Dial indicator with magnetic base

[Steve Turner]

Except for two 8/4 x 3-1/2" pieces of Poplar (Maple probably would have been better of course) face-glued together along the front side of my workbench (where the dog-holes are drilled), that's exactly how my workbench is constructed, and it works fine. Just get some nice straight-grained tubafours, joint one face and one perpendicular edge, run the opposite face through the planer, cut some biscuit slots in the faces to help with alignment during glue-up and you're good to go. I'd make the boards longer than you need so you can cut the planer snipe off the ends prior to glue-up.

I used 16 yellow pine two-by-fours, which after jointing and planing yields about 21" of width, along with the two Poplar boards on front for a total of about 24". As I recall, I glued them up in stages, maybe four at a time, until I had two slabs of 8 boards each, then I ran each slab through the planer to get the top and bottom faces relatively true, then glued those two slabs up to make the final 21" slab. Some minor cleanup with the Bailey No. 7 hand plane got the top surface true enough for a nice beater workbench.

Obviously not as nice as a full-blown Maple or Beech workbench, but if you're like me the thing is going to get LOTS of abuse, so other than gaining some extra durability by using hardwood I don't really see the need. I've beat the crap out of this thing and it's held up just fine. Oh BTW, I DID make my tail vise and front vise faces out of Maple though; I don't think Pine would be a very good choice there.

[Bill]

Thanks for sharing your experience! The Poplar or Maple trim is a nice idea. I was intending to use breadboard ends as well.

I was wondering how the dog-holes would wear in "soft" wood. Does your workbench have any?

Bill

[dpb]

On 1/24/2012 11:18 AM, Bill wrote: ...

Always w/ the swingman... :)

I'm partial to either routing or using the shaper and the glue joint cutter or a tapered wedge for the alignment on larger stuff--then one doesn't have to worry about trying to align the individual biscuits one to another--there's a guide along the whole edge. And, as a side benefit, there's the additional glue surface area (not that it really will need it, but still...).

--

[dpb]

On 1/24/2012 12:28 PM, dpb wrote: ...

Just in case not familiar...

--

[Steve Turner]

Yes, that's the reason I mentioned that it probably would have been a better idea to use Maple instead of Poplar for the section along the front where the dog holes are drilled. Poplar is quite soft for a "hard" wood, and the metal springs in my Veritas bench dogs

have worn grooves into the wood over time that makes it difficult to turn them to some other orientation other than 90 degrees from the front of the bench (one of the main advantages to having round vs. square dog holes; but I don't want to start a war on that!). Maybe not a problem if you only plan to clamp squared lumber to your bench, but I build lots of goofy things like rocking chairs so I sometimes need to turn the bench dogs away from 90 degrees.

I also put breadboard ends on my bench, and I made those of Poplar too. No issues there.

[Larry]

Pat Barber wrote in news:jfmm3h$1r1$ [e-mail]:

Good luck with that...

bought one a couple of years ago and damn near never got it. The excuse was that with the economic downturn he didn't have enough money and had to purchase supplies before he could machine them. I gave him 30 days and then disputed the billing on my credit card hence his new policy.

Note that I was billed and waited 30 days, not ordered and billed when shipped. Had it been the latter I could live with it.

All that said, it is a quality piece but there are others out there. Most would never use all of the features that this tool offers. If I had to do it again I would probably just build one and buy a good indicator.

[Bill]

Nice idea!

[John Grossbohlin]

I agree with this... the only issue being getting the initial straight edge on the board to run along the fence for subsequent rips. Tacking a straight edge to the board, perhaps a steel stud, and running it along the fence to get that initial straight edge is one way to get around the need for a jointer...

John

[Pat Barber]

I bought mine from Woodworkers Supply and got it the next day. I understand he ran into problems getting materials($$$) and since he was trying to run this as a "part time" business, I think he bit off a little more than he could provide.

It's a great device and I have read from many others that they loved it also.

He expla> Good luck with that...

> I bought one a couple of years ago and damn near never got it.

[Leon]

If a TS is set up properly with a good blade it can produce a smoother edge than the typical jointer.

If you go by the rules the jointer is used on only two surfaces, to straighten the edge and flatten the face. The opposite edge is straightened by thee TS. The opposite surface is flattened by a planer.

Back the edge that a TS cuts, I seldom have to even sand the edge even if it is exposed.

[Leon]

Tommy Mac.... you have to understand Juersey to understand a word he says. ;~)

I have to listen to him TWO Times

[Larry Jaques]

Bueno, bwana.

bit better.

-- The most powerful factors in the world are clear ideas in the minds of energetic men of good will. -- J. Arthur Thomson

[Steve Barker]

old OAK floor joists i tore out of my house are going to become.

[Swingman]

LOL Method to Madness: There's a considerable amount of money tied up in that table top of 8/4 QSWO.

Therefore the longest board of each sub-component's separate pass through the planer gets any snipe, and well into the cutoff zone.

:)

[Drew Lawson]

Strangest spelling I've ever seen for "Massachusetts."

[Larry Jaques]

Worry wart.

Tanned, 1" or wider is what I used. I think it was 10oz. 4-5mm or

3/16". I had bought scraps (5# for $5) from a carriage, chest, and harnessmaker back on the East coast. Glue the rough side down, smear some green on 'er, and hone away! I think mine's about 1-1/2" wide by 15" long on a piece of baltic birch plywood.

-- The most powerful factors in the world are clear ideas in the minds of energetic men of good will. -- J. Arthur Thomson

[Larry Jaques]

? But not all authors put out good books, nor does it take 5 or 6 years to write a book, either good or bad.

-- The most powerful factors in the world are clear ideas in the minds of energetic men of good will. -- J. Arthur Thomson

[Larry Jaques]

She's a beaut. Kudos, BTW.

-- The most powerful factors in the world are clear ideas in the minds of energetic men of good will. -- J. Arthur Thomson

[Bill]

Thank you for the reminder: That makes perfect sense. It wasn't always that way! ; )

[Bill]

Larry, Thanks for the suggestion/link. The vegetable-tanned leather doesn't sound like the right stuff, so I'm going try my old belt which is a full 1/8" thick (too) and convenient. Hopefully, the embossing won't be an issue. - W.W.

As always, thank you for your support!