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My Workbench is Officially Broken In

12 comments
14 years ago
Woodworking Safety

My Roubo workbench has given me so much joy that I finally decided to give something back and we became blood brothers last night. I guess I can say that I have finally broken in the bench with this sacrifice.Workbench Blood Brother

It is still amazing just how much a little tiny cut can bleed. At least the sharpness of your tools allows for nice clean cuts that heal very quickly.

You may remember during safety week a few years ago I did a video about how to clean the piles of shavings off your bench and what not to do. Well, I never said I listened to my own advice and swept the shavings off with my hand only to find that chisel I had been looking for…buried beneath the shavings. I am personally not a fan of band-aids because I lose the tactile feel in my fingers that I rely upon when doing hand work. I often get little cuts in places that are just impractical to bandage. You know what I mean I’m sure, like those tiny cuts right on the tip of your finger? I have been told that CA glue can solve these problems but I discovered a first aid product years ago that does the trick for me.
First Aid for hard to bandage cuts

Skin Shield will seal up those little cuts and provide some protection to allow them to heal. It also keeps the blood off your beautifully planed Walnut. It’s a great little product to keep around in your shop.

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dyami

Shannon,
Thanks for the tip about Skin Shield. I’ll have to pick some up. Also, I certainly hope your hand heals quick.

Nice sacrifice to your bench God. You’ll be rewarded with years of use.

danny

I always get that “what was I thinking” feeling after cutting myself.

Jamie Bacon

Pretty curly shavings on the bench Shannon. Not a big fan of finishing the bench in blood. I prefer an oil finish, but to each his own. 🙂

Jamie Bacon

Larry Marshall

Why don’t we learn about hidden tools? I can’t count the number of times I’ve been scraped and sliced by tools as I swipe my hand across the bench to clear a pile of chips. Do I learn? Old dog…no new tricks.

But I will look around for Skin Shield stuff. Sounds great. Maybe this old dog can learn a little trick.

Cheers — Larry

Sharon

Congratulations! unless you shed blood on it – it’s never a ‘real’ bench 😉

Bob Rozaieski

Small price to pay to appease the hand tools gods. I added a peg to the back of the apron of my new bench where I hang my bench brush for sweeping off the shavings and dust. I still don’t use it all the time (no, I don’t learn either), but I do find I use it more frequently than I used to having it hanging right there. You might think about putting a peg in one of those giant legs on your bench to hang one from. Still, it’s not a good day in the shop if I don’t bleed at least a little :).

    Shannon

    What’s really bad is I have a nail in the front left leg that my brush hangs on and I still didn’t use it.

Dan S.

I feel your pain Shannon, one night while cleaning up around the metal lathe, I sliced my finger so bad I though I was going to need stitches (stainless steel shavings makes great razor wire).

As the old saying goes, out of site, out of mind. If you want to make sure you use your brush every time,try hang it on the wall behind your bench. Every time you look up you’ll see it. It’s not nearly as pleasing as looking up and seeing a nice rack of planes, saws, or chisels, but you will always remember to use your brush.

Bill Akins

Shops wounds. Been there, done that. I have been using CA glue that works pretty good. Whenever I emerged from the shop with a band-aid I always had to go through the speach of, “No honey, I didn’t cut myself on a power saw. I just nicked my hand grabbing a tool from the pegboard and bumping a chisel.”

Aluminum Extrusions

Glad to see your getting some good early use from the new bench.