New Yankee Workshop Workbench Leveling and tray installation

I made the bench feet with some scrap 2x4 that I had leftover.  This turned out to be a bad idea because it made the bench really wobbly.  I cut some new feet out of some 3/4" stock and then shimmed 2 of them and the bench is solid as a rock now.  I also screwed in the side boards and the tool tray.  My should vise screw also came in the mail so it is time to make the tailstock!

I flipped the bench over so I could work on the feet.

I removed the feet one at a time so I could use the old ones as a template for drilling out the screw holes in the same place.

I used a stop block on my mitre saw to make the 2 1/2" squares.

Old foot and new foot for comparison.

I used a cereal box to make some shims.

One foot took 3 shims and the one diagonally across took 2.

The center of the log board going down the length of the tool tray was slightly bowing so I screwed in a small support.

I screwed the tray down first and then screwed the side into the support.

Here it is ready for the tailstock and bench screw.

Speaking of bench screws!

I picked this one up at leevalley.com for about $38 including shipping.



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Aqua Tray Update How to Fix a Crack in a Tray

When I made covered buttons for the headboard, I decided to use the aqua tray for a hard surface while assembling the buttons, bad idea ... it broke on the very first button. So this week I finally got around to fixing it!

I found paper at World Market on clearance for $1.98, and decided to paint the red with liquid gold leaf

I then cut a circle (tracing the tray) and used a little spray adhesive to adhere the paper to the tray

I used the resin that I purchased for the folded rope light fixture, but never used ...

Following the instructions, I mixed equal parts of the resin and hardener (purchased at Michaels). I used 1/4 of the bottle, which is about 1 square foot of coverage. I poured it in the tray and tilted the tray around gradually until there was even coverage. Waited a few minutes and then exhaled (being careful not to inhale any in) to remove the bubbles that had been creating during mixing.

It was dry to the touch overnight, but for a hard cure I have to wait about 72 hours.

And that was it, a super easy update/fix for my aqua tray in under an hour! 

I love the super glossy finish! Have you used resin on anything recently?

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