Building a bench in a weekend

 

Have you ever taken a weekend woodworking class?  I hadn’t before this month.  I made the drive up to Nashville, TN with a friend to build a bench with Greg Pennington.

 

Greg was a great instructor and kept no trade secrets.  His unique techniques made the process of joining the legs and the top much easier than I expected.  I had to do very little math, which helps reduce errors.  I was a little surprised that he uses the 5/8 inch Lee Valley tenon cutter that I mentioned in my last post.  Apparently that tool is not just for rookies like me with no lathe.  Greg gave lots of tips on how to use mine more efficiently, which I will share in time.

Greg has updated traditional alignment techniques by using lasers in several steps of the process.  He has described it on his blog.  I really liked using the lasers and plan to us them whenever I get done with this monstrous dresser project. No update on the dresser, but I’m making progress on it.

I was able to turn for the first time – what a nice lathe that OneWay is!

Hanging out at Greg’s shop was a blast for a woodworker (I’m eating a camp style dinner on the shop porch).  

Ok, the highlight of the trip was staying in the shop.  Yep, I slept in the loft on my camping cot.  Greg and his family were gracious hosts and let my friend and I stay in the shop all weekend.  It was a great environment and I was able to play in the shop from the time I woke up until I was too tired to move.  The environment of the shop was perfect for working.  I missed my family, but I was sorry to leave.  If only my family would be willing to uproot and live in the bunk house. Hmm…

Completed benches and happy students ready for the trip back to Hernando, MS.

What’s the most valuable thing I got from the class? Confidence. Greg took something that I previously thought was really complicated and unpacked it into understandable pieces. This type of joinery is still not simple, but it is now obtainable. Thanks Greg!

Bob Jones