{"id":7419,"date":"2022-08-23T18:25:44","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T22:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/?p=7419"},"modified":"2022-08-23T18:25:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T22:25:44","slug":"the-first-workbench-i-built","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/23\/the-first-workbench-i-built\/","title":{"rendered":"The first workbench I built"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"workbench<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In fact, the first and only<\/strong>. It has sat, at least until now, for more than 50 years right in the spot in my late parents’ house where I completed it as a high school kid.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is nothing special<\/strong>, really, and certainly not nearly as functional as the good old Ulmia, a “real” workbench, that I have been using for about 40 years. Its construction mostly follows a design by John Capotosto that was published in the now defunct\u00a0Mechanix Illustrated<\/em>\u00a0magazine in the May 1971 issue. [Old guys, you may recall that magazine, then a competitor of\u00a0Popular Mechanics<\/em>, and if you do, you surely remember “Mimi,” who, in various persons, graced every issue among the ads for cigarettes and automobile gear.]\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time<\/strong>, my only power tool was a Sears jigsaw, though I longed for a tablesaw, which is another story<\/a>. The mostly hand-me-down hand tools that I had were marginally serviceable. It is also, hmm . . . possible, that some local construction sites were relieved of some, perhaps excess, 2-by lumber lying around.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"then\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So, why does it matter?<\/strong> I liked then, and now, and for as long as I can remember, to build things \u2013 to make stuff. I can still recall the strong feeling then of wanting to build that bench after seeing the article in the magazine. I knew I could do it. Moreover, after all the lumps and bumps of the ensuing years of life, I am still glad that I made it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I suppose that is my message to you<\/strong>, fellow woodworkers and especially to nascent woodworkers. If you have that deep urge calling to you to Build It<\/strong> \u2013 I think you know what I mean \u2013 and you possibly can, then Go Build It<\/strong>.\u00a0Sure, things get in the way, I know, but remember too, that “it’s always something<\/a>.” So, do the best you can and build it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will very likely<\/strong> be glad for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"workbench<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\"old<\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In fact, the first and only. It has sat, at least until now, for more than 50 years right in the spot in my late parents’ house where I completed it as a high school kid.\u00a0 It is nothing special, really, and certainly not nearly as functional as the good old Ulmia, a “real” workbench, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ideas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7419"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7426,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7419\/revisions\/7426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}