[lysdexic]

Well, I guess that means an octagonal handle for me. If I still have trouble I'll use the grip wrap from my badminton racquet

 

[BrandonW]

Maybe it's the soul patch; not sure. The flavor-savor. That thing doesn't look good on anyone.

Scott, I'd love to see one with a badminton handle.

 

[DanKrager]

Just out of curiosity, why wouldn't one use swaged tenons? I can understand that through tenons could consume too much of the leg volume causing weakening, but a stopped and swaged tenon would be stronger than a pinned tenon. Are the pins just for style, i.e. a period technique?
Dan

 

[mochoa]

Brandon, did you use a pin on your build?

 

[mochoa]

What is a Swaged Tenon?

 

[BrandonW]

I didn't use a pin on my bench, the offset wasn't that great, around 1/16th". I just took a knife and shaved the front of the dowel to a near point and drove them in with a hammer.

 

[DanKrager]

Swage means to enlarge the end. Rip saws are swaged when they are set with a shaped tool hammered over each tooth to swell the cutting edge to both sides of the blade creating clearance for the body of the blade. Swaged mortise and tenon is created by enlarging the bottom of the mortise on two end grain sides and inserting the tenon with two wedges set each in their own saw slot in the end of the tenon near the end grain cheeks. When the tenon is pushed home, the wedges bottom out first, swelling the tenon into a "dovetail" inside the mortise. Careful planning is involved so the wedges do the job without holding the joint open. The joint actually requires no glue and has the potential to survive great stress without failure. There is no repair without destroying something.

 

[Bertha]

Dan, there's another drawback for using through-tenons on your benchtop. When you flatten by hand, you'll inevitably run into some end-grain. Not a big deal and I bet many consider it a trade-off for the neat appearance. Just like a wedged tenon, I worry about any tenon that puts stress along the length of the benchtop, given that it's a laminate (after all) and many simply leave voids as mortises during the glue up. My bench is still in my head, so I like working this stuff out, considering all alternatives.

 

[Bertha]

BrandonW, agreed.
.

 

[mochoa]

Schwarz would need the octoganal handle for sure, have you seen his skinny arms.

Spagnolo isn't using a pin, maybe its that his offset isn't that big and he is using a clamp in the process, maybe the pin eliminates the need for clamps at all.

One thing drawboreing does that swaged tenons don't is that it is constantly pulling the joint tight, if the wood shrinks it still keeps the joint tight.

 

[Bertha]

I guess it just boils down to: what is the strongest joint you can imagine. Outside of crazy double-dovetails; for me, a drawbored through tenon is about as strong as I can make.
.
Swartz needs hexagonal
Actually, having been a brawler in a former life, you need to watch out for dudes built like Swartz. I can think of two that got the better of me, one that jellied my legs with an unexpected left hook in righty stance.

 

[Boatman53]

For what it is worth I cut the tenon mortices in the top laminate before I glued up the top. The mortice ends 1/2" below the top surface and the tenon is as thick as the laminate. So basically cut a " U " out of the one laminate before gluing. This whole bench is put together with epoxy ( the only glue in my shop) after the clamps were removed I drilled and inserted the pins. No draw boring here. The whole bench is glued as one unit. It's small 22" deep, 5'2" long so it will fit through doorways etc.

 

[Bertha]

^Jim, that's about the size mine's going to be, 24×60. I just can't afford any more real estate in my shop. I hadn't even considered the doorway thing.

 

[groland]

Here's my bench. Top is ash, base is red oak. I like that I can clamp anything anywhere with the top being even-thickness everywhere. Eighty-five dog holes gives lots of clamping points. Nice and heavy, it's working out well for my first serious bench.

Others' postings here show fabulous benches. Great fun to see them!

George

 

[Bertha]

George, great bench! I'm glad you had to drill all those dog hole, not me

 

[lysdexic]

Random bench build pic…..

 

[Boatman53]

Scott, you know you will only need one of those. But they are beautiful.

 

[lysdexic]

Jim,

Right you are sir. I guess I will be doing the chain drive kind of like a retro fit. I have all the ingredients to work the plan the BC plan and I want to follow through with it. I am going so far as to install the back roller then I am going to take it off and start on the chain drive. I am almost there.

 

[mochoa]

Groland that bench is sweet! Thats a lot of dog holes, do you really use them all?

Scott, sweet rollers.

 

[lysdexic]

Thanks Mauricio,

Those buggers take a while to make. That is not a finish. I just wiped them down with mineral spirits to see what they will look like. I have grown fond of tapping holes in wood. The set screws in the rollers are tapped directly and it works great.