Workbench update: Finally got last leg glued up

  • Posted on: 15 October 2013
  • By: Jay Oyster

After flattening the top in August of 2012, I thought I was home free. I glued up three of the four leg laminations in another couple weeks . . .and then I tried the fourth leg.  That damned thing blocked me from progress for over a year. (Well . . . I also put this project on the back, back burner as I tried to finish up about 10 other projects I had started and half finished at that point.)  I've since cleared my backlog and am down to only three projects to work on . . .each large. So I'm working the jewelry armoire, the workbench, and the tool brackets for my wallmounted tool cabinet. I finished the first of the four large outstanding projects last month when I put the finishing touches on my chopsaw station. 

So I'm making progress on both the jewelry cabinet and finally, this past weekend, the workbench. It took me spending about an hour tweaking the hardware setup on my Jet 6" jointer, which hadn't been working right for over two years. But finally, after really reading the manual and taking the time to make sure everything was set up correctly, it suddenly started doing what it was supposed to . . . .flatten the faces of 5 1/2" wide bench leg boards.  Within a couple more hours, I had the final leg glued and in clamps.

So now, I've got the top done, the legs roughed out, and the hardware purchased. Up next:

  • Square up and final dimensions on the legs
  • Laminate two boards for each of the four undercarriage runners
  • Build the undercarriage

That's as far ahead as I want to look for now. The original Sketchup design had a fancy-schmancy carved front design, that optimistically showed a finishing year of 2012. I'm just hoping now I can keep it to 2013. I suspect it will be well into 2014 before I finish this thing.

Four legs for the workbench glued up, along with the purchased hardware
Woodworking