Small Project Bench

 

  I think there must be dozens if not hundreds of websites, blogs and magazine articles about work benches.   The experts and amateurs all have opinions about what is best, or historic or cheapest or easiest etc. etc. etc.  All that stuff makes good reading and I have borrowed more than a couple of their ideas over time.  

 One thing that I have learned from all the information available is that there is no one perfect bench, because the scope of woodworking is so vast.  To say that you have the One Perfect Bench can only mean that it is perfect for the type of woodworking that you do.  A boat builder is going to have a different bench from a furniture makers, from a pattern maker, from a model maker, or  from a do everything handy man.  

 I seem always to be making something small for the Grand kids or am making other small projects, example, tea boxes.   I do lots of whittling and woodcarving and small scale wood work now and I needed a bench/work area to make those tasks easier

   I have two serious work benches, both sturdy and both too low for this type of work of small scale work.  Big benches have big vises, and are not at the correct focal length,  

So I developed my “Toy Makers Bench”

   This bench is actually an 8 by 10 inch work surface that clamps solidly into my machinist vise on my workbench.  The little cleat on the top offers a place to hold small pieces of wood or plastic while cutting, I can also clamp to this work surface if need be.

   Working on this bench/table uses different tools than working on big things.  These are some of the small tools that have found their way into my “ toy making ” kit.

  When I mix them in with various knives and chisels I am able to make silly little projects that give me pleasure  and don’t take up tonnes of space.     Cheers, Ian W

Wood Carving, or wood working while flat on your back

  At the beginning of April I hurt my back, or at least aggravated an already weakened back.  Being a guy however I kept going until I was completely flattened, so by the beginning of May I was in real trouble and by the middle of May I was heavily medicated and horizontal all day everyday.

  In a moment of irony, I reacted very, very badly to the second round of medication that was to improve my conditions and get me moving a bit. The result, I was not only completely immobile but horribly sick too.  That was just 15 days ago.  Many thank-you are owning to family and friends that helped me through a very rough time while the drugs cleared my system and the latest round of medications settled in to do their job.

  Early this week my head was getting clear enough that I wanted/needed to do something other than lay in bed.  I figure that if I am taking pills that keep me from driving, they should also keep me from playing seriously with power tools. Any way I am still limping around on crutches or a cane to try and reduce pressure on my leg, (the place the real pain lives) so machines are not a good idea.
  
  So, what?  Wood carving of course.  I am able to rough out the bass wood with hand saws and then I lay on the couch and whittle away on my projects.  The basic carving/whittling that I do needs a minimum to tools, I can hold the strop in one hand while tuning up the blade a bit and it is the type of project that can stand to be set aside while I rest or collect my thoughts.

   My Grand daughter, Clara is a purple girl and she is fascinated by the snails that are all over our garden and drive way. 

  So she is going to get some purple snails.  All this stuff has to be done in pairs because they live in Noah's Ark when the kids aren't here.  

  My Mom is the artist that does the painting, that is an area of wood working that still requires much more attention from me. 

thanks Mom