Brendon_t Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 3 hours ago, SawDustB said: One thing I have noticed is that my front slab isn't 100% straight. Obviously there was a bit of tension when I did the glue up. It's not much, maybe max of 3/32" over the 6 foot span. The way I was going to position the slabs it comes out from the bench in the middle. Is this something I need to fix? I'll be going the hand plane route and using my #7 if it is. This seems like something I should correct now if I'm going to. I did also consider setting up my router with a straight edge, but that scares me a little to do on the outside visible edge. Taking thin shavings starting at the ends, working back toward the middle checking with a straight edge often should find you flat before you know it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 5 hours ago, Brendon_t said: Taking thin shavings starting at the ends, working back toward the middle checking with a straight edge often should find you flat before you know it. I'm not too worried about it after the practice this project has given me with the planes. I figured I'd ask, in case it's not necessary. I had a bit of time to draw things up in SketchUp tonight. I think this is going to work out. Here's the overall view, with nothing hidden: After hiding the actual bench, the mechanism inside can be seen more clearly. This uses the scheme I described where the block moves on UHMW runners in miter track. The track and runners in the bench can be seen in this picture: Finally, the end view can be seen that shows the exact placement of everything. I think it looks OK, although I'm wondering if I should move the runners down a little to get more wood on the side with the screw. I intend to secure each of them with at least 2-3 screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan G Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 Coming along nicely. How did you get those images out of Sketchup? I have been struggling to get a decent high res image out of Sketchup Make. Used their export 2D image route with out much success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 Coming along nicely. How did you get those images out of Sketchup? I have been struggling to get a decent high res image out of Sketchup Make. Used their export 2D image route with out much success. Thanks. I just used the 2d image export (to PNG initially, although I had to change them to jpg to put them on the forum). I've never had a problem with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 I shouldn't have worried about flattening the small outward bow on the front. I marked a straight line on the top side so I would know when I was approximately done, and started working with the jointer plane. It took maybe 10 minutes, and it's pretty much perfect now. It ended up only needing about 1/16 removed. I've cut the end now, so the next step is cutting the tenon. I'm thinking of keeping the end cap a bit thicker, since it would let me lower the end vise assembly a bit. That would then leave a little more wood in the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2017 So I seem to have this hybrid woodworking thing backwards. I seem to usually end up using power tools to fix my less than stellar work with hand tools. My initial crack at the slab tenon looked like this: I cut it with hand saws, but the edge was a bit ragged. I knocked out most of the waste with a chisel and mallet, then used a rabbet plane to get the tenon close. I fixed it today with a plunge router and spiral bit. Much better. I still needed to clean out the middle, so I used my chisels. I'm still going to plane it a bit to smooth it out, but this looks a lot better. My slab is 1/16 shorter, but I'm still going to be trimming 1/4 off the other end so it's OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SawDustB Posted January 5, 2017 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 I cleaned up the end cap and trimmed one end, then mortised it to fit the slab tenon. I initially overshot on the mortise size by about 1/64, so I had to glue in a shim and trim the mortise again. I'm very happy with the final fit. I have decided to make the end cap 1/4" bigger than the slab, so 4 1/4" in order to give a little more support to the end vise. While 1/4" may not seem like much, it may be the difference between 1/2" of wood below the screw or 3/4". I'm going to chamfer the lower edge by 1/4", so visually it won't be all that obvious. Next up is going to be trying to fit the end vise. I may decide to put in the bolts holding the end cap on first, since there are no questions there. I still need to draw up a few more details before I excavate the mortise for it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 I'm committed now! I've excavated the area for the tail vise. I used my router to plunge in from the bottom and side, then knocked out the part in the middle with a saw and chisel. Having to come in 2 1/2 inches from the bottom was interesting... I still need to clean things up a little, which I expect I'll use my rabbet plane for. I have reduced the travel by an inch from the guild version. I think it'll make it stronger with how I'm building it, and it only means dropping from 12 inches of travel to 11. Next up is routing grooves for the miter track that will guide the vise block. I'm not entirely sure how to do the one under the overhang. I think this would be a great application for a plow plane, but I don't have one. I think the only power tool that will fit is my Dremel, so I suspect this will be a hand tool solution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 I've finalized the design for the vise. Here's the model for the dog block, including the vise nut. I've decided to bury the nut in the dog block, partly for aesthetics and partly because it avoids needing a large recess in the end cap to get the full vise travel. There will be 3 screws in each of the runners, and the four screws holding on the nut. Does anyone see a reason why I would need to epoxy in the nut to make the whole thing stronger? I am a little concerned about how thin some of the wood is around the nut, especially near the runner. The resulting wooden part that I need to make looks like this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 As I mentioned, I need to cut the groove for the runner for the dog block. Here's a diagram showing what I'm trying to do: I need to cut a 1" wide by 1/2" deep groove. The trick is it needs to be 1/4" (I could maybe push up to 1/2" absolute worst case, but I'd rather not) from the overhanging part of the bench. I don't think I could get it with a rabbeting bit with the router on the underside of the bench, since it seems like the bit would be extended too far. My router plane won't fit, and my rabbet plane is too wide. Anyway, if anyone has a clever suggestion I'd love to hear it. Otherwise, I may end up trying to chisel it out. Or I may give up and make the piece of wood below it be a separate piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 As I mentioned, I need to cut the groove for the runner for the dog block. Here's a diagram showing what I'm trying to do: I need to cut a 1" wide by 1/2" deep groove. The trick is it needs to be 1/4" (I could maybe push up to 1/2" absolute worst case, but I'd rather not) from the overhanging part of the bench. I don't think I could get it with a rabbeting bit with the router on the underside of the bench, since it seems like the bit would be extended too far. My router plane won't fit, and my rabbet plane is too wide. Anyway, if anyone has a clever suggestion I'd love to hear it. Otherwise, I may end up trying to chisel it out. Or I may give up and make the piece of wood below it be a separate piece. Rough it out with a handsaw and chisel, then follow Paul Sellers' "poor man's router" video to make a quickie router with the blade offset to one side. There is actually a commercially made router plane like this. I saw a product review a while back, but can't recall the mfg. It had a rectangular body, and the handles were constructed such that the blade could be swapped with a handle to make it offset to one end. Seems perfect for this task. Alternatively, you could just make the corner notch deeper, and glue in a strip with track groove already cut into it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 So I didn't exactly follow the advice above. I realized that I could very carefully set up the cut on the table saw with a roller stand and running the slab on edge against the fence, so that's what I did. I clamped my straight line rip jig on to bridge the gap where I've cut the rabbet out. This worked really well. I was able to very accurately hog out the groove. The only downside to this method is that the blade couldn't reach into the corner. It's still going to be a lot less work to just chisel out the last few inches. Here's what I was left with after knocking out some of the waste with a chisel. After I clean this up, I think it's on to the dog strip. I need to pick up the bolts for the end cap before I can tackle that part, and the rest of the vise installation will happen when I'm fitting the front laminate, since it will house the other runner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 And after a lot of chopping, the miter track now fits. I'm really regretting putting that giant knot right here though. I figured it wouldn't matter, being in the middle of the glue up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 I've installed the bolts to hold on the end cap. I went with the Lee Valley bench bolts in the 3/8" size for this, since they're a lot easier to get for me than the Benchcrafted end cap barrel nuts. These require a 3/4" hole for the brass nut, which I used the dog hole bushing and bit set to drill. I was a bit skeptical, but I found that arrangement to work pretty well. In the end cap itself, I used 7/8" Forstner bit which was just big enough, and drilled overlapping holes to create a slot. I did the same thing with the 3/8" holes for the bolts. I was pretty close on the alignment, with one bolt going in perfectly the first time and the other one requiring minor (less than 1/16") adjustment on the 3/8" hole. I was able to bolt it on for a test fit. I've got a router pattern bit in the mail from Amazon to tackle the dog strip, which should be the next major task. I'm also going to lay out for the vise screw tonight, and drill the clearance hole for the main screw. The bolts to attach the flange for the handle will wait until I have everything assembled, since I plan to use the wiggle room there to get the mechanism lined up. One question I've had is whether I should do anything to pin the dovetail (or condor tail) at the end. With the vise arrangement I'm using, I can't glue the dovetail or I would not be able to service the vise by taking off the end cap. I don't expect to do it often (or hopefully ever) but it could happen after some use. It strikes me that the end cap bolts don't do anything to restrict the movement of the end cap front to back, and if unglued the dovetail won't hold it either. Is this a concern, and I should put a pin or something (either in the dovetail, or beside the vise slot in the slab), or am I worried about nothing? Part of what I want to prevent is that the vise starts sticking because the end cap has shifted by 1/16" in use. I would think that you would want the end cap to be fixed in position on either side of the wagon vise slot, with the slab being free to move toward the gap. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 There are some days where you just shouldn't go in the shop. I very carefully measured for the vise screw hole, and started drilling with my 1 1/4" Forstner bit. I stopped about 2" in and shook out the shavings, and noticed that the hole intersected with the end cap mortise. Uh oh. I checked where I had drilled the hole, and I had used the wrong layout line, putting me 3/8" too far to the back. After some head scratching, I decided to plug the hole and redrill. I tried a hole saw (which broke) and then got out the circle cutter for the drill press. I was able to make 3 plugs that fit reasonably well. I got them glued in, and gave up for the night. This was supposed to be a quick 5 minute job to finish the end cap, then I was going to make the jig for the dog strip and start milling it. Oh well, there's always the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 It happens.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 Yep like TIODS says it happens but you made a nice recovery. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 It happens.. Yeah, I know. It's not the first mistake like it I've made - I wasn't really upset, just annoyed. As it turns out, once I thought about it more I was off by 3/4", not 3/8". I'm really glad I didn't try to drill a new hole last night. Here's my completed patch, with where the hole should be drawn on. I guess I should avoid trying to do layout when I'm tired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SawDustB Posted January 14, 2017 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 It looks better with the hole in the right place. On to the dog strip! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtxmanmike Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 I just found your thread and love it! I'm planning to build a bench this year and yours is very close to what I was planning. The main difference is I'd like to have some tool storage cabinets/drawers in mine. Otherwise, very close! What size are the vise screws you decided to go with? I just picked up some free 1" x 5 tpi and 1" x 6 tpi acme threaded shafts. One has a nut and the other doesn't. Thinking I might try to come up with a plan to use these! Thanks for the detailed journey! Looking great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 I just found your thread and love it! I'm planning to build a bench this year and yours is very close to what I was planning. The main difference is I'd like to have some tool storage cabinets/drawers in mine. Otherwise, very close! What size are the vise screws you decided to go with? I just picked up some free 1" x 5 tpi and 1" x 6 tpi acme threaded shafts. One has a nut and the other doesn't. Thinking I might try to come up with a plan to use these! Thanks for the detailed journey! Looking great! Hey, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm building mine from the wood whisperer guild Roubo project, with a few modifications. The vise screws I'm using are the tail vise screws (with nuts) from Lee valley, which are 1 1/8" acme thread (maybe 6 tpi?) with about 17" of thread. I'm sure if you're so inclined, you could come up with something yourself, but given how cheap these are I didn't bother looking into it. I'm sure your 1" all thread would work, with a bit of effort. There's a shelf under the bench in the plans, but it would be very easy to put a cabinet down there. I'm pretty sure I've seen pictures where people made that modification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtxmanmike Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 Thanks for the tip! I had not seen the tail vise screw offering from Lee Valley! I just might have to go that way too. Much appreciated on the tip! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 I made it through round one of routing the dog holes. I now need to go through all of them with the flush trim bit, but that'll have to be tomorrow. What a mess. They're all looking good, though, none in the wrong place. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 15, 2017 Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 Looking Great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 I did the second round of routing, and it worked out pretty well. A little burning, and minor blowout on the bottom corner of a few holes, but all in all I was pretty happy. I had the depth off by maybe 1/64, so I ended up cleaning it up with a knife and chisel. I tried the router plane first, and came to a couple of conclusions: 1. Router planes are cool 2. I wish I could find the 1/2" flat blade for this, instead of the spear point 3. I need to sharpen this better With that done, I cleaned up the other little splintery bits. Here's the result: Before I glue on the side, what did you do to ease the edges of the holes? Right now the edges on the top and bottom are very sharp, so I'm thinking of adding a tiny chamfer or easing it with a file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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