A while ago photographs of a portable workbench call the "milkman's bench" were floating around the world wide web. This bench looked as though it was a larger version of a carvers bench top. It is designed to hold wood while you work on it. The "milkman's bench" uses vises rather than 'dogs' to hold the work.
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| Milkman's Bench |
Recently a major tool company has begun selling small portable bench tops using dogs and rail mounted clamping in place instead of screw vises.
I have begun working on my own version of the 'dog hole' bench top. Interestingly the body of this bench top is recycled skid wood. The rugged quality of the 2 x 4's should be solid enough for this project.
First all the rough pieces of skid were sawn on the table saw to get square edges and then glued it together.
When gluing I don't usually use biscuits or dowels but in this case I decided I wanted extra strength and alignment so I used my Mortise Mill to cut slots for floating tenons.
Once I trim all the edges square I am going to put a 3/4 inch hardwood frame around the edges and drill the 3/4 inch dog holes in the body. Once this portable bench top is done I can use it for holding wood for carving or the ash wood rounds with which I have been working.
It has been a couple of very nice days here, we've been out bike riding, walking and motorcycling. Now the walk that needs to be done is following the lawn mower.
cheers, ianw
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