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Workbench Finally Completed!
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Author:  JJ Donohue [ Thu May 04, 2006 10:47 am ]
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After months of nibbling away as time permitted, I finally completed the workbench. I built it from the Veritas plans provided by Lee Valley. I also got both vises from LV.

It's about 80" x 24" and 1.75" thick at the core...all hard maple. And hard it was...I must have sharpened plane irons every 15 to 30 minutes...and still got a few chipouts. It's finished in several applications of natural Danish oil for the benchtop and a cherry Danish oil on the vises for contrast. I also put a few coats of Polyurethane on the vises to add a little protection.

Check out the pics below:






Author:  Alain Lambert [ Thu May 04, 2006 10:48 am ]
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Nice
Author:  ecklesweb [ Thu May 04, 2006 10:49 am ]
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Fantastic! Love that twin-screw vise - that will be extremely useful.
Looks like you did a great job. (Isn't it weird doing such large joints after
working on guitars for a while?)
Author:  PaddyD [ Thu May 04, 2006 10:51 am ]
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awesome stuff
Author:  Don A [ Thu May 04, 2006 10:52 am ]
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Great job JJ. Now I've got bench lust.
Author:  RussellR [ Thu May 04, 2006 11:02 am ]
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JJ Thats Superb,

I think, I would be scared to work on a bench that beautiful

I have a friend who is originally from california and now lives over here (he must like rain ) and he is currently creating a beautiful workbench, he is finding it a bit frustrating as large section hardwood is not so freely available over here, but we found him some nice oak a couple of months ago.

A real work of Art
Author:  Roy O [ Thu May 04, 2006 11:29 am ]
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Nice looking bench JJ.
Author:  JJ Donohue [ Thu May 04, 2006 11:45 am ]
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I just realized...I forgot to thank all of my comrades who shared some great wisdom while I was in the planning and building stages. A special thanks again to Russell who found a source for those large barrell screws that now hold the ends to the core.

This project was a self-imposed apprenticeship in building up my woodworking skills. Yes, Jay...the joinery was certainly different from guitar work, but no less exacting. I think working on guitars first prepared me well in being fussy and critical.

I'm hoping to have my golf buddies over this weekend to use the bench as a bar to celebrate its completion with more than a few beers. That should help to eliminate any reluctance to begin giving it some character scars and dents.
Author:  peterm [ Thu May 04, 2006 12:00 pm ]
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Very, VeRy, VERY nice!!
I bet it takes as much time to build one of those as a nre guitar!
Great job....
Author:  Don Williams [ Thu May 04, 2006 12:09 pm ]
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Awesome....!
Author:  Anthony Z [ Thu May 04, 2006 1:50 pm ]
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Beauty!!

JJ -- did you resist the temptation to sand up to 220 grit before applying the finish -- then level sand add more coats and buff to a sheen?
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Thu May 04, 2006 1:50 pm ]
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JJ, that's just beautiful.
Are you gonna 'burst it?   

Steve
Author:  Dave Anderson [ Thu May 04, 2006 1:52 pm ]
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Wow, beautiful bench!
Author:  Anthony Z [ Thu May 04, 2006 2:10 pm ]
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[QUOTE=Steve Kinnaird] JJ, that's just beautiful.
Are you gonna 'burst it?   

Steve[/QUOTE]


Steve I'll wager a bunch you spend a good part of your after school hours in detention hall
Author:  JJ Donohue [ Thu May 04, 2006 2:52 pm ]
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Anthony...I just left the finish from the planes...220 would have dulled the surface! ...but you're right about wanting to level and finish to the standards we use for guitars. I even filled 4 chip outs with ZPoxy because it drove me nuts. I need to go down stairs and drop a few sharp chisels on the surface and just get it over with

Steve...The burst was a consideration, especially to hide the multi-colored boards. The tap tone is just right now... so I don't want to add more finish
Author:  John Elshaw [ Thu May 04, 2006 3:43 pm ]
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That's awesome JJ!!! When can I pencil you in to build one for my shop? Remember I'm your neighbor!!

Actually, I just built a new workbench this spring, and it's nowhere near as nice as yours. I used a solid core oak laminated door for the top. I was trying to bend some homemade ropes on a rigged up pipe with a torch heating it. Long story short, I start to smell something burning...Hmm, it must be the rope getting too hot--must keep bending...hmm, that really does smell, maybe it's not the rope. I pick up the heat shield to find a 6 inch long by 2 inch wide, by 1/8 inch deep black hole burnt right through the top. No worries about getting a little glue spill on it now.

Cheers!

John
Author:  John How [ Thu May 04, 2006 5:50 pm ]
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That's a very nice bench JJ, I wish I had a bench like that, oh well. What's next now, gonna get to that JJ keeper by chance?John How38842.1189814815
Author:  Cocephus [ Thu May 04, 2006 6:50 pm ]
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Gonna carve your initials in it like ya did the desk in school?
Author:  FrankC [ Thu May 04, 2006 9:55 pm ]
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WOW!!! Now you have to build one that isn't so nice to actually work on!
Author:  Serge Poirier [ Thu May 04, 2006 10:20 pm ]
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I just love that bench JJ, excellent execution! I gotta tell you that when i'm shopping at Lee Valley, i always stand next to their demo bench and drool with envy! What was the hardest part in that build if i might ask?

Serge
Author:  LanceK [ Thu May 04, 2006 10:39 pm ]
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WOW! Can you bring it to the next MGL meeting? Id love to get a first hand look at it

Very nice JJ!
Author:  Arnt Rian [ Fri May 05, 2006 12:38 am ]
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Yeah, that will work...   

Seriously, that's a very nice bench; congrats!

I brought an old bench that had a simple single screw type parallel tail vise back to life some years ago. The vise was very worn and would twist badly when I clamped things between the dogs; the bench has only one line of dog holes, so any clamping would be eccentric to the screw. I built a new, traditional drawer type vise and I designed it so the screw would be directly behind the dog holes to avoid any of these twisting forces. It has proved very sturdy and you can put a LOT of clamping pressure on it. I see your Veritas vise has two screws (and probably a lot more hardware than my old wooden one) so the twisting action might not be a problem when you use only one of the dog hole lines, but it was one thing I was concerned about when I build mine. Of course, you also have the added benefit of being able to clamp wide boards using two bench dogs in your vise, and that is something I miss.

Here's a "before" picture of my old bench:




And here's the "after" shot:

Author:  JJ Donohue [ Fri May 05, 2006 12:44 am ]
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John E. ...Hey, neighbor...I hope it's the last bench of that magnitude I ever build! But you're always welcome to visit the bench and lean on it while quaffing a few beers after a round of golf!

Johnny Cool...I've already resumed my keeper guitar and started putting the bench to good use. The vises are great for holding the recent neck carving jigs I made. Also, I'm re-doing a lot of my jigs so they can be attached to the bench by bolting them through the dog holes.

Frank...I actually have 2 other benches...one for rough work and the other for sit-down close up stuff. The issue I must discipline myself is to avoid creating clutter from having too many horizontal surfaces. I always try to "clean as I go" and put away tools after they've been used...but I have a long way to go!

Coe...I was thinking of a MOP inlay of my initials!

Serge...For me, every part was hard since I have such little experience... so I took great pains and a lot of time to think every operation through before executing. The most difficult part "would" have been getting all of the raw lumber cut to the dimensions of the plan. Since I don't have that kind of equipment, my Amish furniture-making friend did it in his shop. I helpled a bit where I could but he did all of the heavy work while I learned. So I drove home a truck full of partially dimensioned boards that required finessing and assembly. A few of my new challenges included:

1) Layout lines...I used a .5mm mechanical pencil and 3 Incra rules to get everything as perfectly square and even as I could. I measured 4 times before I cut or drilled anything.

2) Gluing up the core...gluing up the many 1.5" laminates was a challenge but drilling them all in 3 places for dowel locations helped ( I should have drilled for 5). I glued them in 3's and then glued those sections. We never have enough clamps so I borrowed a few.

3) Planing the surfaces flat and even was the most physical part of the project...I was literally up to my ankles in curls. Planing the ends of the cores taught me how to produce curls in end grain...scary sharp plane irons.

4) Cutting in mortise and tenons by hand is tough in maple. I drilled holes first to remove most of the material and establish the floor. Good, sharp mortising chisels are a must!

5) The vises were difficult from the standpoint that they had to have extremely precise holes drilled with large forstner bits...I was glad when that was over. The dog holes in the 6" vise jaws go all the way through...I had to drill from each side. Surprise...they actually met!!!

6) Drilling the long horizontal holes to meet up with the holes for the barrell nuts was scary at first. They had to be done with a hand drill... along with a very steady hand.

7) Routing the slots for the splines that align the end pieces to the core was a little harrowing but the use of a micro-adjusting edge guide made the difference.

Bottom line...if I charge for labor, I could have bought a similar bench a lot cheaper...but I'm glad I did the project.

Lance...If we don't get one scheduled soon, I'm tempted to invite everyone to Warsaw for a meeting...bring your clubs!
Author:  JJ Donohue [ Fri May 05, 2006 12:47 am ]
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Arnt...That looks very cool...I especially like the dovetail work. You're a true craftsman!
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