Building a sawbench
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Tagged: Saw bench
- This topic has 63 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 11 months ago by Ron Harper.
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26 November 2012 at 11:33 am #3849
Hi Gary
Thanks for that I take your point about skewing the legs in both directions to aid stability. I will consider that when I get around to making the second one, although I will not be standing on the saw bench . I made the saw bench more from it looked like a nice little project rather than I had a desperate need for one.
The last saw bench I made was about 40 years ago it was made from a length of 4″ * 2″ rough sawn timber for top and legs and a couple of pieces of floor board cross members it would have taken no more than an hour or two to make and it lasted about 30 years . Point being at that time it was a need for a saw bench this time it was just something fun to build
David
26 November 2012 at 11:41 am #3850Hi Juryaan
That looks like a great job, did you use screws and fill in the screw holes after assembly I think I may go back and also fill in the screw holes also.
Has anybody got any recommendations on what is the best product to use for finishing the saw bench with. The orginal plan by Chris Schwarz said to cover with a few coats of oil varnish mix? What is that
David
Anonymous26 November 2012 at 12:24 pm #3851David, on projects like the saw bench I don’t think you can beat a few coats of Danish Oil. Everyone has there own preference though.
Ken 😉
Anonymous26 November 2012 at 2:36 pm #3856I used Danish oil on mine, but you could use anything you’re comfortable with, as long as you don’t use gloss. We used to just give them a splash of boiled linseed oil, or use treated timber and not have to worry too much about finishing them. They soon develop a few nicks and dings during use. 😉
I finally got some time spent in the shop working on my sawbench. Last time I posted the pieces got milled to dimensions.
Today was spent cutting the joinery between the legs and the benchtop. Had a great time sawing, chiseling and routing (plane).
As you can see in the picture I got all the joints to fit tighly. The legs stay in place without glue.
Wise of age and experience (hehe) I call it a day before the glue up. That’s a task better done well rested tomorrow.
And when the legs are glued in place I shall start thinking about the three pieces that will form the “undercarrige” to stabilize the legs.
That’s all for now folks! 😛
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The V-notch serves a few purposes. It can be used to hold doors upright/on edge for planing and lock fitting (Chisel and drilling) work, fret saw work (With the work piece laid flat above the notch and fret saw held vertically to cut) and as a means of clearance when chopping through mortises or drilling holes in stock. In essence the saw horse is a miniature, very stable and versatile work bench that’s capable of quite a number of uses.
The design I’ve illustrated is an English one (Used universally throughout the UK) that’s as old as the hills.
The splayed legs – shown in my sketchup drawings – add longitudinal stability by virtue of their ability to “dig in” when pushed against the direction of the splay during planing operations and prevent tipping if ripping or cross cutting near the very end of the horse, or using it as a hop-up. I wish to goodness Chris Schwarz would alter his supposedly “English saw bench” (? We typically call them saw horses or trestles (If taller)) design, as the result lends itself to longitudinal tipping problems during use and it’s not a case of it’s never yet happened to me, because tipping does and will eventually happen. He reasoned the use of singly directional splays as a style better suited for novices to make, but in reality it’s an apprentice project that’s normally made during his/her first few weeks training . The double splay design uses the same number of saw cuts and the only difficulty encountered, yet very easily overcome, might be the need to work to angles.
Anonymous28 November 2012 at 12:06 am #3917Very well made Jesper 😉 May I suggest rounding out the apex of the V-notch as a means of reducing the chances of a split propagating and extending longitudinally along the length of your saw horse?
28 November 2012 at 8:02 pm #3971I have almost completed my first saw bench, as per Chris Schwarz’s video, and can relate to Gary’s comments about splaying the legs forward and backward. I think I may follow the tip on the second bench.
What’s the best way of getting the legs level on the floor? Mine are slightly different lengths as I wasn’t too concerned about it when milling the timber because I knew I’d have to cut them to be at knee height anyway.
Also added a few things to my shopping list: shoulder plane (again!), flush cut saw, and a rasp.
George.
28 November 2012 at 9:24 pm #3975Hi George
What I did was to place a piece of MDF board on top of my work bench, then using a spirit level and packing I made sure the board was horizontal in both directions. I then sat the saw bench on top of the board and again using packing under the four legs I made sure the top of the bench was horizontal in both directions . It was just a case then of using a block of the required height and marking the cut lines around the bottom of each leg. Saw to these lines and the bench will sit on a flat floor without rocking.
David
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