To do much woodworking, one needs a bench. But if one is building a workbench that requires a bunch of woodworking... You get the point.
Today really highlighted how important a workbench is. Today also highlighted that cutting down a stack of 12-foot-long 2"x12" boards in a one car garage, chock full of junk that used to live in a basement, is a royal pain in the neck. It was a bit like playing chess as you had to plan a couple steps in advance so as not to trip over something and let loose a string of profanity. I can't wait for us to get into a place with more garage/shop room... Now if only I'd get a call back about a job. (that's not in Indianapolis)
The day's activities consisted of many hours making long wide boards into shorter thinner boards. Lots of shorter thinner boards. To make the chore a bit safer I made a nifty collapsable (see above comments about limited space) outfeed table for the table saw.
I got a pretty early start this morning so I started off with sub-120dB tools. Yep, handsaws. Its no wonder that people, myself included, are generally "huskier" than people were 50-100 years ago. Besides the lack of garbage processed food and General Tso's chicken, you really had to expend effort to accomplish something.
I spent a couple good hours cutting boards to length with my trusty,70-year-old Disston crosscut saw. Once everything was cut to length, I briefly considered grabbing my 90-year-old Disston rip saw and starting to cut boards to width. Really briefly. By this time it was 9:30am and the romance of using only antique steel and physical exertion had waned and I fired up the table saw.
The end result is was this larger stack of boards, stickered and resting comfortably. And sore arms.
5 comments:
A familiar refrain my friend. Never enough space for a shop. Bikes, Balls, lawn equipment and furniture, and the storage of the materials to use in the shop in the first place. You don't dare throw out that piece of plywood or 2x4 because you will need it later. Time or money but never both concurrently. Woe are we the domestic handyman;-)
U. M.
Indeed. The junk purge prior to the move inflicted many deep psychological wounds. I left stacks of construction lumber, sheets of plywood... all sorts of good stuff.
We should start a support group.
Looking at your drawing, I'm still trying to figure out the different designs of each leg and what function the difference serves. Keep us posted on the results and include some photos of the bench in action.
U.M.
Well,
The leg design is still a bit fluid. The front left leg in that 3D view is actually obscured by the front of a leg vise that runs from the bench top to the floor. The screw isn't shown in the model. I was planning on making the 4 legs as shown with a flare at the top (thinking it would helpmake things more stable when pushing a hand plane along the long axis of the bench). Now I think I'm just going to keep them as straight 5"x5" posts that are joined to the top with a mortise/tenon. We'll see!
J
I must admit, because a quick scan of this entry several days ago didn't reveal any Norah pictures, I zipped thru and didn't read the entry. I am now very pleased that I did take the time to read it - twice! Once to myself and once outloud to Rob. We both enjoyed it!
Love you!
Mom
ps. I like Norah pictures, too!
pss. Rob says he has some Icy Hot he can loan you.
Post a Comment