This workbench has had an interesting history.
The Hickory was donated by National Lumber Supply. This Hickory makes up the majority of the top. The trestle (base) is constructed in Ash. The height was set for shorter students, actually using a student in one of the fundamentals class as a model for the bench height. The height is around 30” - so considerably shorter then our normal benches.
The bench trestle got it’s start as a demo for the Fall 09 workbench class. The joinery is standard mortise and tenon for bases. I made a choice at the time to have some natural edge being exposed on the left hand side. As the bench has progressed this may have been a mistake. Ash ended up being a great choice for the trestle as it is relatively inexpensive and is a nice strong wood for the joinery. The fifth leg on the left is where I encourage students to have a little fun. This particular fifth leg goes a little over the top.
The Hickory top is again using the veneer technique. Where the core of the top is MDF, with solid wood laminated on top and bottom. The top and bottom laminates are about 3/8” thick. Regardless of what some people may think this technique is sound wood working practices. We have had some problems with a couple benches. Both these benches had very thick laminates and the boards which made up the laminates were very wide. As you may have noticed I couldn’t help but have a little fun with the top.
The chevron inlay on the top is Wenge and Yellowheart. This itself has a history (at least the way I remember it) that is quite interesting. My Harley is Yellow and Black. Pat thought it would be funny, to glue up some Yelloweart and Wenge and make a pen. The pen idea grew into a large unusual turned column. Terry Bridwell turned the column and when I was trying to figure out a fifth leg for the trestle - it seemed a natural and challenging choice. The chevron inlay was my attempt to tie the top to the bottom from a visual sense.
I admit I got carried away for the infield by the shoulder vise - it just couldn’t be helped.
The “loose” Dovetail pins came from a opportunity when Mike was working on the very nice Ace of Purple Heart bench.
The name came from the effect the combination has on your eyes. Looking at the chevron pattern and the infield can really make you feel dizzy. I should probably apologize now for the headaches it may cause in the future. - sorry
