hedge42

"If government were a product, selling it would be illegal." PJ O’Rourke

I think i'll keep my fingers and follow the simple safety rules that any sane person should know by heart....$1.5 m doesn't go as far as it used to.

Rule #1 - Remove all the 'safety devices' except for the riving knife, as they often make the operation MORE dangerous.

Rule #2 - Always remember that a razor sharp blade is spinning at 3450rpm mere inches from your hands. Proceed with caution.

@Cookl

I could not agree more with your sentiments. My only injury from a table saw was caused by the poorly designed blade guard...it sent a shard of steel into my neck. Since, all safety equipment on my power tools has been gathering dust in the corner or under the bench. Not only do I find them dangerous...they often get in the way of the task I'm performing.

Common sense and attention to the risk at hand are the most important matters in remaining safe...a razor sharp blade spinning at 3450 rpm is enough to keep my attention. Stand to the side of the blade, not directly behind it...never reach across the blade...learn to use push sticks safely...never force the stock into a binding situation...build a cross-cut sled...learn to tune the saw and the fence to perform smoothly and safely.

And, a word about government mandates...our bureaucrats will never tire of attempting to idiot proof life...they are not your friend and relying on their judgments about what is safe will lead you down a primrose path to pain and suffering. The same applies to nearly all media outlets and the 'infotainment' industry...think for yourself and develop common sense.

As John Wayne said...'Life is tough...it is even tougher if you're stupid.'

When I played serious golf in college my coach would always say..'a good putter will find a way to get the ball in the hole with a broomstick.' The same adage holds true for hand planes...give me a decent $50 Stanley whatever off of Ebay and about 2 hours to refurbish it and I will be producing the same results as a Lie-Neilsen out of the box for considerably more money. You cannot buy talent or feel...some of both are needed to obtain results in the woodshop or on the golf course.

Mike,

I made a similar style bench top out of oak glued up in sections out of 1" x 2.5" boards. I threw in 2 dark Ipe boards in the middle to add some stripes of visual interest to the 28" wide slab. I made some cauls out of oak and lag bolts to maintain the slab in alignment. Even with very careful alignment and 4 cauls over a 70" length, I still was left with a slight bow. I chaulked it up to ever so slight bowing of the individual boards. Wood is wood after all, it cannot be machined to the tolerances of steel.

There is a certain satisfaction to polishing the bevel of a plane iron, tuning the plane, and then zipping off whisper thin shavings. The feel of that iron slicing through the wood grain is immensely gratifying. Sometimes I'll true up a board that doesn't need it, just to gain that feeling and refocus my mind on woodworking.

Nevertheless, I trued up the slab with my Bedrock 5.5, installed a Cherry apron held together with pins, Veritas twin screw on one end, a Record 53 on the side, and drilled some dog holes. I'm in the process of adding drawers and shelves to the base. The top is held to the base (left from a previous bench) by its weight and a couple dowels in drilled holes. At over 150#+, the top is plenty solid on the base and once drawer and tool weight is added to the base the bench will not be going anywhere, even under the most aggressive lateral force.

Good Luck