I like a Big Bench

[jlloydparks]

A bit of a rant and whine, but just to put it plainly if you are going to use handtools you need a stout bench.

I am over at my in-laws and he is power tool guy. He wanted to make a test tube spice rack together and he asked me to bring handtools to help. I said yes, but after chasing his bench around the garage all day while trying to smooth plane pieces after they had come off his jointer and table saw I was almost ready to fire up the random orbital sander and give up. His bench weights about 75 lbs at best and the bed bolt joinery is loose, so not only does it move, but it racks. If you are going down this hand tool road make sure and build a solid bench that has some mass behind it.

I'll post pictures of the spice racks tomorrow. They turned out really well and would make excellent and fast Christmas gifts this year.

[jwatson]

so right now i will tell you i dont have a bench what i do now is work off my ts top i clamp a stop on the back and push away from me. i soon realized this isnt ideal. i can relate if you dont have a stout bench working wood with hand tools is nearly impossible.

[jlloydparks]

Here is a picture of the spice rack. Because the father-in-law's miter saw was not set up it required a bit more putty than usual. I would have used a shooting board to get everything just right. Once again I love my hand tool shop.

By the way this spice rack took lest than 6 hours to make and would make an excellent gift.