Josh Marshall
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joshtpm.bsky.social
Josh Marshall
@joshtpm.bsky.social
Founder & reigning monarch at TPM. Lapsed historian. Hand tool woodworker. Jew.
Random shit I find looking through old web graphics
November 10, 2025 at 6:44 AM
13/ It’s not done yet but the big stuff is done and I’ve already started using it. Here’s a video of the leg vise looking cool.
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
12/ Getting flipped back over was hard but I figured out a way to basically roll it in stages.
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
11/ I assembled the bench after driving back from Boston on Tuesday. It’s not that physically difficult but it’s challenging for a single person since you have to assemble the joints and all the pieces weigh abt 400 pounds. Combo of precise maneuvering and brute force.
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
10/ The actual bench is held together by mortise and tenon joints which are secured and tightened by pegs. I made the pegs from riven pieces I use for chair pegs.
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
9/ The leg vise helps you hold very large pieces with incredible force. A large jaw which clamps against one of the bench legs.
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
8/You need to build the tail vise mechanism into the top so there’s a lot involved
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
7/ I found the tail vise more challenging than the leg vise. I think partly it’s because yr working w metal which is different from wood. But also because you use the vises for everything and you really really want to get it right.
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
6/ I built the bench itself in tandem with the vise installations.
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
5/ I think one reason I waited so long is that I found the vise installations intimidating for reasons I didn’t really understand. They’re not simple. But I’ve done many more complex woodworking projects over the years. For some reason these felt daunting.
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
4/ I decided to get back to it this fall because even the half finished bench top took up a lot of space and I wanted the new things this different kind of bench can do. Mostly the tail vise and the leg vise but also the weight. You want a bench to be as heavy as possible. This one weighs abt 400lbs
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
3/ I actually started laminating the boards together in 2022 and bought the vises. But for whatever reasons I got sidetracked on to other projects and work and didn’t work on it again for three years.
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
2/ The bench was a simple design which I think was originally by a woodworker named Asa Christiana. The last picture is the bench after a decade. It remains amazingly functional but for some time I’ve wanted to build a new one with more heft and different vises.
November 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
November 9, 2025 at 3:06 AM
November 9, 2025 at 12:17 AM
November 9, 2025 at 12:14 AM
November 9, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Trump ups the ante from cutting Obamacare funds to abolishing Obamacare completely. I’m sure this will help his cratering numbers
November 8, 2025 at 8:23 PM
saw this headline and at first i thought it was more about stuff in the epstein files (the rumors are getting wild)
November 8, 2025 at 3:37 PM
also someone pls Thunize this for me
November 8, 2025 at 3:31 PM
November 7, 2025 at 1:12 AM
November 7, 2025 at 1:12 AM
November 7, 2025 at 1:12 AM
2/ was always so proud of this interview Evan did with Trump in I think 2011. No one else saw what Trump was doing.
November 7, 2025 at 12:56 AM
We’re about to hear these worthies explain the history of @talkingpointsmemo.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:22 AM