Welcome to The Splinter Report, where I gather the assorted interesting and amusing things I’ve seen in the woodworking world. This week we’re looking at a rock bench. I was going to post more, but the airport wifi was not cooperating.
Tool News Quick Bites
New Wide Belt Sanders from Grizzly: A lot of really great woodworking tools exist in the gray area between hobbyist and professional. Take these new open-ended belt sanders from Grizzly for example. The 20″ model runs off of 220V power and is clearly engineered with a professional slant. The 15″ model runs off of a normal 120V outlet but maintains the same overall form factor and design as the bigger model. It’s a great compromise for the power users out there.
As Seen on Instagram: Rock Bench
I saw something on Instagram this week that I don’t know how to feel about. It’s a basic bench, but instead of wooden legs all around, one side just has a rock instead.
View this post on Instagram
“Just has a rock” is underselling the engineering a bit, but that’s also the part that got the wheels turning. Is it really that simple to cut the rock like that? I feel like this is “easy to do” the same way cutting dovetails by hand is easy to do. Sure, if you have the experience and right equipment, you can turn out dovetails pretty quickly. But I wouldn’t classify them as a beginner project. Likewise, I’m not sure picking up a rock and turning it into a leg with a perfectly flat bottom (he really glossed over that part) is as easy as claimed.
I will say though, it’s a good looking bench, and I’ll definitely think about the possibilities next time I’m passing by the boulders at the landscape center.
Out of Context Christopher Schwarz Quote
Video of the Week: Doctors Hate This Trick
I’m honestly surprised it’s taken me this long to share something from Izzy Swan. He’s one of those ubiquitous influencers who’s always on the go it seems like. Though he’s been a bit quieter in the past year it seems. Either way, he’s built a really cool workbench setup that is worth a look.
Anything interesting I missed this week, or that you want me to highlight in a future Splinter Report? Let me know on social media or drop me an email at [email protected].