From what I recall of the steps in producing a bench using construction lumber, the order was to let the wood season first, then to cut to rough size. After cutting, joint and plane to final size and glue up into blanks on the same day to prevent movement from occurring.
Workbench plan/build thread
Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
-
When I go out to the shop tomorrow I will be looking at two ~12.5" wide sections of the top that I will have to somehow get nice and flat before I glue them together. Not really caring to make a router sled, so I may shim the pieces on the bottom to be able to run them through the planer instead.
I have no idea.Comment
-
I built a router sled and it worked wonderfully. The two halves are in glue up right now, but I already regret not jointing the two mating faces again. Have to see how it turns out tomorrow. Might be sawing it apart and jointing.
Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2Comment
-
If you do end up cutting it apart... consider leaving it as multiple pieces when done. Get a long boring drill bit and drill a few holes all the way through the pieces (located so they don't interfere with dog holes, present & future vice locations, etc) and use threaded rod with washers & nuts to hold the pieces together. This way you can disassemble it in the future if/when the top gets beat up and run the pieces through the planer or drum sander or router sled again.
I'd also run a half inch or so wide, 1 inch deep slot along the mating faces and use that to hold a spline. The spline will help future alignment.
mpc
edit: another option instead of running bolts all the way through the pieces: use the fasteners designed for underneath countertop joins. They're a lot smaller (no drilling holes 2 feet long!) and are designed to tightly pull the pieces together. They use a pair of large round holes (similar to the "cup" holes of Euro style cabinet hinges) - one in each piece - joined by a drilled hole for a threaded rod that connects the two holes. See Rockler's exampleLast edited by mpc; 08-27-2012, 01:46 AM.Comment
-
The top is fine structurally, just a slight cosmetic defect. Actually, a few cosmetic defects all around. Base is assembled and attached to the top. Working on the end vice right now.
Last edited by Cochese; 08-27-2012, 08:38 PM.Comment
-
It's finally right-side up and in place. The end vise is installed. No pics, as the shop is an absolute disaster area. Next couple of days are probably going to be dedicated to fixing the mess. Will see what I can do with flattening the top and putting dog holes in later.Comment
-
Oh, and my Gramercy holdfasts came today. These things are really nice, I'm glad I chose them. Will have to figure out just exactly how to make them 'stick'.Comment
-
First pictures of the 'completed' bench for you to enjoy. Haven't even put these on the blog yet.
Picture 1-2: the Gramercy Holdfasts, and some 220-grit to help them stick in the holes
Picture 3-5: trying out the holdfasts in the legs. Works well, I can edge joint this piece without worry
Picture 6: Glamour shot
Picture 7: trouble with the counterbores
Picture 8: Assembly oops. Tenon was probably a smidge too high and didn't know about it until everything else was already buttoned up.
Picture 9: Holdfast storageLast edited by Cochese; 08-29-2012, 01:23 PM.Comment
-
-
Looks Good, you're really going to enjoy a proper bench. I know I have.
Don't worry about the cosmetic defects, there will be a whole bunch more after some use.ErikComment
-
Roundover bit. Set...a bit too deep. Turned out well there, though. Will have to be a bit more careful in the top.
Going to do some research over the next few days and see just where I want the front row holes to be. The middle of the end vise is about 7" from the front, which seems too far, but it also seems like I'd want to line up the strongest part of the vise.
I'm planning on using two in the legs, two in the top. I suppose I could have gotten away with one set, but I figured I might as well be able to clamp in three dimensions if necessary.
Quick service from TFWW as well, got a little handwritten note on my invoice as well.Last edited by Cochese; 08-30-2012, 07:40 AM.Comment
-
So, it took me this long to work up the courage to flatten the top. With my recent 'remodel' giving me more energy than ever, I made it my mission to get that done today.
I bought a pine board from Lowe's, thinking it would be easier to wrangle into shape than dimensional lumber. Jointed the board and sawed it in two and clamped it to the workbench. Used TWW's technique of string to get the boards in the same plane and created a router sled. From there, it was showtime. I marked the surface in case what I was removing was very light. It was probably 1/8" all over, meaning that my original lamination was pretty dang good.
Only made one mistake where one end of the sled came off the board. I also inadvertently used pressure in parts, meaning I had faint lines and different depths of cut. Quite a bit of 60 grit took care of most of it. Pleased, I even started on the 3/4" dog holes.
Good old fashioned brace work. 12 of the 23 holes on the front section are done, 3" apart. The rear will get ones either 9" or 12" apart. I'm very excited and pleased. If you look closely, you can see I polished up the top of three of the vise bolts up nicely with the router bit.Comment
Footer Ad
Collapse
Comment