Category: Saw Bench

Saw Bench Pt 3 – I May Have Cheated, but at Least I’m Done

First things first, the saw bench is COMPLETE!

My cheating is not as bad as it sounds. I would have to say that this bench was built 95% by hand. When I decided that I would use dowels for the joinery, in the back of my mind I figured I’d use a drill. I don’t have a brace at the moment and I really wanted this done so I’m completely fine with having used the drill. I did buy a brace and some augers on eBay which will be here this week but like I said, I really wanted to finish this project. Continue reading “Saw Bench Pt 3 – I May Have Cheated, but at Least I’m Done” →

Saw Bench Pt 2 – More Blood Than Sweat and Tears

The milling is finally finished!

While I admit it was probably more planing than may have been necessary, it was definitely a learning experience. My lack of a scrub plane did make things a lot more laborious, but as per a comment from Smitty_Cabinetshop on LumberJoocks, my technique and stance probably did not help. I do admit he was right, but not entirely my fault. Continue reading “Saw Bench Pt 2 – More Blood Than Sweat and Tears” →

Saw Bench Pt 1 – Rubbed Raw

The second project in the Hand Tool School is to build a saw bench. Considering I’m currently sawing all my wood from waist level surfaces, this a definitely a necessity. Shannon’s uses a design that is basically a 5 board bench, except it’s actually 6 boards because it has a ripping notch all the way through. He bought some pine from a big box store so all he really had to do is cut to the dimensions and build. As much as I’d love to do the same to save time,  I’m not gonna spend money where I don’t have to. I have a crap ton of red oak right now, all rough and ranging from 4/4-6/4.

Did I mention this was rough lumber? I’m not just talking about it not being surfaced, I mean full of cups, twists, bows and some worm holes. I can’t really complain though. A guy I work with got me about 130 for $50 from his fathers saw mill in MS! That’s about $.38 a bdft! Plus I got a good amount of quarter sawn lumber as well.

Anyhow, back to the saw bench. Continue reading “Saw Bench Pt 1 – Rubbed Raw” →