Denette Posted February 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 Well, it's been a few days since I posted but progress has been slow and steady! I made the doghole strip yesterday and got it attached tonight. I had a slight bit of trouble with laminating the thin backing strip. Uneven clamping pressure caused about a foot-long 1/16" gap on the underside, so I planed the doghole strip after laminating it to account for the differing thickness and attached it anyway. I figure that a minor gap in the middle of the bench that is glued for most of the board and is only visible from the underside isn't going to hurt anyone. It's gluing up at the moment. The defect in the front slab worked exactly as I'd planned for it to: Out of sight and out of mind! For me this project has already taught me a lot about how to hide defects and make the most of the wood I've got to work with. I guess the next step is the dovetails on the front strip. Eek! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted February 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 Edit: I also haven't heard back from Freud customer support since I emailed them right after my last post. Hm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 Yeah you're definately getting close now. Nice guide on that board defect, none will ever know unless you tell them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted February 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 So hey, does anyone know the specs on the bolts Benchcrafted sends with the tail vise? I got the dovetails cut today but realized that I can't really make the sockets until I know for certain that they are going in the right spot. I held off on doing the bolts to hold the end cap in place because I figured I'd just use the ones that came with the vise, but we are pretty broke at the moment. That vise isn't coming any time super soon. Odds are I'll have to make and sell some whatnots and thingamabobs. Anyway, does anyone know the specs of the bolts and nuts? I would bet I could buy some "good enough for now" bolts and use them to get the bench built, and replace them with the ones that come with the vise when it finally gets here. Here's the progress of the evening! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted February 28, 2017 Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 My end cap is held on with 6" spax screws. They were about $2 each at hd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted February 28, 2017 Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 I don't know exactly what the bench crafted ones are, but in the instructions on their web site they describe what size holes to drill. I used the Lee valley bench bolts on mine, which are 3/8" 5" bolts into a 3/4" cross dowel. If you watch the guild video, Marc shows installing it with regular bolts and nuts. Or you could take the easier route and go with Brendon's suggestion, then drill it out to size later when you have them in your hands. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted February 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2017 I may just do that! (Screws for now and bolts later). As for tonight, well, we have a hail storm with a chance of tornados on the way. Guess what I got to do? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 That was fast. Hope you and family stay safe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 42 minutes ago, mat60 said: That was fast. Hope you and family stay safe. Yea, do you hire out? Takes me days to get my shop picked up! Stay safe. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted March 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 Yea, do you hire out? Takes me days to get my shop picked up! Stay safe. Depends on how much it pays! The days of being able to put up like that are numbered, though. Once I get my workbench done I'll be hard pressed to get both vehicles in the garage. As it is I can barely get out of the second one to go in. Also, we are fine! The weather missed us mostly. Putting the cars in the garage is an ancient technique used by shamans to ward off the severe weather. If I ever leave the cars out when we have severe weather in the forecast, disaster will strike. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Carlsten Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 Looking good. Keep it up! That way I can live vicariously through your work Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 1 hour ago, Denette said: If I ever leave the cars out when we have severe weather in the forecast, disaster will strike. In the mid 70's we lost 2 cars in 2 different to sand storms, and 1 to hail. Glad the storm missed you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 31 minutes ago, Just Bob said: In the mid 70's we lost 2 cars in 2 different to sand storms, and 1 to hail. Glad the storm missed you! Sand Storms. Must take the paint off the cars. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 35 minutes ago, mat60 said: Sand Storms. Must take the paint off the cars. Paint, the car can live, windows were broken, interior trashed, still doable, fine dust into the intake manifold, then into the crankcase, and the cars were DOA. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Denette Posted March 2, 2017 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 All was fine with the storms! The dovetails turned out, well, functional. I didn't follow Marc's instructions quite in order because I didn't have the cap in its fixed location. I rather dumbly thought, "hey, I can't do the pins, but I'll go ahead and get the tails as close to completely machined as possible." I made the pins on the bandsaw and chiseled out the waste as instructed and they turned out okay - one side had a neater shoulder than the other, so I decided that was to be the face side. I got my router set up to route out the 1/4" depth, and I routed it perfectly - on the wrong face. Oops. So I was a little gappy on the shoulder from that. Then, idiot that I am, I just had to go and chisel down the edges so that it would sit more easily in the dovetail. I didn't realize why this was a problem until I had used a couple of lag screws to get the end cap into a temporary location and tried to trace the edges. The problem was, of course, that the edges I needed to chisel along were gone. Ugh. Lots of guesswork and trial and error ensued. The first test fit went -very- badly, and I spent the better part of half an hour with a hammer banging a shim to wedge the dovetails out. I used a pencil on the inside of the sockets so I could see where the worst friction was occurring, then reinserted the dovetails and hammered them off again - that went alright for the most part. I still have some unsightly gaps. But, hey, it's a bench, right? And the good thing is that the end cap is a relatively small part and if I should ever want to replace it to make a tighter-fitting one, it is removable. I probably won't replace it, but it's a nice thought. Gap city: The end cap in place with a couple of temporary screws until I can replace them with the hardware that comes with the vise: The glueup in progress: If nothing else, I can take comfort from the fact that this is the final board to be added to one of the top slabs. Huge milestone! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted March 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Quick follow up, here's the top all laid out now that the glue is dry: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Coming along nicely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 Looking good. Now onto the ooh so fun 2” deep mortises for the rails. All I can say is wear some unders you won't mind throwing away. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 I was going to suggest using epoxy for the dovetail which does better job filling gaps but you're already ahead of that! Bench is looking great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted March 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2017 We have trimmed ends! I only had 45 minutes of shop time today so I trimmed the last end and then hand planed the underside of the front slab to be totally flat. I was going to suggest using epoxy for the dovetail which does better job filling gaps but you're already ahead of that! Bench is looking great. Thanks! Im thinking I will go ahead and epoxy it after I've run the slabs through the planer for their final thicknessing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Eric. Posted March 3, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 3, 2017 Good looking slabs, man. Don't worry about the gappy condor tails...let them settle and after a couple years of movement and dirt and filth and glue and dents...you won't notice at all. It ain't casework on a Krenov cabinet. I wouldn't get in a twist over it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post estesbubba Posted March 3, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 3, 2017 Like Eric and Mike said don't sweat the condor tails. I used the same species on mine too and they weren't the best after gluing (highlighted with mineral spirits) After filling with epoxy and finished with Danish oil they look good enough for a bench 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted March 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Those pictures make me feel better! Hopefully after I get some finish on it it will look a little better. I'll epoxy the dovetails in place once I get the tail vise put on. Tonight was a simple night. I passed both slabs through the planer to get them to an even thickness and bring down a few imperfections. Only had a little snipe, and it wasn't really even a problem because it was on an incremental pass. I will say that I really shouldn't have been wrangling such large boards solo. Eek. But it turned out great! The current thickness is a hair less than 1/128" shy of 4", which I would call an acceptable margin of error. Once I got the thickness taken care of, I epoxied a few defects to nip them in the bud: knots, gaps in glue joints caused by too few clamps, boards that had cracks or flakiness revealed after planing. This should safeguard the bench against a lot of potential defects way down the road. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan G Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Great job so far! You are making great progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denette Posted March 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 I've been quiet on here the last couple of days because I've been milling and gluing up stock to make the legs. I used offcuts for 3 of the 4 legs, and the 4th leg is made strictly by the book. The legs went together mostly from the leftovers from ripping the tabletop pieces to 4.5" wide. Here's a picture (to save myself a thousand words): Three of the four are like that, and the fourth is just two boards that were already full width glued together for thickness. This of course gives me one leg that is a good deal nicer looking and potentially stronger than the other legs. I'm weighing my options over where I put the "good leg." It will definitely be on the front side of the bench, but the dilemma is this: if I put it on the tail vise end it will look better, but if I put it on the leg vise end it might be more structurally sound than a 4-part laminated leg. I'm not altogether convinced that the 4-part legs are weak in the first place, as they went together straight and without gaps. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.