It’s amazing how close I was to being done the past several months. If you go back and look at my archives (don’t worry about it, I’m about to sum up), I didn’t make ANY progress from May to October because I dreaded the flattening and leveling that I needed to do. Once I got over that hump, I made ginormous strides in no time.
Since my last blog post when I called the bench level (enough), I have flattened it (enough) and planed/sawed the horns off the leg tenons. That was no joke! Last night I got the planing stop done and I bored the hole in the leg vise for the screw. Also no joke:
And you know what I did today? I put my first coat of BLO on it. My bench is literally finished. I still have all the parts (leg vise, planing stop, etc.) separated so it’s not assembled. But tomorrow I will have a fully-functioning workbench.
Final pics to come, but here are a couple of pics from this afternoon:
9 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 13, 2011 at 1:33 am
Boo
Thats one good looking bench … so what project are ya gonna christen her with?
November 13, 2011 at 1:36 am
Dave
Very nice bench. I like the different colors.
November 13, 2011 at 1:55 am
bobeaston
Now, THAT’s a bench! Congrats on getting it done!
November 13, 2011 at 10:10 am
rc
Beautiful! I also love the various tones.
November 13, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Gye Greene
Looks sturdy — and very personalized! Good stuff.
–GG
November 14, 2011 at 12:54 am
Richard B
Great blog.
Beautiful bench. You have to be terribly excited to be done with it. It looks ridiculously solid. Terrific job!
November 14, 2011 at 3:03 am
Jay
Nice work and blending of color and grain. I am also working on a bench though I am not using a blending of woods and tones the way you have. Take a look if you get a chance at my projects
November 14, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Seamus
Bravo & Ditto!
I owe you a pair of holdfasts
November 14, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Eric
Hey all, thanks for your comments! A few scattered replies:
@Boo: I think my first project will be a little something for the lady from my church who hooked me up with all this free lumber that I used to build the bench!
@Jay: It’s not an intentional blending! It’s reject timber that I got from a lumber yard. I took what they gave me with much gratitude. But looking at it now, I think I wouldn’t want it any other way – I like the “mutt” look!