hi, on the woodpecker today, i finish my workbench, including the 4 drawers. in my last episode, i managed to finish the top of my workbench. now i'm going to finish my workbench. but before doing anything else, i check if the workbench height is ok. i can see that the left side is ok but not the right side. but if i put a level on my workbench, i can see it's straight. but i'm just noticing that my table saw is far from being level. it's because of that darn movable base.
i fix the problem; i replace it with two by fours. now renã©e can help me and together we put the top in place. i make sure everything is flush before screwing it in place. next i can nail the side panels. i finish with the back. since i'm there, i screw the vise nut in place. then i can put the vise in place and install the crisscross i've worked on two episodes ago. when the screw is completely screwed, i secure it in place. ha...this works as smoothly as before.
but the chop is too long; i trace its final length and cut it. after placing it on the workbench again, i sand the top smooth. since i have the sander in my hand, i also sand all the epoxy's touch up. i want the chop to have a nice shape. i mark what i want and cut it on the bandsaw. when i'm done, i plane it smooth. the bottom is done with a spokeshave. then i can sand it smooth. and brush the first coat of finish.
while i still have a brush in my hand, i brush a first coat on the top of the workbench. after several hours, i sand the finish and brush a second coat. i do the same thing for a third coat. now that the varnish is dry, i can take care of my workbench’s bench dogs. i'll have to drill some holes onto the workbench top and on the end vise. i start by making a drilling jig. i drill two holes into a piece of two by six scrap. those holes are not the same size; a big one for the drilling bushing and another one to the size of the bench dog. to help me align the holes, i screw a cleat on the edge of the jig.
the first hole i drill is the one at the end of the vise. i clamp my jig to the workbench, and drill a straight hole with the help of the guide bushing. when i'm done, i have my first bench dog. i use it to guide my second one. i insert the small hole on top of the bench dog, clamp the jig and drill the second hole. when i'm done, i remove the guide, clean the hole and check if it's deep enough. since it's not, i drill a little bit more. perfect! i just need to continue this row. when the first row is finished, i begin the second row.
the first hole is on the vise. i drill the same number of holes as for the first row. when i'm done, i chamfer each hole. then i can install the vise in place. no it wasn't... here it is; installed. this is a dream! now i can, for the thousandth time, re-install the leg vise; but for good. when i install the crisscross, i put the locking ring in place. the last thing to do is to screw the vise screw in place.
another dream comes true! but the workbench is not done yet; it needs drawers. to do that, i need more wood. i get some wood i was keeping just for that. i just need to cut and keep the good part. i managed to salvage all that wood. i just need to glue it together. humm this is far from enough; i'll need more wood from that same dresser. but it's not even enough.
so i get some old drawer's sides. one thing for sure, furniture companies don't use as much glue as i do... all the pieces are falling apart. i need to re-glue them together. but to do that, i need to recut all of it in the center of the glue line. i have a nice pile.i need to re-glue it together. i leave it aside for now, but i still don't have enough. so i get some pallet wood and joint them on three sides. then glue it together.the next day, the glue is dry.
i can cut my glue ups a tiny bit wider than my drawer's height. then i cut the end of each of them so i'll be able to joint them end to end. when all the pieces are cut, i glue them together. just like last time, i use epoxy glue thickened with silica powder and glue them together. now i'm pretty sure i have enough wood to make my four drawers. but before starting to work on the actual drawers, i need to install some vertical supports so i'll be able to screw some drawer's slides. so i measure, mark and cut a notch for the front support. for that, i use some old drawer's front.
with the router, i make the ends’ tenons. then i can glue it in place. the back one is much simpler.i glue and screw a piece in place. now i can put the slides in place. they're from the lot i bought when i started my shop cabinet. then it's as simple as screwing both bottom's slides. then, the two in the center. i use a ruler to be sure they're at the same height than the other two. to add a bit of strength, i screw a scrap in between both sliders.
after cutting a scrap piece to the space in between the two drawers, i use it to help me screw the second row of sliders. great.i have all the drawer's slides; but no drawers, just some pieces of wood. so i begin by ripping the pallet wood a little bit wider. after making sure i have one side straight, i plane the other side. now i'm almost ready to start my drawers. but on this day, i'm lucky because i had some help. one viewer wanted to know how to make machine cut dovetails. i abused his good will, just before i got the dovetail jig out.
i told him we needed to have all the pieces cut square and to the same length. then i set a marking gage to the thickness of the wood and mark the end of one test piece. then i adjusted the fingers and the height of the router bit with the marking gage mark. when all those adjustments are done, i can cut the tails. then i change router, and with a straight bit, i cut the pins. that's as simple as that. and just like that i have done one dovetail joint. i repeat this for the four drawers. now i can disassemble them and carve my logo on the sides.
next it's time to cut the bottom grooves. measure their sizes.and cut them. after a last dry fit, i can sand the interiors of the drawers with the final grit. then it's as simple as spreading glue on the pins and tails, slide the bottom and finish the glue up. i need to be careful not to glue the bottom onto the solid wood. after a while, i have four drawers drying. i need to take care of their false front. i want them to look like the side's wainscoting. but their ends look crappy; so i'll take those planks and glue them together to make my false fronts.
but one of them is cupped, i rip it in smaller planks. since it was badly cupped, i re-rip it again to have a straight edge. then i cut all my wood shorter. and glue it together. while the glue dries, i can sand the exterior of each drawer. after removing all the dust, i can wipe the first coat of finish. i wait for a couple of hours before i can sand the first coat of finish. i set the drawers aside for now, because the glue is dry and i can sand my glue up.
when i'm done, i take some measurements and cut them. ok now i know i have two pieces of wood that will cover the entire front of the drawers; i need to make some "v" grooves on them.. to do so, i use a "v" bit. when it's done, i cut both panels in two. then i chamfer them all around. now just like for the side panels, i apply some color on them. it's now time to try my drawers. i begin by screwing the second part of the sliders onto the drawers themselves.
and put them in place. but when i try the last one, something is wrong. ha i forgot about the vise screw. this is an easy fix. now all my drawers are perfect, but i need to remove all of them and brush the second coat of finish. i still have some drawer's pulls, but they're all made out of dark wood and i don't want that. so i'll make new ones from maple. i like this color.i just need to mark their location and drill a hole. then i can install the false fronts.
i just need to hold the false front from the front with the screw hole, pre-drill and screw the false front from the inside. i finish the job by drilling the pull's hole and install them. the second row goes the same way. just like for the first row, i need to put a small shim under the false front so both rows won't touch each other. and with this last screw, my workbench is completely done. i'm really pleased. now i have two workbenches; but this one is movable. i can also use it as an outfeed table.
they're three casters that lock, so it won't move too much. i have a marvelous leg vise with a nice crisscross. i also have a tail vise with two clamping positions. and don't forget all my bench holes. as a bonus, i have more storing place. i hope i didn't bore you too much with this long construction, but i recorded over twenty four hours and a thousand clips just for this monster which took me over two months to complete. but from now on, you'll have the chance to see my new workbench in future episodes of the woodpecker.