Cheat Sheet: The Minimum Timber Bench
Added 2022-10-22 11:00:06 +0000 UTCFriends:
I'm a bit exhausted from travel and other things (like reporting sales tax), so this is going to have to be my week "off" for the month. But never fear; we've begun several new projects that will be done in the next few weeks. It's time to get back to building stuff and I've got a bunch of nice projects coming!
In the meantime, a few people on the forum have expressed interest in building the Minimum Timber Bench even before the plans are done, so I've had my CAD designer put together an exploded view that shows each component as well as a stock list. It's not a full set of plans, but it gives a lot of detail and it's a fun preview of things to come.
Also, we recently made several changes to the back-end of the forum, so it should now be much easier to get on. If you've been frustrated trying to get on the forum, please give it another shot and let me know how it goes in the comments for this post. Patreon has not made things easy on us, but we're trying very hard to get the forum fixed. Once you're on, you can check out the build thread, which also has all the videos I've made about this project.
Happy Saturday!
--Rex
Comments
I use a side shooting board regularly for edge joining. For me at least, it is easier to get a square edge with the shooting board than when holding a board in a front vise. I've joined six foot 6/4 oak planks for a dining room table top this way and six foot 4/4 oak for a matching sideboard. The shooting board for this work was seven feet long and made from MDX ; I use a Stanley #8.
Ed Balko
2022-10-30 19:50:45 +0000 UTCWhat is dimension front to back. I have my lumber all planed and want to start the legs, but drawing only has height measurement
David Niebergall
2022-10-27 22:52:19 +0000 UTCHow do I upload photos of my project?
David Niebergall
2022-10-26 22:07:35 +0000 UTCCan the MTB be taken apart to move or store, or will it be permanently assembled?
David Niebergall
2022-10-26 22:01:48 +0000 UTCCan you describe how to mount front and tail vise.
David Niebergall
2022-10-26 21:55:17 +0000 UTCI built a version of the Quick Stack and love its convertibility and top i can clamp to. Front apron looks like an obstruction.
David Niebergall
2022-10-26 21:53:44 +0000 UTCYes! You're exactly right. Other than that, the bench is symmetrical, so no need to change anything else.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-25 13:06:26 +0000 UTCWell, you have the cut list, so buy the lumber now, while it's cheap. And, yes, no missles.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-25 13:05:49 +0000 UTCI'll do my best!
Rex Krueger
2022-10-25 13:03:19 +0000 UTCI think this cheat sheet will get 'er done if you're experienced, but if you're a rank beginner, this thing might cause more confusion. We'll see.
Rex Krueger
2022-10-25 13:03:12 +0000 UTCThat is EXACLTY what I was hoping for. What a relief!
Rex Krueger
2022-10-25 13:01:03 +0000 UTCYou're both SO right. I'm in a the middle of making a course for this build, and I did the whole thing with machine tools. If you have (at least) a table saw, then making the apron out of smaller pieces is a snap and I JUST finished talking about how to do that in the course. If you're working by hand and you're a beginner, that approach might give you more trouble than just finding a 2x10 (which I chose because it's easier to find than 2x12.)
Rex Krueger
2022-10-25 13:00:42 +0000 UTCThanks for this Rex! As someone who is left-handed, would you recommend putting the diagonal support brace on the right rather than the left, as that's the direction I'll be planing etc?
Alex
2022-10-24 14:07:40 +0000 UTCYeah, I think I like the real plans too much. I'm going to wait until the real ones come out. Of course watching fuel go up several cents a litre most days as our dollar goes through the floor that means freight is about to rise, and consequently what passes for affordable timber will no longer be so. Screwed one way or the other. But nobody's shooting missiles at us eh?
Col Rodrick
2022-10-23 09:14:34 +0000 UTCThank you Rex. have a good week off, if such is possible with taxes looming over your head.
Matt Evans-Koch
2022-10-22 23:37:48 +0000 UTCNice job with the exploded view. In my opinion that and a cut list is all you need. But in terms of selling the plans that might not be your best marketing tool.
Richard C von Brecht
2022-10-22 18:44:48 +0000 UTCYou're absolutely right on all counts. Thanks for sharing your experience. Better to learn those lessons with construction lumber than on expensive hardwood in a heirloom furniture build. At the risk of taking this down a rabbit hole, one way of getting a more-or-less stable construction lumber glue-up is to buy, say, 2x8, and trim off the pith edge so you end up with essentially quarter sawn wood. Since @rexkrueger is/has been showing us how to make benches, etc. using construction lumber, maybe an episode on techniques to make things stable could be in our future?
Brian Taylor
2022-10-22 17:39:18 +0000 UTCIt has been a while since I logged into the forum, and I actually had to go look up the address and dig out my credentials, but I followed the Patreon login prompt, and it worked! I'm in, and didn't have to create a new account or anything. 👍
Patrick Salsbury
2022-10-22 17:18:46 +0000 UTCSure— 3 2x4s or 2 2x6s. I had some trouble with my Roman low bench this past winter — one of my 2x4s had more of a bow in it, and some poor clamping during glue-up resulted in the bench splitting down the length along that one glue seam. A friend of mine with a machine jointer planed both sides smooth and helped me re-glue that line — and then re-planed the bench top! What took me two days of planing with hand planes, took him ten minutes! Aiee. I say all of this, to say that glue-ups with big box store lumber and hand tools for beginners are tricky — and getting things FLAT and SQUARE before you glue is more important than most of us beginners think. Clamps can’t fix a bend or a curve, and if you can see light between the boards when they’re not clamped — then that light will want to be there even when the boards are clamped and the glue is setting. Sooner or later that joint will crack. So Brian you’re absolutely right about sourcing components vs. gluing … we just have to make sure the extra effort makes the component strong enough to last.
Andrew Watt
2022-10-22 13:43:26 +0000 UTCIt occurs to me that builders of this bench could edge join some 2" by X" boards and substitute for the 2"x12" plank. This could alleviate problems of sourcing 2"x12" stock and the potential cost premium, and could arguably yield a more stable component. Of course there is some extra effort involved.
Brian Taylor
2022-10-22 11:21:52 +0000 UTC
