A mini craze for mini Benchtop Bench's aka Workbench Raisers, swept through the UK Workshop forum in the latter part of 2005, and who am I to buck a trend? It seemed like a handy thing to have. So drawing heavily on an article in Fine Woodworking #176, I set to work.

	I took some old door frame like this...
	...and planed it up like this for the base.
	For the top, some 6" x 2" beech from British Hardwoods, bought at the same time as the cherry for the Sixpenny Side Tables.
	Jointed the edges like this...
	...pausing only to point out why just being able to "match plane" two edges at once isn't enough in some cases - the blade simply isn't wide enough.
	Found my Titebond bottle had got gummed up, but just about managed to squeeze out enough...
	...and clamped up using the ever-useful, and often over-looked, clamp heads. Alas the Plano panel clamps were another no-show under the tree last year.
	A bit of saw, chisel and router work to create a couple a few simple notches in the base's "feet" and I have a top and base.
	Time to consider vices. Drinking, gambling and, in this case, ah hum, screwing... (MayIbeforgivenforthatone) A little work on the lathe and some potential screws and the 3/4" screw box waiting to thread them.
	Not wholely successfully. Mucho breaking of threads - it seems the older curtain rail I'd used successfully in the past was quite a different animal from these more modern off-cuts. Blast. Back to the lathe, this time with some beech.

Next page     Projects Menu