Workbench: Episode 5

Posted 29 December 2017

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Once the legs and rails are cleaned up and the rail tenons finessed, the leg frames are glued up. Then the bearers are screwed into the top of the leg frames, before preparing the aprons.

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Previous: Workbench: Episode 4

39 Comments

  2. Even though I’ve been a subscriber here for several months now and watched dozens of your videos, I find myself still looking for the “thumbs up” button (like on YouTube). I’ve learned so much from you Paul, both on YouTube and here. Thank you very much (and happy 2018 too)!

  3. Paul I have watched this program from the start as I have with all of your video’s I have not missed a one of them. I have learned so much from you and this was no exception. Thank you so much for the time and effort you put in on showing us the proper way tbat woodworking must be done.

    Bob

  5. I thought the 2 week wait between videos would never end. Then it arrives and seemed like the fastest 40 minutes of my life. Wonderful.
    Going to build this bench in the spring before the high humidity of summer sets in. Quite cold right now in South Dakota with 56 degrees F below freezing forecast this weekend. I have watched the previous videos several times as I will this one. So until spring arrives…practice, practice, practice. Thanks to all, especially Paul for your precious time and generosity.

  7. I have noticed that in your glue ups you don’t worry about altering the direction of the growth rings ( cup up, cup down, cup up, etc.). Is this something we don’t need to be concerned about?.

    I really wish I had access to your videos 40 years ago when I was just starting out

    Thankyou

      1. Paul said that the practice of putting the plane on its side goes back to shop classes where a room full of adolescent students couldn’t be trusted to put it down on its sole gently. Hope the ear healed up.

  8. Going out to buy wood today to start my bench. I’m excited to get it completed so I can start other great WM projects. I made spatulas as Christmas gifts this year as an exercise in working with various wood grains (Cherry, Mahogany, quartersawn Oak, rippled Maple and burled Maple). They were a big hit and I’m already being asked for matching spoons.

    I wish you would provide dimensions and a cutting list for the trestles Paul is using.

    Thanks, again!!

  9. Paul

    Could you get a Sargent, a Millers Falls, a Record, and other good makers of plane to use so those that follow will know that there are more than Stanley planes out there that are good tools?

    1. I’ve seen him use Record and Woden in addition to the Stanleys. Were Millers Falls ever marketed in Britain? I’ve never seen any of them used in any UK filming. I have a MF 4, 4 1/2, 5, and 7 and believe them superior to Stanleys, and can usually be found at lower prices to boot.

      2. Millers Falls planes are available in the UK on the second hand market, however they are not that common. Block planes are, however No 10’s etc are thin on the ground. I eventually found one at a car boot sale. It cleaned up nicely and they do seem well made, they certainly have some heft to them. I’d agree that they are maybe a step up from Stanley and Record, but there’s not much in it.

  10. Have been watching your videos for some time, picking up techniques and methods used in hand tool work. This Christmas I began to shift from mostly power tools to more hand tool work in making nine fruit bowls and four music boxes. Sure was nice not to deal with all that airborne dust – still had some, but nothing like before. Each time I’m in the shop for any reason I practice my hand planing. Getting better, but not there yet. Best thing I’ve learned from your videos is how to sharpen. Never realized the benefits that working sharp – REALLY sharp – can produce. Next project is a workbench for my new shop, so these videos have been well-timed. I probably won’t shift entirely to hand tool work, but will certainly integrate more along the way. Thanks from North Carolina.
    Archer Joyce

  11. Thank you for this new episode of the workbench project. I am now as far in the project as you are. I bought a private label (peaktools) 9” vice at a hardware store, the baptist, in the Netherlands. It is from the same factory as the eclipse 9” vice for a favorable price of 109 euro’s. Looking forward at the remaining episodes of this project.

  14. Great work Paul & Team! Even though I have a maple workbench I built in my mid twenties (I am now 50) that has served me well, I love watching the videos and the progress through each episode. Seeing it built by hand is quite phenomenal. No corner to corner measuring to ensure each frame is square? I’m guessing that one, it is a workbench and two, the layout accuracy of the tennons and corresponding shoulders ensures squareness when clamped up.
    All the best for 2018! Do keep the videos coming!

  18. Hi Paul, I’m following with joy as I build my bench. Top and legs completed starting on aprons. Your aprons are laminated, is this just because of material availability or other scientific reason to reduce twist and cup etc. I have access to 2 x 12 and wandering if it would be more stable to join 2 x6 or similar fractions to form the aprons? I saw previously that your not worried about cupping on laminated sections but a single 2x 12 can go banana shaped over night, not always but enough times to be concerned. thanks

    1. You can use a full width or wide boards, but they are often more expensive and less available, which is the main reason for using laminations. There can be more expansion, contraction and other movement with wider boards than with laminated boards, but they should work fine.

  19. Hi Philip,

    I’d like to ask for this ‘Expansion & Contraction’ of wood to be explained a little more for future videos please. I don’t fully understand the direction in which the wood’s expected to move for different situations. So I don’t fully grasp how the construction is allowing for movement.

    Workbench legs are held-apart by the Stretchers/Cross-Bearers so they cannot move closer in.
    What stops the legs from splaying further apart? Only the glue? Why don’t we use a Draw-bore Mortice?

    There is of course, no problem seeing & copying what Paul’s showing us, but I’d like to understand and learn why.

    Kind regards,
    Alan

    1. Hi Alan,
      Thank you for the request. It is certainly a good area to cover in more depth, so we will have a think about how to cover it.

      A few notes for now: wood expands and contracts more across it’s width. How much depends on the type of wood and the humidity. When wood has been effectively seasoned or dried, it will be mostly expansion that happens. Joinery is design to contain and restrict some movement while allowing other movement.

      There is no force in action that would cause the workbench legs to significantly move apart. Where you may expect expansion in the workbench is the wider stock. So for example the benchtop and the wellboard can both expand somewhat without issue due to the rebated well board slotting into a groove in the bench top and apron. The aprons may expand but are only held to the legs with a bolt and wedged housing, which both allow some movement.
      Best, Phil

  21. I just finished gluing up my second leg, and it was intense. I’m so glad Paul showed to clamp it and then pound on it to get the tight joint to seat. One of my joints was a little tight, but doing the same thing did the trick. Thanks!

  22. Thanks so much Paul and your team for making these awesome videos available. I am learning so much and cannot wait to do this workbench build.

    Paul’s facial expression around 17:25-17:35, while pounding in the glue joints was the best! He looked like he was really having fun! 😜

    Looking forward to all the other videos.

  24. Okay, I’m finally getting to working on my workbench. I’ve gotten as far as the mortises and am starting on the tenons for the rails. So my question now is: would there be any benefit to adding drawbore pins to the legs? Or are they going to be stiff enough without them? And if yes, what size pins? I’m in Missouri and am using 2x6s and 4x4s for rails/legs.

    1. Hi Randall,

      Paul says there really is no reason to use drawbore pins unless you want to and that’s a matter of personal choice. It doesn’t reduce the rigidity or longevity of the bench.

      Kind Regards,
      Izzy

  25. These were my first mortises I have ever cut, while some came out better than others, they did not come out as even as I had hoped. I have found myself feathering certain portions of the tenon to get a secure fit, but I am worried that it is beyond salvageable. I hate to waste good wood and the hard work. Some suggested using a drawbore. Others wedges. Does Paul have any tips for salvaging a less than ideal mortise?

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