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Looking through the archives, Schwarz does sell his prototype benches, but they're $300 and local pick up only because they weigh 250 lbs.
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Dec 19, 2016 16:57
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Build your own imo. The way I see it, a bench is a pretty personal piece of kit that works best when it's tailored to your dimensions. Plus it's good practise for joinery because it doesn't have to look good. At least, not the way I do it. Anyway I'm no expert, just currently in the process of building one and have made many errors
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Dec 19, 2016 16:59
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GEMorris posted:I'm not sure where you can buy a good bench pre made, tbqh. To the person originally posting the worktables: if your goal is hand tool woodworking you will be sorely disappointed with all of the options you posted. Sorry I should have been more clear. Hand tools as a general term. Not for woodworking. More like small car parts. Electronics. Drilling, cutting, etc. I was just asking here about the advertised wood choices for the worktop. I would totally build my own but I really need the steel legs so I can shove rolling toolboxes under there for more storage. If I build a more traditionally framed wood bench with shelves I can't do that. I'd love to have both but space is limited.
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Dec 19, 2016 17:33
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Plywood or whatever else that costs next to nothing to replace when you get it all nice and greasy and terrible.
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Dec 19, 2016 17:38
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Shaocaholica posted:Sorry I should have been more clear. Hand tools as a general term. Not for woodworking. More like small car parts. Electronics. Drilling, cutting, etc. I was just asking here about the advertised wood choices for the worktop. OK, this is what I was trying to clarify. You need a worktable and the stuff you posted is fine for that, but not really "woodworking" depending on how snobby we are being about what that term means at the moment. Generally when people ask about benches in here it's because they want to get into making furniture out of wood. Aside: I use "worktable" in this thread not derisively, but just to convey that workholding is not a main concern of the surface, it just needs to be sturdy etc rather than deal with holding furniture parts to be worked, which is what I generally am talking about when I say workbench (specifically to this thread, I'm sure I'll get some responses that I'm being a snob, etc.)
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Dec 19, 2016 17:39
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Imo the first project for any Real Car Mechanic is to build a 1800s style woodworking workbench.
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Dec 19, 2016 18:17
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You need a sturdy work surface for when you have to do maintenance on your automobile's boiler
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Dec 19, 2016 18:18
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GEMorris posted:OK, this is what I was trying to clarify. You need a worktable and the stuff you posted is fine for that, but not really "woodworking" depending on how snobby we are being about what that term means at the moment. Generally when people ask about benches in here it's because they want to get into making furniture out of wood. You're not being snobby, it's a valid distinction. I'm glad you bring it up because thinking over my needs some more, I probably need a worktable instead of a workbench, for now. Little/no space to set up a shop means whatever I make has to do double duty as a surface to work on and as a tool storage/organization device, and the ability to hold up under huge projects is a secondary priority.
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Dec 19, 2016 18:53
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Thanks for the clarification. I just come here with all my wood questions. Not necessarily woodworking but I figure you guys know the most.
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Dec 19, 2016 19:11
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Corky Romanovsky posted:If I'm not mistaken, it looks like an early Roentgen. Ha!
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Dec 19, 2016 19:11
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ColdPie posted:Imo the first project for any Real Car Mechanic is to build a 1800s style woodworking workbench. Let me find the relevant plate from Andre Roubo's L'art du greasemonkey Seriously though if you just need like a non-joinery bench get some thick-rear end MDF and throw some poly varnish on it. Screw that to a bolted up 2x4 ladder frame and you're off to the races. That's how I built my 5' tall carver's table
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Dec 19, 2016 19:13
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For my general purpose basement project "work" bench, 3/4" melamine-laminated particle board is pretty sweet. Otherwise, hit up your local habitat for humanity re-store and get some surplus laminate countertop.
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Dec 19, 2016 19:16
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sirr0bin posted:I want to build some new cabinet doors for our kitchen and my wife wants a very dark colour, like an espresso. The problem I am having is I don't know what wood is going to take a stain that dark. Oak doesn't seem to get dark enough and walnut is too expensive. I see very dark espresso shaker cabinet doors and such when I google them but they never say what type of wood they are or how they got that finish. Any suggestions? Oak is the same or naturally darker than birch. Just about any wood can be stained as dark as you want. The 2nd question, no, IMO. Leave the interior lighter
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Dec 19, 2016 19:23
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sirr0bin posted:I want to build some new cabinet doors for our kitchen and my wife wants a very dark colour, like an espresso. The problem I am having is I don't know what wood is going to take a stain that dark. Probably ash or butternut, maybe beech. Birch maybe, never worked with it except in plywood. I would expect oak to stain well. Generally the more open the pores, the better it takes stain. Corky Romanovsky posted:If I'm not mistaken, it looks like an early Roentgen. Oh, okay. 
wormil fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Dec 19, 2016 |
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Dec 19, 2016 19:33
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ColdPie posted:I'm no expert, but from what I understand, you generally want to use softwoods for the bench top. It's less likely to damage your workpiece. You use thick woods (at least 2") to get the needed weight I really think a hardwood top is nicer to work on, pine is just too soft from my experience, the bench I built with pine top looks real bad just a year after it was built. It needs some kind of sacrificial top I can replace easily. My old 2nd hand bench which is my proper bench for woodworking now is arctic birch and it's a really nice hardwood. The legs are pine though.
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Dec 19, 2016 20:37
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swampface posted:Does it put out pretty good sound for its size? I have been putting together a parts list for this since it's been up here. Parts express now has a 2x15 watt bluetooth amp for $20 that I think I'm going to have a go with. I've got a bunch of cherry laying about that I bet would make a real nice looking box. Sorry I didn't reply sooner swampface, I sort of zoned out over the weekend. Yeah it puts out great sound for it's size and cost. I tested it in the garage and it put out enough sound to rock out the whole 2 car garage. That was with a little 15 watt chip amp from PartsExpress. The sound quality is really good too. It's a bit mid-range strong but what do you expect from a 3" driver. Also I haven't put any sort of foam or anything inside the cabinets, I'm thinking if I do it might tone down the mid-range just a bit. If you build these sorts of things and are interested I'd definitely give it a shot, you'll find a use for it somewhere. I should have taken some pictures of my build, it's nothing special but I am pretty proud of the fact that I put the power supply inside of it so all you have to do is plug in power and your phone and you're good to go. Tho it's got no external volume control, but phones all have on-board volume anyways so why would you want redundant volume anyways? Edit: RE-Hardwood boxes. Yeah gluing a six sided box together out of hardwood can be asking for cracks and splits as the wood expands and contracts. Or sometimes it might not be. I've seen this discussion quite a few times, I've seen a few examples of hardwood speakers that actually cracked. I'd say go for it, what the hell. Unless you really just couldn't take the heart break of a split in your project years down the road. evilskillit fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Dec 19, 2016 |
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Dec 19, 2016 20:42
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Anyone used the HNT Gordon tail vise? I'm giving away my old bench and building a new one. I have no interest in building a wagon vise/L tail vise, but I want to actually positively clamp between dogs. I could throw another Eclipse metal vise at the the end, but the little HNT Gordon inset vise looks really nice and having wood floating in midair between a tail vise and the bench is irritating. http://www.hntgordon.com.au/bench-vices/product/177-tail-vice-150mm-incl-one-1-4-high-dog.html e: Lee Valley makes something similar and much more inexpensive. I think at this point I'd just go back to my current solution which is just using a Veritas wonder dog clamp from the end of the bench as a fake end vise. http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,41637,41659&p=66819 Hypnolobster fucked around with this message at 23:32 on Dec 19, 2016 |
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Dec 19, 2016 23:22
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Now that I've decided I should have a work table instead of a work bench: For work tables, does this look reasonable? I really like that it includes the pegboard on the back because I could REALLY use some pegboard in my life. My only concern is that I don't really like that it has 2x4s for legs because I am a scaredy cat about under engineering stuff I build. If anyone has any work table designs they have either made and been really happy with or think look like a really good work table, I'm open to suggestions. I should be able to mimic the upper part from the design I linked and add it to a work table to mount pegboard on. Magres fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Dec 20, 2016 |
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Dec 20, 2016 00:25
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Magres posted:Now that I've decided I should have a work table instead of a work bench: http://woodgears.ca/workbench/ This is a pretty good worktable design in terms of simplicity and strength. An old door works well, but 2 pieces of plywood glued together and some extra braces connecting the front and back rail to keep it from sagging is another way to go. My personal opinion is that pegboard is horrible, although it can fill a need for a while while you make better ways to hang things. http://woodgears.ca/tool_holders/ I do definitely agree with building a simpler work table first and just doing whatever projects seem accessible and fun. There's something to be said for making a "real" bench, but there's a lot more to be said for just getting on with it and building things. A knockdown Nicholson is still probably a good way to go for a real bench when the time comes.
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Dec 20, 2016 00:39
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If I were to buy a 17" grizzly band saw used mostly for resawing and dimensioning, what sort of dust collector would I need for it?
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Dec 20, 2016 01:08
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Flattened Spoon posted:If I were to buy a 17" grizzly band saw used mostly for resawing and dimensioning, what sort of dust collector would I need for it? There are two 4" dust ports on those, one up near the table and one down near the bottom of the lower housing. I used the $200 (often $150) Harbor Freight 2HP collector connected to both ports via a Y on mine and it worked just great, including for nasty dusty materials like MDF.
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Dec 20, 2016 01:16
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Some finishing questions! The house I'm renting has some wonderful bench tops, however, they got damaged a few months back and so I sanded one section back a bit to remove some obvious scratches. From memory I went up to 2000 grit dry sanding 2/3rds of the bench, then applied some mineral oil. Unfortunately, it ended up with a very matt finish and didn't match the original finish at all. Colour and everything is fine, its just entirely matt compared to the very glossy surface of the back part of the bench. In a small area I applied some boiled linseed oil mixed 50/50 with metho, and also tried rubbing in some wax as well, but it didn't really change it much. What do I need to do to get it looking like the existing benchtop? The world of finishing is entirely new to me and I don't want to gently caress this up since they aren't my benches    (You can see the front part of the bench in the photos is matt while the back part is nice and glossy)
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Dec 20, 2016 11:22
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2000 is still rather coarse when you want a mirror finish. If you suspect it is polyurethane, I think another coat on top of a clean and sanded one will restore it.
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Dec 20, 2016 12:34
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Corky Romanovsky posted:2000 is still rather coarse when you want a mirror finish. If you suspect it is polyurethane, I think another coat on top of a clean and sanded one will restore it. Is there an easy way to tell if its polyurethane? Whatever was on before seemed to be either very thin or wasn't really a distinct layer based on what I sanded down. I'll try and hunt down some finer sandpaper anyway and see if that helps. I've also got 1000 grade steel wool but I don't really know how that compares to sandpaper.
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Dec 20, 2016 12:47
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There are probably buffing compounds, if it is in fact something that can be buffed. I really don't know how high to go, or what the material can actually benefit from, but for metal it isn't uncommon to hit 10k to 20k. Hopefully a guru will have some tips on identification.
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Dec 20, 2016 13:02
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Get a set of micromesh pads if you can. They can make anything shine like a mirror.
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Dec 20, 2016 14:01
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Granite Octopus posted:Is there an easy way to tell if its polyurethane? Whatever was on before seemed to be either very thin or wasn't really a distinct layer based on what I sanded down. Wipe an area with some alcohol - if it gets soft/tacky, it's shellac. If I recall, 000 steel wool is similar to 600-800 grit sandpaper, 0000 is 800-1000. One thing to try would be getting a bottle of Howard Restore-It, which basically contains a blend of solvants. You can sand any rough areas to 2000 like you did (although wet-sand above 600) and then rub that stuff on -- it should break down the dust/peaks from sanding and give you a smoother finish. If you know the exact solvent for the finish you could just do that directly instead. I've also read people using newspaper to buff finishes
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Dec 20, 2016 15:13
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Painted metal surfaces only usually go up to 2000 wet, maybe 2500 or 3000 if you're going nuts. Sanding gets it even and flat, cutting and buffing gets it to shine.
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Dec 20, 2016 15:59
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Corky Romanovsky posted:2000 is still rather coarse when you want a mirror finish. If you suspect it is polyurethane, I think another coat on top of a clean and sanded one will restore it. Disagree in this case. This is a bench that's going to be sat on, so superfine is self-defeating. I'd not go above 240. Varnish or bartop finish would work in this scenario.
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Dec 20, 2016 16:44
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Bad Munki posted:There are two 4" dust ports on those, one up near the table and one down near the bottom of the lower housing. I used the $200 (often $150) Harbor Freight 2HP collector connected to both ports via a Y on mine and it worked just great, including for nasty dusty materials like MDF. Just wanted to thank you for this. I wasn't sure about harbor freight stuff (I've only been using their bar clamps...they're ok but I've torn a few of the slots on some) but it seems like people are saying it's one of the few things worth a drat from there. And I found a 20% off coupon. Did you upgrade the filter too? Or is the one supplied good enough?
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Dec 20, 2016 18:25
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I did not, but I'd still recommend it. I've since upgraded my dust collector to this huge beast but my old harbor freight one is going to be dedicated to my CNC router, so I'll be putting a pleated canister on it along with a cyclone separator, both of which are EXTREMELY common upgrades for that unit with lots of guides out there for accomplishing the task. But the necessity of upgrading the filter sorta depends on what you're cutting. If you're cutting stuff that's going to make a ton of superfine dust (i.e. mdf) I'd recommend the filter upgrade. It did okay with mdf, but it's not perfect, and in a few months, you'll find that fine dusting over everything in your shop and you may be picking mdf dust boogers out of your nose for an evening after cutting a bunch. But if you're cutting less dusty stuff, like actual wood, or plastics or whatever, the bag does fine. Also, that HF DC will do fine running multiple tools, just be sure to put blast gates in so you can leave open only whatever duct(s) you need. So like, set the DC in the middle of your shop, and put your bandsaw, planer, and sander in a circle around it. Works great (if you have the space.) Bad Munki fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Dec 20, 2016 |
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Dec 20, 2016 18:30
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Flattened Spoon posted:Just wanted to thank you for this. I wasn't sure about harbor freight stuff (I've only been using their bar clamps...they're ok but I've torn a few of the slots on some) but it seems like people are saying it's one of the few things worth a drat from there. And I found a 20% off coupon. I went ahead and bought a 1 micron bag filter to replace the one that came with it. So far it's been pretty good for my random use, but the bearings are starting to make a pretty bad noise. I'll probably find a JET with the pleated canister filter on CL to replace it when it fails and dedicate it to a CNC router.
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Dec 20, 2016 20:34
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I have been asked to restore my grandparents tea cart. They have all passed on and my Mum is rather fond of this cart. I was fairly reticent to attempt anything because I dont want to screw it up, but having a closer look, im less worried because the thing was not grade a1 quality to begin with.    Current plan is to sand back the finish thats on there now, replace the top surface with some nice veneered plywood, and add in the bottom deck thats missing with the same. I have been told the drawer is not needed, so im going to leave that till last, but I would like to add it back. Again, its pretty basic construction so it wont be too difficult. Currently debating on what sort of finish to use on it though. I tried the trick that was mentioned recently of putting a bit of alcohol on there and the finish didnt get tacky, plus im pretty sure that Mum wont care what finish is on there, as long as it looks good. I have been using a wipe on poly to good success, but I may try a french polish / shellac. Are there any decent resources floating about online about restoring things like this?
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Dec 21, 2016 03:54
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Try using an old chisel perpendicular to the surface to scrape old finish away in a stroke or two then clean up with sandpaper. Sometimes those finishes really pack in the paper and can be super frustrating to deal with. Shellac is my choice for an easy finish.
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Dec 21, 2016 04:27
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So along with my bandsaw I also got the 13" dewalt planer from amazon for $499...and then they took off another $25 after I bought it for a deal that Dewalt is having that they don't seem to be advertising. So if you purchase something dewalt they might take off another $25...?
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Dec 21, 2016 15:09
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Requesting feedback on my desk I've been working on, and have a few questions. This is all new to me: http://imgur.com/gallery/e1iEk I used watco danish oil (clear) and sanded down to 220 grit. I applied 4 initial coats about 15 minutes apart (I sanded heavily and the block just sucked it all up), and then a coat a day later and then another coat the next day. The oil finally began to pool up on the last coat. The entire table was a bit wet yesterday AM - I had been doing this in my open-air carport and it had been raining for a week. I brought the table inside and applied the last coat yesterday - it sat in a 70 degree low humidity room overnight and feels much more dry to the touch (of course it's sunny and 40 degrees out today). There are a few rough spots on the top - probably not noticeable to anyone but me. I guess my questions are, will the danish oil ever 'cure' to a harder sheen that the pictures show, when do I stop applying coats, should I apply a top layer of oil-based poly or shellac, and how long should I let it dry before actively using it? I planned on getting a little 6" orbital buffer and buffing it after the last coat - read somewhere this can help harden the finish(?) Is this a good idea? I ordered some neato legs from a cool dude in Indiana and they arrive today. I'm trying to temper my excitement with wanting it to be completed right. Feedback would be helpful!
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Dec 21, 2016 15:30
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 What's the easiest way of achieving a texture like this? I've been trying to stain the wood just black with a weaker mixture, but that doesn't get rid of the brown wood color in the wood texture pattern. I need the texture pattern to look gray like in the pic. There is apparently no dark gray stain for sale in my area that looks like that, so that's not an option Thanks in advance
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Dec 21, 2016 15:41
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Steel wool, vinegar, and tea will turn wood gray. http://www.adomesticlife.com/natural-wood-staining/ This is just the first link for it Google spit out.
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Dec 21, 2016 15:52
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skylined! posted:Requesting feedback on my desk I've been working on, and have a few questions. This is all new to me: From the pictures the finish looks quite even! Nice work to my eye. I don't think polymerized oils ever get super glossy like poly varnish, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I kind of like to feel the character of the wood in a finished piece. Next you could be to apply a couple of coats of paste wax and buff that to a sheen
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Dec 21, 2016 16:11
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Flattened Spoon posted:So along with my bandsaw I also got the 13" dewalt planer from amazon for $499...and then they took off another $25 after I bought it for a deal that Dewalt is having that they don't seem to be advertising. So if you purchase something dewalt they might take off another $25...? This was a $25 off of $100 deal Amazon was running on DeWalt stuff, it's advertised on Amazon. I got the same planer for the same price as you, super happy with it.
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Dec 21, 2016 16:19
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