Tag Archives: shop stuff

Knockdown Nicholson Workbench – wrapping up

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I built the bottom shelf using the little wedges on the ends, glued a 1×1 cleat to the inside of each bottom stretcher (2 1×10’s glued and cut back down to 15″ wide), and screwed in battens across the shelf at 3 points. I finished drilling the 3/4″ holes in the apron, and in the top strechers of both legs (great idea there from Chris S. and company!). I order a new pair of holdfasts from toolsforworkingwood and cut some(4) 5″ lengths of 3/4″ dowel for support posts.
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The posts fit a bit too tightly, so I used my favorite turning tool – chucked the posts on the lathe, and added a tiny taper to make sure they fit well.

Last but not least – I flattened the top – using a #6 plane, sharp blade and some canning wax for lubricant. It took about 45 minutes to bring it to flat enough.

Thanks again to Chris Schwarz for bringing out the plans and the parts lists.

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if you look carefully you can see the pencil marks in the surface that I need to remove.

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Done, ready to break down and take in for a trial run in Friday nights class.

Knockdown Nicholson Workbench – oops!

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A new take of "bench on bench" design?

A new take of “bench on bench” design?

Sometimes we just bull ahead in a project build. “I don’t need to measure, I have an idea where things are”. While drilling the recess and holes for the mounting bolts in the top, I got to close to the edges. I missed the legs ok, but wasn’t far enough inside to allow for the mounting nut to be attached. So, after I got the holes placed correctly, I had to mix up some epoxy to fill the mis-located holes and that means leaving it over night. Yes, I could have left the holes as is, but who wants to do that! And since I left the epoxy clear, there will be a visual reminder that I goofed to talk about 🙂

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Knock Down Nicholson Workbench – assembly

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photo 1 (28)The McMaster-Carr connectors that I ordered late last week arrived yesterday, so I was able to get much further in bench assembly than I thought I was. I glued the 1×10’s to the aprons, after setting them in place on the upside down top of the bench. Using the 1×10’s as a guide, I set the legs up tight against the apron, and was able to mark and secure the legs to the aprons using the connectors.

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Aestivating…

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Aestivation or æstivation (from Latin: aestas, summer, but also spelled “estivation” in American English) is a state of animal dormancy, similar tohibernation, characterized by inactivity and a lowered metabolic rate, that is entered in response to high temperatures and arid conditions.[1] It takes place during times of heat and dryness, the hot dry season, which are often the summer months. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aestivation)

Things picked up with work, and with the temperature and activities. As a result, the shop has been very quiet. I’ve been relaxing a bit, catching up on podcasts and reading – as I’ve been working on some jobs at remote sites. I’m slowly working my way back into the shop now – refinishing a beach umbrella table that we use when we go to the beach – and there are some new project kits at woodcraft that I’m assembling (pump action pepper grinder and a paddle shaped ice cream scoop).

I hope everyone is enjoying there summer as well!

Router Cabinet Drawers are in

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photo 2 (30)I finished up the drawers this past weekend. The cabinet has just a few items left (cover for the router bay, decisions about the center drawer slots… but the unit is back in service! (read this weeks update here)

Nice to get the shop back into working order. In addition the old cabinet was disassembled for scrap, and I’m reusing some of the hardware in other projects now.

Clearing the workbench

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I’ve got a confession to make. I made a mess in my shop. And I let stuff pile up on the workbench as I was doing it. The end result is simply that I had a lot of reasons to look for excuses not to go into the shop this week (memorial day, work, nice sunny days outside, no room on the bench to do anything quick, etc.). yesterday I finally got back in there and cleaned out the top drawer in the table saw cabinet, so I could re-install it. That made a significant dent in things. Today I plan to get the partitions cut for the router cabinet, and start to cut the dado’s to do the assembly. I need to glue up two panels for dividers, and I may even get that done as well.

What really got me thinking was how useful my workbench can be, when I don’t have it cluttered up. I don’t know if it’s just me, but a clean workbench is much more efficient – I can just go in, do a job and be done very quickly. Perhaps it’s too late for a new years resolution, but I’m going to start a new months resolution to keep my work bench cleaned off. (And while I’m at it, the table saw/router top as well). If I can break the habit of just piling stuff on horizontal surfaces in my shop, I suspect I can be a happier more productive woodworker.

How about you? Do you find it easier to keep a clean bench, or to let stuff pile up until you need to use it?