Progress on the Cornebarrieu Bench is coming along. It has been slow going – I have been swamped with work, travel, lack of allowance (I spent it on Christmas and a classic fiddle/violin…), more work, etc…
Stamps-With-Foot gave me a gift card for our local Home Center/hardware big-box as a Christmas present that took care of the price for the last section of the top. I got a lot accomplished this last two weeks:
- The final sections of the top were glued up just before New Years eve- using every single clamp I brought to France and more than a little ingenuity.
- Installed (2 hours of cutting, drilling and chiseling) a pricey German-made cast iron end vice that I got on 65% sale – was missing two small metric bolts and the wood handle.
- Made final leg cuts: the tenons that go inside the bench top.
- Put 5/16 oak dowels in to the pieces that have cracked, even a little, to make sure that the cracks do not spread.
- Gave all the base parts an 80 grit sanding.
- Really like the sawmill marks on some of the pieces. Am going to put clear poly on the base instead of milk paint to preserve the marks.
- The legs and stretchers shrunk and warped just a touch in the six months since I cut them even though I had it all clamped together. It will be fine and could have been worse.
- Made the first dry-fit of the base to the top: Everything lined up , fit perfectly, and is as square as I could ask for.
- Drilled holes for connector bolts and lag screws.
- Installed base shelf cleats
- Cut the 12 sections of 5/8″ tongue & groove pine that will be the base shelf
Before I head to the US in a couple of weeks, I hope to have installed the end-vise block, given the base a 120 grit sanding, polyurethane the base &shelf, cut the hole for the leg vise screw and the rectangle cut for the vices’ parallel guide. I also want to install the leg vise nut in a pocket behind the leg while the bench is upside down.
