Jim Holliman wrote:
>
> How does a person square up long stock for a big
> bench without a bench to work on?

i'm just finishing this "bootstrap a workshop" procedure.  it ain't
easy, and i hope i never have to go through it again.  i've thought of
posting some info (on the web) on what i've learned, but don't know if
there'd be much interest.

first - do build your bench by hand using "classic" joinery.  you'll
learn more in the first 10 minutes than you will from all 30 of your
books.  you may never again have a chance to chop 1" by 4" wedged
through mortices.  or want to.  

i started w/ small projects that i knew i'd need to make the bench,
and then built upon them.  first was a wooden mallet, which is a must
have IMO.  a combo square or similar straight-edge/right angle is also
a must.

then i made two saw tables from stock 2x4's, by hand, using the same
joints as i'd be using for the bench (can you say practice swings).
they're not pretty, but can hold a ton (maybe literally) and are
stable enough laterally.  these are used for sawing (duh), and can be
stacked and clamped together to a height of about 3' for a small
makeshift work surface.  i can plane pieces about 3' long on mine.

planing can be done by rigging some angled stop blocks, wedges,
C-clamps, etc. to make pseudo-bench stops.  doesn't work great, but
only the sections where you're actually cutting joints need to be
completely true (tip from the timber framers).

one thing i wish i had thought of finding before starting is a tenon
saw.  cutting mondo-sized (big, Jeff) tenons with a small X-cut backsaw
is tedious, and there are a lot of tenons in a bench.

-SM-
Redwood City, CA