Bench Fixed

I can’t believe it. I fixed my workbench.

A while back, not having a drill press, I decided to try to drill downward through a horizontal two-by-six with a vertical two-by-six under it, and you can imagine how well that worked out. I messed up one of the two-by-sixes supporting the front of my bench. So today I replaced it.

Making the story sadder, I took apart some .38 Super bullets before I started, because I was trying to clear reloading junk off the bench. And it turned out bullets that are a week old are harder to pull than fresh bullets, because I had to beat the daylights out of my bench to get these out. And I noticed I was splintering the top surface. So I had to replace ANOTHER two-by-six. Memo to self: from now, put something on the bench top when using the bullet puller.

It gets worse. When I removed the first two-by-six from the top of the bench, I had to deal with glued dovetails. And the two-by-six behind it split while I was working on it. So I ended up having to replace three two-by-sixes, two of which required a lot of routing.

It took me at least an hour and a half to create two tongues and one groove. I still don’t have my nice new Christmas router set up, so I used my crappy Sears job. But it worked.

I still have to drill a couple of holes, saw off a long two-by-six, and reinstall my vise and reloading press. But that stuff is quick and easy.

I gave up and bought a standing drill press. I couldn’t take it any more. About twice a week I get hit in the face with a job that a drill press would do in about two minutes, yet which is nearly impossible with any other tool and my limited skills.

The garage is still a nightmare. I had to quit before I dropped in a pool of sweat and sawdust.

I love having stationary power tools and a bench and a handy-dandy Workmate. I had to cut two-by-sixes to length, and with my ever-ready miter saw, it was a cinch. The little square Og recommended also helps. And what a joy the impact driver is. I had to remove 3″ number 14 screws from wood that was wet when I put them in. And they backed right out without stripping. The screws I put in to take their places went right in. Drills are crap; impact drivers rule.

Too bad tomorrow is Sunday. Otherwise I’d fire up the table saw and make a platform for the HAMMR.