"benjrblant" (benjblant)
06/10/2020 at 16:47 • Filed to: None
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"benjrblant" (benjblant)
06/10/2020 at 16:47 • Filed to: None | 3
| 12 |
Truthfully, it’s getti ng kind of old at this point. I’d so much rather have a job and be working, but I’ve had absolutely zero prospects. It’s been a weird mental shift from “how can i do this efficiently” to “f-it, I’ve got all the time in the world and doing it this way saves me $3.” I feel that I’m making excellent use of my college education.
Pictured: stack of beams to hopefully make into a workbench because... I’m pretty much running out of things to do at this point.
Sovande
> benjrblant
06/10/2020 at 16:57 |
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That's some nice looking wood. Long bar clamps and glue it all together?
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benjrblant
> Sovande
06/10/2020 at 17:07 |
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Thanks, they’re beams for residential construction, 11 7/8" wide x 1 3/4" thick. These leftovers are about 8' long, so I’m thinking the benchtop will be two beams wide and I’ll rip one down for legs.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> benjrblant
06/10/2020 at 17:14 |
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Those beams will make for one sturdy table. I need something more portable, so I built a Paulk compact workbench. It’s been surprisingly handy. The torsion box design provides a place to set tools down without cluttering the bench top (I clutter it up anyway) and the edge has been great for clamping down items. I plan to get holes drilled for bench dogs eventually. The plans call for custom saw horses but I’m thinking a pair of folding legs with casters will work better for me.
Mine’s currently sitting on a couple of cabinets. I turned them sideways last week so the bench surface is about the same height as my table saw and it can act as an outfeed table.
Are you going to follow a set of plans or just wing it?
phenotyp
> benjrblant
06/10/2020 at 17:16 |
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I just bought a bunch of magnets (US-based) to make a knife rack or 10.
I might have overbought, magnet-wise.
Should be able to use my friend’s shop on Friday or Saturday and take her scrap wood and make a few.
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benjrblant
> TheRealBicycleBuck
06/10/2020 at 17:27 |
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Nice! That looks efficient. Bench dogs are the way to go if you’re working with long stock.
I used to do detailing and engineering, so I’ll stick with a custom design for mine.
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> benjrblant
06/10/2020 at 17:34 |
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I look forward to the finished product!
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Sovande
> benjrblant
06/10/2020 at 17:35 |
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I want to make tables out of it. Are they oak? This is a solid slab of oak I split down the center and then glued back together. It's just over 2" thick. The butterflies are walnut.
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benjrblant
> Sovande
06/10/2020 at 17:37 |
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The beams are plywood, doug fir or pine, IIRC. They’re quite knotty with a lot of glue seams- definitely construction product.
That’s a really nice looking table! It takes some skill to do butterflies well, nice work.
66P1800inpieces
> benjrblant
06/10/2020 at 17:37 |
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What field and region are you in?
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benjrblant
> 66P1800inpieces
06/10/2020 at 17:40 |
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I’m in Denver. Previous employment was here: https://oppositelock.kinja.com/and-thats-a-wrap-1842428125
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Sovande
> benjrblant
06/10/2020 at 19:02 |
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Thanks. I had a nice template and some strong tape.
Oh! I didn’t realize those were laminated beams, that’s pretty cool. They are doing some amazing things with engineered beams these days. There is a construction company called Katerra which is trying to really push that technology. They are having limited success, but its pretty interesting stuff. Cross laminated timber is the technical name, I think.
functionoverfashion
> benjrblant
06/10/2020 at 20:55 |
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It would be hard to convince me not to build some sweet mountain bike obstacles out of all that. I’m starting to build some of that into my trails, now that the kids have enough singletrack to keep them busy; I need impossible stuff to try to get up and over to keep myself entertained.