Refinishing an old workbench

[@mykecollins3255]

My father in law gave me his bench. It is almost identical to yours. His grandfather built it in 1892 is the stamp he put on it. Love how you are caring for yours as I do mine. Thank you for sharing. Take care.

[@tonyrooker9417]

Hi, just got almost the same workbench from a friend who was a professional carpenter but has now retired. Hope to do the same beautiful refurb that you did whilst keeping the character. Love the son "helping" you with loading the trailer etc. Treaure those moments cos time passes so quickly and before you know it he will be making his own bench. Great video

[@Erikdidit]

Good luck! :)

[@WyrGuy2]

I came across your video while looking for something else... soon as I saw your helper (son) and the way you interact brought me back 60 odd yrs ago and ‘helping’ my dad, riding in the empty wheelbarrow between loads, holding boards while he cut them, handing him nails... I’m a subscriber!

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you. He always wanna be in the shop when I'm there, either playing with toys or working with his tools :)

[@29ginad]

.

[@SwimBikeRunFastest]

Exactly what I thought. Instant memories of helping my dad at that age. I hope I can pass on the tradition one day

[@Blagger3000]

Nice to see that all the character has been kept and that now it can be moved around the workshop making it even more useful. Thanks, nice vid, great project and kept simple.

[@bryanstotts5436]

Reminded me of "helping" my dad with projects when I was little! Great video

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you! :)

[@skipbrooks3646]

A rewarding feeling, bringing the bench back to a new life, I wonder what history it could tell. Great job.

[@supersaiyamanlb]

the shot of you and the kid in the beginning....hits you right in the feels

[@Erikdidit]

thank you :)

[@oojagapivy]

I sometimes worry when I hear the word "restoration", especially with old furniture. I think you've got an excellent balance of cleanup without destroying the history and character of this bench. Nicely done. I've got my pop's old workbench and I'm really reluctant to try to "restore" it for fear of losing it's history.

[@WittAllen]

100% agreed.

[@vikassm]

Somehow this got me very emotional! Thanks for posting this, wonderful work.

[@dozer1642]

It makes my heart heavy to see the child help move the bench out. A child so removed from the generation that built the bench, and used the bench for so many years, for projects that are all washed away now. It’s a bench that was built to stand the test of time, and it did. The child is blessed to be surrounded by his history.

[@crossgrainwoodproductsltd9230]

I found the same type of workbench, a cabinet makers I believe, in an Antique Store some years ago to add to my shop. It didn't have the cabinet below, just a shelf It came with two dog peg of steal o ly more rectangular than these. Along the edges of both wood vises there were saw cut marks and such. I took firstly an electric planner to the entire top, tray, top and faces of the vises to reve gouges and cut markes. It came out beautifully.

[@josepherwin8709]

I like that you left a lot of the patina. Feels like an homage to the craftsman(men?) who used it before you.

[@mattbuck4066]

Nice job on the bench and great video! Thanks for sharing.

[@potsy9973]

Thats pretty sweet. Only now I wish I had grabbed a vintage bench of my grand dads. It never even dawned on me back att.

[@GeeksWoodShop]

Love all the character that is left in the bench, it's an open book full of past and future stories.

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you!

[@dirtdart81]

Surprised you didn't flatten it. So beautiful, nice job!

[@alabamacouple1329]

For those who think it was ruined by the addition of casters and the removal of the feet: This workbench didn’t get ruined - it evolved. For its original owner it needed to be stationary. It obviously served someone well and often in a former life. Now it is reborn to serve its new owner and provide a sturdy platform for new projects and new memories made. But it will also step aside when it needs to do it can meet the demands of its new owner. A busy dad and family man. It will go on to collect more scars and stories. Erik didn’t ruined this bench, he saved it and gave it a chance to live on. Nice job.

[@joepianpiano]

Well, he took a nicely made and used joiners hand tool bench, made with all proper joinery by the looks of it, and: - Put a nail in the vice! - Possibly a screw in the hole he drilled in the top! - Put castors on it which would make it absolutely impossible to do most of the work it was built for - planing, cutting mortices, sawing tenons, etc. These things would be absolute sacrilege to the person that built this bench. While some viewers might say, "aww what a cute table" and "the oil really made the grain pop", any woodworking wants to cry that this great bench which looks like it could churn out furniture for another 100 years, is being relegated to a table top on wheels. It would be much better to see this given to a furniture maker who could actually use the way it was intended. I'm quite sad seeing this

[@darrinrentruc6614]

Alabama Couple, I do not believe in evolution but I do understand your point. If someone wanted it back to the original form It would be easily accomplished.Filling a couple holes and cutting feet back into this bench would be nothing difficult. You are correct, This man made this bench what he wanted while saving and preserving it nicely.

[@darrinrentruc6614]

Joe Pianpiano There are many more of these carpenters benches than there are furniture makers these days so the only way to preserve them is to give them other lives, Lighten up a little on the original thing and be happy these things are not getting thrown in the garbage like they were in the 60s 70s and 80s.

[@rhorn79]

Loved the part with your son, reminds me of mine when he wants to "work" with me. Cheers 👍🏼

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you! :)

[@benzmansl65amg]

What a great piece. Well done and congrats.

[@kingofDF]

Awesome video! The work bench turned out great!

[@kukulcangod1]

great but what is the oil? you are using to regenerate it etc, thank you

[@Erikdidit]

Thx, boiled linseed oil

[@TheSamsonizzle]

@@Erikdidit Had to really search for this. Would be great if you put it in the description. Amazing job by the way. I was just given an 80 year old workbench that is in similar shape (probably worse) that I'm going to restore! I can't wait to transform it!

[@gunnarbrinkmann1326]

Wonderful Work. It looks very good. You can see the traces of Time. Very good Work.👍👍

[@budwoodman1716]

That bench looks like it has some stories to tell.

[@Erikdidit]

Yes you are right. It was my great, great grandfathers workbench actually. But unfortunately I dont know ant of them :)

[@flightforfight]

Yes!!; Is old and usefully!!!; And now, another story to tell us!!!; One lover father and his very little son construct the most beautyfull story of LOVE... One father, one son, and handwork to the family Legends!!!!.... Congrats for this peacefully video!!!

[@beateater43]

yeah one new story about some hipster cutting his feet off...

[@2skulls415]

You got me looking on Craigslist right now! Really cool bench

[@placidrenegade]

Beautiful old bench that. Sympathetic restoration:)

[@ameliavanderniet8732]

Jeepers, so many critical people! He clearly went in with a plan to suit his set of needs and desires. I love the end result - kept the character but made it more useful for him. Cheers, great video (I liked the music)

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you :)

[@frshtlldthfreshtilldeath9670]

Man , I hope I can get an old workbench too. Good job 👌

[@alvindueck8227]

Nicely done. Looks good

[@RevivedBuilds]

Great Restoration man! It reminds me I should do the same to mine. Keep up the good work!

[@philbarrance]

I left a like just upon seeing the wee fellas eyes when dad picked up the trailer

[@michellelivingstone6464]

Brilliant..love an old work bench. What kind of oil did u use please

[@ludvigtande1236]

What a work bench should look like👍

[@Th_kingsolomon]

So much character to it. Giving it caster wheels was a good idea, forever mobile.

[@jamesorr1200]

Love the video! What kind of finish did you use?

[@randomdutchguy]

It's a good thing you had awesome help

[@artrobert0875]

Beautiful bench. Good work man

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you!

[@cooper512]

Good job, nice restoration whilst maintaining character. I've got a similar one I should do this for. What grit sandpaper? 80?

[@amyray2119]

This is gorgeous!!

[@FabianoAndrade]

Great job, congrats!

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you! :)

[@johnjetson1307]

great bench, really great workmate to help with the move

[@sylliebee]

I love that this was more of a clean-up than a full re-finish.

[@heyimamaker]

I like that you kept a lot of the character! Nice work.

[@Erikdidit]

Hey I'm a Maker thank you

[@KomarProject]

Erik im finally ready to do finish on my workbench restoration and was wondering of you knew any info on period correct finish application for a 1800s bench. I want to say you used BLO but not sure. I hard that beeswax and BOL combo may be period correct. was wondering if you can point me in the right direction.

[@Erikdidit]

Unfortunately I don't have that info. I used what I had on hand and I didn't do any research. Have you asked google? :) Good luck!

[@edmaymortem525]

wish i had a dad, your son is very lucky

[@HybelFever]

god damn

[@YesCaptain]

the little man is a huge help! :)

[@bigboss4298]

That’s a beautiful bench!

[@ErikBongers]

To avoid all the dusty sanding, I guess you could have tried a scraper to get most of the grime off. Since you often use powertools for cutting and ripping, I wonder if it's an issue that you didn't flatten the surface of the bench. But then you would have lost quite a bit of that beautiful weathering.

[@Blougheed]

awesome job. im glad you saved that patina

[@ektopia]

Beautiful result! My old workbench used have this two level thing going on when I was a cabinet maker. Never really thought about it since but why the two level work surface do you think?

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you! I don't really know. Sometimes I find it useful to get tools out of the way and just push them down there :)

[@planreview]

Tools on the lower tier

[@stevenash2933]

Great looking shop John. Liked the peeping Tom at the window 😆

[@joannenardoni17]

Where did you get that, get more and sell them

[@EYEHoruss]

Hi! Excellent video Can I ask what type of liquid you used for the finish? Just normal wood stain?

[@Erikdidit]

Thx, no stain just boiled linseed oil

[@EYEHoruss]

@@Erikdidit Thanks so much for the quick reply. All the best to you :)

[@21mph12]

That's a good dad right there, and you got yourself a good boy by the looks of him. The workbench looks great and is ready for more hard work. The only thing I don't like is that it's in the wrong workshop ;-)

[@Erikdidit]

Thanks for your kind words!

[@sMheoKipley]

A great story, well told.

[@keiththrelkeld5890]

I would have loved to see that top when it was new! However, part of me happy that you didn't plane it down..

[@jeffreymilarsky3246]

Great historical restore. What oil did you use to seal it?

[@Erikdidit]

Boiled linseed oil

[@KomarProject]

Erik love the video!! I have the same type of workbench minus the drawers and at some point I’m going to do a restoration video on it. You have any advice before I start? It’s a gorgeous piece and I don’t want to destroy its history.

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you! :) I also wanted to keep the patina therefore I sanded it lightly. I didn't want to plane it because I would have lost the "old look". Then I just used boiled linseed oil as finish. Good luck!

[@KomarProject]

Erik did it ok cool. That’s what I was leaning towards. Once I restore it and post the video I’ll shoot you the like. Thanks brother

[@Karpe_Deem]

I thought you were going to plane off the surface

[@Erikdidit]

I didn't really want to because I wanted it to look old and used.

[@barstad-9591]

Erik did it Well you certainly accomplished that! (I thought you’d use a belt sander with 33 grit.) It does look like it has stories to tell.

[@FrankAUnger-bz8fo]

Snyggt gjort och bra editerat! Köpte en liknande bänk idag, lite mera slitage och ruttna delar på den, men ska bli kul att fräscha upp, får troligtvis nytt liv i vårt kök istället för snickeboa. Keep up the great work! 👌

[@Erikdidit]

Tack! Frun har faktiskt uttryckt önskemål om att ställa den i vardagsrummet på stugan :)

[@Erikdidit]

Lycka till!

[@FrankAUnger-bz8fo]

Fixade färdigt bänken nu, video finns på min kanal ifall du är intresserad. 👍

[@tripwire0000]

Any tips on keeping the saw dust off the threads of the vise? Mine gets all gummed up pretty quick.

[@Erikdidit]

No, unfortunately I don't have any. Maybe someone else can help?

[@pgfollett]

Lubrication is not an option. I have just resigned myself to clean the screw more or less regularly. (Usually less)

[@nicmasterdude]

Try using wax instead of a liquid lubricant!!

[@NordboDK]

Use a dry lubricant like graphite.

[@nicmasterdude]

NordboDK I like the idea of graphite, however in my shop I protect my cast iron (table saw top, jointer beds, planer bed, bench plane soles, vise screws... etc.) with paste furniture wax as it makes a hard, dry, slick finish allowing work pieces to move smoothly and preventing rust. I reapply the wax in my shop once every 6months or so. While you shouldn't run into too much of an issue realistically, the furniture wax won't transfer to my work pieces in the way I worry about graphite doing so!

[@kenbrandon4554]

Any idea what the original finish is?

[@EvolutionPowerTools]

Nice work, love it! 👍

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you :)

[@TheGaryRz]

Nice. You did just enough.

[@kitchenscience324]

What an awesome find! What type of wood was the bench made from?

[@Erikdidit]

I am not sure but I think it can be birch

[@theoldtimeywoodworker2488]

Beech.

[@dfbess]

perfect! you just knocked off the grime but left the patina.. to many idiots i see remove the age and take it to far.. you did this beautifully !

[@Erikdidit]

Thanks! A lot of people wonder why I didn't flatten it but it didn't want to remove the history. I wanted it to look old and used.

[@MarshallSmith27]

splendid man

[@Erikdidit]

+Marshall Smith thank you

[@2009yale]

Beautiful! Do you have exact dimensions on this bench? Thanx

[@Erikdidit]

Thx! It is L260W60 H85 cm.

[@2009yale]

Thank you. Can you take pics of the underside of the clamps? I'm trying to see how its made. I'd appreciate it!

[@Erikdidit]

It could do that but I'm not sure how to share it with you.

[@2009yale]

Make another video of the details of every inch of this workbench; its that cool! In this video you went too fast.

[@thatilluminati_3421]

You pretty much defeated the point of having a nice heavy workbench by putting casters on it

[@Erikdidit]

Yeah, you are right. Unfortunately my workspace is so small that I have to be able to move it around. But I can always remove them.

[@dozer1642]

thatIlluminati _ if you can’t figure out how to chock casters, you shouldn’t have a workbench.

[@embeaston]

Dozer1642 right just need to sit it on some blocking

[@daveyph]

Dozer1642 so if you don't know how to do everything you shouldn't be allowed to do anything? Gatekeeping much there lad.

[@dozer1642]

David ‘Lad’ spend less time correcting injustices on KZbin comments and more time working in an actual shop and then check back with me in twenty years. Lad.

[@RoomiesGarage]

Nice work!

[@zulexable]

Hi Erik, which oil did you use towards the end of the video? I'm about to start bringing my dads old workbench back to life. Thanks in advance.

[@Erikdidit]

Hi, boiled linseed oil, good luck! :)

[@s10m0t10n]

Some of the comments have been unnecessarily harsh on you, Erik. It's your bench and you can do what you want/need to make it suit your purpose, so ignore the critics. You struck a good balance between making the bench usable once again and letting it show that it's got a history of use and work. Let's hope it serves you well for a long time to come.

[@Flavoreddwater]

Made me cry 😊

[@greatitbroke]

That is really cute a daddy and his little boy right there with him in the man glitter!

[@Tekkaman76]

what grain sand paper did you use?

[@Erikdidit]

I don't really remember but probably 40 or 80 at first to remove all paint. 120 or 240 before the oil finish.

[@maxdoran9027]

Congrats man, I’m your 1,000 subscriber

[@Erikdidit]

+Max Doran thanks! :)

[@maxdoran9027]

Erik did it no problem

[@100rrh]

what polish were you using at 5:00?

[@Erikdidit]

Boiled linseed oil

[@jennahabrock4594]

What did you rub all over it on the end??

[@Erikdidit]

Boiled linseed oil

[@OneManBandWoodworks]

Beautiful old work bench Erik well done. I’m subscribed now, like to see what you’ll build on it

[@sanketnikat2926]

What is the name of white color machine?

[@FoundingFather74]

What kind of finish did you use.

[@Erikdidit]

Boiled linseed oil

[@gapinskimaciej]

do you know the origin of the bench? I inherited one that looks almost exactly the same after my great grandfather. I would love to know how old it is. will get to restoring it some day. cheers from Poland.

[@Erikdidit]

This bench was also my great grandfather's but I don't have more information than that.

[@adityaagrawal3737]

Amazing!

[@ricardslismanis6867]

what finish did you use?

[@Erikdidit]

+Ricards Līsmanis boiled linseed oil

[@ricardslismanis6867]

Erik did it thanks

[@Coen80]

Why not plane it down? Perfectly flat, and fresh look again.

[@pauld9530]

looks similar to the one I'm building

[@ianmelencio5752]

Cool

[@Stephens8x6Workshop]

Nice job Erik. I bet that bench is going to see many more years of use. Liked, Subbed and rang your bell too!

[@pauldixon6654]

Very nice film music bloomin awful. Love to know if your little man uses it one day

[@tomahoks]

Majava peräkärry trailer paljasti sut, gave you away. Nice Job on the bench.

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you!

[@mechanismmechanism2013]

приятно как с сыном и там где-то мамка ходит и своими делами там вроде как дело и ты рядом и занят а потом вот это да а можно больше--- и если это осознал то вообще жизнь кайфффффф

[@conorjordan6649]

Thin sheet of plywood would really protect the top if u dont want it to get anymore damage

[@Erikdidit]

Yeah, thx for the advice, but I wanted the memories visible.

[@gsh319]

Sorry to see so many "tools" left so many negative comments. Ya did a nice job cleaning up that bench and breathing some fresh life into it. I'm sure your son will remember it also. To the negative commenting "tools, ". get your bike picked up off the driveway and get washed up for dinner, your father will be home soon"

[@cvgurau]

giving this a like just bc you didn't sand or plane the benchtop clean again. you gotta leave some of that aged character on benches like this otherwise what's even the point of having it

[@tonyjordao2595]

Hi good job, semi-restoring that bench, and by the way i check this video by mistake, i was looking for the way of finishing my refurbished work bench, that by the way, is on wheels, not castors but roller bearings, my garage is to small, to not have all my machines on wheels, so that i can move them, but back to you, well done for letting your boy, to play around with you, happy working projects, for some of that other people that comment, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything, just move on, this was never a debate.

[@Erikdidit]

Thank you for the nice comment. People have opinions on what a woodshop should be and I respect that. But we all have different needs. I am happy with the result, me and my wife even considered putting it in our living room :)

[@_trismegistus]

Oh man, get a cabinet scraper!

[@jeffp.5080]

The stories that bench could tell.........

[@yaneshs5862]

Hehe, thinking of my childwood when you were pulling the cart with yr child on it 😦...

[@HepauDK]

I don't have a kid, how am I supposed to get started? And it's not like rural Denmark is full of Rent-A-Kid stores... Just kidding (no pun intended). I have my own dads bench that he made about 50 years ago, that needs some tlc, and I would love to restore it to its former glory. That one has iron rod guides though, and the wood in the bench itself is worn. Not sure how to fix that without professional help...

[@eb282]

that hurt to watch you cut the feet off and ruin a perfectly good workbench

[@Erikdidit]

Do you think is was in better shape before I did anything to it?

[@pgfollett]

No, but I agree and seriously question the addition of casters which cannot be disengaged. Why do you want a bench that runs all over the shop? Otherwise not a bad cleanup. Did you consider flattening?

[@Erikdidit]

pgfollett I had to do it because I need to be able to move it around in my small garage to get the car inside during winter. The front facing casters can be locked. Actually I didn't consider flattening since I want it to look old. Thx for the comment!

[@graydation]

Yup... He ruined it

[@shawncrnich4431]

Agreed.

[@acriley87]

The mortise you filled in the vise jaw was functional and supposed to be there. Your workbench has one less function now.