Nick’s Workbench – Week of Workbenches

July 25, 2009 by thewoodwhisperer · 1 Comment
Filed under: Shop Projects 

This late addition to our Week of Workbenches comes from Nick. Let’s check it out:

It’s just a pretty traditional cabinetmaker’s workbench. Its made of soft maple and pine for the base with big dovetails and all! The base is held together with double mortise and tenons with some bolts for the longer stretchers. The top is just a 2 1/2″ thick slab of maple with the dogholes on there. The caps around the top are all dovetailed and bolted together. The tail vise is just the screw type with the grid work of wood underneath keeping everything in line. I made my own wooden dogs out of padauk just because running into a metal dog is just something I don’t want to deal with. And here’s a link to my blog: Derrevog.Blogspot.com. Thanks and I hope you like it!

IMG_0387 IMG_0385 IMG_0383 IMG_0356

Bill’s Humble Shop – Shop Tour

June 24, 2009 by thewoodwhisperer · 7 Comments
Filed under: Basements 

This Viewer Shop comes from Bill (BillBoard). Let’s check it out!

I had never been able to saw a straight line or even nail a board. About three years ago my son needed my help on his Eagle Scout project. We struggled but with lots of help, built a playhouse on the church playground. Afterwards I took the leftover lumber and made myself a little workbench. I began picking up a tool here and there and before I knew it, I wanted to make a few projects. For fifteen years my life revolved between my two sons. My oldest kept us at the baseball fields 9 months out of the year and my youngest kept me busy as an Assistant Scoutmaster. My extra activities had come to and end and I am so glad I found woodworking. My wife and sons even get into it occasionally. The following are a few photos of my humble little shop.

image013This is my first workbench made from leftover Eagle project. A grinder, sander and drill press are in the background. Also is the pegboard and table saw.


image014With more scraps I made a stand for a hand-me-down miter saw, complete with an old Kirby for dust collection. Also are shelves for sanders, jigsaw and such.


image015When the wood started piling up I had to make lumber rack, cutoff bin. The router table sits below.



image016After the projects started, I decided I needed a better workbench. I made this one with a low budget. The large and small shoulder vises came from Highland Woodworking.


image017I started playing around on a lathe and had to have one. I have made several bowls now. Plan to start turning pens soon..



image018My latest purchase, from Highland Woodworking, is my new 14 inch Steel City band saw. I plan on picking up the riser block and fence later on. I have already cut bowl blanks and attempted a collapsible castle.


Well, that’s my little shop. I started off small but I plan to upgrade most of the tools. Over the last couple of years I have made several projects including Adirondack chairs, quilt racks for charity, a cedar chest for my wife among other items. You can check them out at: http://lumberjocks.com/billboard You can check out my shop cam at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bills-basement-woodworking-shop or on Marc’s cam list. I am live in the shop a couple of days a week. I have been enjoying my new hobby, especially bowl turning. I plan to take the bowl turning classes at Highland Woodworking soon.

Frank’s Workbench – Project of the Week

September 5, 2008 by thewoodwhisperer · 6 Comments
Filed under: Shop Projects 

This week’s project comes from Frank (yep, the Woodcraft guy from Ep. 62). Let’s hear what he has to say:

Well, I finally completed my workbench. I would love to have a typical European style bench with a large twin screw vice on the side, but I have neither the space nor the funds. Furthermore, I needed a bench that I can easily move by myself, yet is strong enough to work with mortising chisels or hand planes. Also, because of my height, I prefer a bench that stands just a little higher than most.

This bench turned out to be a pretty good compromise. Its design revolves around the Zyliss vice and Veritas Bench Dogs / Wonder Dogs / Surface Clamp. My father purchased a Zyliss vice back in the 70’s and I have been very impressed with them ever since. New, they tend to be pretty expensive but if you keep your eyes open they are quite reasonable on eBay. I now have four of them.

The light wood is Alder and the darker is Eucalyptus. The Eucalyptus is not only beautiful but also tough as nails. I will say that if I were to do it again, I would replace the Alder with Hard Maple. The Alder is softer than I expected. I made the feet out of Ash to handle the abuse of being moved around. All of the joinery is either pairs of 10×50mm Dominos or Miller dowels. I finished it with Danish Oil and several coats of wax.



Bob in Georgia – Shop Tour

August 5, 2008 by thewoodwhisperer · 15 Comments
Filed under: Standalone 

This week’s Shop comes from Bob in GA. This is what he has to say:

When I first met this 12 1/2 X 17 1/2 (ID) block building, it was in shambles. The roof was nearly gone and the unpainted block walls were dirty and moldy from neglect. The inside concrete floor was turning to powder from exposure to the elements from the near missing roof. The door did not function and many of the windows were broken. I almost made the decision to bulldoze it down.

After learning a little history about our property, we found out that this building served as the small town fire house back in the horse and buggy days. The wagon itself was kept in this building and the horses were kept in the stable located nearby. Armed with this knowledge, I decided the building would not be torn down, but rather restored and made to look like a country store which would house my woodworking hobby. Much work went into the building over a 3 year period to bring it to what you see in the pictures. I widened the sidewalk making a platform that allows me to roll my tools outside to work on nice days. This makes clean up really great and adds work space as well. Although the shop is small on space, I keep it well organized which makes it adequate and safe to work in. I have grown to love my little corner in the world and would not trade it for triple the space, even if I had that choice.

Outside of Shop Entrance

Back Wall Right Corner Workbench


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