Repent! For the end is near!

[wlantry]

Well, folks, there are several signs that the end times are upon us. First, it's been under 32 degrees here inside the beltway for a couple days now, so the rumors you've heard are true: hell has indeed frozen over! ;)

Second sign: young joseph has moved back into his room. I told him I wasn't quite done, there's still some tweaking here and there, so there might be some disruption, but his re-installation means that the six month rebuild is essentially over. He got one entirely new wall, an actual door, all walls ripped out, insulated, and now covered with real drywall, an actual (drywalled) cieling, with insulation, a builtin desk, a real closet, bookshelves, a dresser, a sleeping platform, a tv cabinet, an all new glassblock window, a real window that opens, recessed lighting, all new circuits, new floor covering, in short, he finally has actual living space... ;)

Third sign: I've realized it's time to do something about the shop. Since I've been working down in the basement, most of my tools are down there, and there's simply not room in the shop to bring them all back up. So I was looking around it last night, and realized I need a complete redesign. And step one is to build some new shop furniture.

You'll notice I didn't say "workbench", since that brings up images of swedish tops and the like. Step one is going to be something about the planer (eseentially, I'll just make a big box on wheels). But step two is what I've needed to do for a long time.

I'm trying to consider what I need in a "insert dreaded word here". I'd do more with hand tools if I had a decent bench, but I have other problems too. The bench will need to sit back about a foot from the garage door, since in that foot of space is where I store sheet goods as thet come into the shop (remember, the shop is only 12 by 24, so I need to be very careful about space). Problem two: I need additional very flat assembly and glue-up area. Problem three: I need more storage. Problem four: various and sundry small machines which don't have homes: Scrollsaw, mortiser, grinder, a nice metalworking vise that came from my late father-in-law which I sentimentally want to incorporate. The small machines have to be cleared off the old desk I want to turn into an SCMS station. Problem five: not much money.

So here's my (likely lunatic) solution. I get a couple sheets of 3/4 mdf, rip them to 24" wide, and laminate the four pieces together. This will give me a 24" x 84" top. I use some existing poplar or sycamore to add an 8" tool tray, with a 3/4 rabbet so I can cover it when I need to. That gives me a total flat surface of 84 x 32. Then I trim the sides with 3" of sycamore, and finish with poly.

The legs I'm planning on making out of some pretty dry, (and cheap) fir from the despot. Cut them to 30", run em through the jointer and planer, make rabbets so that when I glue two together I've got a through mortise. Front stringers, top and bottom, go through those. But I'm thinking of dumping the side stringers, and using rabbeted in 3/4 ply for the sides and back. This should solve the wracking that others solve by using diagonals or massive laterals. It will also provide for the next idea:

So, I need dog holes, right? And I've got all these small machines that tend to walk around if they're not secured. So I'm thinking of attaching each to a piece of 3/4 ply, with short dowels glued into the bottom, so that they can fit into the pattern of dog holes. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to store each under the bench, so they can be moved up when needed, and disappear behind doors when they're not. I'll need some provision for electric in the tool tray to make this work.

I picked up a 9" vise a few months ago from HF, and I'll need to make provision for that. But my real questions are: will my plans for the legs work, especially the anti-wracking plywood idea? Has anyone ever tried the tool on dowelled plywood trick? And am I fooling myself about making dogholes in MDF?

Oh, and is there some kind of glue I should use for all these laminations when it's below freezing here in the fourth circle? ;)

Thanks,

Bill

[tbragsdale]

I will post more, but you creaped me out. I thought you went over to the "lost behind" side.

TBR

[rrich]

Bill,
You're right, The End Is Near!

We actually had snow in West LA about a week ago.

[CajunRider]

Uhhhh...
How 'bout global warming men? I thought the end is gonna be caused by global warming.

I'll settle for local warming.....

Honey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wlantry]

OK, so I spent most of saturday cleaning up the shop, trying to make room for all the stuff coming back up. You would not believe how many cutoffs I had lying around. And junk just sitting there. And those plastic cases tools come in. Oh, and did I mention junk? ;)

Got some room. Knocked apart the utility bench I'd gotten when a friend got divorced... it was a piece of junk. But it was made out of fir. I thought... hmmmm...

I've never been happy with my planer procedures. Hated lifting that thing every time I wanted to use it. So I took some of the plywood scraps and made a two x two by three foot high planer stand. Put the wheels from the old hurculift on it (found them while I was cleaning) ;) Screwed the planer down on the top of it. Woks like a charm, and only takes up 4 square feet... ;)

Got all the cutoffs off the jointer. Took the fir from that old bench, jointed and planed it up today. Cut eight pieces to 30". By the time they were actually square they were five by 1 1/4. To the router table! When I was done, they each had a 1/2" deep 3" rabbet in each end. Glued 'em together. So now I've got four bench legs. The wood was well acclimated to the shop, but I don't have enough to make 6' stretchers, so I guess I'll go shopping for 4 nice ultra dry 2x4s tomorrow. If I can joint and plane em down to 3", and cut 5 inch long and 1' wide tenons in the ends, I'll have top and bottom stretchers for front and back. I guess I should probably let them acclimate to the shop for a little while...

But here's the thing: I've seen people make benches so the sides run along the floor, but I've never seen one like I'm planning. I wonder why? ;)

Thanks,

Bill

[TDHofstetter]

...then again... have you seen (in actual use) very many identical benches? Lots of different variations on the basic theme of a heavy, rigid elevated work surface (mostly) guaranteed not to move around too much when you exert force to its top.

I've built a novel bench or two in my time - they each served their purposes, and they'll each continue to stand for a great many years. The one with a single upright on each end, with cantilevered feet. The one with the fully height-microadjustable top (at six points).

It'll be fine. It may be overbuilt, but what in HECK would be wrong with that???

-- Tim --

Passion is the weather;
Love is a climate.

[Glen]

Will,

Your top can be okay, and can in fact be very strong. With a little planning, build a torsion box out of the plywood and incorporate, or build in, the "mortises". My most often used bench is 20+ yrs old and is nothing more than 2x6 KD lumber on some old metal bench legs I came across. It's the scrounge in me - hate leaving good stuff at the land fill.PLan your dog hole locations and insert solid stock blocks between the stringers of the torsion box. As for the legs, well one of the virtues of a good bench is that it won't move when pushing a plane. I'd opt to make a hollow column and pour some weight in, either sand or some cement in the bottom third anyway.
Be sure to seal it - everywhere.
I've got a portable planer that I use more than the shop planer. I made a roll around cart that has the benchtop spindle sander on top and the planer underneath it. By stacking them I've used half the foot print and both are at the ready.

Glen

[TDHofstetter]

You DO toss a good read, Bill.

Um... you can use any ol' glue long's you do the glueup inside the house... :)

EDIT: pic... :)

-- Tim --

Passion is the weather;
Love is a climate.