A workbench worth keeping
· 2 min read
This is less a walkthrough and more a record of what worked for me. The workbench is the first project and never the last. Oil finishes are forgiving, easy to repair and age beautifully. Between milling lumber and planing boards, the second one taught me more.
What I kept
It took me nine attempts to see the pattern. Good finishes is largely a series of small, unglamorous decisions. Good oak is largely a series of small, unglamorous decisions.
Hand tools are slower, quieter and strangely calming. The shift showed up bit by bit, then all at once. Most of what I know about sharpening came from getting it wrong first. Good dovetails is largely a series of small, unglamorous decisions.
- Stop before you are tired
- Revisit sharpening after a week
- Do less milling lumber, more cutting dovetails
- Ask someone at the workshop
- Write down what you change
Second thoughts
Between sharpening and milling lumber, the second one taught me more. Some of this will be plain; some of it took me years. The first seven weeks were largely about unlearning. A friend once described sharpening as hushed work, and the phrase stuck.
I wrote most of this on a hushed Wednesday morning. I would rather do one thing deliberately than five things fast. Most of the work happens before any cutting starts. The first ten weeks were largely about unlearning.
The simple part is seldom the hard part; consistency is. I attempted the honest version first. It did not last. The trick, if there is one, is to leave sufficient room for errors. Half of the work is deciding what to leave out.
A few details
There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. I attempted the oiled version first. It did not last. Somewhere between the workshop and home, the notion finally made sense. The first five weeks were largely about unlearning. For a long time I treated sharpening as an afterthought.
The result is not perfect, but it is honest. Below are a few jottings, roughly in the order I found out them. The first eight weeks were largely about unlearning. Nothing here requires a block plane, though it does make things easier.
You can get unexpectedly far with a block plane and some patience.
dovetailsoak