Workbench on Olde Tool Workshop

Tools Series – Part 7 – Workbenches

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Tools Series – Part 7 – Workbenches

My mostly complete Roubo Split-Top Workbench with Benchcrafted vises

Workbenches

No workshop tool discussion is complete without discussing workbenches and chests and other ways to safely secure and protect your tools. This week we will be focusing on workbenches. Workbenches are, to some, considered workshop furniture. I think this is incorrect; workbenches are a tool, and in my opinion, the most important tool in your shop.

Roubo Workbench Update 5 The Home Stretch

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Kiki inspecting Roubo Workbench

This project has taken way too long to finish (my first post was on Sep. 15, 2015). This bench deserved better from me. I am on the home stretch now and only have a few tasks left. I have made a commitment to myself to finish this project before the New Year (to be exact, New Year’s Day 2021, there are some members on my family that need that specific of a date declaration.) Here is a casual non-exhaustive, non-binding list of things to finish:

Teaching A New Dog Old Tricks

Fri, 15 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

First dog closest to vise

During this stay at home time, I decided to finish my loooong term project, my Split Top Roubo Workbench (more on the actual workbench in a later entry). I was working on the legs and benchtop. With this design the dog hole closest to the end or wagon vise (BenchCrafted) is directly over my right leg. The plans call for a hole drilled vertically down the leg to allow for the dog to seat flush with the top. That’s all well and good but how do you get it out?

Wonderful World Of Vises And Their Vices

Wed, 05 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

My old bench had a vise that would rack, so I cut out several pieces of 4″ X 1 1/2″ x 1/4″ popular that I had lying around and drilled a 3/4″ hole (you may have to sand the holes or the dowel little bit to get the pieces to rotate easily) in all of them and inserted a 3/4″ dowel with 2 scrap turned end pieces screwed and glued and presto a variable anti-rack block, It can go from 1/" to 2″. This is not an original idea, I have seen wooden versions of similar rack stops on the internet and there is a plastic version of this in a Lee Valley catalog. It’s just really easy to make and works great!

Tools Tools Tools

Thu, 09 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Stanley No. 6 Type 11 Fore Plane

Yes folks, I’m talking Hand Tools. Hand Tools are one of my favorite topics. If you live in the South East like I do, then you are privileged to have some wonderful tool resources to draw on to add metal pieces of industrial art to add to your toolbox.

There are several places I search for these treasures of yesteryear. Two of my favorites are Craigslist and Marketplace. Sometimes they advertise rusty stuff other people just pass over, with patience, a keen eye and if you really look closely you can find some great deals.

Finished Finishing

Wed, 09 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

As promised, here is the finished cabinet. This was a fun and quick project to do and it was so needed in my shop. It was quick because milk paint dries crazy fast and the top coat is only paste wax.

“Happy Shavings”
-Aaron

Click HERE for my YouTube video of this project.

Roubo To The Rescue

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

You know the the saying, “Everything old is new again?” As you may or may not know, I have been in the process of building my workbench for over a year now and I have been struggling with the benchtop glue-up as I have fewer clamps than I would like and my boards for the top were slightly bowed. Well, after getting my copy of “Roubo on Furniture” from Lost Art Press a few months ago, something I saw in the plates, specifically plate 18 had my subconscious mind working. Specifically the “straightener” that Roubo talks about for edge gluing boards in figure 19 of that plate.

Roubo Workbench Update 3 Tail Vise Puzzle

Sun, 22 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Tail Vise Rails resting on the bottom of the bench top for a test fitting

At long last, I am back working on my workbench. There was a brief delay because life happens. For reasons I won’t bore you with (cat fostering), I was unable to work in my garage for the past 2 weeks and I was not able to make any workbench progress. Fortunately, I am back in business and I made a major step forward yesterday. I finished the cavity for the tail vise to be installed in. I have the pictures showing the “finished” cavity below. Suffice it to say, I am glad to get that part completed so I can get on with the rest of the workbench. As you can see in the photos, I have not glued the boards together for the front part of my bench. I will probably do this tomorrow. Then I can start gluing the remainder of the boards together to finish assembling the top. Right now the exact dimensions of the cavity is not important. I will need to finish the top surface of the workbench before making any precision cuts to mount the tail vise. In the following pictures you will see the boards clamped together and then expanded to show how each one is individually cut to form the whole. I did purchase some soft maple to attach to the front of the bench because it will get the most abuse from clamping and other activities, so I decided to make it out of maple. Also, it will be dovetailed into the side maple piece which the tail vise will be attached.

Workbench Update 2 - New Leg Vise

Wed, 21 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Yea!, My new Benchcrafted Classic Leg Vise is in. Unfortunately they must have run out of the unfinished vises, I am still very happy with this vise. The machining on their vise hardware is amazing. They are the best you can get…period!

Now to build a leg to put it in. Should be able to build a couple on Friday.

-Aaron

Workbench Update 1 - Stock Prep

Tue, 20 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

BenchCrafted Classic Leg Vise - Unfinished

3x5x22 Maple End Cap - Cat Inspected (Cookie)

I have almost all the materials on hand for my workbench. I am still waiting for my new Benchcrafted Traditional Classic Vise to get here, but I finished surfacing my hard maple end cap that secures the tail vise to the end of the bench. As you can see my shop cat is inspecting my work with aloof approval. It started out as a rough log and now it is surfaced on 4 sides, square and flat 3″x5″x22″ board. As you can also see, the benchtop boards are now acclimating in my shop. I will start laminating them soon.

And so it begins - My Roubo inspired 18th Century Workbench

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This is a project that is way overdue. I’ve been working with my lightweight commercial workbench for way too many years. Last Friday I purchased 10 beautiful 5/4 x 5″ x 12′ boards of southern yellow Pine. I had already purchased my Benchcrafted tail vice about a year and a half ago. This tail vise is quite an expensive piece of machinery to have just laying around not earning it’s keep. So I have decided to go ahead and build my very own Roubo Workbench. In these pictures you’ll see the boards have already been cut in half and resting nicely on my two saw benches. I will be following Chris Schwarz’s plans for a 18th century Roubo workbench, modified as to fit incorporate my Benchcrafted tail vise. The finished Bench top should be 5″ thick, 20″ wide and 72″ long. This is going to be one heavy workbench. The overall workbench dimensions will be H 34″ x W 20″ X L 72″. I am using Chris Schwarz’s book “Workbenches - From Design & Theory to Construction & Use” as my primary source for plans and instructions. I also have Chris’s other workbench book “The Workbench Design Book - The Art and Philosophy of Building Better Benches”. He has republished his “Workbenches” book and it is available on his website at Lost Art Press.

Saw Box Finish

Fri, 28 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Some of you may remember the Saw Box I started in this post -> Have Saw Will Travel . In preparation for finishing my chair I made in the “Continuous Arm Windsor Chair Class” at Elia Bizzarri’s, I wanted to get some more practice with the finishing techniques that I will use in the chair so I decided to finish my Saw Box.

The process goes like this:

A Turn For The Better

Sat, 29 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The competed machine - What a beauty

The completed machine - what a beauty!

You may recall from my previous post, that my half-finished spring pole lathe had become a temporary “bookshelf” due to an injury. Now, oh happy day, it has been repurposed into a functioning lathe! This project, by far, was one of the most difficult I have undertaken. I don’t mean technically difficult, but physically difficult. But let me say up front that it did not have to be this way. Sometimes, we work against ourselves and are our own worst enemy.

Spring Pole Bookshelf

Tue, 28 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I posted some pictures of my spring pole lathe and the great progress I was making. Well, as always, life happens, and manages to alter the best laid plans of men. The lathe was to a point where it was looking really good. After chopping out the mortises, I noticed a bit of stiffness in my arm. I stopped working for the day and rested for the night. My arm was very swollen and I could not fully flex it. Where does the “Spring Pole Bookshelf” come in you may ask? Please bear with me and I will explain.