Just Little Stuff Now

This weekend I pushed hard to get this bench to a stage where it can live in its new spot in my shop.

First up was cutting the leg tenons flush to the top, then flattening the top. Somehow it had developed an 1/8" hump right in the middle of its 110" length. Crud. I was not in the mood to remove that much material by hand. We took it off on the 16" Northfield. I had to remove the guard to make the cut, and then plane off a couple inch band that the 16" cutterhead couldn't get, but it was quicker and easier than shoving my #5 for an hour. Did it come off the jointer flat? Well, mostly. I still had to take about three traversing passes down the top to get it as flat as I wanted. I left the plane tracks on the top and called it done. I don't have a toothing plane, so this texture will work for me.

The shelf boards went in next, and then I installed the leg vise. My plan was to wait until winter to install the iron ring ferrule on the screw hub, but I couldn't wait. My screw is quite dry right now (my shop is climate controlled) and I fit the ring very tightly. I don't expect it to change much this winter. 

What can I say about the leg vise? I like it. It's not as quick and easy as our Glide, but I knew it wouldn't be. I wanted this bench to be as much like Plate 11 as possible. I did cave and install a Crisscross Solo instead of using Roubo's loose piece of wood at the bottom as a pivot for the chop. I knew that would annoy me to no end. The Crisscross works flawlessly, and I wouldn't trade it.

At the FORP, I didn't get to pick most of my bench parts until all had selected theirs. A couple of my legs are pretty gnarly (I don't mind, I like the character). But when it came to the leg vise chop, something I'd be looking at quite frequently, I'd sifted through the pile and found a nice one. I wasn't quite sure how nice at the time, but after getting it milled up and wiping a bit of thinner on, I was sure. I resawed about 1" off the face of the stock (16/4 was far too thick for the 2-1/2" chop) and was surprised at how stable this stock is. No movement off the bandsaw. Impressive especially for an unbalanced cut. I will have to resaw the off cut again and make a bookmatched panel for a wall cabinet or the like.

Next up, the planing stop, drawer, and tool rack. I'm not installing my label until I have my holdfast holes drilled.