Descent

Heading back toward bench chaos again. Working on more blocks of materials for the legs and back rest parts at the window end of the bench. I also took time out to do a little shaping on a tray that will be a present for someone retiring, not just shy, but giving up paid work. The little inset is of that in the vice. The ability to tilt the vice up to hold things flat like this is one of its most useful features. Later I popped one of the seats in to do some more shaping on the well known divet for posterior comfort. The grip and structure of the vice is strong enough to hold things steady for work with the spokeshave, plane or electric tools, but not really sturdy enough for a lot of work with a hammer and chisel. In the position shown, the work can also be rotated without removing it from the jaws or the vice can be tilted back down towards the normal vertical position. There are two levers under the bench that control these degrees of freedom. The Makita belt sander is one of the tools I use most and the one that makes the most dust.