Ramblin' Dan's Workshop

I was wondering if I should place this article under "Wax Carving" or "Tools." As you see tools won as a workbench in my mind is actually a tool and not something I made.

If you have read the Blog pages you know I was thinking about getting my wax carving out of the hot Texas weather which my garage shop spares me no cool place to work.

This is the lowest cost regular size bench in the Rio Grande catalog (or website.) There is a baby one that sits on some folding legs that could be a consideration. This one just has more working space and there is room in my office in front of one of my bookshelves.

Just a couple of days after I ordered this LARGE 20x24x42 box appeared on my front porch.	I had to stand back and wonder how much the UPS guy had to say under his breath as he lugged this 101 pound box from his truck to this spot on my porch.
It was in perfect condition. Four bolts in each side and two in the leg spreader and it was assembled. Probably closer to 90 pounds or a bit less with the cardboard gone.	I assembled it single handed uh... using both hands and a power driver. About 15 minutes assembly after getting out of the large box.

I will certainly be posting more about this bench as I gear up to use it and start carving projects on it. I'll soon know how good an idea this was but I am sure to enjoy the working conditions. Also no more worry about contaminating my wax  or spoiling a carving in the heat.

Update 8/2/14

Here is how the bench looks now. I just added the stand for the Foredom motor. This is a new stand just like the one on my slide out bench.	A problem was this clamp is too tall to be mounted on the bench edge. So I mounted this red oak 1x4x18 (3/4 x 3 1/2 actual) Its low enough to adjust the leg mounting bolts
The power strip is an added feature so I don't have to go digging around on the floor looking for the strip. I bought the Foredom EM1 Electronic Manual Control because with my PN feet I can't feel the pedal for accurate speed control. The EM1 control can work with or without the pedal controller.	The pedal with the EM1 becomes more like an on/off switch if you just mash it down but if you "feather" it, there is still pedal speed control  slower than the EM1 is set. The EM1 is more like an upper limit. The new mount is very rugged and well worth the effort to make the special side bracket. It saves space on the bench top.