Workbench VI - The Insert

Today I bought a pattern bit so that I could do the insert for the saw.  It scared me half to death cutting in to my lovely bench top!

I checked the level of the bench again this morning and somehow it has developed a bow.  I'm not sure what has caused it, but there is definitely now a slight sag in the middle.  I'm not too concerned, even after all the routing I did to get it flat, but it did make inserting the plate a little more difficult.

I got a piece of 12mm mdf and cut a square.  I was originally going to do a rectangle, just a little larger than the saw, but I thought that it might be a good idea to make it square so that I could change the direction of the saw if I need to.

Cutting a square is harder than I thought though, but I got close enough in the end and then got set up to cut the hollow.

It took some serious tweaking to get the depth right, and cutting out the square with the jigsaw was painful!  There are some pretty crazy rough edges, but I'm happy enough for now.

Routing done ...

... then the cut

The plate is a little wonky and it doesn't fit in in every direction, but I'm done for now.  I feel exhausted.  Another day, I'll get back in there with a sander and see if I can make it a little better.

Workbench V - Last bit of flattening

And this is how it looks now!

I think gluing those end pieces on worked ok.  I did end up adding some pocket screws underneath, which I did by hand and they ended up being a bit of a mess.  (Pockethole jigs are really expensive!)  But they did the job and are hidden anyway, so who cares?

Also, when I routed the two end pieces to match, I didn't extend the side sleds out far enough, so even though I tried to adjust, the weight of the router kind of pulled the skid down a bit and now the very end of the bench slopes down.

I'm not too worried at this stage.  I suppose I could take off the last end piece, add a new one and relevel the whole thing.  But I'm not a carpenter and I suspect that it really isn't going to matter that much to me.

And if I find that I can't live with it after a while, I can always come back and fix it later.  We'll see.

Next will be making the table/circular saw insert.  I need to get a pattern bit for my router to do that and I'm both excited and terrified at the idea of cutting into my beautiful top!

Workbench IV - Flattening finished ... almost

Today is the last day of my holiday and I'm finishing off the flattening process.  It's looking pretty good, I reckon!

I'm definitely not going to be able to stand those router ridges though, so filling and sanding next.

BUT...I made a huge mess of one end.  When I got to the halfway point, I decided to lift up the skid and start in from the other end.  But obviously something happened to the bit in the process.  I think it started coming loose, but I didn't notice that either.  

So when I started at the other end, it was way too deep, but without a reference point, I couldn't tell.  And then, at about the third pass, the whole bit came loose and made a huge gouge in the surface.  Way, WAY too deep to fix.  

omg

How didn't I see this?!

I don't know how I didn't notice, but I think I imagined that this end was a lot higher than it actually was.

So there's is no way I can fix or live with that!  So I cut off the whole end which then made my whole "too short" issue even worse.  I had two short pieces left over though from the laminating, so I'm trying to see how gluing those onto the end will work.

I want to believe that the glue will be strong enough to hold them, but if I decide to eventually put a tail vice on, it will need to be really sturdy, so I'm contemplating adding some pocket screws underneath.

Workbench III - Flattening

Today was router day!  I've been struggling with the temptation to buy a router for a couple of months now, but I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more new tools until I absolutely need them.

And I knew today that I couldn't go forward without a router.  J said that he would be able to borrow one from someone at work next week, but I wouldn't get that for another week or so and I really wanted to keep the ball rolling.

So this morning, I went off to Bunnings to buy the AEG 1350E plunge router.  Morley had sold out and I discovered that it's actually a promotional item and they won't get any more stock.  It's rrp is actually $225, but Bunnings were selling them for $99.

The sales guy checked around for me, and the only place that still had stock was Malaga - 1 left!  So feeling it was meant to be, I went screaming up to Malaga and got it.  Yay!

I also picked up some cheap melamine & plywood to make the sled for the flattening process.

First, I tried to get the bench base as level as possible on the ground, then I screwed the top down.

Then I cut the melamine into two pieces and attached them to the sides.  This was a tricky process and I probably could have done with another pair of hands, but seeing as there weren't any, I partially nailed holes into the boards and then, with the level balancing along the top edge, made little adjustments and then hammered them into place.  Once I'd done the other side too, levelled with each other, I went around and added screws too, to make sure there was no movement with the sled moving across the top.

It was an interesting exercise because up until this point, I would have said the surface was fairly level already.  But, hooley dooley, it was nowhere near!

Once I'd put the sled together...

The sled showing router gap

.. and got the router onto it, I realised that I'd made the rails too high because I couldn't get the bit to reach the lowest point, which seems to be this corner...

So I took a bit off the high point at the opposite corner ...

The sled on the rails

... and then took off the side rails and did it all again, much lower this time.  That did the trick and now I've started flattening in earnest!

I'm finding that I can do 10 passes at a time.  It's a pretty big bit (1" straight Diablo) and I don't want the motor to get too hot.  Plus, holding the trigger down means I have to grip it really hard and after 10 passes, I need to un-cramp.

Rails down and starting in earnest

The fallout...

... is immense!

It's leaving behind these little ridges, which some people seem to think you just leave to give the surface a bit of texture to hold your work.  But I don't think I'd be able to stand it!  Once the router passes are done, I think I'll go back with a sander and smooth it off.

But one step at a time.  The lesson I'm learning from this project is patience.  Every time I pick up a tool, I want to race to the ending somehow, but I'm trying to slow it all down and just focus on one thing then another.  No cutting corners.  There's no deadline.

Workbench II - Laminating

Yesterday was cutting and laminating day.  It went ok.

I started out with some grand ideas of cutting down the length of each piece with a view to giving them all nice straight edges to laminate together.  But after attempting one piece, I gave up.  It was way too hard trying to get a nice straight rip with the circular saw so near the edge.

So I just went ahead with laminating using heaps of pva glue.

There were some seriously large gaps between the pieces, because of bowing and cupping, though.   Not to mention all the knots.

I considered just using a filler to fill all the gaps, but some of them were so bowed that the only bit that were glues were just the little bits at the ends.  So I put some masking tape underneath some of the worst ones and started filling them with Tarzan's Grip.  

I love this stuff - it glues really well, but also swells up to a kind of foam as it hardens.  It took a few goes, but eventually I got it start coming out of the top seams.

I wasn't too concerned about any mess because it will all come out when I flatten the top.

I also trimmed off the ends with the circular saw, but I made a bit of a boo and cut off too much at one end.  I would have preferred more overhand at the ends, but it just means that I'll definitely have to put on an end cap at some point.  :)

Workbench I - The Beginning

This all began with my wanting to get ducks.  I already have 5 chickens, but I thought, hey, why not 2 ducks as well?

But then of course, that means I’m going to need a new coop, that can house both chickens and ducks.  My poor chickens have needed an upgrade for a while, so this is a good reason to do it.

And that means, of course, I’m going to need a lot of pallets.  And to get all those pallets ready for building, well, that means I’m going to need a proper work area.  And a proper area needs a workbench.  And thus, I’ve arrived.

I already have a base made of really heavy metal, so really all I need is the top.  The base was my Dad’s and had some old mdf top on it which was all swollen and crumbling, and I figured that if I’m going to get a new one, I might as well do it right.

So I started investigating and eventually came across roubo bench designs, like a proper carpenter’s bench with built-in vices and whatnot, and that got me properly excited.  It’s not going to be a proper roubo, but inspired by one.

This was the impetus I needed to get sorting out my back patio.  Most of it was piled high with boxes and baskets that Mum left behind and it took me about 2 days to get through half of it.  But that was enough to make room for the bench base.

After much sketching and changing and thinking, I finally trotted off to Bunnings and bought 6 lengths of structural pine - 90 x 45mm x 2.4m.  For some reason, Bunnings keep this particular size on a mezzanine floor down the back of the trade section, which means each piece has to be carried down stairs to load on your trolley.  Luckily, when I went, 2 nice blokes were there buying timber too, so they helped me pass it all down, over the edge of the balcony, and down onto my trolley.

I managed to fold down the back seat of my Outback as well as put the passenger seat right back, and that way, I fit it all in.  Woot!  I picked up some pva glue, clamps and a very cool long sash clamp thing.  I really wanted a 90mm t-bar slash clamp, which was on the Bunnings website, but after visiting 3 different stores and nobody having them, I gave up and bought this one instead.  I actually really like it.

So here it all is:

The wood is all in really poor shape.  I know it’s only structural grade pine, but I had the feeling that lots of people had already been through and picked out all the best bits.  So even though I went through every piece, what I ended up with is still pretty twisted, bowed and knotty.  Oh well.  I keep telling myself, it’s only a workbench and not fine furniture.

1975 - 2015

We’ve just had a Long Weekend and this time, J and I went down to Nyamup Village, an old mill town about 20km east of Manjimup.

It was a bit of a last minute decision and I really only started looking for accommodation on Monday, which is usually a bit late for a long weekend, esp at the start of the school holidays.  But I went onto Stayz and found this place called Gum Nut Cottage and it was listed as available. 

I made the booking enquiry through the website and got the confirmation email.  Because there wasn’t much time to play with, I rang the mobile number listed in the email, but it was disconnected.  I couldn’t find the place listed on any other website, so I was very worried that it was no longer available to rent, but they had just forgotten to take it off Stayz.

Feeling a bit desperate, I started widening the search online and found a picture of what looked like the same place listed on LJ Hooker’s website in Pemberton, not called “Gum Nut Cottage,” but “4 Nyamup Rd, Nyamup.”  And not for sale, just for holiday hire.  So I rang LJ Hooker and asked if they knew about this place on Stayz called “Gum Nut Cottage” in Nyamup and sure enough, they did and they handle the leasing of it!  It was definitely still available (not surprising, seeing as it was so hard to find).

J was keen to add Friday night as well, but I had to wait until Tuesday to see if I could get away from work early.  By about 11am, I still didn’t know for sure, but I didn’t want to wait any longer, so went ahead and booked it anyway, hoping it would be ok.  Then about an hour later I got confirmation at work that I could leave at 3pm on Friday – woot!

So after a mad frenzy of finishing candle orders and organising the house and food, at 3pm on Friday afternoon I left work and went straight on to J’s to get going.

It was pretty heavy traffic for the first few hours and we didn’t get to Bunbury until about 6.30pm.  And my oh my, was it cold!  There was a really strong wind blowing and it was freezing – made a bit of a shock getting out of the car.

We ended up at a Thai restaurant called The White Elephant which was fab.  Really, really, nice food and decadant ambiance. 

We missed the turnoff from Bunbury and had to do a little backtracking, but we made it to Nyamup by about 9.30pm.

The place is an old mill town that ran from 1939 to 1989.  I think all the little cottages are now privately owned and some are available for hire, a bit like Donnelly River without the general store.  Lots of kangaroos and emus hanging around too, although not quite as tame as the DR ones, probably because they’re not getting a steady supply of pellets.

We found our cottage, number 4, and unpacked.  I think “delightful” or “romantic” are the best words to describe it.  It looked like it has had a fairly recent reno and was gorgeous.  It had a very modern Ikea kitchen and bathroom, 2 big bedrooms with queen size beds in each, as well as a sleepout with 2 bunks.  The 2^nd bedroom was all florally and feminine while the master bedroom had a slightly more masculine feel, so we settled in accordingly.  The loungeroom was really cozy with a big, built-in, slow combustion fireplace and huge tv.  Everything was perfect.

So with my electric blanket on and 2 quilts on top of me, I had a wonderful night’s sleep. 

The next morning we cooked up a big brekkie and then went walking to explore our surrounds.  Straight across from our cottage was a path that said “river,” so off we went.  It took us past some old ruins of mill buildings as well as over an old railway/tram track.  Then on down to a tiny, rickety footbridge across a river.  It really was rickety and about halfway across a tree was growing over it which involved some interesting limbo action.

From there it was a network of what felt like rivers and dams – I got a bit disoriented, but J seemed to be mapping it in his head.  Lots of frogs and ducks and just a lovely secluded place.

We eventually came back up to the house and then went out to have a look at a property that J had seen online.  []  There was no phone signal in our cottage, but back at the highway J called the Real Estate agent and she sent us a little mudmap of how to find it. 

There was a bit of light offroading involved, but we found it eventually and I really loved it.  We managed to drive around 2 sides of it and then had a bit of an explore through it, by car and foot.   It was sort of on 2 levels and looked like it had a temporary creek running through it, although that was dry.

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Anyway, we had a good time tromping all over it, saw a big pod of kangaroos and a goanna, and then went off to Manjimup to find some firewood.

The lady I spoke to at LJ Hooker had told me that the Caltex in Manjimup sold bags of firewood, but when we went, the man said no.  He suggested Mitre 10, so off we went there.  They only sold these “ecolog” things and when we asked the guys what they were like, they basically warned us off them, saying they were pretty rubbish.  They suggested we try the petrol station at the “end of the main street” or the BP.  So we went to BP first (only ecologs) then the other petrol station and yay! … the guy had 6 bags of jarrah left!

So we got 2 bags and then went back home to have a late lunch of chicken waldorf sandwiches in front of the fire.

I had grabbed some dvds just before I left the house on Friday and J had brought a usb with some tv shows on it.  But we couldn’t find a usb connection port on anything, so it came down to the dvds, which I was a bit embarrassed about because I hadn’t put a lot of thought into them.  I had brought P&P, David Copperfield, My Fair Lady, A Mighty Wind, and The Good Life.

So J chose Pride and Prejudice to watch first.  He’d never seen it, but after having read the book while we were up north, I think he was a bit curious.  Top marks to him that he got right through it and I think actually enjoyed it, even though the endless feminine analysing between Lizzy & Jane must have been driving him batty at times.

We had a pause to make dinner (sadly the oven wasn’t working so I had to improvise a tray bake in the electric frypan) and then finally made it to the end very late, must have been around 11pm.

[]

We both crashed pretty much straight away and got up around 7.30 the next morning. 

J had commented the day before that we had already done everything we had planned to do in the first day, but I was still curious about going over to Moon’s Crossing.  So we took Wheatley Coast Rd, heading south, but we couldn’t see the MC turnoff.  We ended up on Orchard Rd and did a bit of traipsying around the tracks until we came across Moon’s Crossing Rd. 

The crossing itself was really full, tons of water flowing really fast.  We climbed over a few rocks to get a closer look, but the current looked way too strong so we decided not to try it.

We drove around a few of the tracks for a while longer, found an interesting wooden bridge along the Bibulmun Track at Wright’s campsite, and then found a concrete river crossing which wasn’t too deep that we could cross. 

That led us past the Gloucester Tree and into Pemberton, where we had a quick lunch at the bakery.  I had a sausage roll and a meringue thing that tasted awful.  It wasn’t sweet and was covered in hazelnuts … yuck.

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We decided from there to take the Rainbow Trail past Big Brook Dam and then head up to Bridgetown to visit the Cidery.  I’d forgotten how lovely that dam is.  And somewhere along the way, I think on Channybearup Rd, we saw a sign to Tangletoe Cidery, so we went off to find it.

They specialise in organic wines and ciders and, after a taste test, J bought a few bottles, including a cherry port and a cider liquer.

I have to say I felt a little bit tipsy after that and had a lovely experience in the car of wonderful contentment and happiness while driving through the green fields and listening to folk music.  J

We continued on to the Cidery and made it there by about 2pm.  J bought a few more bottles and we sat for a while, J with a glass of scrumpy and I had a sweet soft cider.  Yum.  We had parked next to someone who had a “Foxwing” attached to their 4wd, so we were investigating those and other awnings on J’s phone.

After that we went back to the house to light the fire and watch some more telly.  This time it was Mighty Wind and then, after dinner, My Fair Lady.  I hadn’t watched it in years and I don’t think J had seen it since childhood.  What an interesting and brilliant film it is.

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The next morning was pack up day and my 40^th birthday! 

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It was porridge for breakfast this morning.  J challenged me to a little cook-off where he wanted to make his in the microwave and I did mine on the stove and we would compare the results.  And I guess the less said about that the better.  (I won.)

After breakfast we packed everything up and gave the house a quick clean.  Then I said that I wouldn’t mind having a look at Chindalup Pool and Lake Muir, which I had seen on the map, before heading home. 

We found Chindalup Pool after a bit which turned out to be a lovely picnic spot on the Tone River.  Fairly hidden away, it would make a nice campsite, but there were a heck of a lot of marchflies and bees hanging around.  That might just be because it’s Spring and everything is blooming everywhere.

From there we continued along to Lake Muir.  There is quite a posh visitor shelter and bird hide there and it’s really quite lovely.  The water is a fair way off from the hide, but it was peaceful and beautiful.  While we were there, a man and his teenage son arrived.  The dad wanted to take a photo of his son with the lake in the background and told him to “not give me that emo expression.” 

They seemed to be travelling alone together with a caravan.  Despite all thoughts to the contrary, I saw the son give his dad the most adoring look back at the car – it was really heartwarming.

From Lake Muir we cut north on a gravel road and came out onto Wingebealup Rd or something (I can’t remember the actual name because J kept referring to it as “Whinge-belly.”)  That took us up past Tonebridge picnic/campsite and Heartlea, which was an old settlement or something.  All we could find was a big old wooden shed and some dirt mounds.

Continuing on, we landed in Boyup Brook around early afternoon, so we stopped to have lunch.  It’s really quite a cute town, I hadn’t really paid much attention before.

Then on past Glen Mervyn dam to Collie, then back to the sw highway for the last stretch to Perth.

All in all, it was a great trip.  Spring was definitely in the air and everything was green and blooming. I had an absolute ball and I’m so glad I spent my 40^th in that way.  []