The True Mechanic's Workbench

Hannah repurposed one of my old workbenches to fit into a shed for motorbike repairs. Probably more work than building from new but the wood was free and the practice good for her. Watching her move through the work with such confidence showed the progress she's made over the last couple of years. Even in this she learned so much. All of the wood was secondhand but good stuff. She lifts, twists and adapts techniques as though she's been doing it for years and it's not this that surprises me so much as the way she now understands the tools and the wood, what splits, what shaves and pares and what she can adapt to effect the work.  For my own part I saw her drawings and her pricing of things, her working through mental processes to put on paper her intent. She took her time, resized what needed resizing and planed all the parts ready for new joints. Her decision making became evident as she plodded on and then before we knew it the bench was done. It's size constraints are due to its location. Not much depth because of the doorway and the width of work room remaining. She plans to fix it to the back shed wall with brackets. The under-shelf will hold drawers.

Now she's ready for a new project. We'll look at that today. I'm also ready for a new project too.