Sabbatical woodworking

For those who are interested in this sort of thing... 

I've always dreamt of a day when I could rekindle the somewhat limited woodworking skills I learnt and developed at school. I've never had the space or time to do much about this over the years, but a sabbatical over the summer months at least hinted at the possibilities. 

I've done some drawings of two things I would like to make, a blanket box and a wardrobe. Quite ambitious really, given that it's been a long time since I did any serious joint making. So a little, or maybe a lot of practice is needed first.

Of course the first thing you need is somewhere to work and something on which to work. I do not have a workshop, so I need to work outside, which in turn means I need a bench that is sturdy and can be stored in a small space. I decided to use two bench vices (workmates if you buy Black & Decker) that I bought 7 years ago when I needed a simple bench on which to assemble kitchen cabinets when we moved the Cotton End. A sheet of mdf on two benches gave me the space to build the cabinets. The problem was that the mdf would slide about and was not stiff enough to bear any weight in the centre between the two stands. 

The solution was to build a simple framework from 50x75mm timber to support the bench top (12mm mdf). To this I added two 50mm square rails to fit in the vices on the stands. The simple "I" beam construction has given the bench a lot of stability and it will take quite a load. I haven't tried standing on it, but I'm pretty sure it would take my weight and much more.

I then added a small woodworking vice at one end. I'm left-handed, which is why it is positioned where it is. The pictures tell the story.

The bench is about 1500mm long and 600mm deep. It's not exactly lightweight, but it's manageable if you don't have to carry it very far. The choice of 75x50mm timber for the frame was simply to give a good working height for someone who is over 6ft tall. And I guess I could have got the stiffness from 25mm timber which would have made the bench lighter overall. Perhaps I'll try that when I get tired of lifting this one onto the stands!

My next two projects are a bench top table for my router and maybe a wooden storage box for chisels. I've made a start on the router table, which has been quite a challenge!