Work Bench Remade

This is a long sordid tale about how this work bench evolved. Okay, it is not sordid, whatever that means. The top is from a 4' wide solid core door. I bought it for, I think for $5.00 some 20 years ago at a lumber yard that since has gone under, thanks to big orange.

It started out as a 4'x 7' workbench. It was a beast to move around, but then I was younger and stronger. After a couple of years of service in my first shop, we moved to a new location. I don't remember all of where it has been since, sometimes doing duty as bench, then a make shift desk until my wife said it had to go.  I think when it was a desk, I cut the top down to a more manageable size. (I was older and the thing had gotten heavier.)

Lately, it has returned to the work shop. I don't really have room for it, but it came in handy when I was building the blanket chest last year. A couple weeks ago I was playing around with the placement of tools and benches, part of the hobby, and decided to raise the height  and try something new.

Looking around in the scrap bend I found some 2 x 6's and raised the top, in the process making a nice area to store my hand planes. (I had them on the wall, but my shoulders don't like picking up things that are heavy above my head. What is that all about?)

So far I like the new arrangement, especially when sharpening. 

The Spice Box Challenge

Honduras Mahogany

This week we set out to buy wood for some spice boxes. I have it in my mind to make at least one, but my wife thinks I should make at least 3.

Before starting this project I tried to research plans that we could use. I located four different plans. Fine Woodworking had two sets but we wanted more options. One set of plans was advertised on many different sites, but only the exterior of the box was shown and that is like buying a house without seeing the inside. I am too cheap to buy plans online without knowing what I am getting.

Popular Woodworking had plans in one of their past issues and that is the set I decided on. (It  actually seems to be the same plans for the one I liked most found here.)

We really liked the spice box in Tiber Maple so we visited Karl's Rare Woods and picked out some boards. (Rare Woods was a good find for me. It is a small business near Georgia Tech and is hardly noticeable. The guys there are helpful. They have to be, because lumber is everywhere and one could spend weeks rummaging through their supply.)

I went into the store looking specifically for Tiger Maple.  Then they showed me some Honduras Mahogany, and a bunch of veneers that I had to have. Now it would seem one of the spice boxes will have an exterior of Honduras Mahogany.

Tiger Maple is new territory for me. The photos don't show off the pattern but it is there. 

Tiger Maple being cut to rough length.

The Birdhouse

Some years ago I built a birdhouse for my wife. She liked it. The weather did too. One day we came home to find this prized possesion in the grass, no longer able to sit on its post.
So I did what I am good at. I sat it by the trash, not able to throw it out but not willing to fix it.
There it sat, rotting, reminding me of my defeat with mother nature, until my wife decided to take on the task of making a new one. Of course she needed my help. (She wanted to use my tools. Rule one, never lend tools.)
So out we went and we started the house together. However, and I'm thinking it was her plan, she disappeared, on to other projects, leaving me to finish what I should have done months ago.