Woodworking 101 Day 7

It's been a few days since I posted on the workbench project going on in the workshop. I've been making some headway but am still waiting for the vise screw to arrive from Lee Valley. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets here tomorrow. Last week they shipped the face vise on Monday and I received it on Tuesday. Last Friday I got a post card saying they expected to ship the screw during the third week in January. Saturday I had an email saying it was being shipped that day. The last shipment came via FedEx. I expect the next to arrive tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon once the holiday is out of the way.

Meanwhile, I've finished work on the base and have routed out the holes for the bench dogs.

Base has the plywood shelf and the tongue and groove sides and back in place.

The holes for the bench dogs (each angled at 2 degrees from plumb) have been routed out.

The directions for creating the holes for the bench dogs written in the ShopNotes magazine had me thinking for several days. The author called for the hole to be in the shape of the dog, i.e. being 15/16 inch wide on one end for just 1 inch deep with the balance being only 11/16 wide. I didn't have the bits or router plate he used and couldn't find any for my old Black and Decker anywhere. Luckily, when I went down to the shop today resigned to using a back saw and chisel, I happened to turn over the package the dogs came in. And there on the other side was a simple method of routing out the square holes needed. Do the entire hole the same width (15/16 inches) it said. And then glue in what is basically a 1/4 inch shim to keep the dog from falling through the hole when recessed. Easy, peasy!

I laid everything out. Made a template to confine the router's bit to the area I wanted removed and in less than an hour had all 10 of the holes routed out and myself covered in wood chips.

While I was at it, I also routed out the dog hole for the sliding piece that will be attached to the screw. Then I went and created sliding block by cutting it to length and gluing on the side guides.

Now I've only got to rout out the groove on the front rail and install the vises. Then I can attach the top to the base and I'm done. I estimate about 6 more hours with the most difficult part being the installation of the face vise up under the bench top.