretically.

 

Aside from that, I know of no other advantages.  But they probably exist and I just haven't realized them.

 

 

Nice job, Popper...that's a beauty.  Just out of curiosity, I have to know...why the finger joints on the end cap instead of dovetails?

I'm a lefty and did it just because that's what Marc and Benchcrafted suggested to do.

 

Finger joints over davetail? Well that was because I know I could pull them off and didn't wont to have to look at a messed up dovetails for years. lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a lefty tht planes lefty, the points above are correct, but also, having tried to use a bench set up for righties, it will just feel better when you use it. For example, if you are planning a long board, you can use a simple plane stop anchored in the leg vise an have the whole bench to support your board. Using the wagon vise your hand will naturally reach over to losen or tighten the vise. Plus most things are designed for right handed people (the scum) so it's nice to have a bench set up the way God intended. By the way, God is left handed--made the whole world with Jesus sitting on his right hand!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Who's Online   1 Member, 0 Anonymous, 36 Guests (See full list)

  • Forum Statistics

    31.2k
    Total Topics
    421.8k
    Total Posts
  • Member Statistics

    23,759
    Total Members
    3,644
    Most Online
    R Parekh
    Newest Member
    R Parekh
    Joined