This is my first effort at making a Roman style low bench, and it turned out great. It is a bit short in both height and length, but it will do until I get two more made. More on those plans later.

This was an old sawing bench made from scrap. All I did was add a 2×4, and drill some extra holes in the bench. The bench will still function as a sawing bench, but it is now a real multi tasker.

The V joint boards on the end are called “Doe’s Foots,” and are used as a planing stop. They allow you to plane a board in any direction, all while sitting down. They can be used with bench dogs, the little metal things on the bottom of the picture, or either of the two mechanical holders, which are a holdfast and a hold down.

The holdfast, which is the iron one, is an old Jorgensen. The mallet is used to whack it into place. The hold down, which is the one with the screw down end, is a Sjobergs, designed by the Swedish workbench company. I have one of their Swedish made benches, but this clever item was made in Taiwan, the source for many great bicycle parts (Along with Japan, Italy, and Switzerland. And don’t leave out Wald in Kentucky, which makes the best bike baskets.)

The spacing of the holes in the center is based on the Roman bench that was recreated by Christopher Schwarz. That allows this to be used as an edge planing bench as well, with some dowels, and those hornbeam wedges as holding devices.

I’ll make a proper bench eventually, but I have plans to make a PT wood outdoor bench first, which will live outside, and double as a garden bench. This is a real multi tasking idea.

This motley crew of planes are from three countries on two continents, and made by three companies. I’ll start with the bottom column and proceed from there.

Bottom left is the finest of the crew, an Ulmia Ott plane made in Germany. It also has an adjustable throat, so it will take as fine a shaving as you need. Typical German quality.

Speaking of US quality, the one to the right is a fine Millers Falls #85 plane. It is missing a depth gauge, but I have another plane that has one. This thing could last for many more decades.

The shiny silver guy in the middle is technically a shoulder plane, a Stanley #90 that was made in England. Another quality piece of work, designed to do fine woodworking. Too bad I don’t do any.

Top left is a really old Stanley 191 plane. It also has lost the depth gauge, but things like that happens. These came in various sizes, and are all over fleabay, though seriously overpriced.

The mack daddy at the top right is a Stanley #45, that can cut just about any sized rabbet. The catch is, you have to have the right sized cutter. However, it has TWO depth gauges. Doesn’t do the finest work, but gets the job done.

A rabbet is not a thing with floppy ears, but a groove cut to make furniture/woodwork fit better. It’s a groovy thing.

Alas, these are no longer made in this country, but fleabay is full of them. These are some seriously classy measuring tools, made of boxwood and brass.

The folding rule is Lufkin, and extends to two feet. That is my go to measurer.

The smaller caliper is four inches, made by Stanley. It’s perfect for my foot powered lathe. Too bad Stanley dumped products like this for cheap screwdrivers.

Boxwood rules! Literally.

Most people don’t know that they eat one of the main ingredients in one of the best wood finishes regularly, and that it comes from a bug, but that doesn’t bother me that much. Like my man HD Thoreau, “Yet, for my part, I was never usually squeamish; I could sometimes eat a fried rat with a good relish, if it were necessary.” It all depends on how good the relish is.

The wood finish I am referring to is shellac, which is essentially the secretions of the Asian Lac beetle, dissolved in denatured alcohol. There are a thousand recipes for proportions to be used, and I would refer you to Shellac.com. They also list eight main colors of shellac flakes, though most of those shades can be made with just these three.

People who eat sweets are the main ones who are likely to be eating beetle juice. US manufacturers of sweets use all manner of euphemisms for bug juice, such as confectioner’s glaze or candy glaze. It’s really bug juice, but people like to eat things that are bright and shiny. Why, I don’t know.

Also check for Natural Red #4 on the ingredient list. That’s squashed Cochineal bugs, which get the red color from cactus. The Aztecs used them for red dye.

Bugs. It’s what’s for dinner. And the dinner table.