Workbenches: From Design and Theory to Procrastination and Compensation…
Any of you who have been reading my blog or listening to my new podcast have heard me mention my new bench design and shop redesign. Recently when I posted a short shop tour video I received several comments saying, “where’s the bench?”. I keep mentioning over and over that I have puzzled over my own design and the variety of needs I have as a Renaissance woodworker. I have compared my design with others, written up lists of clamping needs and paired with with vises, features, and appliances. I have even bought the Ash and stickered it to acclimate. I have beaten the design and theory to death! The only thing left to do is build it.
It’s not that I am not looking forward to the construction. Just the opposite as I tell myself that every weekend I am going to get started. No that is not it. It is the mountain of small other projects that keep getting in the way.
“I’ll start the bench right after I turn those pens for Sarah and Steve.”
or
“I’ll get on the bench top construction as soon as I finish that box for the charity auction.”
So there is the procrastination!
The irony is that without fail everytime I am in the middle of one of those other projects I come across a task in the build where I wish I had the bench. Now comes the compensation part. Just today I was trying to finish up a small box for a charity auction based on a Japanese sushi box and incorporating some origami paper. The lid and sides all get shaped into a gentle curve. I laid out the lid on the countertop to start planing it and wished I had a good set of bench dogs and a tail vise to hold it. Instead I have to work around it using battens and a few clamps
Next I needed to shape the sides of the box using a spokeshave. Here I go again wishing for some bench dogs or a hold fast. Once again, I have to compensate by clamping and using battens.
And ya da ya da ya da…
Maybe it is time that I cut into that beautiful stack of Ash that is now getting in the way more and more since it is laying on the floor in front of my miter saw. Maybe I should at least get the top built so that I could have a solid work surface to complete the smaller projects. Maybe I’ll get started on that next weekend.
Oh wait, I have to turn some bowls for a colleague of mine. Oh, and I have to get those pens done for customers. Oh no, I still have to finish the doors for the sharpening station!
Well, maybe the weekend after next…
