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TIL my grandpa's 1962 workbench went from wobbling to rock solid after I finally re-flattened the top and re-pegged the joints
I dragged this thing out of his garage in Bakersfield 4 months ago and it wobbled so bad I couldn't even hand plane on it. Took the top down with a No. 5 for about 3 hours and drove new oak pegs into the mortises, and now it doesn't budge when I lean on it. Turns out the whole problem was the top had cupped a quarter inch and the old pegs had shrunken loose. Anyone else rescue old furniture grade benches like this, and did you bother replacing the vise hardware or leave the original?
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perez.thea1d ago
I used to roll my eyes at the guys who said old benches were worth saving, figured it was cheaper and faster to just build new. Then I helped a buddy true up his great uncle's bench and watched it go from firewood to something you could take a heavy cut on, and yeah, that flipped me. A cupped top and dried out pegs will make any bench feel dead, and people give up on them way too fast before checking those two things. As for the vise, I'd keep the original hardware if it still holds, they don't make castings like that anymore and a good cleaning plus fresh grease gets most of them working fine. If the screw is stripped or the jaw is cracked, then yeah, swap it, but don't toss good iron just because it looks rough.
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