The time have finally come to finish the bench up.  The last few steps were to flatten the top, install the leg vise, install the T-Track, apply finish, and move into place.

Flattening Top and Sanding

I started by flattening the top with my jack plane and a couple straight edges.  First, I checked for twist and we were good to go.  I used the straight edges to find high spots and marked them with some circles.

Once the flattening was complete I hit everything with 80 grit.  I used the belt sander to flush up the end grain of the end caps to the bench.

Leg Vise

After the top was prepped I started to install the leg vise.  I started by installing the flanged nut in the back of the leg.

Then, I set up the criss cross and the vise screw so I could get the final height of the vise chop.

I cut it down to rough size on the table saw and then added a 45 cut on the front.

Block plane to flush up the top of the chop.  I should have clamped this block on right away, because I had some small blowout.  Then added the block.

I  cut the metal rods to length that mount the criss cross and added the E-clips for the center pin.  I attached the vise screw to the chop and was all set with the vise.  It works really well!  The screw is a little tougher to turn for the last 1″, but still easy.  It opens to a capacity of~8″

T-Track

The next step was to install the T-Track in the back side of the bench.  I bought some epoxy and cut the T-Track to length to avoid the dowel locations.  If I want to remove the top, I have to have access to the dowels to drill them out.  So there will be some voids in the track which is fine, because I need a way to insert the bolts, nuts.

Process:

1. Cut pieces to length with hacksaw
2. Get out the needed tools (below)
3. Clean out grooves with water/paper towel
4. Mix Epoxy
5. Spread into groove on bench top
6. Insert Track and Pound into Place with Scrap Block
7. Drive screws to hold track into place

Finishing

Next, Danish Oil (Natural Color).  I applied two coats thus far and will apply a couple more as the week progresses.

Since I had the day off I needed to get the new bench into place.   That began with disassembly of the old bench.

Once the old bench was out of the way I could get the new one in place.  In order to use the bench as an outfeed table I needed to add some risers to make the bench height roughly 36 1/2″ tall.  I ripped down and cut some 2X8 material for risers.  They turned out to be perfect height.  Below you can see the miter bar just above the workbench.

You can see the risers in the below shot.

The picture above also shows the mid support I added for a lower shelf.  The shelf sits on the two lower outer stretchers and the mid support.

Other Pics

2’X4′ sheet of plywood

Video of Vises and Deadman

That is it for the bench other than a few more coats of Danish oil, some more dog holes probably, and a cabinet for the base.

Summary

The bench has overall dimensions of 30″ deep, 75 1/2″ long, 36 1/2″ tall with the 1 1/2″ risers included.  The height is a little tall for most hand work, but is a compromise due to my shop layout.

The top is 3 1/2″ thick.  I spent roughly 110 hours on this bench and threw out 11 (30 gal) bags of chips and sawdust on top of countless scrap cans of wood.  I can’t wait to use it for the next 10-20 years.