Building The Anarchist's Workbench - Part 1: Benchtop, Legs, and Stretchers - Woodworking
Vložit
- čas přidán 6. 01. 2021
- In this series, I am building a workbench inspired by the book "The Anarchists Workbench" by Christopher Schwarz. You can download a pdf copy of this book for free, or purchase a hard copy at the link below.
lostartpress.com/collections/...
This is the first of a (probably) 3-part series. In the next episode, I assemble the parts built in this episode to make the bench. That will be coming soon. - Jak na to + styl
![Watch me BUILD this beautiful WORKBENCH…[2 Month Timelapse]](/img/n.gif)
Awesome work! Thanks for the video series
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for posting this. I am starting my bench soon and hoped that someone would put out a video of the build.
Very nice. I'm looking forward to more.
Thanks!!
Awesome job man! I'm starting mine today, will report back on how it goes :).
Can’t wait!
Great work. This is going to be an excellent bench. It will serve its purpose well for (many) decades.
BTW: A Stanley #80 cabinet scraper works well for removing glue, among other things, and you won't need to beat up your block plane -- or your plane hand.. FWIW.
I’ve read the book twice now. The more I look at it, the more I love it and am slowly convincing myself I don’t need a wagon vice on my next bench.
Thanks for mentioning about the book. I had no idea about Robo and the book, with your comment I started searching and ended up downloading the full 300+ pager book last night and I'm in page 230 now (in 12 hours)!!
Seems like that hand saw needs sharpening it should get through a 2x4 in 3 to 5 full strokes nice job on a good solid work bench
This is a pretty solid little workbench. While once you figure out how it comes together, it is physically Easy to assemble czcams.com/users/postUgkxyFZUPFEey-PuqsPMxqaykBhgA1LWxFHh by yourself. But the diagrams explaining the steps are really pretty bad. I could not get the handle pins in all the way despite multiple attempts, so I just used a screw I had on hand for the 2nd handle. I could not get the first pin in further or pull it back out. You are supposed to hammer it in, but I had no leverage and the handle is plastic and I did not want to risk breaking it. I will get a lot of use out of the bench because of the convenient size and height. It does fold up nicely for storage. They even explain how to fold it so you don't get pinched...that is important!
I get tired of this being touted as the beginner's workbench.
It's more like the carpenter turning into a woodworker's workbench.
I know Chris said something about just shooting a few pin nails into the pieces you laminate to hold them in place and then tightening down the clamps.. I don’t know if I could make myself do it, but it’s an interesting thought.
I've heard you can also sprinkle a pinch of sand or salt into the glue, makes adjusting it harder but it largely stops moving once it's got a little pressure.
Love the video, great bench. Small suggestion, try brushing your plane shavings across the bench instead of along it. You'll get many fewer splinters in your hand over time.
Get a shop brush. Clears bigger areas faster and more effectively plus they're splinter free
Great looking bench. Getting ready to make this myself. Was your lumber flat enough that you didn't need to join it first with a jointer?
Thanks! Yeah, the planer did the job fine.
Fine book by a fine man. Beefy bench! love the scrub plane
A liiiiiittle pinch of salt between boards will prevent them from floating around on the glue.
Actually?? I’ve never heard that one 😅
@@huewnmakes5831 Yep. I’ve seen it suggested any number of places.
What about saw dust, would that work as well? I'm half slug and I'm afraid that if I use salt, it will slow my work progress down.
@@zc1581 maybe? The deal with salt is that it actually acts as an aggregate, sorta digging into the faces of the boards just enough to slow down float. Supposedly it then dissolves because water, but.. yeah who knows :P
Nice, I plan to build one too.
Great vids on the build Sir. Did you consider the sliding dovetail legs vs by the book m & t's? I'm at the "leg" stage and debating on which way to proceed. Thanks for any input 👍
Appreciate it! I did consider something like it, but it seemed like a lot more work than it was worth, plus this way I could theoretically switch out the benchtop/base in the future should one get damaged.
Nice job, like the bench, gonna tackle it myself soon so just curious, is there a reason you didn’t put the three top sections through the thicknesser. Cheers :)
Fear. Lol, in reality I was working alone and they were really pretty heavy, heavy enough to topple the thicknesser. If you have access to a bigger, sturdier one it would definitely be smarter to do it the way you mentioned. One thing I do like about the way I did it, however, is that I left the underside just scrub planed and I love running my hand over the grooves under the bench.
Nice video man, I'm in the middle of his book now.
Good choice!
Re watching this now that I've finished the book.
You state that you cut the top to 6 feet.
Did you modify it from the original 8?because that's what I'm having to do. My shop is 10 x 18 so a 8 foot wide. Bench is unreasonable.
If so, how did that affect the holes in the top?
Yeah, I shortened it up because 8 feet was too big. Shorted the length of the base commensurately. I kinda just winged it with the holes, I tried my best to follow the pattern he sets out in the book but tweaked it a little to fit my bench and my work. I’d recommend just studying what he did in the book, then try drawing out a few ideas on the benchtop before you drill them.
@@huewnmakes5831 thanks man, I appreciate these videos you put out
Hey man great videos! Definitly making me want to build my own. Just out of curiosity, I have heard that using pine will cause issues down the road from it moving alot and the top needing to be leveled more often than other woods like a maple top. How has the bench held up since making it? And have you seen any drawbacks to the pine? Definitly a solid looking and functional bench. Just looking for some insight before heading down the building path.
-AJ @craftedinnj
Southern Yellow Pine actually moves less than you’d think! It’s so resinous that it almost acts like a sealant and helps keep it from exchanging moisture. It’s been very good so far, I made it in the dead of winter and with the humidity we’ve had recently in my area I’ve definitely seen a bit of movement but nothing at all worrying, it smells amazing too! I’m going to give it it’s first re-flattening pretty soon and I’ll bet I won’t need to again for a while. I can only think of one drawback, which is that my vise has gotten a little wiggly as the fasteners loosen up their holes. Besides that, it’s great all around.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@huewnmakes5831 thank you for the reply! I'll have to hunt around and see where I could snag some southern yellow in Jersey.
@@huewnmakes5831 lpt
The author addresses this and many other questions about Southern Yellow Pine in the book. It's a free PDF, and you should read the section about yellow pine if you have concerns!
One day I will have that many clamps. For now it's just a dream, like the table. Clamps might actually happen for me though lol good job
What is the deWalt tool you was using to make the wood square?
Dewalt DW7350X. I bought it when they had a special offer so I got that rolling stand for free with it, which is awesome because I can roll it off to a corner when I don’t need it. Saves a lot of space!
George,
What did the dimensions of the top and legs end up finishing at and how much lumber do you think you were able to make by with? I’ve enjoyed the three part series and look forward to seeing more content from you 👍
You can get the book for free, just Google it
@@Kgrhj I have the book and have built two of them. I was wondering what he settled in on for dimensions. You may have noticed he has a ~7” thick top and that’s not ‘by-the-book’, so it’s not impossible to think that he made many multiple alterations to the straightforward design in the book since everyone’s needs and workflow are different. None of my benches have personally ever been identical and that’s varied from material, split/not split, width, height, length, joinery, and hardware. For example, I went from a 26” wide top to a 28” in one iteration Simple because the 28” worked better in windsor chairmaking, but a 22-24” would be preferable if all I did was case work…
@@TheSMEAC fucking what?
You didn’t joint the boards first? Any issues not doing so?
No, I did the jointing after assembly and it worked just fine. Thanks for asking!
How long did the entire build take?
Took me a little under two weeks, 10 days or so. In terms of hours, it's a bit hard to say because a surprising amount of time is dedicated to the camera, but I'd say 25 hours or so of hands-on work.
Can I use yellow pine to build my bench top ? Thanks
That’s what I did
In the book Chris sings praises for the old school steel bar clamps for the top glue up. I’m sure they’re great, and comparatively cheap compared to new parallel clamps, but still not something I’m ready to dump money into - that top glue up go okay for you with f-clamps? That’s more my jam at this moment : )
Yes, it went just fine. As you could see, I just went total overkill on the number of clamps to make up for the difference in strength.
I found that comment in the book very interesting. If you grew up / live in the rust belt....maybe they are available if you go looking. However, in less industrial parts of the country, they cost an arm and a leg. Ive been slowly building up 3/4 pipe clamps. Its the best I can do for the $$.
I totally agree. You have to figure at least he recommended something that could potentially work as well, probably better, and maybe be cheaper than a brand new collection of Be$$ey or Jet parallel clamps, instead of telling you that those are what you need. And actually I’ve also had a lot of success with the Harbor Freight aluminum clamps that Paul Sellers recommends. $9.99 for a 24’’, and $10.99 for a 36’’, plus of course you’ll use the coupon when you go. You just have to at a strip of wood to the inside to make them more rigid and epoxy small pieces of wood to the jaws so they grip better and won’t mar the work, but that takes little time. For other glue up situations they’ve been great for me, I get even glue squeeze out beads on the whole line and can’t sell where the line is a lot of times once a plane’s been taken to it. Yes on those bar clamps you mention too. With those you get pretty close to the steel ones that Chris is talking about with the crank action of the screw and all.
How about using ratchet type tie downs?
@@huewnmakes5831 nonsense. Nothing exceeds quite like excess. Use them all and more if you can get them.
What was your final length?
I believe it's just a tad shy of 72 inches, 70 1/2 or so.
@@huewnmakes5831 Did you make the base a little shorter to match the shorter bench top then? I know his plans are normally for an 8 foot bench
@@bgirdler Yes I did. If I remember correctly, his had an 8' top and 4' base, so I kept the ratio and did a 6' top and 3' base.
I went to look for the plans, and it says the book is $30? Did I do something wrong?
If you go to the store page again, and scroll down in the description, you'll see the link to download the pdf version for free!
@@huewnmakes5831 The book pdf is free, but the Value is easily $30. I love Christopher's writing style and now have purchased a few of this other books. A good read.
hou need a jack plane . bro , and agood scraper !
Keep watching! I have a bedrock 605 I restored and put a veritas blade in. I also have a No. 80 body but I haven’t gotten around to finding a blade for it yet.
If you watch around the 6:30 mark you can see me using my Jack plane, there’s a better shot of it at the end of this series too!
Don't cut lumber in-between sawhorses....if the lumber sags just a fraction of an inch, it will cause you to have a bad day.