Hi all,
I'm a new woodworking enthusiast (yet to call myself a real woodworker, though I have built a couple things), and now that my dad has given me many of my great grandfather's hand tools (he was a carpenter), I am interested in going "unplugged" as much as possible. I'm planning a workbench, and have read a lot on the web. Here are my questions:
- I want the bench to be easily broken-down, so I'm looking to go mostly glue-free, with the exception of the table top and the legs. Are pinned or tusk mortise-and-tenon joints sufficient to render the bench solid and stable? And would single 2x4s be good enough as bottom rails, or would I need to double them up?
- To attach the table top to the legs, I've been considering an idea which I've yet to read about (which violates a rule I read about not messing with traditional, tried-and-true plans). My idea is to tenon the entire leg into the table top (which would be 2x4's on end). I figure I could create the mortises before glue-up, going about 2 inches deep. That would still leave an inch of table above the leg. If I can make clean and tight mortise-and-tenons, and drop the legs up into them, would the table still wobble without rails up top? Or should I make the mortises smaller and cut real tenons into the tops of the legs?
- Is attaching a vise a pain if the depth (height?) of the vise is different from the thickness of the table top?
All for now. Thanks for any tips you might have!