Immortan D Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 I don't know about rights or wrongs, but all I have to say is that my bench top is made out of 3x8s laminated side to side and I have no complains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 I asked the same question recently, regarding a top for a TV stand. The response I got was that face laminations are not great, because the boards can cup and/or shrink at different rates. Blocking would be different, because you aren't laminating the entire surface, just a small portion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 You want to glue the face of the 2x12 to the underside of the top which is edge grain? If so, you don't want to do that. The 2x12 will want to expand and contract but will not be able to. As for gluing boards up face to face for a workbench, it is stronger that way. If you glued three 2x12's face to face and pushed down on the center it would still deflect. Like framing a floor, the joists are always on edge. Also, if you had face grain as the top it would probably tend to move much more then edge grain making you have to reflatten more often. Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 I know you are trying to add mass and I don't know how big your bench is going to but the one I just finished is 20 inches wide 6 ft long and if you take the average weight of a bd.ft. of poplar the weight of my bench is some where in the neighborhood of 210 -230 lb. and that is with out and vise hardware or any of the components associated with the vises. It sets in he middle of the floor not against the wall and it doesn't move. I am a pretty big guy and I threw a couple of hip checks to see and it stays put. You can add some mass by putting a self under the bench, you can add some more mass by making the self way thicker then it needs to be and even more mass by storing stuff on the shelf. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Capwn Posted January 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 That is sort of what I thought - I figured there was a method to the madness, and as y'all explained, it makes perfect sense. So if I really need it heavier, I could just use some of that material for blocking and a shelf, and that should do it. My goal is to eliminate "mortise bounce". Now, I don't know how much mortise-by-hand work I will be doing, but I'd rather not feel like it is bouncing when chopping stuff out. To answer in terms of size, looking at roughly 21"-22" x ~ 6' overall, with a yet-undecided height. Probably in the 34"-ish range so it can be used as material support for the table saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Saint Roy uses a pretty light bench on the show. Mortising is handled by working directly over a leg. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Al Capwn Posted January 12, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 8:00PM In the words of Salt-N-Pepa, sometimes you just gotta grab the plane and Push It...push it good. After working up a sweat like a bearded Richard Simmons, I finally had the other glued up slab more-or-less flat. Round 2 with the planer, and then tossed the other slab on the final pass to make sure each slab was a "matching pair". Now for reasons yet unknown, they aren't perfect twins. I surmise this is because I didn't do a proper enough job in flattening the sides by hand, which means that while both sides are flat, they may not be parallel. I dunno, I am sure that someone might be able to explain the discrepancy in the milling process as to why two slabs are the same thickness and "flat" but not an exact mirror to each other (you can see the ridge/seam in the middle). Also the original slab developed a slight rock. I am guessing this is because of the milling process exposing fresh wood to the elements, and thus it will want to move still. I am not super concerned because 1) there is going to be a split for the planing stop board in the middle and 2) we can just flatten it out if needed. Just more sweat, right? Right. Now to move on to the legs and apron to give this something to sit on. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 I've never used syp but even the KD Doug fir we can get here as better construction lumber measures in the teens for mc. I would buses that may be where your rock is coming from. A planer will follow whatever the registration face is. If you are consistent thickness but twisted or bowed, it's just going to transfer that to the cutting side. Id also surmise that the first face wasn't actually quite there before planing, but then again, you've got a final flattening ahead of you once it's attached to a base yeah? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Capwn Posted January 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 2 minutes ago, Brendon_t said: I've never used syp but even the KD Doug fir we can get here as better construction lumber measures in the teens for mc. I would buses that may be where your rock is coming from. A planer will follow whatever the registration face is. If you are consistent thickness but twisted or bowed, it's just going to transfer that to the cutting side. Id also surmise that the first face wasn't actually quite there before planing, but then again, you've got a final flattening ahead of you once it's attached to a base yeah? Yep, I plan on giving it a final leveling once it is all put together - that is why I wasn't too worried. Just...you know...more calories to burn. So uhh...guess I should pick up a jointer plane? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 2 hours ago, wtnhighlander said: Saint Roy uses a pretty light bench on the show. Mortising is handled by working directly over a leg. Saint Roy's bench moves all over the danged place. Not to Hi-Jack but I've always wondered why he doesn't use a "proper" bench. Wouldn't you think that with all the tinkering he's done he could make himself a stable bench? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 32 minutes ago, Al Capwn said: Yep, I plan on giving it a final leveling once it is all put together - that is why I wasn't too worried. Just...you know...more calories to burn. So uhh...guess I should pick up a jointer plane? Or a big ace router bit.. With that said, I've touched up my bench a few times with the lajp to get it flat enough. My bench is only 22x60 so not a huge bit of property Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 6 hours ago, davewyo said: Saint Roy's bench moves all over the danged place. Not to Hi-Jack but I've always wondered why he doesn't use a "proper" bench. Wouldn't you think that with all the tinkering he's done he could make himself a stable bench? It's the show. I don't think he is demonstrating a furniture shop. He is demonstrating a frontier outpost, or rather techniques rather than builds. When he teaches classes he works on more stable benches. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Capwn Posted January 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Update: Spent last night grunting away more material for that aprons. This part is the "work" part in woodworking, and it also highlights the importance of checking your material and being picky. I never paid much heed to that advice because before my mentality was, "Well, it's pine and you just screw it together and call it a day. We'll make it fit." I highly doubt this works with hardwoods, which will be less prone to yielding to stress and will crack or split, or simply will not compress enough to work. Being picky and planning pieces out before your start the milling process will save you a lot of time and work. It is that whole Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance mantra. I could have saved myself a lot of calories and sweat if I just looked at the board, determined it was bowed, and would be better to chop it down for smaller pieces of leg material. Rather than try to plane down a bow in a 2x12x6' plank to use as an apron. Yeah, it can be done - but if you have 5 other pieces, look at those and see if they are a better candidate. So basic rule of thumb: Look at your material, and the most problematic ones (bowed and twist) save those for cutting into smaller pieces where taking out the defect will require less work and tooling. So, tonight instead of aprons, I think I will cut and mill that board into some legs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Chet Posted January 13, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Sometimes a project ends up being less about the product at the end and more about teaching you lessons for the future. Which is still a good result. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Al Capwn Posted January 14, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 8:00PM Alright bros and bro-ettes, this is a friendly reminder not to skip leg day. That is exactly what we focused on today. I took the panel that was giving me grief and cut it into tiny pieces. Ok, well not tiny pieces - more like leg sized pieces. The long pieces are 32" and the smaller portions are 21" - this is because the ~2" top with sit on top, which brings the total height to ~34". The height isn't critical, it just needs to be slightly shorter than the 34 1/2" height of my table saw to prevent any long pieces from jamming against the top of the workbench. At this point my shop helper decided to come and run clean-up duty... ...I could get used to this! Finally, gluing up the legs... Look, I even grain matched them and put the ugliest faces to the inside - attention to detail, right? Uh-huh +1 style points for me... Tomorrow we will tackle the other two. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 What's she charge for large shops? Good progress! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Looking good man. My daughters love "cleaning" my shop as well! I love how you keep the tags on your clamps, make em feel new forever! Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Coming right along..Maybe she will be a woodworker. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 6 minutes ago, shaneymack said: My daughters love "cleaning" my shop as well! My daughters used to like doing this also but when they grew up and had kids of their own they seemed to have lost interest in wanting to clean daddy's shop... who knew 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 My daughters love "cleaning" my shop as well! My daughters used to like doing this also but when they grew up and had kids of their own they seemed to have lost interest in wanting to clean daddy's shop... who knew Sounds like its time to get the grandkids over to clean grampas workshop!! Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Immortan D Posted January 14, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 My kids never helped with the cleaning, but my dog will find any piece of metal (bolts, screws...) I dropped and kindly bring them to me. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 13 hours ago, shaneymack said: Sounds like its time to get the grandkids over to clean grampas workshop!! Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk Mine love to do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Capwn Posted January 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 13 hours ago, TIODS said: What's she charge for large shops? Good progress! Haha, I will ask her! I think the last time I checked the going rate was somewhere between one tickle fight and piece of chocolate. 13 hours ago, shaneymack said: Looking good man. My daughters love "cleaning" my shop as well! I love how you keep the tags on your clamps, make em feel new forever! Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk Yeah, momma has taught her well; she loves to help out and clean. She will put things in the trash, "sweep" "mop" and "clean windows". I mean, it is still at 18 month level, but good habits to instill. The boys...well...they are just messy. As for the clamps, yeah I suppose it gives that "just purchased" feeling. I know I could look on the back of the clamp to determine the size (or when they are hanging up), but the tag helps me identify which are which as well. 13 hours ago, mat60 said: Coming right along..Maybe she will be a woodworker. Maybe - I would even settle for shop apprentice. An extra set of hands are always handy! Who knows, maybe she will be the next April Wilkerson. 13 hours ago, Chet K. said: My daughters used to like doing this also but when they grew up and had kids of their own they seemed to have lost interest in wanting to clean daddy's shop... who knew I assume my negotiating power will wane once the teenage years come into play and I can't bribe her. Hopefully it will be a good run for the next decade though! 12 hours ago, Immortan D said: My kids never helped with the cleaning, but my dog will find any piece of metal (bolts, screws...) I dropped and kindly bring them to me. That's pretty great - beats having to chase things around the shop that are dropped. 36 minutes ago, drzaius said: Mine love to do it. Multiple generations of shop cleaners?! Excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 57 minutes ago, Al Capwn said: I assume my negotiating power will wane once the teenage years come into play and I can't bribe her. Hopefully it will be a good run for the next decade though! My oldest daughter actually hung out with me in the shop through some of her college years when she was home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarsCW Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 On 9-1-2016 at 11:14 AM, Chet K. said: This is something that I found to be a challenge. Wanting to photograph a project as you go was a new element to the work flow. And then trying to remember to do it at worthwhile turning points in the project. When I started planing last night, I asked my wife to make some pictures, telling her she might see me mess up big time. She kindly declined as she wouldn't want me to mess up lumber that she know i bought for her birthday present. It was fairly cold outside on the porch too, which might have been part of her reasoning. On 10-1-2016 at 6:59 PM, Al Capwn said: First, lets take those 2x12s and cut them down a bit. After running 4 boards through the table saw, we have 16 strips at roughly 2 5/8". Now, I know this won't be as thick as if I just bought a whole bunch of 2x4s, and to be honest, I noticed the same when I was looking at the lumber stock of homedepot here in Branson. The 2x12 boards looked all way better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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