Shown above is the basic carcass made from some pretty decent birch ply I bought at HD of all places for a reasonable price, was surprised at the quality of the plywood, haven't found a void yet. It is sitting on an old bench that moved with me from TN that was sitting in my garage. I drilled some holes in the top for the holdfasts, and use the Benchcrafted Moxon vise I built to use as an end vise. It is working out great, but can't wait to get the real deal.
Case with face frame and end frame dry fit. Both frames are constructed with 5/4 (net 1") poplar. If you look at Benchcrafted's website, you will see the base of the bench is painted , so poplar is a good choice for the outer frame.
Frames and back attached, all that is needed for the bottom is the "foot" It is a frame made of 1X3 poplar. I may change that thickness once I determine the overall height of the bench.
As of this posting, the door for the end panel is mounted, the doors for the front are made, the drawers are next.
This will be one solid bench. The advertised finished weight will be around 350 lbs, certainly sturdy enough to handle any hand tool work.
A finished photo can be seen at Benchcrafted website and for those of you attending WIA in the Fall in Covington, KY, Jameel my have his bench there at the show.
More to come as I hit significant milestones during the construction.
I was a survival instructor in the Air Force so I have a special affinity for helicopters. Great model I built one these when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteThanks, brought back some great memories of working on and flying in it while I was making the model.
ReplyDeleteHey- looks good! Didn't know you got up so early as a "retired" person! HA~
ReplyDeleteA serious question= what material are you using for the top? I'm fixin' to make a folding top (I'll show you later) for my garage- I'm getting some 'fresh' maple (gets out of the kiln this Thursday) from the mill I was telling you about earlier. Also, since you like Shaker so much, have you been to Shakertown just outside of Harrodsburg? Neat trip if you haven't been there.
Hard habit to break Mark, I am definitely a morning person, hence the name First Light Woodworking. I think I am oing to use soft maple this time, I used hard maple the last time and it was really to much to handle foe me nd my tools and I was 10 years younger LOL. Hadn't been to Harrodsburg yet, sounds lke a good Fall road trip.
ReplyDeleteAmazing workbench! Haakon
ReplyDelete