Shannon1066 Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 I am relatively inexperienced but I decided to tackle the Rubo anyway. Marc's videos are so detailed he makes me believe I can do it all . I've milled up the top slabs and glued them together. BTW this is the first time I've milled anything. I was able to put the front slab through my 8" jointer but I'm having problems with the rear slab. I've been trying to flatten out the bottom with a LN Low Angle Jack Plane so I can put it through the planner. I've never used a plane before and I'm horrible. Not only do I have massive chip out but I the slab is starting to look like rolling hills. Is there a way to flatten out the bottom without my having to gain experience and knowledge on how to properly use the plane? This experience will come in time (I hope) but I do not want to put this build on hold. I also do not want to ruin the slab and have to start all over. Any ideas? Shannon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 Marc also shows a technique using a router with a specially built guide sled. It's more work to set up, but it doesn't require as much skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon1066 Posted May 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 I saw that video showing the sled and router for the end part of flattening the whole bench. Can it be used at this stage? Will I run into issues? My boards are milled to 4.25". It would be nice if I could put it on my jointer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 Now before frustration sets in, you can punt... What was that game-show with the 'lifelines?' If the going gets really tough, you can probably get a local cabinet shop to run it across their 16" jointer for about $10... Could save yourself a lot of headache... Just a thought. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 I saw that video showing the sled and router for the end part of flattening the whole bench. Can it be used at this stage? Will I run into issues? My boards are milled to 4.25". It would be nice if I could put it on my jointer I don't see any reason why flattening with a router sled would be any different than flattening with a jointer or flattening with a bench plane. HHH also makes a good point about finding a larger jointer for this one piece. There's also a trick for jointing a wide piece on a narrow jointer in two passes. I'll see if I can find it. Ahh, here it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted May 12, 2014 Report Share Posted May 12, 2014 The router rail trick will certainly work if you want to go that route. And the local cabinet shop idea is a really good suggestion too if you can find one who will play along. But here's something to keep in mind. The bottom of the slab doesn't actually need to be perfectly flat. If there's a little bit of twist in it, you can always shim it when attaching it to the base. You'll see I did just that in the video series. Once secured to the base, the only thing that really counts is the flatness of the top, which you'll address as a last step. So unless you have some severe cupping or twisting issues, you might not have to do anything at all. Now best-practice says you do want the bench top to make good contact with the top of the base, if possible. Shimming a little bit is fine but you don't want it to be excessive. So one way to address this without going nuts is to focus your plane flattening in the areas where the underside of the top comes in contact with the base. If you think about it, how important is the underside of the rear slab? Not very. So as long as the two areas that connect to the base are fairly flat and roughly in the same plane, you'll be ok. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon1066 Posted May 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2014 Thanks guys. You all gave me much to consider. I think since I will need to use the router sled later in the build I will attempt to use it now. And thanks Marc, if it is not exactly flat on the bottom I will not worry about it too much and just make sure the base areas are flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon1066 Posted May 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 Well I went with building the router sled. I actually had fun going back and forth over the slab with the sled. I turned it into a game to see if I could get all the pieces left behind. I then used three roller stands to slide the slab back and forth to pass through my planer a few times. It's kind of fun seeing how creative I can get to move big pieces or do certain tasks when no one is around at the time to lend a helping hand. Thanks for you help guys! On to the end cap... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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