Workbenches Live on E Bay

I flicked through E Bay, as you do at the weekends, and came across a couple of interesting benches.
The first is an Axminster bench from a few years back which I believe is made from Rhodesian teak, a hard, heavy and beautiful looking wood when finished. If anyone has seen the Clifton rep at shows he has one of these and it's a real beauty.

The vice isn't as flexible as a leg vice but it looks a pretty sturdy thing. The blue rings in the top are for a holdfast. Link here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131388632760?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The other bench looks much older and has an angled leg vice, it looks sturdy although the top is not very thick.

The angle on the vice is meant to hold work securely down to the ground, missing the vice screw, not sure if the angle is large enough to successfully achieve this.

There is a lovely old wooden screw which should have a lovely feel if it still works well. I noticed it has no garter so the jaw is not attached to the screw but it would still work fine without one.
Link here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171614646639?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Both benches have reasonable starting prices, the top one is in Salisbury and the bottom one in Derby.

Christmas Greetings from New Zealand.

These pictures were sent through by an English couple working out in new Zealand for 18 months.
First up is a toy showing Santa at the bandsaw! The box is marked Graupner Holtzminiaturan, made in Germany.

Next is a fine box made with the most basic of tools, featuring very well cut free hand dovetails.

 The wood is Rimu a native New Zealand timber.

A well made set of wooden hinges in the style of Peter Lloyd http://www.finehardwoodboxes.com/

The floating panel lid is finished flush with the sides which gives it a solid contemporary look.

Dovetail Box from Down Under

Tommie, a good customer from Australia sent me these pictures of a very nice Jewelry box he made as a Christmas present for his wife. She was very pleased and after showing it to her friends he now has a few more to make!
The light wood is Jakaranda and the dark wood an unidentified Queensland hard (very!) wood. The base is new Guinea rosewood.

Wonderful Hand Made Box!

A customer from Pennsylvania in the US sent me these pictures of a box he's just completed. On the face of it, it's just a standard veneered, rectangular box. But when you open the lid the whole box opens up, fantastic!

The design was inspired by the 19th C craftsman John Betjemann and sons ltd of London. Even the drawer opens by a spring loaded mechanism. All the mechanisms were made totally by hand and completely hidden within the structure of the box.

The mirror inside the lid is removable.

 The lining seems to have been very well executed as does the |French polish finish.

Here's the hand made rear hinge and detail of the edging.
Brice's next project is a four drawer chest with six automatically opening compartments as well as a 72 note musical movement. I will post the pictures when they come through although it may be some while off yet!

A Nice Swop.

One of the directors of a local commercial wood yard asked if was interested in a board of burr oak. As it stands I have enough timber to last me 10 years or more, but a board this nice was too good to refuse! It measures 9" wide x 46" long x 2" thick and is nice and dry.

We agreed a swop for a dovetail guide and a Lignum mallet which left both of us happy.

On a completely different note I've also bought this old Junior Whitehead band saw dating back to around 1950. Although it's only a small machine just 40" high I had to remove the door and cast iron table before I could lift it and even then it was a real struggle. They don't make them like that anymore!

Tool Box Find.

These pictures were sent in to me by Ronan, of some tool boxes he acquired, starting with a large one above. They belonged to an ex Vauxhall worker who was a keen woodworking (and metal worker by the looks of things!)

Below is a late Norris A5 with the engine turning clearly visible on the sides.

This looks like a steel soled gunmetal shoulder plane by Slater, very nice.

Lots of nice cast steel chisels.

The two shots to finish with are of an engineers chest which like the others was also crammed full of tools. All in all a very good find.

Very Nice Customer Project.

This is a lovely Krenov inspired cabinet made by Matt from Indiana USA.
The Macassar ebony is a combination of solid and veneer. I love the way he turned a simple rectangle into a very pleasing delicate piece by adding a little drawer box in the corner. A reminder that sometimes less is more.