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Woodworking Bench
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My woodworking bench is shop built, as they should always be. The design is not
particularly traditional, but very functional. The top is constructed of hard Maple
salvaged from culled bowling alley lane. The lane was fully pulled apart down to the
raw strips of Maple. These strips were then cleaned of all nails, yes bowling alleys
are nailed together, then the strips were jointed and thickness planed. A lane which
was 8' long and over 30" wide yielded enough material to make this top which is
22" wide, meaning a lot of milling is involved. A bowling alley is fine for
bowling, but the joinery is not suitable for using directly as a bench. |
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The bench is 2-1/4" thick across the field, and 22" wide x 72" long.
There is a 4" thick apron around the entire top, which did not come from the
bowling alley. There are dog holes in the top and along one apron. The dog
holes are 3/4" diameter on 6" centers and align with the end vise dog. I
make my own dogs as needed. The trestle style legs are of 16/4 Alder |
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My end vise is a Grizzly Imports 9" x 12". The vise is very smooth and
a good value. The vise is inletted into the end apron and has replaceable wooden
jaws. My bench was designed for a second vise mounted on the side, but I just never
got around to getting another. I haven't really missed it so I probably never will. |
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