nikbrown Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 So when we moved into our new house about 6 months ago the former owners left me this great bench. I was going to build a new bench but with some great wood here I decided to retrofit this one. It was incredibly out of flat and the top was nailed together. I dont have time for a full description of the process right now but I finally finished the bench today (well at least for now its finished). The upcoming guild build forced me to spend the weekend in the shop trying to whip it into shape enough to start the build next week (poor me ) No front vice yet (havent decided what I'm doing there yet. I may get a Lee Valley twin screw, or I hear rumor they are working on something new. The tail vice is the new Lee Valley quick release that I picked up at WIA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harderd Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 Nice transformation. What is the wood on the apron around the top? I see you are from Canton. I lived in New Philadelphia in a past life, brother is in Stasburg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikbrown Posted January 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 middle is laminated 4/4 walnut 4" thick. The border I put on is 12/4 ash I got at Yoder lumber down near Charm, OH for $2.80/bf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger T Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Wow Nick, beautiful job. Quite the transformation. I am sure you have a lot of hours into this. It should last a lifetime plus some! Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Vitale Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Looks great man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Looks great! What finish did you apply to the top of the bench? I bought a Hoffman and Hammer workbench from Highland Woodworking and I'm thinking that I need to put something on the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikbrown Posted January 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Looks great! What finish did you apply to the top of the bench? I bought a Hoffman and Hammer workbench from Highland Woodworking and I'm thinking that I need to put something on the wood. I used a bunch of danish oil on it... never had any bench but MDF so I have no idea if this was the best choice; but "the schwarz" used it on one of his benches so I figured it couldn't be too bad of a mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Looks great! And to repeat something that was mentioned over on WoodNet, you completely suck for all the natural light in your shop space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Wow, what a transformation, Nik. Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikbrown Posted January 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 So I installed a french cleat system on the wall in front of the bench last night. Anyone have photos of great wall hanging tool holders they have made? I'll need to hang dividers, chisels, squares, japanese pull saws, marking gauges, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 So I installed a french cleat system on the wall in front of the bench last night. Anyone have photos of great wall hanging tool holders they have made? I'll need to hang dividers, chisels, squares, japanese pull saws, marking gauges, etc... You will love your french cleats! For lots of things, all you need is a simple peg. I've attached some pictures of holders I've made for things that don't hang so well on pegs. Here are some hints for when you start making your holders: 1. Your holders will be a lot more stable if they have a piece that bears against the wall below the cleat. I think all the ones I have shown here are like that. 2. You can make a holder really stable by driving a wedge between the holder and the cleat. The picture of the air hose reel shows how this works. Most of the time you won't need the wedge, but it really helped with the hose reel because otherwise it tried to jump off the cleat when I turned the crank. 3. I don't use my nasty high speed bench grinder all that much, so I mounted it on a base that will hang on a cleat. I clamp the base to my bench when I want to use the grinder, and leave it hanging on the cleat out of the way when I don't. Same thing for my mechanic's vise. 4. You can save a lot of time making the holders if you start by making some long "blanks" as shown in the hand-drawn sketch. Then when you want to make a specialized holder, just whack a piece the size you need from the end of the blank, and you're instantly halfway done. -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Let me guess-the bench is was what sold you on the house right. Looks like a nice big bench, should keep you happy for many years. Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikbrown Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Finally put together a blog post about the rehab. http://digitalwoodworker.com/2011/01/19/the-most-important-tool-in-any-shop/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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