So, this spring I have a handful of house/yard projects to get worked in between stints on the new workbench build.

Last summer late, some of the local deer re-discovered our gardens, and in one night almost completely wiped out everything that had been grown, wasting a whole season's worth of labor by Hannah. So this year, we decided to install an electric fence around both gardens to deter them from coming back.

Making up the insulator mounts and installing them on the fences, installing the polywire...

Installing the ground rod and solar fence charger...

Running underground cable from the solar charger to the fence wires...

Ready for action...

I milled up all the cherry timber-frame pieces to final dimensions for the Shaker workbench...

Jointing, planing...

Cutting to final width, length...

Gluing up some double 8/4 for the beefy legs and front and back stretchers...

Drum sanding, planing to final thickness, widths...

Arranged, sorta...

Well, the decision is in - I plan, Lord willing, to build the "Ultimate Shaker Workbench" by Fine Woodworking magazine. I will be making it a few inches deeper and will probably adjust the drawer arrangement, but basically the same plan.

I obtained some 8/4 thick cherry and 4/4 soft maple yesterday for the timber frame base and the side and back panels.

Today, I put the miter saw and table saw to work, rough-cutting the blanks for all the structural parts of the bench base. After all that cutting, there was a marked scent of cherry wood sawdust in the air!

Now that the farmhouse dining table is completed, it's time to move on, Lord willing, to the next big wood project - a large piece of "shop furniture" - a proper workbench.

Initially I wanted to build a version called the Jack Bench, a bench designed by Charlie Kocourek. I really like the adjustable height feature (its hallmark) which would allow me to use it at a low height for doing assemblies, at a medium height for joinery and table saw outfeed, and a high height for doing close up detail work. This is a very nice, solid bench that is ergonomic. You can view the Jack Bench website at https://www.jack-bench.com/

However I realized that I am definitely going to need a lot of storage in my bench (for tools, jigs, etc.), which is prohibitive with the jack mechanisms inside this model.

So, now I'm leaning toward a Shaker style bench, somewhere in the neighborhood of these photos from Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, and Woodsmith:

Still noodling on it; hope to pull the trigger soon...

Getting the table all wrapped up the evening before...

Arrived at our friends' house (pre-stay-at-home order!), ready to heft it from the van into their dining room...

Unpacking and assembling the legs back on...

Turning it upright and setting in place...

A happy, godly family; worth it all!

"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."
(Col 3:17)

Sola Deo Gloria

Pre-finish prep for the top: block planing & scraping edges to remove scoring marks.  Sanding at 120 & 220 grit, then burnishing with a maroon 3m pad (to help the stain absorb a little lighter)...

Staining with GF Antique Oak stain, with help from two skillful wiper-downers :) ...

Applying 6 coats of GF HP Flat water based topcoat, buffing between coats...

Installing tabletop fastener clips to attach the apron to the underside of the top. Re-fabricated some extra-long z-clips for attaching at the ends...

And that's it - the farmhouse dining table is all finished!  All glory to the Lord!

Next up: the delivery!

Sand, sand, sand with 120 and 220 grits:

Stain with General Finishes water based Antique Oak stain (with a lot of help from my daughter :)  ):

Apply 5 thin coats of General Finishes water based High Performance Flat topcoat:

Test-attach the apron and legs:

Next up: sand-stain-finish the top; assemble; done!

Did 5 hours of fussy sanding, 120 grit and 220 grit...

Applied General Finishes Antique Oak water based stain. The parawood legs didn't take stain very well, even after all the fine sanding and using pre-stain conditioner; but my friends like the character of the blotchy appearance...

Applied 5 thin coats of General Finishes High Performance Flat water based topcoat...

Finished!  :)

Next up:

Same process on the apron assembly.

Fabricated the four corner brackets that will hold together the aprons and legs.  Lots of little fussy 45 degree cuts...

Cut some dados into the apron pieces...

Assembled the aprons, corner brackets, and legs...

Used the biscuit joiner to cut slots that will accept the clips that will hold the top to the aprons. Then drilled pilot holes for the clips...

And then - voila! The construction phase of the white oak farmhouse dining table is completed, praise the Lord!

Coming up next: LOTS of sanding, then stain and finish.   :)