Look at those gams!   <insert wolf whistle here>  In this post we’ll show how we’ve attached the front two legs, added some blocking around the vise and attached the apron with a cut out for the drawer.

As you’ll remember from the previous post (here), the legs have an “L” attached to provide some extra support for the rather heavy butcher block table top.   For the back legs, we’ve cut 2 notches into the top.  This will allow a single structural pillar to go from the caster all the way up to support the shelves.   We used the router with a pattern bit and the plywood pieces shown in the photos as the pattern (or fence) for the router bit bearing to ride against.  While there is a small disadvantage to using a router given it leaves rounded corners, the cut is beautiful and there isn’t any blow out  (if executed properly).  A pull saw makes quick work of squaring off the inside corner and gives us a nice crisp square.  You can see the legs dry fit in place in the photos below. They are not attached yet because we’ve got some work to do with the drawer runners and back apron first.  You will see all of that work in a future update.

The front legs have been attached using 4 loose tenons each and slow cure epoxy.  Epoxy has a bit more shear strength which is why we’re using it for this application.  This bench is going to be pushed and pulled and used.  Not put in a corner and babied.  ”Nobody puts Baby in the corner!”  (sorry I regressed to the 80s there).  We build furniture to be used!

The front apron has to be split to accommodate the vise.  Because we want it to be still be structural, we’ve added some additional blocking to the side of the vise’s blocking.  The apron blocking was also attached with loose tenons and epoxy.  The small bit of apron between the vise and front left leg (remember the table is still upside down in the photos) has been attached via tenons to each other and to the table top.   The larger portion of the apron has a hole for the drawer cut from the middle thus leaving the remainder of the board one piece and integral.   It has been attached to the right leg using standard blind mortise and tenon joinery and the apron blocking using through tenons.  We’ve added some cosmetic molding pieces to hide the through tenons.   Two more molding pieces were placed on the apron for symmetry.

Next up … the gigantic drawer .. that doubles as a flotation device!  You will get that reference if you if you follow on us on  Twitter, Instagram (@FromTheHCWShop) or like us on Facebook.  We provide more frequent updates via social media because it’s fast and we can spend more time in the shop!

For this update we’ll be showing you how we’ve blocked the table top to correctly space and accommodate the bench vise, laminated Mahogany for the legs and created shoes to properly attach the casters.

Our customer wanted a vise that wouldn’t get in the way of the table top.   Quality vises are heavy.  That’s a good thing for longevity and leverage, but it also takes a bit of accommodating. If you are hanging a nearly 40lbs vise off a table top, it had better be secure!  We’ve used slow set epoxy to attach a lamination of Oak and Mahogany to to align the top of the vise with the table top.  Four holes were drilled through this blocking for the bolts that will hold the vise.  We then further put 6 huge Beech loose tenons in at angles through the blocking into the Maple tabletop.   This results in the bolts being captured thus relying on the wood  and not the threads of lag bolts for long term reliability.  Two things are accomplished by these extra steps.    Many vises have the same bolt pattern, so securing the bolts this way will allow it to be removed or even changed out down the road should the need arise but it won’t work it’s way loose.  Had we just screwed the vise into the bottom of the table,  with the wood’s natural expansion and contraction and the stress that will be put on the vise with repetitive ammunition reloading, those screws would have eventually worked themselves loose.  No one wants a wiggly vise!

For the 4 legs, we’ve laminated 2 4/4 rough lumber Mahogany boards.   After being properly jointed and planed (dimensioned) the final legs ended up being ~3 1/2″ x 2 7/8″.  The front two legs will go under the table and the back two are going “through” the table top up to the upper shelves and pigeon holes.  We didn’t want to attach the shelves and pigeons to the table top as a separate unit.  This method will be much stronger and allow for more weight.  Probably a little hard to visualize without a picture, but you will see in the next post what I mean.    We added a 2 part “L” cleat to each leg where the Maple table top will be attached.  The back portion of the ‘L’ was attached with 4 loose tenons and the leg of the “L” was attached to the back with 2 loose tenons.  Some epoxy was added for good measure since we’ve got some end grain to work with.

Next we made shoes for the legs.  Yes, shoes… well maybe work boots because I can’t see our bench in Louis Vuittons.  The casters have to be bolted to the legs.  Because we wanted to allow for the casters to be removed or exchanged  and the bench to hold up to a life time of being moved around on those casters,  we had to come up with a better solution than just directly screwing into the end grain.  SHOES!  We laminated 3 pieces of Mahogany and cut them a bit wider than the legs. We routed a “socket” for the legs to go into and then recessed 4 threaded inserts for the bolts to screw into.    You could use this bench as elephant transport and I doubt it would even squeak (though please do not actually try that!).

The next update will show the legs being attached and more fun.  Stay tuned.

A beautiful multi-functional workbench is our next project.   As most of us do, our customer needs their workbench to wear different hats.  It will be used for some DIY home improvement projects, ammunition reloading & other general workbench type stuff.  Our Customer provided a website as a starting off point (much as one would use pictures from Pinterest as an inspiration board) and asked for more durable construction techniques  with some additional customization.   Our workbench will not use metal brackets to hang the drawer slides, stain to make coniferous wood look more expensive nor lag bolts for assembly.  Don’t get me wrong… Douglas Fir is great for somethings, but we won’t make any of our furniture out of Christmas Trees!    Our customer will be able to will this workbench to their Grands without a second thought.

We’re making a Maple butcher block top and using a combination of Honduran and African Mahogany for everything else.   We’ve been asked to put the bench on casters and provide extra pigeon holes for storage.

We purchased all of the rough lumber and let it acclimate to the shop.  As usual for this time of year, the weather is a roller coaster.  Swinging between highs in the 30s to highs in the 60s in the same week. We are careful to watch the weather and adjust accordingly.

The rough Maple was dimensioned  (jointed & planed) and cut into strips. The strips were dimensioned again to insure a very tight joint.  Mortises were added to each piece for alignment and extra strength.  When all of the strips were glued together, they were  joined with Beech loose tenons.  We staged the table top glue up into 3 groups of 5 or 6 strips that each measured approx 1 7/8″ wide by 1 3/4″ tall.  Once those three sections were completely dried, mortises were again drilled to accommodate additional loose tenons.  The three sections were glued together and allowed to completely dry.    The ends were trimmed and the top sanded flat resulting in a ~1 5/8″ x ~31 1/2″ butcher block style table top.

Next steps are the build up under the table top for the vise and the lamination of the Mahogany legs.