Category: workbench

I hate having two big projects going at once ..

.. especially when I’m so close to finishing my tool cabinet, but alas .. here we go.

I get this great opportunity ever quarter to use big machines I’ll never have room for in my own shop.  For $ 150 a quarter, I can sign up for Woodworking II at Seattle Central.  They have eight Saw Stops, a 20″ helix head planer, an 8″ helix head jointers and a big ass dust collection system.   The beauty of it .. I don’t have to maintain a single one of them.

So off to school with my big pieces a maple for my workbench project.  Class starts this week which is why I’m starting now.  Originally, all I did was a rough break down the stock.  Now I need start milling the pieces which is where the machines at school come in.

BTW, Seattle Central invested in $ 25 M (as in million) in a new Wood Construction Center building.  It’ll be opening later this year.  I’m sure it’ll be mostly for the day time classes, but hey, the evening crew is bound to get some benefits from it as well.

Tool Cabinet interruption – Workbench stock break down

Today I interrupted my tool cabinet making to break down the stock for my workbench base that I’ll be building as part of the workbench guild build.  My workbench top is already complete so I won’t be making that part.

I really don’t like cutting 8/4 stock on the table saw.  It always feels kinda scary so I used my track saw to cut a straight edge and then crosscut to rough dimensions.  This is an idea I stole from watching some of Marc’s Usteam.

So here’s the pile of Western (soft) maple all cut so that I can tuck it away in the shop until the guild build is in full swing (January).

Trip to Edensaw

Mike Lingenfelter and journeyed over to Port Townsend to pick up workbench material for the upcoming Wood Whisperer “guild build”.  This was also our first official meeting of the Modern WoodworkingAssociation. 
It was much fun.  Perhaps a bit for me than Mike since I found what I needed.  Darn!  Maybe we’ll have to go back.
Anyway, I can home with some soft (Western) maple to re-build the base of my workbench.  This is the next project after my tool cabinet is complete.  I’ll be adding a leg vise to and an end vise to my bench which will make things really nice.
Stay tuned! 

Ok, who has their workbench against the wall and likes it??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used to have my workbench away from the wall in the middle of the garage.  On the recommendation of Mr. Schwarz and in need of space to put things together, I moved my workbench next to the wall under the tool hanging cabinet.

I gotta say, I’m not really lovin’ it there.  The tool cabinet for my hand tools that I’m working on now is wider than my bench and sleppin’ the workbench around to be able to work on it is turning out to be kind of a pain.  Going on the back side, I end up getting hung up in the hanging tools.

I need to do so more work on the shop.  Shrink the outfeed table, move the bike to the back yard shed (after I build it), come up with a new sharpen station since the new cabinet will block the current location.  But if I leave the workbench against the wall, this will be a long term thing.

Perhaps my floor is also part of the problem.  Little rubber mats are getting in the way of moving the bench and end up being a trip hazard when they get scrunched up by the bench.

Thoughts?