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What's On Your Workbench?

#705
Five String said:
Is it repurposed wood? Where did it come from? What sort of finish do you think? Looks really cool.
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Thanks. This one wasn't reclaimed, but definitely has that look to it! It was from a local sawmill which deals in wood with plenty of "character".

An oil finish is my favourite for Walnut, so I will be going that route. The neck's Walnut too...but no cracks/knots in that! It's going to be 50s style with a single coil.
 
#706
Manton Customs said:
Thanks. This one wasn't reclaimed, but definitely has that look to it! It was from a local sawmill which deals in wood with plenty of "character".

An oil finish is my favourite for Walnut, so I will be going that route. The neck's Walnut too...but no cracks/knots in that! It's going to be 50s style with a single coil.
Click to expand...
Be sure to post progress pics
 
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#707
Definitely bass related, but not specifically luthier related, I'm building a rack case for my Orange amp.

rack case.jpg


4stroke500.jpg


Just need to cut out the ventilation, round over the edges, screw in the brass inserts for the rack mount screws, and Duracoat it.
 
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#709
ok this is "next to" my workbench, but today we took receipt of the Jet drum sanding planer. I know some people don't like them, but it's the one thing I still run over to my father's to do, both for basses and for cutting boards my wife is making. It's a 250lb beast, getting it down the cellar stairs through the hatchway was no problem. Gravity is good like that. Getting the machine up on the stand was another story entirely, gravity was not my friend there. Not only is it heavy, but it's not balanced, all the weight is on one side. I thought about calling a friend over to help, but then I thought I'd give it a shot myself first. Using lag bolts I put a metal bar into a floor joist then used ratchet straps to lift the machine up. I only have one long ratchet strap, so I had to use a cam strap to hold it in place while I reset the ratchet strap, the ratchet strap only moves about 6" before it gets jammed up. It worked great.
20181120_153249.jpg

After four or five resets, I got it up high enough to scoot the table under it.
IMG1445739319684472497.jpg

I did a quick leveling of the drum and already planed down one of my wife's cutting boards.
 
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#710
Jisch said:
ok this is "next to" my workbench, but today we took receipt of the Jet drum sanding planer. I know some people don't like them, but it's the one thing I still run over to my father's to do, both for basses and for cutting boards my wife is making. It's a 250lb beast, getting it down the cellar stairs through the hatchway was no problem. Gravity is good like that. Getting the machine up on the stand was another story entirely, gravity was not my friend there. Not only is it heavy, but it's not balanced, all the weight is on one side. I thought about calling a friend over to help, but then I thought I'd give it a shot myself first. Using lag bolts I put a metal bar into a floor joist then used ratchet straps to lift the machine up. I only have one long ratchet strap, so I had to use a cam strap to hold it in place while I reset the ratchet strap, the ratchet strap only moves about 6" before it gets jammed up. It worked great.
View attachment 3221522
After four or five resets, I got it up high enough to scoot the table under it.
View attachment 3221524
I did a quick leveling of the drum and already planed down one of my wife's cutting boards.
Click to expand...


Congratulations! Getting a thickness sander was a turning point in my business.




Moonshine :bassist:
 
#712
Congrats! I pay (not too much) to have my slabs planed - I'd mostly just like my own shop, but I have access locally to a shop with most of the tools I need so I can't complain really. Whatever it takes to keep the ball rolling! :thumbsup:
 
#713
JIO said:
Congrats! I pay (not too much) to have my slabs planed - I'd mostly just like my own shop, but I have access locally to a shop with most of the tools I need so I can't complain really. Whatever it takes to keep the ball rolling! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
My father's shop has everything I need to build and he lives only a few miles away from me. When he retired he went out and bought all high end machines. My parents love it when I visit, so it's never a problem to go over there and do stuff. The thing is I build at odd times and sometimes for 15 minutes at a time, before/after/during work etc. So having everything here makes it so much easier to progress. I hope to upgrade my other tools now, first up is the bandsaw, but I'll let the sting of this purchase mellow out a bit before I go there.
 
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#714
I guess this goes along with the planer purchase. I have been connecting a few tools directly to my shop vac for dust collection, but with the addition of the planer it was time to do something a bit more permanent. I got a vortex collection system and started working on a "manifold" for redirecting the vacuum. I really should get a larger system, but considering my available space, this will have to do for now. It looks a bit like something out of that movie Brazil, but it's a good starting point. I think that I will replace the black hose on the right with some clear tubing when I get more. The clear tube to the left goes to the tablesaw. The good thing is that nothing is glued together, so I can adjust as I learn more about what works.
20181125_162535.jpg

The shop vac I've been using has had a chronic problem with the filter getting clogged well before the bin is full, the bin is also small so it fills up quick. On top of all that the filter has six screws to remove it, so cleaning it out is never fun. I'll admit I went a bit crazy with the planer this weekend so these won't be normal volumes, but the results are pretty impressive - lots of fine dust here in the vortex tub:
20181126_082355.jpg

and the shop vac has only a few larger things and some paper, the filter is relatively clean (I used the shop vac a few times directly before installing the vortex):
20181126_082358.jpg

I am certain the small shop vac is not producing enough suction for the tablesaw, but in a test it was collecting significant amount of dust, so it's better than nothing. I need to get to the bandsaw, which is going to be problematic given it's position in the shop.
 
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#715
Not luthiery, but bass related... I'm working on some synth projects. First up, a bass pedal MIDI controller. Old organ pedal obtained from fleabay. A bass to MIDI controller might be somewhere in the future as well :whistle:
gedc0657-jpg.jpg

As built, each pedal has an extra spring that causes the last pedal pressed to be 'remembered' by the mechanism; this makes buzzing out the wires annoying, and it's unecessary when a microcontroller is providing the memory. Here, I've removed 2 of the extra springs from the 2 keys on the right.
20181125_182539[1].jpg

Reassembled and ready to wire up for MIDI.
20181125_185643[1].jpg

After I add the brains, I'll build a nice hardwood case for it.
 

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#720
Okay, not directly bass related, but a gift for a friend who plays guitar and bass for a well known Southern Gospel group. I found this on Freecycle with a smashed top and no tuners. I took the top off and made the trim from 100 year old American Chestnut salvaged from a local barn. The accent piece in the border is Mahogany. It is finished with boiled linseed oil. I wanted to place LED lights behind the trim, but due to lack of time (and the group will be in the general area on Saturday), I did not want to rush this and mess it up.
20181126_202729.jpg
 

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