As I mentioned in my previous post about Shop Changes, I decided to build 2 saw benches. Well, my first one is done.
It’ turned out well. I had a tough time with the mortise and tenons but expect it was due to the very wet wood (the cost of going for the cheap wood) It’s nice and stable which is what you want in this kind of bench. I’ll be able to use it as a seat and as a step stool. I only had one error that I’d like to fix for the 2nd bench and that is that I made the A-frame too close/tight at the top so the top tenons were cut into the top too far. Doesn’t take away from it’s functionality but something I’d like to get right for the 2nd one.
Here are some shots of the progress of the build:
The tenon turned out better than the mortise. The mortise is a little rough. Notice the rabbit in the stretcher for the bottom shelf. That was my improvement over the design that Chris Schwarz did.
UPDATE: I finished the second one and with one big exception, it turned out better than the first. The tenons and mortises were all cleaner and the base was squarer. I was also able to spread the legs apart a bit and make the top and leg joints look better. My one big problem was that my second try to fit the top was close and I forced it too hard and broke off one of the front tongues. My repair on it was not spectacular but the bench will function well with the other bench (which I have already used several times).
