Well I had hinted at the fact that my mini bench on Kreg mobile project center just did not have the mass for the hand tool wood working I prefer doing. I am not a purist but I prefer the relaxation that comes from working with hand tools. I did use my dewalt 20v circular saw for some of the ripping as I am not a masochist, even if I could use the cardio of rip sawing 12 foot long Southern Yellow Pine construction timber, along the long axis, to usable pieces.
I had been searching for a bench design and ideas and came across the digital set from Popular woodworking. It not only included great reference books by Christopher Schwarz on workbenches. It had videos from Will Meyers on his revisiting the Moravian workbench found in Old Salem. I would love to go to the Moravian Workbench w/Will Meyers class at the Wood Wright school, but could not justify the dollars. I grew up watching Roy Underhill on PBS and was always in awe of his relaxed you can do this attitude. It would have been a great trip, but to be honest my skills are not up to the task of making the bench in a week with pure hand tools.
Workbench part 1.1 Sourcing Lumber
Since I decided to be budget conscious as My return to woodworking is still new. I decided a laminated top is the way to go. No full thickness hardwood for me. Roy Underhill and Will Meyers both have noted that good lumber can be had from wide 2 by 12 boards to be budget friendly. Mr Meyers also stated that the bench could be built for the approximately $500 range including hardware. I believe that as the materials cost for the class is $475. I will post my budget spreadsheet in a later update. It is looking very close so far. I am the cost of the fresh gallon of Titebond II I got on sale, over at this point including wagon vise parts.
So off to the Big box store I went. I went through an entire bunk of lumber and really should have considered the 2 by 12s like Mr Underhill recommends to get more width on final boards. I did find some that will do but once ripped down they were a bit narrow at a true 4 1/4 inches. One not so safe trip in a borrowed Pickup truck with a standard bed and twelve foot lumber. The lumber is at the house ready for the build.
Workbench part 1.2 Filling the Cut list.
Ripping down the lumber and filling the cut list. Plans and cut list are provided free by Will Meyers via Wood and shop. Since I am using Southern Yellow Pine Construction Lumber, I have to rip the 2 by 10s to near dimension and then laminate up pieces. I will use hardwood, as advised in the DVD video, for the short stretchers for durability, and have sourced some 7 quarter oak about 4.7 board feet for that and the additional wagon vise parts. I did use a handheld circular saw and Milescraft guide to rip the 12 foot boards down so only the “quarter sawn” style lumber was utilized for strength and durability. I am surprised how well the $9 guide works if you take your time. Yes a table saw would have been more accurate, but nine kongbucks cannot be beat. Then I laminated up some legs and the leg vise chop and back. Once the glue is set I will plane them down square and true ready for use.
Workbench part 1.3 Wagon Vise and Top Lamination.
I decided I wanted a wagon style vise in addition to the leg vise, as it fit the way I like to work wood. So I sourced a screw from Lee Valley who had the best price and in stock availability. You can get a wagon vise setup directly form Will Meyers or he has supplemental videos on his site, on using the very nice but expensive benchcrafted.com tail and crisscross vises on the Moravian bench. I did a quick scale drawing to incorporate the Lee Valley screw into my bench and did some basic clean out of the recess prior to lamination to reduce the size and depth of the mortise I would have to chisel. You can see the pocket in the partial top lamination below.
This is a bit longer that I should have gone, so until the next update.