I lost interest in cars a long time ago after realising they are all &hit! They all rust, fall to pieces and cost you money. I keep two bog standard cars on the road and only use them when I absolutely have to, I find no fun in driving any more. I’m way more interested in tools, work benches and guitars these days. 🤘😁🤘🎸✨

I'd prefer your old Mark1 Escort

That's probably - almost certainly - worth more today @Russ!!!

But I prefer the comfort (and performance) of the MB.  Gone are the days of me poking about under a bonnet (the car's, not the one on my head) trying to work out why something wasn't working quite right.

I lost interest in cars a long time ago

Me too really @Boo.  I guess, like many young boys, I had lots of toy cars, and when I started driving, I lusted after something bigger, better, faster, shinier, more expensive (etc).  But no longer.

Now we've got a ~10yo van, a ~15yo 4WD estate car (both of which are for practical use) and my Merc - which is itself 6+ yrs old now (I forget exactly).  I bought the Merc when I was doing regular long journeys, and wanted something "capable".  

Now we've got a ~10yo van, a ~15yo 4WD estate car (both of which are for practical use)

@tv101 Yep, that’s my thoughts on vehicles these days, practicality. Our cars are a similar age to yours but when we move to Scotland we will trade them in for a new 4x4. 

Agreed @Boo, waste of money, best car I ever had was an old Pug 306 that I ran on veg oil - bomb proof - in the end let down by a rotten wiring loom.

I would sooner buy wood and tools these days.

I’m way more interested in tools, work benches and guitars these days. 🤘😁🤘🎸✨

That’s cool. I was never really into cars. I did want one of those Mustang 5.0 jobs when I was 20 (never got it, probably a good thing) because I did always enjoy speeding, errr driving fast. Cars for me where always more of a means to an end. Girls and guitars were what interested me most and cost me all my money too! 😉

best car I ever had was an old Pug 306 that I ran on veg oil

@peebee Yep, both mine are pugs, a 307 TD and a little 107 petrol for running around locally in. The 107 only costs £20 a year for Tax and the insurance is cheap too. We keep running both of them because it doesn’t coast that much more for the little one. Both of them we own outright so the cost is so minimal but the money has gone out of both of them. It will be nice to get a new 4x4 when the time is right, mainly for the practicality and ergonomics for my wife. For now, we will continue running these two into the ground, they keep on going. I love pugs for that. Bulletproof. 

Bulletproof

And that's important in Blackpool.

😉 

Girls and guitars were what interested me most

"Girls" ???

What are those then @mattbeels?  

(Ahhhhhh, I remember the days, though I'm careful not to remember them when my wife's around).

Bulletproof

And that's important in Blackpool.

😉 

😂😂😂

Ahhhhhh, I remember the days

Yeah, me too. Me too... 😭😭😭

Bulletproof

And that's important in Blackpool.

@tv101 

Yes

“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious" 🤣

a top that is made up of lots of 3x2s all glued together so the top is really thick and planed dead flat, checked with straight edges and levelled with spirit levels.

I’ve been through all of this when designing my flat bed vacuum presses. To cut a long story short, no movable bench can be guaranteed to be any flatter than the floor it stands on. The best way to do it is to fix your bench to the floor (assuming the floor isn’t really wobbly and bounces up and down!) as without the legs being in a fixed position any attempt to flatten or level the bench top will be in vane. Just four (or eight if you really want to go to town!) 50mm right angle brackets securing your bench to the floor will make a massive difference and the bench legs can be packed out with thin ply or veneer (or paper even) to get the top level before tightening the screws. It will make a massive difference, you’ll be amazed at how much smoother planing can be, or how much more controllable chiselling feels, when done on a bench that doesn’t move. To my mind, fixing it to the floor and levelling it is far more important than it necessarily weighing 1/4 of a tonne.

Darren

It will make a massive difference, you’ll be amazed at how much smoother planing can be, or how much more controllable chiselling feels, when done on a bench that doesn’t move.

(this is question, not a statement!)

I've always assumed that the important aspect is that the bench itself doesn't move, and that the workpiece doesn't move on the bench.

As long as the object you're working on is fully stable, then does it really matter so much if the bench/table top is flat and level?  The idea of planing a worktop so that it's flat and level seems a step (or two) too far to me.  I've got a couple of benches that are topped with disposable ply or OSB, but I'd very much doubt that they're flat.

To bring this back to topic and most have answered but my approach is to draw accurately with a ruler and then clamp (or use double sided tape) a straight edge with enough thickness to route. Cut close and then route to the straight edge...

now on the cars my favourite was an Escort Mexico that I nearly killed myself a few times back in the 80’s...mmmmm 4 into one exhaust manifold and twin choke Webber carbs.

To bring this back to topic and most have answered but my approach is to draw accurately with a ruler and then clamp (or use double sided tape) a straight edge with enough thickness to route. Cut close and then route to the straight edge...

Cheers @deej. Sounds like another very useful technique. 📏🪚 

🎸🎶🙂🙏

now on the cars my favourite was an Escort Mexico that I nearly killed myself a few times back in the 80’s

mk2 @deej??

Yeah - can’t remember the actual colour name it was a orangish red..if that makes sense . My friend had a white with blue stripes Mk 1 

We should have kept em - worth a fortune these days.

Oh and at the time they worked great with the girls 😉