# Hubb's "Bernie Bench" build.... (Pic heavy)



## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Alright. So, I'm building the same style bench that Bernie has built on his 12 year old solid core door. It will have a solid wood floor on the top, with t track, and a more traditional English base. This is easily the biggest project I've ever undertaken, and it will Definitely take some time, so be patient. I've never posted a "build thread" and I'm fairly new at woodworking, so what I hope to accomplish, in addition to showing you how I built the bench, is to teach some of the noobs like myself, how to overcome some seemingly complicated problems, maybe show the old dogs (or remind them of) some new tricks, and for my mistakes, show everyone how to NOT do things. This thread will be very honest, and I hope it all comes out alright. I have quite a few posts I'm putting up tonight, so stay tuned. If you don't know what a "Bernie bench" is, the link will be in my second post. Stand by.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/versatile-small-shop-work-bench-unique-40361/


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

So I started with some standard southern yellow pine (SYP) 2x4 studs. 8 foot long, and I planed them to flat and face glued them. Dimension isn't really relevant. You just need them flat enough to glue together.









And the realization that my current bench has outlasted it's usefulness was apparent when I was planing the sides down by hand. If you have trouble with hand planing, don't worry, I do too. It's fun but I'm no good at it yet and you'll see my solution later.

So I got all of my stock plyed together in 8 foot lengths. 6 2x4 pieces to start (ill need more) and glued them together. That's 6 planed 2x4's making three total boards.

Now Bernie built this on a solid core door, which is essentially veneered particle board that will run you about $80 plus dollars. I ain't down with that.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

I bought a 4x8 sheet of 1/2" OSB sub flooring and had it cut in half at Lowes. I then ripped it to 23" at home, and glued it together. First I made sure I had the right amount of cauls handy










Then I put the glue on(this takes a lot of glue, it's 8 ft long)










Then I clamped all the cauls down and was done with what will be the top


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Now it's time to get the posts and the trestles down to length. These will be attached with through mortise and tenon joints so you want them a little long. Here's the first trick. After making sure your mitre saw is true, attach a stop to the end of whatever the saw is resting on like so











Then mark your length. For the trestles it will be 22"











And then line the blade up to your mark, with your line between the blade and the stop, and use the saw's clamp to clamp the piece down in that spot.

You should then be able to slide the board and saw until its end is flush to the stop like so and make your cut









Now that the saw is in place, BAM, square and repeatable cuts for that length

Here's what the trestles look like after using that trick and showing off the t track hardware I got from rockler.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Okay, second trick, if you don't have a standard bench with dog holes, and you want to get into hand planing, here's a quick planing stop for you. All my clamps were occupied so I had to use pipe clamps. 











That's to brace one end, and if you need to brace the other.....










And this is the legs and the trestles. Legs are the same 2 ply method but 33 1/2" long


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Now. I'm bad at hand planing, and I spent hours on these. It didn't work out. No worries. The mortising jig must be as wide as the trestles, so I did this











Which is shaving a smidge off all trestle sides and then running the jig top through. Plans for the jig....











And how to use it


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

I then started on the tenon collar. You need this to accurately route the tenons on all four posts simultaneously. I jacked this up.

Stack all of the posts together, and then take two pieces of cut off and add them to the length placed on roughly a three inch wide piece of mdf to get your length, like so





















Do the same again for the other side and attach them like this











Before you do that, make sure the collar will also fit around all four trestles with them laying the way they will with the bench assembled. Ill show you why later


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

How to use the jigs















And the jig fitted around the tretles. The reason why is saved for tomorrow, but trust me, it'll be worth it. Hint: the plan calls for you to do something to the feet, with a jointer, but I'm gonna do it witha router.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

And a rough layout of the hardware


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

more tomorrow folks.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Hubbard said:


> Okay, second trick, if you don't have a standard bench with dog holes, and you want to get into hand planing, here's a quick planing stop for you. All my clamps were occupied so I had to use pipe clamps.
> 
> That's to brace one end, and if you need to brace the other.....
> 
> And this is the legs and the trestles. Legs are the same 2 ply method but 33 1/2" long


Posts are actually 31 1/2" sorry


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

So the plan called to cut a cove on the bottom of the lower trestles with a jointer. Mine is OOC so I used a router and a dado set.











The distance from the end is personal preference.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Ill post a picture of the bottom trestles a little later. Plans also call for an 1/8" shoulder on the post tenons. I did this with the dado set as well.

Setting the blade











To find the length of the shoulder, measure the height of your upper and lower trestles as they would be oriented in final assembly











Then use that measurement to set the fence











Then you can use your miter gauge to cut the shoulders. Both with these cuts and the cove on the feet, I had a fair amount of chip out, so it may help here to either use a sacrificial fence or some tape or something.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

So my original plan was to use the tenoning collar to do the coves in the feet as well. That didn't work. But no less here they are after the dado set and again after cleaning up with a belt and then orbital sanders



















I also cleaned up the tenon shoulders









But now I have a problem. I have no idea how I did this, but I set the fence wrong and made my first shoulder cuts about a half inch too long. I'm thinking I'm going to have to cut the posts Down 1/2" on both ends but this side of the shoulder is only 1/8" deep. What should I do? You think it'll be fine or should I cut it?


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Just figured it out. It was the dado stack. I transferred the measurement to the front instead of the back of the blade. So I ended up with what I wanted to cut, PLUS a cut the width of the stack. Okay folks, do t do that.:furious: for now I'm gonna cut the pattern and put it on the sides of the trestle pieces. Hopefully I have an answer to my problem , otherwise I think I'm gonna shorten the posts.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Hubb, personally I'd just stack a spacer in there and be done with it. Glue something in and you should be fine.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

That is a fantastic idea. Except, a "spacer" of wood. like a little decorative trim piece. FANTASTIC! Whether that was what you meant or not, its a phenomenal idea and itll look great too. thank you!


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Yep, that's exactly what I meant. You can either do it a different species to accent it, or just hide it with the same species of wood.


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## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

I'm on board here and watching. One little trick a "newbie" taught me in another post about gluing 2X4's together on the face is to rip the 1/8" off the top of all the boards before the glue-up. Then you glue with a flat top and no planing to do.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

So I needed to make a pattern for the trestle ends. I used a nail and a string because I didn't really have a better option. It required a 1 1/2" radius. Here's the plan. 











And here's what I did











And the. I cut it out and tested it on some scrap. Took about 4 cuts to be happy with my method. I HIGHLY reccomend doing this. I cut it on a bandsaw and I'm not historically great on one, so if you aren't either, test it out first. Here's the final product after cutting them all and sanding them smooth on the cut ends


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

So frustrating. I did t use the tenoning collar I built because I don't have the right router bit and I don't wanna spend 20.00 to get it so I cut the tenon shoulders on the band saw. Somehow I've managed to cut the shoulders too deep once again. Not by much, and it's correctable, but it just aggravates me. I measured the height of the trestles, marked it on the posts, picked a tenon width (the plans called for me to cut in 7/8" which would've made the tenons too thin) and I cut them.

Well, here are the posts











And here is how far off I am











So. I think instead of making through tenons I'm going to cut the mortises to a certain depth, and trim the tenons to fit snug


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Frank i didn't even think about using a different species. That's a great idea. I have a lot of red oak that would look great against the lighter SYP. Especially after I go over the legs with either tung oil or Danish oil


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

So everyone knows, I'm not slacking off, but I have reached a work stoppage until payday so I can buy a top bearing flush trim bit. That's how I want to cut the mortises. I attempted some other methods on some scrap but due to current skill and tool level, they didnt turn out so well. So, I'll be back at work once I get paid. Till then I'm contemplating some changes to the base design.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Keep us posted when you get back to it, Hubbard. I certainly want to see the finished product.


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## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

I checked in today and noticed your pipes - they are long. I used short 2ft pipes in my bench which is all you really need. But you may have something in mind for that length pipes. I'm watching.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Got one of my needed bits today. Gonna make some progress this weekend!!!


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Making the mortise template. This before I trim it and then put braces on each side so it slides onto the legs and can be clamped


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Then I cut them and used glue and nails to attach them











And then I learned a serious lesson. It doesn't matter who makes the bit. EVEN IF ITS FROM FREUD!!! Make sure the bearing stop is tightened down, because mine wasn't, and the stop and the bearing rode up the shaft and did this:











So I have to rebuild it. Don't assume a tool is good to go right out of the box, especially a bit with a bearing stop. I'm so pissed. Fortunately that was on a scrap piece


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

I told you I'd be honest. Don't extend the bit longer than it should mount, and don't lift the bit out of the jig when it's still spinning. I'm about to build jig number four. Frustrating, but I'm learning, hopefully new folks learn from my mistakes.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

So I got so mad today I almost have up and went back to the drawing board. My pawn shop router apparently needs a new collet. There was no way to rout those mortises without the bit slipping lower down the collet and screwing it up. It jacked up one of my trestles and needless to say, I felt sick.











Well, after I calmed down I figured I got these super sharp chisels, I guess we will go old fashioned. 











Then I slapped together a rudimentary tenoning jig so I could sneak up on the thickness











And now I'm finally moving forward. It's a slow process but its the first thing I've tried on this project that actually worked.


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## Hubbard (Jan 1, 2012)

Oh my lord. I got one side done. And it fits, and its bombproof sturdy. I don't think I've ever been more proud of myself, sure, it took all day, but I DID IT!!!









And, when I put the level on it, I'm not even kidding, I teared up a bit. So much work but it was successful. This is awesome!!!!


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## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

Congratulations Hubbard - it looks great and I feel your joy. Woodworking does teach us patience.


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## J Thomas (Aug 14, 2012)

That's looking great Hub.. I much appreciate the fotos of the mistakes! Hopefully I can recall the cause & effect in these when I'm into a project.
I know how maddening it can be when things don't go right. We've all been there.
I'll come to a certain level of frustration & just walk away from it for awhile. I've got plenty of things I can go do to get my mind off the problem.
Maybe even sleep on it & come back the next day with a fresh perspective and a better attitude.
Getting really pissed usually ends up in something getting busted or getting hurt.
Go grab a cold beer & mow the lawn or something!!
Take care.. Be safe.. & Keep the fotos coming.
..Jon..


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## r22yu (Apr 6, 2013)

Your mortise mistakes look exactly like the first lap joints I made with a router  Boy was I not prepared for how easily the router bit could dig into the wood.


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## Brently (May 14, 2013)

I want to make my next workbench sturdy like yours.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

I really enjoy build threads too, and I'm glad you are staying with it, and I have learned a couple of tricks already ... thanks!

One tip that might help in the future: when you are putting a mortice in the middle of 2 pieces glued together, you can dado both halves first and then glue them together to make a mortice.

Also, since the shoulder of the tenon covers the hole, the mortice hole does not need to have perfect edges.

Last: If the tenon is too tight when you dry fit it, then you will have a trouble when you glue it because of the fact that the wood will swell when it gets wet. You should be able to insert it and pull it out bare handed without a huge struggle.


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## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

How's your bench coming along Hub? Hope you haven't been sick or anything. I often walk away from projects to collect my thoughts and fix things in my mind 1st before getting back to the projects. Hope everything is good with you


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