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15K views 65 replies 20 participants last post by  GusRod 
#1 ·
A challenge for myself

On my drive into work today, I came up with an interesting challenge for myself. Based somewhat off the 2×4 challenge, I plan to take a 2×12 of souther yellow pine, and construct a bench, using just this one board. I think it would make a fun and entertaining project. Here are the guidelines I've laid out for myself:

1. Just 1 8' 2×12. After all that I saw made with a 2×4, I couldn't just make it TO easy, right?

2. No metal fastners of any type. I need work on my joinery skills, and while there are simple ways to fasten that look just fine, I want to do it the old fashioned way ;)

3. Finish must be readily available at a local big box retailer like Home Depot or Lowe's. This one is inspired by Popular Woodworking's I Can Do That section. I like the idea of folks having to use stuff readily available to everyone.

4. Hand tools and hand-held power tools only. Come on…you guys had to see this one coming from me :). Besides, this reminds me of the terms for the I Can Do That column again. For me, this will primarly consist of cutting down larger stock with power tools, and using hand tools for the rest. However, I may have to use hand tools just to rip, since my circular saw is definitely not up to the task.

Now, this is a challenge I've issued to myself. It needs to be completed no later than the end of March (need to build a saw bench first ;)). However, I'd love to see what the rest of you wonderful lumber jocks can do! My plan is a simple design, but I suspect some of the folks here could really do some cool work!

Anyone else up for the challenge?
 
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#2 ·
Wow. Go for it, dude!

What do you think the bench dimensions will be? Sounds tough!

One idea…to save on lumber for the legs, you could mount a rail along the wall and lay the top down on it - that'll save you having to build the back legs!
 
#3 ·
I'm not sure what the dimensions will be, but probably no more than 3 feet wide. I could mount it, but as I'll be moving soon, I'd rather not and have it be mobile. That's really more important to me.

I'm actually looking at a trestle-type design for simplicity's sake. Basically, two wide legs with one stretcher between the two. Mortise and tenons attaching the seat to the legs, and a through tenon with a wedge maybe for the stretcher. Pretty basic really.

I'm actually thinking of making this personal challenge annually, just to see how far I've come. I'm sure my wife could use a lot of benches…right? right? <hopes>
 
#4 ·
Ahhh… it makes much more sense now.

I thought you were going to try to make a WOODWORKING bench out of one 8' long 2×12. Didn't think it would be a very big bench!

A sitting bench, though, sounds very do-able. I guess something a little "less" than a five-board bench, design-wise?

If you use cedar, it would probably stand up to weather better. Maybe for future projects, you could even upgrade your one board to cypress or teak or something great for keeping outside.
 
#5 ·
Sorry about the lack of clarity on my part. Yep…definitely not a woodworking bench.

It sounds like you've got the general idea I'm looking at doing. However, I hadn't really planned on it being outside, though I guess it probably will be. I figure marine varnish would do the trick, especially since I don't really plan on it being in direct weather.
 
#8 ·
Oooh.. this sounds interesting.. I've got plans for a Coat Rack, and I can probably use a nice little bench underneath to put on my shoes on the way out the door.

Don't know if I can fit it in the timeline - but I might try.
 
#9 ·
I wouldn't sweat the timeframe to much Rick. After all, there's no prize to speak of except trying and succeeding ;)
 
#13 ·
Ooh cookies! I'm in! mmmm cookies.

I thought you meant a bench for the shop too. was gonna be small or light duty!... I suppose one could construct a saw bench like this one at 3/4 scale, or with a board and a half.

 
#15 ·
Yeah, a saw bench would probably qualify, but nope…planing on using a 2×8 for that one :D

Leon,

I had forgotten about that contest completely. I just figured it up, and FWW's contest's rules actually give me .7 board feet more. Might have to modify the challenge rules a bit ;)
 
#19 ·
A Slight Modification

I normally don't post blogs this close together, but there's a post that does not need to be on the front page. I hope you will all forgive me.

Today found me at my local Lowe's, looking for an 8' 2×12 and other necessities for the Challenge. However, I found the biggest challenge to be finding an 8' 2×12. Apparently, the local Lowe's only had 12' and 16'. I opted for the 12' since cash was a little tight, and had it cut in have to fit in the back of my Grand Cherokee. Nope…no pick up or even a trailer yet.

Also, I picked up some stain, some wipe on poly, and some glue. All I currently have is Gorilla Glue, which I really don't want to use on straight wood. Titebond II was the one chosen, though I suspect any of them would have done well.

So, the primary modification is simply the length of the 2×12. However, I don't really figure I'll use much more than the 8' anyways, but you never know ;)

Once again, I have to many design ideas flowing through my head, which is never a good thing. The biggest issue is that I don't know that I have the skill to pull some of these off. However, I have faith that I can put together a very cool bench.

I'll post a few photos tomorrow of what I have, and what I'm doing :)

I can hardly wait!
 
#25 ·
We're underway!

Yesterday, I stopped by a certain big blue retailer to pick up the materials for my bench. I spent just a hair over $30.00 on a 12' 2×12, some stain, some wipe on poly, and some Titebond II. I got started about 9 AM Eastern, and took lots of pics.

First, the aforementioned wood:



As I mentioned yesterday, I had them cut it into 6' sections so it would fit in the Grand Cherokee. Also, the aforementioned liquid stuff:



As any rational human being would do, I started by firing up the circular saw and going to town chopping the 2×12 to more manageable sizes. First, the sections designated as the seat and the stretcher:



And, of course, the legs:



Now, the section for the stretcher is obviously far, far to wide to use as is…well, obvious if you know the design (and maybe if you don't). So, I had to rip it down. I took a moment and made sure my circular saw blade was tightened down, to see if that could be the cause of some of my problems. Sure enough, it was loose, so now the saw can handle anything!

Here's the ripped down stretcher with the rest of the boards being used:



I then needed to plane the boards square and even. I decided to use by Norvell Shapleigh block plane, because I know it's sharp. Well, the question is, is it sharp enough? Here's the pic I snapped after the first run with the block plane:



I really was hoping to get to this point today, but figured "what the heck" and went to town. I busted out the jig saw and gave the stretcher it's rough shape. I didn't snap a pick of that unfortunately. However, I did get one of me ripping for the tenon on the end. The design calls for a through tenon with a wedge (wedged tenon I guess?), so ripping was essential. I used a Japanese "Z" saw for this function. Frankly, I don't like it to much. It's progressive teeth were a pain in my butt. Still, it did get the job done. Here's the proof:



After that, I cut out the shapes I wanted with the jig saw on the legs. The tenons are visible on the top.



There was a lot done, and I feel great about how much got accomplished. There were some problems however. Apparently, my jigsaw likes to cut at an angle from time to time, so I'll need to take the spokeshave and clean that up. Also, I managed to stab myself with a chisel while cleaning up the tenons. That's the reason for those red splotches on the legs. I just hope I can get them cleaned up well enough!

Still, it's coming along great. Tomorrow will be focused mostly on shaping the legs and cleaning up the tenons on the legs. Still, that's a LOT of work, but I'm up for it!
 
#43 ·
Sexy Legs

Early this morning, before the sun was even up, I was sharpening. When you're a hand tool guy, sharpening is something you must do, and must do well. Sharp blades will slice easily through wood. Dull blades, not so much. Sharpness was essential for today's work. Why? Today was the day to shape the legs. If you recall, when I left off yesterday, the legs were less than spectacular, to say the least. How about a quick recap?



The jigsaw didn't exactly make a good, square cut, and that threw things off a bit as far as getting stuff done was concerned. However, it wasn't a big deal. Stuff happens after all, what defines us is how we deal with that stuff. Me? After whimpering and pleading to the heavens "Why me?", I sucked it up and figured that now would be a wonderful time to use a spokeshave. I have a #51 that was one of my early purchases, but haven't have a need for it until now. A few quick tests yesterday showed that this would do the trick.

Now, for today. On December 19, 2007 my grandmother passed away after being in a coma for several days. It's been hard for my small but very close family, but life has to press on. The morning today was spent going through my grandmother's possessions, as it has been for the past several weeks. It's not a pleasant task, but a necessary one. However, it kept me from doing a great deal on the bench. That's OK though…at least my woodworking was available to help me get things straightened out and to provide something positive.

I started on the first leg, the same one I had tested yesterday, with the trusty #51. Talk about some rough going! The grain reverses itself at the bottom of the curve, which means that, if you go to far, you will have tear out. Also, the chatter was awful from this thing. I tweaked the blade as many different ways as I could, and eventually got a decent surface. However, it was still rough. The #51 has a flat bottom, which doesn't work well with curves. While you can get a semi-curved surface with one, you'll still need something else to really get it smooth like a curved bottom spokeshave or a good quality rasp.

Now, take a guess what I don't have. Did you say a rasp or a curved bottom spokeshave? Congratulations! That's right. I don't have either of them. So, I did something I generally hate to do and broke out the sandpaper. The tear out was significant, and I was broke so I had to use what I happened to have around the house. Luckily, I had some 50 grit, and since I wanted aggressive, this was the place to start. I then went to 120 grit, and finished up with 220 grit. I got a nice, smooth surface with this technique. I just hope it won't be a problem when I move on to finishing.

The second leg went much easier so far as the spokeshave's function went. I don't know if it was the grain, or that I had finally gotten the hang of the tool, or I had it tuned properly at last. I really don't, but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth right now. The sanding needed to continue, just for continuity sake, but was much easier on the second leg. The still need some sanding, but the shape and curves were my focus for today. Sanding will, hopefully, be done tomorrow.

Now, here's a few shots of the new, sexier legs:







Now, something I tried to work on yesterday and today was to not be such a perfectionist. I have a bad habit of tossing a project because it's not perfect. Instead, I'm trying to make it good enough that others won't notice. When Jennifer got home from grocery shopping, I asked her "what, if anything, is wrong with this leg?"

She studied it for a bit, and then said she couldn't see anything. Now, I knew every lump and bump that wouldn't go away on those legs, but she didn't. If she didn't, when I actually asked her to find stuff, means they shouldn't be noticeable to others either. I am trying to stop letting the "perfect" be the enemy of "darn good". So far, so good.

Tomorrow is to finish up the tenons, and to cut the mortises, and hopefully sand, dry fit, and put the first coat of stain on. We'll see how that plan holds up though, and go from there.
 
#44 ·
One of the things that I figured out to save my sanity was "Learn to Discern". That is figure out what matters and what does not.

Even on my high-end projects there is alway something that is less than perfect. I call them "humble spots" and that's just the way it is.

Unless it is actually bad most customers don't know they are there and for goodness sake don't tell them about it!

I use to try and make things to metal machinist tolerance levels and that does not work with wood. Wood moves all over the place compared to metal so I had to loosen up on the "sphincter factor".

I think that your legs are looking pretty good and I look forward to the finished photos.
 
#53 ·
A Bad Day

Not much got done yesterday.

Did you ever have one of those days when nothing seemed to go right? Well, I did yesterday. After a much later start than I wanted, I find that I had forgotten about shaping the stretcher. So, I get to work on that. It kills a bit of time, but I finally get it in the rough shape that I wanted.

I then had to fix the tenons on the legs. They were really to large. Originally, I had thought to have the tenons be the entire thickness of the legs. However, the more I thought about it, the more I preferred the idea of the seat being supported by four sides, rather than two. While they didn't cut like I had hoped, they did cut. I have some fixing to do there…hopefully. I got stupid, and now I have to fix stuff. Then, on to the mortises on the legs.

A typical way of making mortises is to use a forstner bit to do the bulk of the work, then use a chisel to square it up. There's only one problem with this approach…I don't have a forstner bit. I had originally planned on cutting out the mortise by drilling holes in the corner of the mortise area, then using the jig saw. However, since my jigsaw isn't cutting square, I decided to drill the crap out of the mortise area, then use the chisel to clean it up. More or less, it worked. However, it made an ugly, ugly mortise.

After all that, I decide to see if my stretcher will fit. Well, it doesn't. Apparently, it's wider at the end than at the base where the mortise will sit. So, I break out the chisel to fix that. Unfortunately, apparently the chisel got dull somehow. It went right off the wood and into my thumb.

The bleeding was significant. I honestly wasn't sure if I could stop the bleeding on my own, but luckily I did. It was, however, enough for the day. Just minutes earlier, I was considering calling it an early day, but I didn't. I wanted to get farther along than I did. Oh well.

Unfortunately though…no blood got on the bench parts this time, so no new blood splotches. Sorry to disappoint ;)

The optimism I felt on Saturday was gone, replaced by a harsh reality. A reality where things don't clip along as well as we'd like. A reality where things can go bad, even on the best of projects. I can't say that I pushed to hard, since I had only put a couple of hours in and had planned to spend a fair amount more. But things just weren't right from the start, and in hindsight, I guess I should have listened to that side of me.

This thumb hurts like Hell right now. I seriously had thoughts that I wasn't cut out for woodworking. However, I'm a newbie. I have to remember that things happen. Sometimes, those things are unpleasant. I can't let this bench beat me. I do, however, need to step away briefly. I have to figure out how to approach a few things, rather than trying to force the issue and screw something up.

Yesterday was a letdown. I felt like everything had let me down and many, many levels. In reality, things just didn't go like I had hoped and an incident prevented me from either screwing things up, or from figuring it out (I can't possibly know which). I can't back down now though. I really believe I can make an awesome bench out of something most woodworkers wouldn't look twice at. I just have to push through and do it.

So…this week will mostly be spent sharpening tools and cleaning up that mortise. The only other thing is for me to take a good, long look at how best to attack that stretcher so that it will fit correctly. I'll make it work…somehow ;)
 
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