Material for the Work Bench.—The first thing to do in fitting up a shop is to put up a work bench. Do not make a rude affair of an unplaned plank and a rough board, but let it be seen that you fitted up your bench for use, and at the same time sought to have it neat and durable. A plank two inches thick is heavy enough, yet in some respects it is light enough; for the front portion of the bench twelve or fourteen inches is a good width. Pine wood makes a very good bench, but as it is soft, it will absorb oil, and in time will become black and dirty. As a remedy for this, give it two or three coats of shellac varnish. The best bench is made from a hard or sugar maple plank that has been well seasoned and has been planed true in a planing machine. Ash wood does very well, so does beech. Oak is not good; it absorbs grease and dirt readily, and if struck much with a hammer will soon show splinters, the fibres of the wood easily separating by the blows. A hard maple plank has one advantage; after being discarded as a bench, it will make good rifle stocks; the years of use will so season it that it will be valuable. For that part of the bench—that is, back of the two-inch plank—use a board ten or twelve inches wide. Select pine or any other kind that fancy may dictate. Calculate the plank and board so that the width of the bench will be twenty-two or twenty-four inches.
How to Make the Work Bench.—For supports for the bench use 2 × 4 inch studding, such as carpenters use in house building. Pine, oak or any other material will answer. Plane smooth on all sides. For each support cut three pieces; two of the height of the bench, and one about an inch less than the width, so that when the bench is made the plank in front projects an inch or so in front of the supports. As the short piece on which the bench rests is four inches wide, cut away half of the thickness of the uprights of this width at the upper end, and cut enough in length to receive the short piece, when it is halved together—as is the term used—thus making it four inches thick when put in place. Fasten with nails or screws—the latter being the best fastening. To keep these uprights steady, nail a piece of board about three inches wide, and about twelve inches from the bottom, from front to the rear upright. On these pieces a board or two may be placed, with the other end resting upon a neighboring support, and it forms a convenient shelf upon which to place boxes and other things that will soon accumulate in any shop.
The height of bench from the floor may be about two feet and ten inches and a half. This will be found to be the most convenient height.
Putting the Vise in Place.—In putting the vise in place, fix it on the bench far enough in front so that if a gun stock or barrel were held upright in the jaws it will not touch the bench. If there be a window in front, put it a little to the left of the window. The light will then shine more on the right side of the vise, and consequently it will be more easy to distinguish lines or marks that may be made on work held in the jaws, as it is more convenient to look on the right side of work to see what is being done than on the left. The height of the vise at the top of the jaws should be on a level with the elbow of the person who is to work at it. In no instance try to work with the jaws of the vise higher than the elbows as the workman stands erect before it. The reason is this: as the workman grasps the file handle in the right hand and the point of the file in the left, the arms are in a natural position, and can be thrust forward and brought back in a horizontal line. If the elbows were to be raised from the natural position the horizontal forward and back motion could not be made with facility.
Place for Drawer.—A few inches to the right of the vise is the best location for a drawer. This is generally opened or drawn out with the right hand, and when so placed can be readily opened with that hand without stepping to one side.
The Gun Brace.—A gun brace, as shown in Fig. 22, is made from a piece of inch and a half or two inch plank, with its upper edge of a height about an inch less than the height of the vise jaws. It is hinged or pivoted by a single screw passing through the end of the bottom extension, this screw passing into the bench, the brace turning freely upon it. It can be swung around back out of the way, and when needed for use is turned in front, and is ready to support a barrel or gun stock which is held in the vise. This brace is put to the right of the vise, but if another one like it is put in the left side it will be found useful at times.
Figure 22.
In cutting out gun-stocks from the plank, many times pieces of just the right form for these braces will be found among the “scraps” that will be made. The shape is of little moment so long as they are of the proper height and have an extension through which to put the pivot screw.
To Deaden the Noise of Hammering.—In shops, especially if the work-room be in an upper story, to deaden the noise of hammering, etc., put pieces of rubber under the legs of work benches, the feet of lathes, anvil-block, etc. If rubber cannot be obtained, any woolen texture as felt or thick loose-made cloth may answer the purpose, but not with so good results as the rubber. The anvil may be set in a tub made by cutting off the top of a barrel to the right height and filling it nearly full of sand or earth.