Workbench, so close yet so far away.

After letting the glue dry overnight, it is time to trim the extra length of the tenons poking through the bench top. I didn’t quit know the best way to handle this so tried different methods. I tried laying a saw flat on the bench and just using the top of the bench as a guide. This worked well until the last portion of the tenon. While I expected the saw to chew up the top a bit, I didn’t realize the the saw would actually dig into the top. This created a gouge in the top that will now have to be planed out. Ugh.

Next attempt was using a jack plane and just feverishly working the plane until the tenon was flush with the top. If you want a workout, this is the way to go. For me? No thanks. I actually used that last method for two of the legs before sensibility kicked in.

For the last leg I went back to using the saw. This time I kept a slight pressure on the handle to make the saw angle away from the top of the bench. While this did not result in a flush cut, it did prevent the saw from digging into the bench. Then I used a plane to flush it up. Yeah!

I still have lots of work to to but it is awesome finally having all that wood that I have moved from 3 different houses finally come together into something that resembles a workbench.

I final flatting and construction/installation of the leg vise and this will be ready for use!

Unfortunately, that will have to wait for another year as my job has relocated me back to Japan.

Until then…