Olie Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 Sorry, I thought I replied but it didn’t show up which has happened before. @pkinneb That is a really nice outfeed table. I always thought a table like that would be what I’d want, but I’ve spent some time in Kev’s shop and worked on his outfeed table with the solid top and really liked it and thought it was great having a second bench with great amounts of work holding with the dog holes and leg vise and tail vise, etc. Kev’s outfeed table is really the only one I’ve worked on which is why I asked the question and wanted some input. My reservations about the solid top is mainly cost and the fact that my “forever bench” is so nice that I’m still a little gun shy with it. Reservations about a non-solid top or torsion box is lack of work holding. In the end I wanted it to have it all…..work holding, strong, someplace that can do everything from glue ups to assembly to sanding, etc. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 Well, this project is coming up this weekend! I know it's a rough time of year to get people together so, we'll make due! I know that @Olie has been hard at work pre-milling some slab material for the solid top! This should pay off nicely and allow us to get heavily into the base! I'm not sure if @Olie has pics of his progress but, we'll be sure to post through the weekend as we make progress on his new OF/work table! Off to the lumber yard tomorrow to pick up the needed material! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted November 15, 2023 Share Posted November 15, 2023 I ultimately decided on going with a solid maple top. It’s definitely not needed, but I’m still a new woodworker and I worked on Kev’s outfeed table and loved it. I also wanted another bench with workholding. There was about 45 BF of maple left from my forever bench build and I bought mostly soft maple for the rest to reduce the cost a little. Here are some progress pics of my slab glue ups. They are roughly 3.5” thick. I will have 4 slabs that will total about 46” and there will be a 2” gap in the middle of the top as a split top design for a total of 48”. I haven’t done this on my own before and learned the milling process last year in Kev’s shop. It’s been going pretty well. In the last 2 years I picked up a General 8” jointer with helical head, a dewalt 735 planer, and a Harvey 4HP table saw. They have worked out well but I can definitely see myself wanting a wider jointer and bigger planer someday! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 16, 2023 Share Posted November 16, 2023 You couldn’t tell you were a newbie woodworker from the quality of work so far. Looking darn good. And quite a good collection of clamps. How do you like the Harvey ts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted November 16, 2023 Share Posted November 16, 2023 @coop It’s the bench that it’s sitting on that makes it look good! Thanks to Kev! I really like the Harvey and feel it’s a great value in the mid $2000’s for a 4HP cabinet saw. I pushed through some 8/4 hard and soft maple with no problem. It’s my first saw beyond a foldable jobsite saw so I don’t have a lot to compare it against other than using Kev’s Powermatic. If there’s anything I’m not crazy about it’s the fence and only because I wanted to build some sleds that ride on the fence but it’s difficult with the design compared to a Biesemeyer style fence. All in all I like it and starting to get some real use out of it lately. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 Last of 4 slab glue ups before heading to Kev’s shop tomorrow for the 3 hour trek. If I remember right, the top was the most time consuming part of my forever bench build so hopefully this will save a bunch of time. This sure was a lot of work and I’m sure it takes me much longer than most, but the results are the important part! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted November 17, 2023 Author Share Posted November 17, 2023 Will save a bunch of time for a table this big! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted November 18, 2023 Share Posted November 18, 2023 We have the final milling done on the tops, used the domino for alignment, and got them glued up. With the 2” gap of the split top design the total depth of top will be approximately 49” and after trimming the end it will be approximately 60”. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 18, 2023 Share Posted November 18, 2023 Looking good @Olie. What do you figure the top alone to weigh when finished, 150# or so? Is the split top to aid in clamping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 @Coop I think the top alone will be much heavier. 5x4 top that is 3.25” thick. clamping is definitely a benefit of the split top but I think an even greater benefit and use is a channel for using my track saw, especially with cutting sheet goods. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 As normal in my shop, it's tough getting signal out or we probably would have posted a lot more during the day... So, to recap the day... We started by getting the leg blanks into clamps to allow the glue time to cure.. While that was happening, we pushed the slabs @Olie brought through the jointer and planer to get flat and square. We would have been most of the day doing this had he not done this stuff in his shop! Once the milling was good, we used some dominos for alignment and glued up the 2 halves.. Sorry, I didn't grab a picture of this but, at this point, all but 3 of my clamps were off the wall! Next, we got the legs out of clamps and got them completely milled to 3 1/2" square. After that, we milled (rough) all the rail material in prep for tomorrow and cut the top slabs to final dimensions. While @Olie was doing some clean up sanding on the top slabs, I put together the gap stop that will match the one we build in his roubo bench.. And that's where the project sits at the end of day one.. A long day for sure but, a lot of progress! Shout out to @Ray Martin for stopping by and helping out as well.. Although, never let him bring his own tape measure to your shop! 🤣 Will work on assembling the base and breaking down ply for the cabinets tomorrow.. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted November 20, 2023 Author Share Posted November 20, 2023 Unfortunately, just not a lot take pictures of today.. I think @Olie took a few more pictures than I did.. Spent the day cutting rail parts to length and cutting dominos.. Just a long tedious task on a project this size! We did manage to finally get everything glued up and started installing the internal supports.. We also got the joinery cut for the BC leg vise that he will add later. This was a long tedious glue up to say the least! Finished up all the internal supports and set the top on for a good look. It's not secured yet but, it's getting close! Wenge plugs for the screws on the internals. We're having some issues with a leg that bowed a bit. We're going to install the cabinet in that location tomorrow and see if we can force the leg to where it needs to be before marking and securing the top.. Still a lot of work and I'm not sure we can get it done before @Olie has to head for home tomorrow.. We'll give it a good college try and get where we get.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted November 20, 2023 Author Share Posted November 20, 2023 I'm sure that @Olie got a lot more pictures today than I did and will post but, for now, here's where it's at when he's taking it home to finish it up.. We used Dominos in the 4 corners to align the slabs where they needed to be. We did it this way to make it easier to transport since we could disassemble it easily. Once he puts it back together in his shop, he'll attach the top with Spax screws accordingly. We did manage to get one cabinet built and installed. Although there's a small gap on the side, there's rails under the cabinet so, it's fully supported. We also set the gap stop so that it sits just proud of the bench top. We did it this way so that he could do the final finesse once the top is fully fastened down. And, we got all the dog holes in as well as the leg holes for the hold fasts. So, what's left? Screw down the top Finalize the gap stop height to the table top There's 2 cabinets in the front that have to be built and installed. Drawers for all the cabinets Cut the miter slots for the table saw runners Install the spindle sander lift Install the Veritas tail vise Install the BC leg vise Lots of sanding Finish. All in all, not too bad for 2 1/2 days work! Couldn't have gotten this far if @Olie hand't done all the slab work before coming! I think there's some things left that will challenge and stretch @Olie a bit to finish the build but, I'm sure he's quite capable of pulling it off! Pretty sexy table in my opinion and should match his bench nicely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 Now that’s darn sweet looking! Is the gap stop the stop down the middle and if so, why is called that? I’m assuming that the top is still in two pieces for handling? You guys did a great job! What is the size of his shop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted November 21, 2023 Author Share Posted November 21, 2023 1 hour ago, Coop said: Now that’s darn sweet looking! Is the gap stop the stop down the middle and if so, why is called that? I’m assuming that the top is still in two pieces for handling? You guys did a great job! What is the size of his shop? I'll let him answer the question about his shop but, I'll tackle the stop gap question.. This is a bench feature that you most often see in Roubo workbenches. It serves a few different purposes. If you lift it and slide it to one side or the other, it sits proud of the bench by about 1/4" and becomes a stop for planing material. The gaps in the middle are for tool holding. They're wide enough to slide a saw or a chisel into when not in use. Ultimately, I like it because when removed completely, you have an additional place on the bench to clamp to. Super handy with larger projects that you want to clamp flat from both sides! Additionally, when removed, it provides an awesome space for my track saw blade. Really nice when breaking down sheet goods! Great support on both sides of the cut. So, even though it's original intent was based around hand tool work, I use it often with power tools with absolutely no loss of function as a work surface.. I'll grab some more detailed pictures in the morning to show this in better detail.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted November 21, 2023 Author Share Posted November 21, 2023 @Coop, it seems I needed to make a run out the the shop for something else anyway so grabbed some pictures while I was there to help better explain the "stop gap" or "tool Tray".. There's a few different names it's referred to.. Here's my bench with it set to its normal position. Just functions as a normal bench.. In this position, it's pretty much just part of the work surface but, with a little tool holding if you want/need it.. It has notches in the bottom that fit over the bench rails that allow it to sit flush with the top. Mine were originally cut too deep so had to have some material added to fit properly. So, if you lift and slide it a little, it will sit proud of the surface making it a planing stop. As I said a few minutes ago, I really like it when removed all together where it provides a good place for the blade on my track saw.. Also, with it removed, I can also add clamps from there to get clamps on both sides of a project.. Anyway, there's a brief overview of the stop gap, planing stop, or tool tray.. Pictures show me that my bench might need some love in the near future! 😙 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 Thanks for taking the time for the pics! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 Finally made it home after a long 4 hr drive in the dark with the bench in my truck. Just set it in my shop for now. Can’t wait to get rid of the warped old butcher block piece I have sitting on 2 plastic benches as my outfeed table. Thanks so much to Kev for the awesome build and all his time and instruction. More to come as I finish this build in my shop. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olie Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 @Coop I have a 1280 sq ft garage broken out into 3 garage bays. My wife parks in the first bay and my shop space is then technically 28x30…..but, lots of kids stuff seems to keep inching into my shop so I probably don’t use all of it for a shop. The plan is to build a diving wall so my wife has the one bay and I have a large 2 garage garage shop. Some day! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Martin Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 10 hours ago, Olie said: @Coop I have a 1280 sq ft garage broken out into 3 garage bays. My wife parks in the first bay and my shop space is then technically 28x30…..but, lots of kids stuff seems to keep inching into my shop so I probably don’t use all of it for a shop. The plan is to build a diving wall so my wife has the one bay and I have a large 2 garage garage shop. Some day! @Olie. You guys did a fantastic job. Looks like the one that Kevin and I will be building for my shop, 🤣 Well done @Kev guys. . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 I’d get in line but it would be too costly as I would have to build a bigger shop! 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 25 minutes ago, Coop said: I’d get in line but it would be too costly as I would have to build a bigger shop! 😁 Well, I know both of these have been in 2 car garages and only chew up the space of an outfeed table.. It's customizable to fit your needs.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 Has anything been said about adjustable casters ? I’m sure so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 3 minutes ago, Coop said: Has anything been said about adjustable casters ? I’m sure so. No.. The weight on this bench is pretty significant for most casters.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 So hopefully, the clean out for his ts is accessible without moving the table? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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