This week I got the bench assembled and applied two coats of polymerized tung oil. These photos are with the oil still wet.

This particular oil is my favorite finish, as it's super easy to apply and looks wonderful. I've used straight tung oil and a tung oil varnish before, but this applies and dries differently. It also provides the ability to build a finish, if you wish. I like it for the bench because I can reapply without any prep work and because this is a work bench, the surface prep was extremely minimal.

All this week I spent laying out the design and position of the dog holes for the deadman. I got to use my favorite power tool, the bandsaw, for the design and then moved to the drill press for all the holes.
I used a forstner bit for the holes and set my depth stop to only allow the point of the forstner bit to penetrate the back of the deadman. I then came back and finished up from the back side. Both the drilling and clean up of the design were much more difficult than I expected.
The growth ring are very tight and, while I don't know why, this particular piece was harder to pare with my just sharpened chisel than the Osage Orange. Here is what I came up with after a coat of oil has been applied.


This week, I'll get started on either the gap/stop and/or the dogs.


