And finally....Ta Da....



in position and ready to go...



I've still to make the wood vice to fit on the right hand side but that's this week's job.

Vice squad...

Then it was onto the vice. The workbench has two vices - one metal (which you buy) and the other wood (which you make). Managed to get a great metal vice on Ebay for about twenty quid - but it was bue (the standard for all Record vices). And I wanted it to be silver. Time for a quick paint job...



Then it was onto the surround - purple heart and maple.....

Bring on the bleach...

I decided a while ago that I wasn't too keen on the colour of the Iroko we used for the bench frame. It's a sandy colour when you first cut it (which is fine) but over time darkens to quite a dark brown (which isn't). Not in my line of sight anyway! It's usual to then finish it with Danish oil, which gives the wood a golden tinge - again a no-go for me. So I decided to bleach it with a special wood bleach and then wax.



It's a bit of a faff - apply Bleach A, wait half an hour, apply bleach B, wait a couple of hours, if not light enough apply bleach B again, wait another few hours and so on. Then, wash down with a weak vinegar solution to neutralize. Then wash down with water. Then wait 72 hours. Then sand. You get the picture. So that was last weekend pretty much spoken for. It took a few coats of bleach to get the colour to lift sufficiently but I'm really pleased with the result.

Stuck on you...

After a week of planing and thicknessing, it was time for the big glue up of the bench top. The top is made of three pieces of (very heavy) maple which then have to be glued together to create a single piece - just a few clamps required to hold it in place!



Then it's back to the plane to make sure the surface is completely flat...