Hey man, I know this is an old video, but thanks for making it! I'm planning on picking up this bench and was just curious about some of the dimensions for doing exactly this. Appreciate your sharing.
Good idea! So I tried and not really. They both attach with a single screw so you could attach the blades interchangeably but the fit is not secure and would likely move while you are sawing. I hope this helps.
I bought this same work bench second-hand, unused, unopened, a few weeks ago. I also put the drawer runners on backwards, but couldn't figure out what I had done wrong. The instructions are lacking some details. Thank you for showing the drawer runner direction. I finished building the work bench just now.
Glad I was able to help. Enjoy the bench. I am still improving mine. I highly recommend putting it on caters or putting a tool well on. You lucked out buying it used open they haven’t been sold new for a while.
I got my 3 door one with a cupon about 10 months ago from Harbor Freight, it cost me $130. It leaves a lot to be desired but it's certyainly serviceable and at that price, it's hard to pass up, even as a temporary bench.
What kind of wood did you use for this? You mentioned the sizes but not species, I'd presume hardwood would be a good choice here for extra strength. I'm actually thinking about replacing the lower partical board shelf with a piece of birch plywood the same size for extra strength there as well. One person also added a 2x6 brace between the legs under the shelf.
Hi Allen, Buddy you've need to watch a few videos on the correct way to use a spoke shave, you just have to slow down and follow through with each SHALLOW cut gently but firmly, you can't just hack through it, or you might as well use an hatchet!
nut and bolt would be better than screws to attach the well to the bench...drill holes, slot the bolts and tighten with a pair of wrenches...great video thanks!
The red one is the best for testing batteries because you have to test a battery with a load applied, the red one has a setting for load testing a battery! Just testing voltage doesn't prove anything!
@pjwoo276 To get a true reading of a batterys ability, you have to put it under a load! For example, a 9 volt may read, say, 8.7 volts on a meter and appear to be good, but once you test it under load it reads 4.9 then it's a bad battery
A good fair review 👍. I have the harbor freight pull saw and the other pull saw from harbor freight and while maybe not as precise as Japanese steel and engineering they are both reliable and durable go to saws I even used the harbor freight saw like a machete and it still remains sharp and as precise as it was in beginning.. I also had a mij pull saw but friend is uding it and I paid about 37 for it and while it's a tad bit more accurate with it's thinner kerf/blade I personally think that the harbor freight Portland pull saw is a great deal..
Seriously dude! You have to hone the blade as they don’t come ready to use. It comes with the blade ground to the proper angle but not honed. And you had it set to take too thick of a shaving. So hone th blade then take a shallower cut and you would be surprised how much better it will work!
It's more than mislabeling they designed it in such a way that it doesn't work as a guide. Sure label a tail a shoulder on top but you can still use it. They just built it so wrong you can't use it......
Bought the same saw and had a few battery packs already, so it went to work as soon as I got it home. It runs well - holds the blades well - has decent battery life and all --- but I seem to be feeling a hesitation to start once in a while. I attributed that to having the blade on the material and it couldn't start with the pressure on it --- but that isn't the situation. It will hesitate to run with no blade in it and obviously without any load on it either. This MIGHT be a trigger problem --- a dirty contact or burnt connection at the beginning of the variable speed control --- whatever! It's livable --- but it shouldn't be happening I think on such a new tool.
It still won't start if the blade is in contact with the material. It's not a deal killer .... just inconvenient and destroys accuracy to have a jumping blade trying to drop onto a marked cut line.
Is this workbench pretty stable when hand planing? Can you add additional vises to the front side? And I wasn’t sure if you could use hold fast clamps the dog holes on top.
Stability for planing is fair. You can see a video I have for making a front facing clamp for this bench. Hold fasts won’t work the bench top is to thin.
@@asyangmdphd Thanks, I’ll check out your other video. Was wondering about putting locking caster wheels on this bench and if it will affect its stability as well?
Not really good for planing, but it can be done. You can also modify it to make it more stable/heavy. It works well enough for other task like cutting, finishing, joining, chiseling, etc, and you can plane small pieces of soft wood. It's basically a "get you by for now" bench that's capable of doing many things, even if it's not particularly done well, but it's so cheap you don't really mind either. Found mine on sell with a coupon for $130.
Besides the superior materials used, better tooth geometry, and the overall refined finished product that differentiates how a tool performs over time there's another component that shouldn't be overlooked. That component I'm talking about is how a person uses and cares for their more expensive tools. I use more attention to detail and almost baby my expensive tools. Something I don't do with my cheap ones. For things like chisels, planes, saws, pliers, and pretty much any handtool if it is a quality item I will maintain and oil them religiously. I won't half assed sharpen the blades or fix the set in a saw blade tooth by tooth. And it shows in how I use them and the results I get. It's almost like I expect a cheap tool to suck so don't put as much effort into using them or caring for them. And once I've been able to upgrade a specific tool for a better one I rarely if ever use the cheap ones again. I save them for lending out or giving away to another person who was where I once was in their quest to fill up their garage or workshop. I also put them away when I'm done and they all have their own space that they and only they occupy. Though I have to add that for certain things I just can't seem to hold onto them no matter what I do. Especially with 10ml sockets. Which I will often pick up a spare of when I remember to do so during a visit to the hardware store. I've also found that even badly maintained japanese tools or their cheap ones are still far above their cheap counterparts from any other country.
Hi Allan, I have got to admit, your perseverance is something to be admired. Your patience and effort to turn a block into a one piece hardwood mallet is something to share with your grandchildren. A spokeshave is intended to round off corners and not necessarily meant to remove that much material. To be honest, I would hire you in a heartbeat for most any task that I had to have done, regardless of the circumstances ... and, I'm serious about that. You have the heart of a lion.
Hi Dave. Thanks for your message. Yeah it took a while and a lathe would have been much faster, but I had fun. Worth every minute the mallet works great and I use it all the time. Thanks again for the encouragement have a great day. Allen
I have this same bench and love it even though it’s far from solid. Still, there’s something about it that makes me want to reinforce it and modify and improve it. Thank you for this video. I appreciate your devotion to this bench.
Thanks. So true it’s a constant battle to keep the bench clean. Sometimes I feel like I’m working on top of a pile of boards, scrap wood and junk not a workbench.
Allen, your spirals will be a continuous problem because they only provide pressure in one direction, not the other. It would be much easier to use 2 straight counter opposing wedges. Easy to make and easy to use. Just tap them together with a small mallet. You can make them as you need them in various sizes and keep them in a plastic shoe box. Eric Schnittker
Stiffen up that bench and your skills will improve magically! Also, toss that toy western saw into the recycling bin and go look @ garage sales and flea markets for a vintage Disston brand crosscut or rip saw. $10 - $20 dollars, some elbow grease, and a triangle file will get you a saw that your grandchildren can pass on to their grandchildren. Rex Krueger has a great video on western and Japanese saws.
This video was helpful, thanks. Helpful to make me determined to build my own, heavier bench due to the racking and movement of the lighter HF bench. I love your mods though, especially the tool well!
Well I am glad it was helpful even if it wasn’t the original intent to be helpful that way. If you are going to build your own bench you should check out Rex Krueger’s videos. Good luck!
Actually you used to be able to resharpen Japanese saws but it seems like he majority of saws have a impulse hardened edge and are not made to be sharpened. On the plus side many old saws not sharp enough for woodworking are great in the garden and/or snapped to make card scrapers. I used to have some Japanese feather files used for sharpening saws which I wish I could find since I have my grandfather huge old saw.
