My clumsy introduction to the club - Chuck Chicanery!

[idcook]

[quote="wa2crk"]I had one of the Sjoberg's workbenches and consider it too light. Any time I did any heavy work on it, it scooted across the floor. Weight is a good ally in a workbench. I have one that I built using plans from The TV show Woodsmith Shop that has four thicknesses of MDF for the top and straight grain souther yellow pine for the frame. Heavyyyy!!! But it won't move when I lean on it hard.
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The photo shows the new bench and the old Sjoberg's bench. The new one has more that twice the work area of the old one.
Bill V
P.S. To answer a question]

BOOM!

Thank You wa2crk!

Though I might not want to have a bench quite as large as your new one the weight issue did concern me. Thanks especially for answering the question regarding the thickness of the top. 3/4" is a lot thinner compared to the one I planned to build.

That said, if the seller ever gets back to me, I might still pick up the Sjoberg. For the price it could still serve as a useful work and tool surface.

Thanks again for your help.

[baysidebob]

I also have a Sjoberj bench that I have had for porbably 15 years. Have always felt it was to light built for much work. For the most part I have been using if for a flat storage area and have a bench grinder mounted to it. It did want to move around quite a bit when I did use it. I also had a problem with the construction of the legs. With the stretcher on the bottom of the legs, I found it very hard to get it to sit flat on my floor. Even though my floor is cement and it is really level it was hard to get the legs to sit flat on the floor. Wouldn't say that I should never have bought it, but if looking for a sturdy workbench, I know there are better ones out there.
Good luck with your decision, and like the others I also welcome you to the SS forums. They can be both informative, adn entertaining...

[letterk]

I don't think anybody is going to look at it and say this is the last bench I'll ever own, but for what it is and $30 or $50, which I paid it does it's job. No smaller, lighter bench is going to hold up to hard core hand tool work, but you'll be a bit crazy to expect it. The biggest of the cheap Sjobergs benches (1600 level, 72") weighs probably 125 lb. it is probably better for assembly, router, glue up, but it won't fall apart if you do some hand tool work.

As for the person who said it doesn't sit level? Loosen the stretcher bolts and tweak the bench and you should get it to sit flat. My guess is you tightened everything up and flipped it over.

I put a set of rocker casters, the flip up kind that allow you to lift the entire bench off the floor and move it easily. It is great for winter when the cars bring in snow that melts and the bench could be sitting in it. Also, it lets the bench sit completely when they are flipped up on its own legs for stability, unlike casters. I also attached all my quick clamps on the tool rack that is on the back of he bench. Make it handing for assembly and glue up.

[idcook]

At any rate, the 30 buck deal fell through. Had already been sold but the guy forgot to take down his listing.

So … I’ve no more excuses to evade building the table I’ve designed on paper. (Based on several I’ve seen online built by others)

Off to the wood pile with me then… If I don’t bollux the whole thing I’ll likely want to crow a little and post photos of the result. In my head it’s supposed to be fairly easy and quick to build.

We’ll see.

[dusty]

At any rate, the 30 buck deal fell through. Had already been sold but the guy forgot to take down his listing.

So … I’ve no more excuses to evade building the table I’ve designed on paper. (Based on several I’ve seen online built by others)

Off to the wood pile with me then… If I don’t bollux the whole thing I’ll likely want to crow a little and post photos of the result. In my head it’s supposed to be fairly easy and quick to build.

We’ll see.

You can do it! Just do not rush it and when something doesn't seem right - STOP - figure out what is bothering you and then proceed.

I'm looking forward to seeing the results. I have been using the same old work bench setup for many years and often think about rebuilding but have never gotten the enthusiasm up high enough to tear out the old one.

[idcook]

You can do it! Just do not rush it and when something doesn't seem right - STOP - figure out what is bothering you and then proceed.

I'm looking forward to seeing the results. I have been using the same old work bench setup for many years and often think about rebuilding but have never gotten the enthusiasm up high enough to tear out the old one.

Well Dusty, I done ya proud. Followed your instructions to the letter. In fact, to the very last letter.

To wit:

I hustled over to my local Home Depot, ambled about the place keenly eyeing a wide assortment of knots and splits. Engaged no less than 5 HD employees to do my bidding till I&#8217]1 -[/B] A 2x4 is not 2 inches by 4 inches. Something I’d known, long ago, but never thought about while designing this thing on paper.

LESSON LEARNED: Remember to remember the lessons you learned long ago and carry a tape measure when your go huntin’ fer stuff just in case. Somehow, having a tape measure in your pocket urges you to make use of it just because you have it with you. Including things that don’t even need to be measured. “Excuse me miss, this pencil is distinctly marked ‘No. 9’ yet it appears to be a mere 1/4" x 6" … Please explain.”

2- HD and lumber should scarce be uttered in the same sentence. The customers, employees and likely a few stragglers seem to take pleasure in tossing the supply about at random. Making sure to enhance the natural wood texture by introducing it to dulled corners, dents, shears and splits so beautiful that they bring tears to your eyes.

Some items offered at the HD website WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE OR IN EXTREMELY POOR CONDITION. You’ll learn this after the teenaged girl looks it up on the computer finds out that, in fact, they don’t have the other 495 pieces listed at the site.

LESSON LEARNED: Look for a genuine lumberyard like dad used to do. What you see is what you get. What you don’t see the employess know they don’t have.

3- In the spirit of community good will, HD hires the handicapped. I know this because the guy who rips large boards has poor vision. Your request to have 1/2" plywood cut to 6ft will be 6ft something or other. Better still, your MDF will be cut to 6ft something or other else.

LESSON LEARNED: Cut it yourself. This way when it comes out wrong you’ll at least know that no one was paid to cut it so poorly.

Clearly, the hand of the old master would have to be brought to bear.

Unfortunately, I was the only one here. I quickly adjusted my design to work with the materials at hand. Not a problem.

————

Soooooo… This morning I dragged a couple of unfortunate volunteer studs into my emerging den of de… ummm… construction.

The previous owner of this Mark V only used it as a drill press. At first, the new owner was afraid to reconfigure it to table saw function but after wrestling with a couple of studs, the limitations of my portable Skil table saw (fence will only allow about 1ft to the blade and I needed two) and my Ryobi miter saw (worked okay, but needed a hastily rigged up support table) lead me to reconsider. I mean, Those Shopsmith tables sure made it a lot easier to position and handle those miscut 6s and 8ft. lengths.

I set to the task with uncharacteristic gusto! A battle royale betwixt man and machine. The chuck was stuck, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me. A few dashes back and forth to my local hardware store supplied me with a fairly decent bit to add to the blade’s arbor.

Success! The tables were set. The blade centered and squared. Time, for a test rip of scrap MDF.

The first pass required me to reposition the tables a bit, but the second went without a hitch. Easily lopping off a cool 4" worth. Emboldened, I decided to nick off another inch to this unneeded remainder of a small notch left during the first attempt. It jammed a little and I back it off and passed it in again.

It was at this juncture that good dusty’s admonition exposed it deepest import. Something didn’t seem right and I stopped!!!!

Well, truth be told, it was the saw that stopped.

I checked the chuck and jerry-rigged shaft. They were secure.

I removed the table and blade then backed the headstock out to study it closer. Switching it on it was clear that the main spindle was not turning.

I removed the belt cover and poked at the Poly V belt, which promptly dropped to the floor below. I thought “Perhaps it’s just shy.” BUT NO … it was broken!!! I stared at it blankly, almost lovingly, pondering ways that I might repair it, but I knew this was mere folly. Even if I could I would still have to open the machine further to reinstall the shabby result. What needed fixin’ most was likely the operator.

The operator picked up his coffee and sauntered upstairs and signed onto The Shopsmith forum to boast about his ever-expanding store of knowledge.


BTW… Did I say that I’d received my eBay purchased ‘Instruction Manual’ yesterday? No? Well, I did. I even ‘skimmed’ through it a bit before dropping off to sleep.

Reopening it, I turned to the section tabbed ‘OPERATIONS’ (as any wise man would after cocking up the whole works), and there it was — Right on the first page (D1) — TABLE SAWING SPEEDS… eek!

You see, I’d had the machine set at slow the whole time. Never moved it from start to finish. Even when the machine itself was finished.

So… report issued, I’ll now straggle over to the Shopsmith products directory to look for a new belt. By the time all this is done I might not only be a half-assed carpenter, but a half-assed mechanic as well. Can NASCAR be far behind?

Thanks for your help. I’ll keep going till I actually hear what you said. :-)

[fiatben]

Dang, funniest thing I've read today. Gotta love the learning curve. But I really do appreciate the honesty, sarcasm and enthusiasm. Stick with it, and we'll all get thru this together!