What's On Your Workbench?

[Gary_M]

Yessir! That's why I said @SlingBlader's workbench is worth like $6,000! Well, I said that earlier this week, it's probably worth more like $6,357 today.

My top is just 4" thick... so probably not quite $6k... although, it's made of hard maple and not construction grade 2x material... so it's much cheaper.

And it will cost $1200 to fill up your truck with gas to go pick up that $3k in 2x6s.

I borrowed my dad's truck to haul 200 board feet of hard maple home for the bench build. I think it only cost me $20 in gas to top it off. Some assembly was required, naturally.

 

[Beej]

I started modeling a workbench. Does that count?
View attachment 4335799
Still a few things to add, like a leg vice and an end vice. I'm still highly torn between a split-top or a traditional top. I like the idea of a spilt-top so you can then install a stop-gap. If you want to take it a step further (because like Diamond Dave says, if a little is good... ) you could build the stop-gap so it raises up and becomes a planing stop as well.

This is mostly an exercise for me to understand all the pieces and even get material count out of it. You can buy plans online, you can watch a ton of YouTube builds, but I like the cheap method of just modeling it myself. The advantage of having a job that literally places me in front of 3D modeling software all day, huh? Oh yeah, the fact that I've literally had nothing to do for 6 hours of this work day helps too.
I'm glad I'm salary!

I dunno about this design... The back legs are longer than the front causing the front to tip towards you so all of your things will slide off onto the floor, plus they are further apart from one another than the front legs, plus the top is trapezoidal and so won't sit closely to other tools or benches in your shop, and the top actually also appears to curve upwards towards the left rear surface which might really complicate it's use.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Another way to make a cool workbench is to buy a mechanic's tool cabinet with the casters and rolling drawers. Or two. The build an overhanging wood bench top on top of it (them). From Harbor Freight or Craigslist, you can probably get a tool cabinet for less than the new lumber to build the legs and base of a traditional wood bench. And lots of storage space for....tools!

I did that very thing as a tool stand for my drum sander

 

[Jeff Siddall]

For one of my builds I am planning on using X5 "candybar" size pickups:

Bass Candybars - Bartolini Pickups & Electronics

Since I should be getting the pickup bobbins and magnets within the next month I figured I should come up with a cover solution. Unfortunately I haven't found any off-the-shelf covers in this size so decided to have a go at making a wood cover. I started by making a printable template that I glued to the top of the pickup as a guide for length, width, corner radius and screw hole locations. I had some curly maple offcuts which I cut slightly oversized on the table saw. I glued the template to the wood and went at it on the belt/disc sander. Then on to the drill press for a countersink and a through hole, then some hand sanding and finally a coat of oil. Still need to router the guts, but for an hour or so of work I thought this turned out pretty well:

I will eventually need to make 5 of these out of wenge. I already wrote a G-code generator for doing pickup covers so I might try the CNC for those.

 

[Jon Clegg]

Just off my workbench: WBO2021 bass, A medium scale (32.5") Five-string. Lot's of things related to 5 here:

An now on the workbench, a 1970's Epiphone ET-275, needed a new nut and fixing the electronics to get the bridge pickup to work.

 

[Jeff Siddall]

Just off my workbench: WBO2021 bass, A medium scale (32.5") Five-string. Lot's of things related to 5 here

Are those modular pickup carriers on there?

 

[Jon Clegg]

Are those modular pickup carriers on there?

That would be cool, but no those are rings designed to hide my screw-ups on the initial routing. but maybe I should call them that.

 

[John_Nicholas]

While not on my workbench, it is a new workbench! Another Craigslist find. It's a great shape, no dents, no rust, everything works and the keys were provided. Only $150.00

I really needed the extra storage and it's perfect to hold my two sanders.

And this other find from 3 weeks ago wasn't posted but this was another very lucky Craigslist find. At only $60. it was so filthy and dirty, but it runs, holds pressure and is super quiet for an air compressor!

So very strange to be finding these deals now, I've been searching for years and missed out on so many.... maybe it's my time??

 

[TerribleTim68]

I'm still a little chapped that I missed out on a hand plane this weekend. Found an older Stanley #7 listed, not in horrible shape, but plenty of surface rust, for $60. Was about an hour and a half drive from home. Talked to the seller Friday evening, told the guy I could come get it on Sunday. He messaged me Saturday to tell me he sold it to someone else.

I really want a #7. Don't ask me why, I have a jointer. I just do.

 

[John_Nicholas]

I'm still a little chapped that I missed out on a hand plane this weekend. Found an older Stanley #7 listed, not in horrible shape, but plenty of surface rust, for $60. Was about an hour and a half drive from home. Talked to the seller Friday evening, told the guy I could come get it on Sunday. He messaged me Saturday to tell me he sold it to someone else.

I really want a #7. Don't ask me why, I have a jointer. I just do.

I hate when that happens! Being on both sides, I do understand, the first person to show up with cash gets it. In the past I held things for people and turned away folks who would have bought my item and they not only never showed up when they said they would be refused to respond to emails... at least the seller was nice enough to contact you!

Of course you want a #7, they are awesome! I have been looking for either that or a jointer plane for almost 3 years!! Spotted some of EBay, but the shipping makes it too expensive, well that and they ask huge money even for planes that look like were shot out of a cannon and lived on the bottom of a lake for a couple of decades!

One day maybe...

 

[TerribleTim68]

...Spotted some of EBay, but the shipping makes it too expensive, well that and they ask huge money even for planes that look like were shot out of a cannon and lived on the bottom of a lake for a couple of decades!

One day maybe...

Yeah, I been watching a lot of different "places" and it seems like a very rusty, crusty #7 gets listed for a minimum of $150 and then another $40 shipping. I have one option here locally that I could go pick up for $150, but I really don't have that much to spend right now nor do I need it all that bad. I feel like it's one of those things that I'd use once every 6 months for one thing and the rest of the time it would be part of a YouTube backdrop the likes of Uncle Crowe's.

 

[dwizum]

Aren't they like $140 new? Not that that would stop someone from selling a magical old one for more than that.

 

[John_Nicholas]

Aren't they like $140 new? Not that that would stop someone from selling a magical old one for more than that.

While you can buy a new one at that price, the older vintage planes are of tremendously higher quality. The older ones have actual wood handles )usually rosewood?), not polymer and the sole and the frog have closer tolerances. These are also great reasons NOT to buy a used one you can't see first.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Aren't they like $140 new? Not that that would stop someone from selling a magical old one for more than that.

No, cheapest quality one I've found new is the one Rockler sells, for roughly $320.
Yes, there's one on Amazon for $150. But I've also seen some good videos by Matt Estlea where he got one of those Amazon hand planes and it literally took him days to get it to work correctly. They are not flat and true, the parts are not machined well so they don't line up correctly, the adjustments don't adjust properly and the irons (blade) are not heat treated correctly and won't hold an edge for more than about a dozen strokes.

 

[TerribleTim68]

The older Stanley planes are held in higher regard. I am lucky to have an older #4 that was gifted to me. It had a lot of surface rust, but cleaned up very well -

I completely disassembled this one and gave it a full restoration. It's not perfect, but it's close enough for me. I'm not the best at sharpening these and I also don't have a very good sharpening setup. But I hope to remedy that in the near future. There's something oddly satisfying about making shavings by hand that just doesn't translate to machines.
This pic was when I planed the surface of Lucifer's neck before gluing on the fretboard. It would have been better handled with a #7, or even a #6, but this was what I had at the time. I like the idea of using some hand methods mixed in here and there, it just feels better.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Okay, now my workbench has this one it -

So thanks to the help of @John_Nicholas I now have a soldering station. We worked out a deal for a used unit he had upgraded from and was even nice enough to throw in a small roll of solder, some random wires and spare pots to practice on. Appreciate you John!

I love that this group continues to be the moat supportive of this bizarre hobby. There's no way I would have ever gotten this far without all of you.

Oh, and I got a new set of chisels too.

 

[the baint]

Nice! I’ve got that same unit. Gets plenty hot and is a major upgrade from the pencil iron I had before. Get one of this style of coiled brass tip cleaners instead of a wet sponge: https://www.circuitspecialists.com/content/112545/ty-98.jpg

Also, with that set of Japanese chisels, if you find you want to upgrade, one of the best woodworking tips I got when starting was to buy them one at a time only as needed. So if you find you need a certain size a lot, consider spending on a high quality of that size, instead of feeling like you have to get a full set.

 

[dwizum]

I have a whole rack of planes, old and new. I guess I just don't quite buy in to the "the older ones are better" as hard as some people do. I'm willing to accept that people will have different takes on this though.

 

[ThaCoast]

Lots has been going on my workbench rotation, This one was part of it, but it's back on it again.

^^^Built myself a custom Bass VI (this was two years in the making, my best friend did the artwork & i'm amazed by her talent). String trees were added after this pic was taken. But am in a wiring hiccup so to speak - wondering if anyone could help?

^^^This is the wiring schematic i was utilizing for this bass VI (photo from the last bass outpost, link here for more description.

^^^These are the positions which the DPDT 3 way switch would give me. Baritone is the bass cut, the choke bypass would be normal as in full range of the pickup no boost or cut in anything, & position 3 would be bass boosted (this mod was done to a gibson eb-2D bass which has the mudbucker at the neck).

my hiccup: i have the bass boosted tone on both the centre & 3rd position. I have the baritone/low cut on 1st position, i do not have the bypassed choke/full pickup range in the centre position. I'm at a loss as to where in my wiring circuit my hiccup would be, i've tested continuity on all lugs/grounds & everything checks out.

^^^This is my visual schematic done on DIY layouts, & also how i wired my bass VI.

Anyone with an idea of where my hiccup would be, what i could change, etc is welcome.

 

[dwizum]

What switch are you using? If it's a typical on-on-on as you'd use for a three way pickup select switch, the poles probably aren't connected per your green lines in the middle position. An "on-off-on" three position mini switch would work the way you've drawn it though (the second switch position essentially results in no connections between the contacts, which is what you want).