workbench 1

Comment

Comment by Eric Rosenbaum on April 14, 2015 at 5:16pm

Thank you Ihor, In our disposable age, it is rewarding to find usefulness in things others have given up on.  At the same time, it saved me at least a month or two of building time.

Comment by Ihor Wyn on April 13, 2015 at 11:01pm

Great job! You repurposed and gave it a new life. Gives additional ideas for future projects.

Thanks for sharing.

Comment by Eric Rosenbaum on April 9, 2015 at 10:10am

Hi Michael, 

My original intent was to build a Roubo style bench, but soon realized there were two problems.  1.  The budget for hardwood/hardware was more than I desired to spend even without adding drawers or finished storage. 2. A table top fixed to the base was not conducive to moving the bench in the future.

 

I was at a used furniture shop and ran across a 1949 Drexel “Wentworth House” dresser  (originally retailed for $169 dollars).  It was a relatively simple design and was of sturdy hardwood construction.  I bought it for $250 and the rest is history.

 

I removed the original legs, added 5 inch pads on the corners and 2 inch pads in the center back and front, added 3 cross beams on the bottom, reinforced the interior with ¾” plywood, added ¼” plywood on the exterior sides, veneered the top and drawers, created exterior legs out of oak and matched the front profile to the chamfered and fluted corners of the old dresser.   Most of which, I used the Kreg jig. I used Kreg screws on everything.   I decided us multiple colors on the base to match the top.  

 

The top is made out of 1/3 standard 2” x 4”s, 1/3 spruce from a tree off of our farm, and 1/3 left over hardwoods (oak, walnut and cherry) which run the length in the location of the dog holes.

 

I finished with a combination of stain, Danish oil, shellac and poly.

 

I’m now designing a sliding stop frame in an attempt to avoid the dog holes all together.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

PS: my shop is the 3^rd stall of a three car garage.  It works nicely except my wife complains about dust in the cars.

 

Comment by michael evans on April 9, 2015 at 2:15am

Nice job on the bench Eric oh to have a shop that big , I can dream I guess .