| Blog series by ChrisMc45 | updated 05-11-2012 08:48 PM | 3 parts | 28358 reads | 6 comments total |
Part 1: the top with solid-core doors
So I got a monster solid-WOOD-core door from when they tore down the bowling alley on Redstone Arsenal. I now wish I had scored a few more, but that is hindsight. (PLEASE don’t even mention the actual alleys, you can read about that kind of heartache or learning experience “here on LJ:” We had big solid-core doors on offices at work. Long-story-short, I found a distributor who discarded many doors per quarter and was happy to give them away, details “HERE“ ...
Part 2: Making the base of the bench, note pipes in stretchers!
Putting together the underpinnings of the bench, I used some of the ideas from C. Schwartz on Roubo bench, mostly about mass. I did not do true through-the-top timber framing, but did use drawboring on the end assemblies because they are permanent. Stretchers length might change in the future. I chose not to whittle my pegs from stock, but used dowels and a belt sander: To pull the whole end-assemblies together, I used my biggest drift. Schwartz had a good article on putting shop-made...
Part 3: Epic fail - blow-out becomes a calming relief
So I was ready to “laminate” the top and bottom door-slabs to make the ~3.5” benchtop. Due to the ugly side-view of the slabs, I had figured to add a skirt or perimeter of white oak I had from a previous project, as well as the vise jaw faces. I clamped the two slabs then drilled 1” holes through the top to about an inch into the bottom, these would allow big pegs to mechanically join the slabs. I glued the pegs proud on the top, then slid the two parts together wi...
