Workbench Workmates 10 Ways to make your bench work harder, better

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Workbech Workmates 10 Ways to make your bech work harder, better By Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk T he cabietmaker s bech i our shop is the icest that I ve ever used, but despite its beauty ad braw, it did t

1 Workbech Workmates 10 Ways to make your bech work harder, better By Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk T he cabietmaker s bech i our shop is the icest that I ve ever used, but despite its beauty ad braw, it did t compare with the quirky slab-topped filig cabiet sittig i my garage. After a few moths of strugglig to do tasks that came aturally at home, I recalled the lesso that tured that old slab ito my shop appretice: A workbech is a work i progress. 42 woodcraftmagazie.com I order to grab, guide, ad hold, a workbech eeds a arseal of bech mates. The right accessories ca trasform eve a solid-core door ito a capable ad comfortable workstatio. Tired of comig up with Rube Goldberg-style solutios for commo woodworkig chores, I picked my favorite fixtures ad adapted them to fit our ew bech. These accessories are t Dec/Ja 2010 revolutioary, but I ve tweaked the desigs to better complemet each other, multiplyig their versatility. (These fixtures work just as well with power saders ad sadig blocks as they do with chisels ad plaes.) If you d like to take your workbech up a otch, here s your chace. Buildig these accessories is a lot easier tha tryig to grow a third had.

Space the holes 6" apart.) Plaig stops, as see i the opeig photo, are plai simple. They re othig more tha 3/8"-thick wood strips studded with a pair of dowels sized ad spaced to fit the bech.

2 Plaig stops, dogs, ad wedges A good vise is oly half the equatio. I order to catch ad hold, you ll eed a few flexible poits to clamp agaist. (If your bech does t have dog holes, it s time to reach for your drill. Make two parallel rows of ¾"-diameter holes alog your bech s frot edge ad a perpedicular row aliged with your ed vise. Space the holes 6" apart.) Plaig stops, as see i the opeig photo, are plai simple. They re othig more tha 3/8"-thick wood strips studded with a pair of dowels sized ad spaced to fit the bech. The stop s thickess leaves eough wood to achieve a decet glue joit with the dowel, but does t usually iterfere whe plaig thi stock. (Whe plaig or scrapig thier material, place your work o top of a piece of 1/8"-thick hardboard.) Dogs, or sigle-dowel stops, come ext. I rak them just uder plaig stops because they do t work well without a parter such as a stop, vise, or aother dog. For plaig or scrapig, a plaig stop works well eough o its ow. The dogs show why roud dog holes have the edge over square holes. The roud studs allow the heads to rotate ad automatically fid clampig poits o parts that do t lie up with the vise. This rotatioal advatage comes ito full play whe teamed with a wedge. As show i Photo A, the combo ca replace clamps for delicate glue-ups. A larger wedged stop ca be a simple but effective substitute for a vise, especially whe dressig small parts (Photo B). I additio to providig a istataeous grip, the stop uses the top as backup so that A Parter up square dogs ad small wedges to joi thi stock. Waxed paper prevets the pael from stickig. B Slide the workpiece ito the hook to lock it i place. Tap the wedge's small ed to release the vise-like grip. the stock does t bed whe plaig, scrapig, or sadig. To make a wedged stop, fit a plaig stop diagoally across your bech ad the work out the agle o a piece of cardboard before trasferrig the patter oto 3/8"-thick plywood. Plaig Stop Wedged Stop Square Dogs Small Wedge Photos: Jim Osbor Dec/Ja 2010 woodcraftmagazie.com 43

Jacks come i almost as may flavors as workbeches, but most fall ito two categories: built-is that slide alog the frot ad after-the-facts that clamp ito a tail vise.

3 Board jacks ad vise Boards ad paels usually require some edge work, whether it s plaig off burs or saw marks, joitig, or mortisig a hige. To make full use of the frot of your bech you eed a board jack, a solid poit to rest the free ed of your workpiece so that you ca grab the other ed with your vise. Jacks come i almost as may flavors as workbeches, but most fall ito two categories: built-is that slide alog the frot ad after-the-facts that clamp ito a tail vise. The first work well with short boards, but it s hard to justify the retro-work ivolved i such a upgrade. My jack (Photo C) is easier tha a major retrofit, but like a slider, it moves easily alog the frot of your bech ad works idepedetly of a ed vise. Made from cheap 2 ad 4 stock, the jack stads i the corer whe ot i use. Use the figure as a guide, but ote that you ll eed to adjust the height of the face so that the head fits uder your bechtop. Drill the pi holes so that the face of the jig sits flush with the frot edge of your workbech. Sometimes oe fixture leads to the ext. Whe I first put the jack to use, the wide jawed vise racked (the ope ed closed more tha the other); cosequetly, it failed to provide the ecessary grip. This self-settig vise spacer (Iset) solved the problem. To use the spacer sadwich, set it o the opposite ed of your vise. As the jaws ope, the strips will fall ito the gap. 44 woodcraftmagazie.com Board Jack Dec/Ja 2010 Tip Alert Quick-dryig shellac is a perfect jig ad fixture fiish. Wax ca be useful, but go lightly. A little ca help lubricate a stickig dowel; too much will cause accessories to slide aroud your bech. Vise Spacer C Ed vises eed the help of a board jack ad spacer to put the squeeze o log boards ad wide paels. Set the pi o the jack s face to hold the pael at a comfortable workig height.

Shootig boards Those who sometimes struggle with blade bur or eed to seak up o a perfect fit will appreciate this fixture (Photo D).

(The mass ad wide sides of larger plaes make them easier to shoot.) Note, too, that a shootig board also works albeit more slowly with a square-edged sadig block.

sadwich the parts together with glue, clamps, ad screws. Next, use a square to set the fece ad attach it to the base with screws ad glue.

4 Shootig boards Those who sometimes struggle with blade bur or eed to seak up o a perfect fit will appreciate this fixture (Photo D). With a sharp plae, a shootig board ca remove a few thousadths of a ich to both smooth ad square the ed of a board. I made this jig larger tha some others to suit the large No. 6 WoodRiver. (The mass ad wide sides of larger plaes make them easier to shoot.) Note, too, that a shootig board also works albeit more slowly with a square-edged sadig block. Cut the subbase, base, ad ruer o your table saw ad D Use a plae ad shooter to seak up o a perfect fit. The matchig hook works as both a support ad a stop. sadwich the parts together with glue, clamps, ad screws. Next, use a square to set the fece ad attach it to the base with screws ad glue. Attach the frot face with screws but o glue so that you ca shim it as eeded to make it perfectly perpedicular to the ruway. To use the shootig board, set your plae to make a very light, square cut. Hold the workpiece firmly agaist the fece, ad exted oe edge over the ruway. As you plae, focus o keepig the tool flat o its side ad sug to the edge of the base. (A few pecil lies o the ed of your stock will help you gauge your plaig progress.) The shootig board also fie-tues miters (Photo E). As show i the figure ad photo below, the miter fece is a plywood triagle with a gripfriedly recess i the ceter ad sadpaper stuck to the workig edge. (Additioal miter agles are oly a few mitersaw cuts away.) The bech hook supports log boards ad serves as a plaig platform for short stock (Photo D, Iset). I made the hook s base loger tha the shooter ad attached the fece with bladefriedly dowels istead of ails. E Attach the triagular fece to fie-tue miters. Adhere sadpaper to the workig edge of the triagle to prevet the stock from slippig. Shootig Board Bech Hook Dec/Ja 2010 woodcraftmagazie.com 45

Saw guides Mitersaws replaced miterboxes for good reaso, but big blades do t play well with small parts. Uless you like trips to the ER, you eed small-part sawig statios.

Although they look differet, both miter blocks are built i the same fashio. Size the fece to fit your saw. Adjust the thickess so that the tips of the teeth just touch the base.

To attach the multi-piece fece, I clamped a straight board to the base for referece ad the used the saw to positio each block oe blade width from the ext.

5 Saw guides Mitersaws replaced miterboxes for good reaso, but big blades do t play well with small parts. Uless you like trips to the ER, you eed small-part sawig statios. The woodworkig world is split betwee push ad pull saws, so I built a pair of saw guides Push-Saw Miter Block (Photos F ad G). Although they look differet, both miter blocks are built i the same fashio. Size the fece to fit your saw. Adjust the thickess so that the tips of the teeth just touch the base. Next, cut a small rabbet alog the fece s frot edge to fit Pull-Saw Miter Block the cuttig mat (available at craft stores). Fially, use your mitersaw to cut the 45 ad 90 agles. To attach the multi-piece fece, I clamped a straight board to the base for referece ad the used the saw to positio each block oe blade width from the ext. F G Push- ad pull-saw miter blocks guide the blades ad help hold short stock. The cuttig mat protects the saw teeth ad jig ad provides ballpark measuremets. Servig Tray Sharpeig Statio This simple statio has everythig I eed to maitai my mostused edge tools, but portability is its mai sellig poit. Place the tray o your bech or couter, ad you ll fid yourself sharpeig whe you should. I sized the tray to fit my two favorite sharpeig systems. Diamod stoes, used with a few drops of mieral oil, quickly fix icks. Hoig film, attached to a graite plate, provides a reliably flat surface that s for touchig up a edge. The lid keeps the abrasive dust-free ad helps corral sharpeig gear. 46 woodcraftmagazie.com Dec/Ja 2010

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