beginners corner, the work bench
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Well, I don’t think the problem is in your technique. Teak wood has high silica, so it’s going to dull your sharp irons pretty fast.
If the tear out is the major problem, just set your chipbreaker really close to the cutting edge. About a thick hair away from the cutting edge.
If that doesn’t work either, just sand it. Sometimes you just have to finish the project by any anything possible.
Personally I wouldn’t use hard wood for the bench. Pine or cedar will work great for me.
Hi Jake,
If I did it over I would have chosen Cider too. Love the smell for one thing. That is one of the lessons learned. I’ve learned a lot though and it’s been a good experience.
Being a beginner, this is one way to learn what woods work best for different projects. I choose this wood for this project because I thought it would be pretty, and it is. But I gave no thought to the hardness, in fact my first reaction was it was a soft wood. I guess I picked just the right piece, lots of white in it and it just didn’t seem hard. Boy did I learn. The brown wood is very hard and the dark brown is even harder.
You advise on setting the chip breaker backs up advise from a lot of people. I’ve been using the jack plane I have which has no chip breaker and have gotten pretty good at planing the wood. Today though I think I will try my #4 and set the chip breaker real close and see what happens. First though I’ll try it on a piece of scrap I have now so I don’t risk the work I have done already.
Thanks for you input.
GaryHi Dave,
That is correct, no chip breaker on my Low Jack plane. It’s a Lie Nielsen, cost an arm and a leg. Since I can’t inspect the tools before buying them, I would rather pay a high price for known quality than risk a poorly made tool. My first plane was of a brand name, but a awful tool at a lower price. So now I tend to stay with something I know will be good, even if it cost more.
I also worked with my #4, setting the chip breaker really close to the edge of the blade. Really close. As I was told, it would only be very thin shavings. But it did work. No gouging and a clean surface. I want to practice more with it on scrap wood first and make sure it will continue.
I’m also getting my confindence up on this project. Haven’t had time to work on it the last few days, but I’ll be back at it tomorrow. Two legs done, the third underway. I have also really picked up speed on cutting the mortises. I know now that if I were to start this bench over with the teak, I could do it in half the time I have so far, but that’s part of the learning.
Haven’t had much time to work this past week, but getting back to it now. So many things I have learned so far.
Cutting the mortises at first was very time consuming, a day just to get the first one done. But as I moved on and on, I got the feel for it, learned what to look for and by the last leg, I was up to speed. Next time I well do better and much faster.
Today I got my first tenon cut. Just one end. On one side I tried cutting it with a hand saw. Took a long time as I still don’t have a good saw. The other side I used a knife wall then started in with a chisel. Went fairly fast, used a hand router to finish levelling and then my #4 which I am really getting to like now that everyone has given me tips on using it. Yea, Paul covered it too, but some times my mind is like a black hole.
So one mortise tenon complete, 7 more to go. I expect by the time I’m done with my second tenon I’ll be moving right along. Oh, the first one fits nice and snug. I have a clamp on the end of the leg as it had a split in that top 1 inch. Wanted to make sure it didn’t go further.
Well I did the test fit for the whole table minus the well tray. To my surprise, it all went together. Somehow I did manage to miss-calculate the width. I had planned on a 6 inch well tray, and somehow came up very short. I allowed for the housing dado and everything, but really goofed by almost 3 inches. I guess I could recut new rails, if I had the wood, but no. Tomorrow I’ll finish the well board, the apron board and table are already cut to receive it.
As is, I’m very happy with it, flaws and all. Weighs in at 200 lbs for a 4 foot table.
I am open to suggestions on what to finish it with. I haven’t found Lensed Oil here yet. Probably here, just haven’t found it. I have some Teak oil, Lacquer and Varnish. I also haven’t found shellac yet either.
??Just wax it as is??
Boiled Linseed Oil is usually in the same section as the solvents, not finishes (in my experience at Home Depot, etc). So you’d more likely find it next to a can of denatured alcohol or mineral spirits than a can of shellac.
Good luck! Looking forward to seeing your finished bench!
Do yourself a favor and avoid the linseed oil. It dries very slowly, if ever. Since you’re in Australia, I cannot suggest an alternative because you have a completely different set of products available. If you post links to things that are available, someone here can probably give comments. I seem to remember someone mentioning good products in Australia that are either available at a floor finishing specialist or actually for floors, but good for furniture. I don’t recall what they were, though. I don’t remember if they were water born or oil based finishes.
Ok folks, the bench is completed in every way except final cleanup and a finish if I even put one on.
Learned so much on this adventure. Finely following advise here I got my #4 to cut just fine, chipper extremely close to the end, sharp, oiled, no more tear out. However the shavings are super fine too. So it will be an on going project for a long time to come working on the beauty aspect of the bench.
Rock solid, over 230 pounds, 4 foot long 22 inches wide.
My number one amazement is it’s perfectly square! Second amazement, it’s solid on the floor, does not rock at all.
Grading for this project.
Choice of wood….D. Over kill in strength, very hard to work with.
Mortices……….C. Square but could have been cleaner inside.
Tenons…………F. Fit snug, but ugly finish. Could be a whole lot cleaner looking.
Square…………A. everything came out square, legs, top, rails, bearers, total.
Well…………..C. Works perfectly, looks good. But was over an inch narrower than planned.
Legs…………..A. All even in hight, wedges worked perfectly.
Apron………….C.
Finish…………Incomplete. On going project there for a long time to come. Will work on it little by
little as time goes on.Over all grade for a beginner… C– . Table is solid, nice vise and well. Beauty is attainable but over a period of time. Tenons are the major let down. Just could have been so much better.
Grade as a journeyman carpenter…. Best look for another line of work, maybe grocery clerk.
All that said, I tried the table out yesterday making shelves for Ramona. Oh man, this bench is nice. I’m proud I stuck with the project and didn’t give up. It will serve well and last darn near forever.
Thanks to everyone for all suggestions, they really helped.
Looks good. I’m a bit worried about the bench top being too brutal, but I guess you’ll be working harder woods, so the bench top won’t damage your work, I hope.
As for the finish…focus on finishing the aprons and legs and well board so that it can be dusted off easily. The bench top shouldn’t have a finish because it’ll make it slippery—pretty dangerous if you’re chiseling in the bench top.
Thanks Larry, I do feel good about it.
Thanks btyreman, I just found a new paint store, deals only in paints. I’ve been having trouble finding things here, just a different country. The different names of products throws me too.
Hi Jake, Thanks for the tip on not finishing the top, never thought about it becoming slippery. As for the table being too brutal, I never thought about that. And I will be working with softer woods like Cedar. In fact I’ll be going to one of the local mills this week and order some more wood. Oak and Cedar for sure, but they also had some other wood there that was knockout gorgeous. Hopefully they will have more of that in stock.
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