Building the Anarchist's Workbench - Part 2: Assembling The Bench - Woodworking

[@ThePlayatawin]

Your video series are perfectly timed - after finishing the book I needed some visual guidance. So thank you! Looking forward to part 3.

[@jerrystark3587]

I can smell that resin from here. Love me some Southern Yellow Pine. It is nice to work with and it hardens like rock over time. Over the years, I have built a number of work benches in a number of styles. Looking back on it all, I regard this design as the best wood working bench for anyone who has a place to put it. Nicely done!

[@anarcholeptic]

Doing the scrub planing was my absolute favorite part- just because of the smell. Thank you very much for the support!!

[@TheSMEAC]

That extremely resinous SYP that buggered your bit snails so much will pay great dividends down the road as your bench becomes harder and harder 👍

[@treborupp]

Like your build 👍

[@anarcholeptic]

Thank you!

[@ritchieritchnsd]

Nice!

[@linang2211]

Great product. Easy to carry, setup, very sturdy and easy toctake down. Worth the extra couple of dollars.

[@tfields6364]

Thank you for the time and effort it took to share this video. I love the format - awesome video with important captions minus the talk that often just distracts from the work. I read the book but wasn't confident I could make the bench until watching your videos. I'm excited to get started now.

[@anarcholeptic]

I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for the feedback.

[@erictheviking672]

Great job, I love the bench

[@tombristowe846]

Lots to like here. I particularly like that you have left a scrub plane finish on the underneath of the bench top.

[@anarcholeptic]

Me too! Sometimes I just sit there and run my hand over the waves lol

[@fernandorivas4230]

this was a lot of work! but very rewarding at the end. beautiful job, thanks for shearing.

[@CrustyClad]

I noticed you didn't drawboard the top? Anyhoo, I'm at the assembly stage and those pegs are TIGHT!!! Even with some wax and a very light sanding they are super tight... lol. Did you sand the pegs any or just drive them home and pray ther didn't get stuck half way?

[@anarcholeptic]

I just gave them a light sanding and wax and they worked out!

[@CrustyClad]

Got the hardware (leg vice screw, planning stop and holdfast) in today 👍

[@normolson1]

Well done sir, thanks

[@michaelwhitehurst]

Bench is looking good! I was nervous for you when you flipped it...

[@anarcholeptic]

Me too! 😅

[@birdseyewoods]

Looks great! Can I ask what made you decide not to drawbore the base to the top? Enjoyed the content!

[@anarcholeptic]

I wanted to be able to separate them in case I moved shops, but the fit was tight enough that it’s basically one piece now anyway. Thanks for watching!

[@memilanuk]

Using the draw knife to sharpen the pegs for the drawboring was a slick idea!

[@idocobarry]

Great video. Question: Why not cut the mortices in the top (for the leg tenons) the same way as the stretcher mortices? In other words, cut the three edges boards on each side prior to the glue up to make the mortice (or most of the mortice and chisel to fit for the remainder). Seems as if it would be easier and cleaner than drilling and chiseling the mortices after the glue up.

[@anarcholeptic]

Great question! Originally that was the plan, but if you rewatch the part in the first episode where I set the glue-ups you can see it probably would’ve been nearly impossible to keep the mortises lined up and properly distanced. In the benchtop, the mortices are two boards wide, versus one board wide for the stretchers. If the boards slid against each other, as they inevitable did, I’d risk ending up with mis-matched gaps and have to settle for a looser mortice or smaller tenon. Thanks for asking!

[@memilanuk]

@@anarcholeptic I was wondering the same thing. But I had mistaken the planing stop for the leg mortises. I wonder if putting a block of wood the same size as the mortises in the gap, but waxing the heck out of it (so the glue wouldn't stick) would work. Drill a couple screws into the block and use them to yank it back out once the glue has had an hour or so to begin to set, perhaps. Given how the leg tenons are fitted to the top, might not work as well as I thought... Hindsight is always 20/20, as they say. Very much appreciate you taking the time to document your build for the rest of us. I need to get some wood stacked up in the shop to acclimate for a little bit, and then start on mine this spring. I think I might take a tip from Benchcrafted's notes on their Classic Roubo build - use my old biscuit joiner to put a few biscuits between the laminations, just to help keep the boards aligned during glue up and not slip-sliding around.

[@ggulo100]

Love the build! Thanks for the video! Question, why did you decide not to drawbore the leg tenons to the benchtop?

[@anarcholeptic]

Thanks for watching! I’m a college student working in borrowed space pretty much constantly. Since I made the bench, it’s been moved to two different workshops. I skipped the upper draw bores so that I could retain the option of taking the top off, although having moved it a couple times now, it’s easier to just leave it all connected. The fit is so tight it’s damn near impossible to get the top off. I suppose it also gives me the option to replace the base, should I ever have flood damage or anything of the like start to compromise the legs. Saves me the money and time of having to rebuild the whole thing.

[@ggulo100]

I suspected it may be for ease of movement. I have considered the same. Good to know your experience. I will probably go ahead and drawbore it when I build mine.

[@andiejoy5295]

I love your build! This is the bench I’m gonna build, and you did it the way I want to do it. How many board feet did you get?

[@anarcholeptic]

Thanks for the support! I don’t recall the exact number, but some quick math says it should be in the ballpark of 85 board feet, nominal.

[@ScratchAOE2777]

Yo Huewn what kind of shoes are those?

[@anarcholeptic]

They’re Thorogood boots! Can’t seem to remember the model name though.

[@djjinerson]

I agree those are some nice kicks 🦵

[@benm5913]

Sorry, noob question: do the tenons of the long and short stretchers intersect at all? From the placement of the pegs it looks like they are slightly offset. Second question, are all four stretchers at the same height? I am having the hardest time understanding the mortis work in the legs.

[@anarcholeptic]

Good observation! Yes, they are all at the same height. The pegs are offset so that they don’t intersect. The tenon of the short stretchers was made a bit shorter than the long ones, so they meet inside without intersecting. Does that make sense?

[@benm5913]

@@anarcholeptic Yes it does. I thought that might be it, but, was unsure. Thanks a bunch.

[@NotJustSawdust]

Great so far (watched part 1) and now at pause at 2.00 minutes in this part. Question: Why glue all the boards stacked up with the grain direction the same way? (and of course I'll push play again..)

[@anarcholeptic]

Good question! So when wood warps along it’s long axis, it almost always warps to the bark side. If I had put the pieces in an alternating pattern, whenever a board did this, it would cause it to split away from the board it’s laminated to. But by having all the grain patterns aligned, I can avoid this for the most part as the warp of each board will be complementary to the ones on either side of it.

[@NotJustSawdust]

@@anarcholeptic But the whole idea of glueing them contra to each other is that they won't (can't) warp. Glue is mostly stronger than wood. Watched all videos now and subscribed (*o*)

[@PracticalMinimalist]

@@NotJustSawdust shwarz doesn’t go into details about it in the book. On page 228, it says “Why? If the boards in the lamination cup, they will help keep the seams at the edges closed and tight. Why, again? Remember: The bark side of a board becomes cupped as it dries. The heart side bows out. Put a bow and a cup together and the shapes are sympathetic or com- plementary. Put a bow against a bow (or a cup against a cup) and you might have a struggle on your hands (or some gaps at the seams).”

[@mohdalisyed]

@13:37 scared the shit out of me!!!! Don't do that man!

[@iPaintCars_215]

Big thick legs and skinny stretchers??..reminds me of those big muscle head body builders that don't do their legs. Bench still looks great I think that this is an oversight often made.

[@anarcholeptic]

No leg days. 😂

[@djjinerson]

@@anarcholeptic 😂

[@TechieTard]

Has it ever occurred to anyone, that there is really no need to glue up the mortises if they have dowel pins? Let's think about it, how in the world would it ever pop off. Relative to where you would be putting the dowel pin of course. Oh, bud, your fly is down...nice table!

[@anarcholeptic]

Why not? The bit of glue isn’t going to break the bank. Redundant, sure, but not much trouble. And I noticed the fly in editing but I couldn’t cut it out 😂

[@DarkTouch]

pipe clamps dude... pipe clamps. You get a lot more clamping force with pipe clamps, and a big mallet, bring your mortise and tenon to close

[@anarcholeptic]

Thanks!

[@hectorrojas8679]

No esnecesario que filme cada clavo que pone , eso aburre, con un ejemplo de cada cosa essuficiente ,