Just finished the base for my new Workbench
Haakon Haraldsen in Italy
>Hi Everyone,
I just finished the base for my new workbench. I have attached a picture of it below taken just before the first coat of boiled linseed oil.
The bench is of the Scandinavian or European type with the "L" shaped shoulder wise. More specifically I followed the Klausz version in "The Workbench Book" by S. Landis. I chose this design because I made my first shavings on such a bench in elementary school back in Norway and I came to appreciate this design.
I used for European steam-dried red beech for the base and I plan to use the same material for the top.
The stock was prepared and a bandsaw and hand-planed to size with with and 8, a 62 and a 4. I got the stretchers made to size on a machine in the lumber yard, so I only needed a slight touch up with the 4. Working on average of maybe a couple of hours a week (kids, wife, job etc) I spent more than a year to finish the base.
I must admid that I did break down once and brough one of the legs to a friend who has both a jointer and a thickness planer. In doing so I cut my left hand quite badly, so I got a life long vaccine aginst that type of machinery. My hand is back to action again and it handplanes just as before.
I will post another picture when I finish the rest. Got no idea of when that will be though...
Cheers
Haakon