Ping Leon

[diggerop]

Leon, .......... bench photo's as promised.

order of the photo's is a bit mixed, but youll get the gist of it.

Base is pine, dowelled to locate stretchers and then held to gether under mild tension with threaded rod. Top is Douglas Fir glulam, the protective surround is Jarrah. Used to be a filler board in the centre gap on top, I haven't used it for years, - find it convenient to be able to clamp either side or in the middle according to material size. Built 8 or 9 years ago, it is still rock solid, - the tension rods prevent any racking. Disassembles in less than 15 minutes, re-assembly takes a few minutes longer. Built without plans, just made it up as I went, material sourced from a re-cycling yard.

It was my first attempt at wooddorking. Possibly slightly over engineered : )

Diggerop

[Mark & Juanita]

Very nice -- that should serve you well. Nobody has ever been disappointed by having something that is over-engineered.

[Lee Michaels]

"diggerop" wrote

It is solid, pretty and functional. You can't ask for more than that.

[diggerop]

Thanks Mark. It has served me well for the last 8 or 9 years and will likely do the same again.

The big question, is what condition * I * will be in in 8 or 9 years. : )

Diggerop

[diggerop]

Thank you Lee. Solid and functional was the original intention, in which it happened to succeed. If it's thought to be pretty, that is an accidental result of the material I had available at the time.

The main criteria when I built it was to have a bench that I could transport easily to and from the boatyard. That meant it either had to be lightweight, (which would not serve the purpose,) or I had to be able to dismantle and re-assemble it while maintaining its structural integrity. - Hence the dowels and truss rods. (An idea I saw used on an old piece of farm equipment when I was a kid.) Over the years it was moved innumerable times, although I now have no need to do that.

The locking device for the leg vise also came from the farm. We used windmills to pump water up from underground, from depths as much as 160 feet. Periodically we would have to replace the galvanised pipes, which were in 20 foot lengths. The pinch block was placed over the pipe and and the column was winched up the first 20 feet. The winch tension was released and the pinch block secured the column while we unscrewed the first length, then the process was repeated. Never ever saw the pipe slip.

Being a "hayseed" has served me well at times. : )

Diggerop

[Leon]

Thank you. I'll add that to my collection of ideas. Presently I am fixated on a way to make the work bench mobile but stationary when in use. I have a shop full of equipment that is all mobile and it takes my wife to point out that each base is mobile and is stationary when in use. That was way too simple of a solution.

[Dave - Parkville, MD]

Leon,

I don't know if you have it as one of your ideas, but I built the bench from American Woodworker about 3 years back. It rides on 6 100 lb (hidden) wheels. The bench gets "chocked" up on L shaped blocks when in use so it will not move. Not very automatic or quick, but i don't move it very often. I just wanted to be able to when the mood struck.

Pics here:

can dig up the issue # if you would like.

[Leon]

Don't go to the trouble of looking up the issue, but to you have pictures of the L-blocks and wheels?

[Dave - Parkville, MD]

Leon,

I posted a couple of pics on ABPW.

[Leon]

Geez how simple is that. Thanks a bunch, I think that has inspired me.