What I Did This Weekend - In Pictures!

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
One of the best bits of kit ever invented the Workmate.

That and the hammer.
I bought my dual-height one in Woolworths in 1981 - I wheeled it home on the pedal of the bike.

@Toble has been looking after it for me for a few years now.

It was designed by an interesting character - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Hickman


I have a couple of the much rarer "Jobber" variants, probably even more useful - they can be clamped onto just about any table/counter/desk/surface, or just used 'loose'.

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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
The Workmate is assembled in its new guise - and all seems well.

Whilst it was being used to clamp the new jaws overnight for their glue to set, I employed the step-stool as an impromptu bench. This led me to notice the amount of saw intrusions that the top has had over the years.

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It still seemed strong enough, but I resolved to make a new top, with additional dog holes, to aid in workpiece location for future use. A piece of spare plywood, almost exactly the right size, already existed, so it wasn't a huge job.

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The old top step is a very good piece of plywood, apart from the many cuts in it, I'll save it for some future use,
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I have finally embarked on the (probably long-term) project of replacing the central 'worktable'. This has been largely a place to locate a 'pile of stuff' for the last few years and removing/relocating/disposing of that is not a small task, but it has started.

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Most of the stuff is gone from the top now, but there are piles all round it and a lot of 'useful bits of wood' underneath.

It will not be a overnight task...

A small part has been done - I have made a rather better 'sacrificial table' to fit over the vice at the nearest corner above. This drops into the vice and is held in place, but easily removed, if necessary.

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There was a previous one, made from on old bit of chipboard, but I noticed a better piece of plywood around the right size.

Apart from providing a surface that can be drilled or cut into without harming the bench, its main function is really to avoid getting a dead-leg from the vice handle when taking the corner a bit too sharply.

The pile of 'stuff' on the floor underneath also helps in that regard, but that is intended to be gone from there soon.

The bench, which was a schoolroom product, will be raised eight inches, to be at a nicer working height for me and to match the previous bench along the rear wall, so large items could be laid onto both across the gap.

A plywood table will extend from the back of the bench, to about the same size as the current affair.

Eventually - this will take some time...
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
The demolition phase is largely complete, but I still have some 'stuff' to relocate - however, things should start to progress forwards, at last, slowly.

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This shows the less-than-ideal storage system, once the top was removed.

With the existing frame gone, the first step, after the last of the 'stuff' is moved, will be to establish the 'school bench' to have its surface at the same height as the bench along the back wall. This has been tested and found to be a 'good height' and it means that large objects can be rested on both, across the gap.

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There will be a 4' square plywood top on this side, flush with the bench surface, providing a work area and locations for any machinery that is mounted on the plywood plates we saw earlier. They can be mounted 'anywhere', as required, and then stored underneath, when not in use.

There are some conflictions about where the frame members should be, and this will complicate the process of making the frame, but I hope to establish a good compromise.

One day, the whole thing may even have a retractable caster system, to enable it to be shoved around, should a bigger floor space be occasionally useful.

This may all take some time.
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
The demolition phase is largely complete, but I still have some 'stuff' to relocate - however, things should start to progress forwards, at last, slowly.

View attachment 13504

This shows the less-than-ideal storage system, once the top was removed.

With the existing frame gone, the first step, after the last of the 'stuff' is moved, will be to establish the 'school bench' to have its surface at the same height as the bench along the back wall. This has been tested and found to be a 'good height' and it means that large objects can be rested on both, across the gap.

View attachment 13505

There will be a 4' square plywood top on this side, flush with the bench surface, providing a work area and locations for any machinery that is mounted on the plywood plates we saw earlier. They can be mounted 'anywhere', as required, and then stored underneath, when not in use.

There are some conflictions about where the frame members should be, and this will complicate the process of making the frame, but I hope to establish a good compromise.

One day, the whole thing may even have a retractable caster system, to enable it to be shoved around, should a bigger floor space be occasionally useful.

This may all take some time.
Is this in the house? Or a outbuilding/workshop?
 

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
The demolition phase is largely complete, but I still have some 'stuff' to relocate - however, things should start to progress forwards, at last, slowly.

View attachment 13504

This shows the less-than-ideal storage system, once the top was removed.

With the existing frame gone, the first step, after the last of the 'stuff' is moved, will be to establish the 'school bench' to have its surface at the same height as the bench along the back wall. This has been tested and found to be a 'good height' and it means that large objects can be rested on both, across the gap.

View attachment 13505

There will be a 4' square plywood top on this side, flush with the bench surface, providing a work area and locations for any machinery that is mounted on the plywood plates we saw earlier. They can be mounted 'anywhere', as required, and then stored underneath, when not in use.

There are some conflictions about where the frame members should be, and this will complicate the process of making the frame, but I hope to establish a good compromise.

One day, the whole thing may even have a retractable caster system, to enable it to be shoved around, should a bigger floor space be occasionally useful.

This may all take some time.
Got enough clocks??
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
The bench is 'all clear' now, and work can commence on creating the new one.

The back had a strange protuberance on it that seemed to have no discernible purpose, so I removed it with a Lidl flush-cut saw. I wonder if it might be for assembling more than one bench as a set, but I couldn't see any other similar point.

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With the area clear, I was able to determine the 'lift' required to match my 'standard' worktop height - 220mm - this was done with the Lidl laser level, mounted on Ecker's old tripod.

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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
The back had a strange protuberance on it that seemed to have no discernible purpose, so I removed it with a Lidl flush-cut saw. I wonder if it might be for assembling more than one bench as a set, but I couldn't see any other similar point.
Right, this is what it is for - attaching benches to a communal tray, but there's still no reason for it to be out-of-line with the back, even if I was going to use it.

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On a connected note, I realised today that I had accidentally made the right decision in renovating the Workmate before I started this, as it will be useful in the conversion process, whilst the 'real' bench is not really in use.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I decided to do my nails today.

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But, in the end, I just used them as a means to carry the four DayGlo spots down to the Shed, after I'd punched them from the sheet in the house.

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The two dogs in the movable jaw are always there, but you can often spend a few seconds hunting for the location of the moveable ones, if they aren't already in the right place for the next task.

This may help.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
So, the basic outline of the new, higher framework is there.

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Much 'measuring of points in space', and there is still more to do, but the basis is there.

It's all a little floppy at the moment, but the new plywood top will stiffen it up a lot, and I suspect that a vertical sheet, where the old bench joins the new frame may turn out to be necessary, for lateral stiffness - plus, probably, another vertical sheet under the top, dividing the storage, to provide stiffness in the third plane - we'll see how it goes.

There will, eventually, be a shelf on the lower beams and, maybe, another halfway up.

Things can be assessed, and the design modified, as we go along from here.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
I wandered into town to get some plywood at lunchtime and it arrived in time to be cut up outside in daylight - always a preferable scenario.

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I fixed a lateral stiffening panel in place, and very effective it has turned out to be - it will also stop 'stuff' falling of shelving that may eventually exist there.

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The top is loose in the picture, it will be located to suit the fixed jaw-face in the far corner, and screwed in place from underneath - then the half-inch extra at this side can be trimmed off, to suit the bench end-face.

I discovered that the school bench had three nails driven into the surface, presumably by Nigel Molesworth, and I decided to get them out, because, as any fule kno, you will eventually hit one of them with your favourite chisel.

Two of the nails came out without a lot of resistance, but one required a little more excavation. As the damage was in a convenient location, I used the Wolfcraft jig mentioned elsewhere to create a truly vertical socket for an Anglepoise lamp - drilled right through, to avoid it eventually filling with sawdust - obliterating the scene of the crime.
 
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