mhanskat Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 So I recently decided to build myself a workbench for everyday around the house kinds of projects, mostly home improvement things. I figured instead of buying a premade bench why not take the initiative to build one myself! I looked for plans, took some ideas from different ones and winged it. Mostly I bought all my wood from a local Lowes and being the guy who's never had any dealings in woodworking I just bought the straightest 2x4 studs I could find. I built the base and while not perfect it'll work just fine for my first bench. So I started by gluing up all the studs for the top. I didn't own or even know what a planer/jointer was a the time so all of my boards were pretty rough. I glued them up anyways to make my top figuring I'd level everything out later somehow. After all was done I took a 3" hand planer (power tool not a real 'hand' planer) and did my best to remove the uneven material. So this is where I sit, I've got the bench top as described above, and it's obvious that it's still not level despite my best efforts. I've yet to do my final sanding but I don't think I'll really make that much of an impact on the total bowing of this top with my orbital sander. Should I really make the best effort possible to flatten out the top before I move any further? How can I do this? I've read using a router to do this is the best way, but it would literally take forever to do this as it's an 8' x 3' bench! There's also the fact that my router isn't necessarily the best out there and I don't want to ruin the semi flat top I've got now. How important is a 100% level/flat top for a workbench, especially for someone now to woodworking? Could I get by with what I've got or should I really find a way to make this flat? Help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmykx250 Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 That's pretty impressive you did that with studs. I could imagine what they looked like when you started. I would say as long as your happy with it leave it alone. Flatnesss is nice when you do assembly and glue ups for obvious reasons. It doesnt look that bad in the picture how bad is it? Did you check it with winding sticks or do you have a dip in it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick2cd Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 I would have to say to leave it as is. i don't think it appears to be that bad in the picture. i can see the bow you are talking about, but i just don't think you will be able to do much to correct it at this stage in the game. besides, i think you've done a great job for your first attempt at a workbench. that top is going to take some pretty serious abuse. you are going to "cut your woodworking teeth" on that top so it's probably okay if it's not perfectly flat. now, if you just can't live with it how it is, you could always skin the top with a sheet of MDF or even hardboard and shim it from underneath until you get it perfectly flat. the advantage here is that you have a replaceable top after you get so many of the holes, chips, cuts, and gouges. if you choose to go this route, be sure to use plenty of shims so you don't get any flex from the top skin (especially if you use hardboard). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB1 Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 I'd say leave it too, using a router and an oversized base that you can run back and forth along a couple of rails is the only way I can think of the level it at this point. just use a straight edge to find high points and cut them down with a belt sander or something and don't go too crazy with it. I have a bench that was given to me that has steel legs and a laminated birch top. I'm thinking about making a new base for it so I can get more storage and make it more stable. Yours looks pretty stable and heavy so it won't move which is perfect. Nice job -Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboard Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 A few years ago I made a low budget bench myself. I used HD 2x6's topped with a sheet of MDF, covered with a sheet of hardboard. You can see it here at my lumberjocks site: http://lumberjocks.com/Billboard/projects/page/2 It's been about 2 1/2 years now and it still remains level. Every 6 months or so, when I finish a project, I'll scrape glue and finish drips off, sand it lighly and put another coat of poly on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekG Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 A large plane in the jointer family (#7 or #8) could probably even it out pretty good. Or going of Bill's suggestion get some thick epoxy to put on there an put some mdf on top. I would say having it level and flat could be very important, if you don't have another flat surface for assembly of chairs, tables etc. At some point during the dry fitting you'll be putting it all together to make sure all 4 legs touch the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Go with it. If you start rolling along and feel its not working for you then do something. Unless you really are a perfectionist, I'd say its definitely good enough to get started. You did a better job on that then I did on my first bench. By the way, welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhanskat Posted January 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 That's pretty impressive you did that with studs. I could imagine what they looked like when you started. I would say as long as your happy with it leave it alone. Flatnesss is nice when you do assembly and glue ups for obvious reasons. It doesnt look that bad in the picture how bad is it? Did you check it with winding sticks or do you have a dip in it? I'm using a 48" level. Mostly it's semi flat/level, with a bow on two corners. It's creating a dip in the middle.Also another issue is that the height of two corners is 39" and the other ones are 40" and 39.5". Yet it's still semi flat. Pictures of the level below. A large plane in the jointer family (#7 or #8) could probably even it out pretty good. Or going of Bill's suggestion get some thick epoxy to put on there an put some mdf on top. I would say having it level and flat could be very important, if you don't have another flat surface for assembly of chairs, tables etc. At some point during the dry fitting you'll be putting it all together to make sure all 4 legs touch the ground. It's already dry fitted. I used 1" dowels to hold the top on. It seems to have made my legs bow despite using 6" hex bolts and mortise and tenon joinery. I'm assuming this is because of the bow in the top where the two corners are higher than the other two. I plan to just add a leveler to the leg and be done with it but will that cause a major issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdbuilder Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 I'd leave it as is for now. It can always be flatted with a hand plane later. At some point as your skills develop you will realize the bench isn't flat and is a problem. Might be in a year or might be in five, by then you'll be better able to fix the problem OR you'll decide you'd really like a bench in a slightly different form and build another more suitable for whatever you work is at the time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royal Payne Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Sure you can use it as it is, but honestly you will be allot happier if it's flat. It will be a real pain in the butt to build anything that sits flat, on a uneven workbench. You can use this method, but you will need some boards that are flat on the sides to run the jig on. http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-tips/techniques/outfitting-woodworking-shop/how-to-flatten-an-uneven-workbench-top/?page=1 Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekG Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 It's already dry fitted. I used 1" dowels to hold the top on. It seems to have made my legs bow despite using 6" hex bolts and mortise and tenon joinery. I'm assuming this is because of the bow in the top where the two corners are higher than the other two. I plan to just add a leveler to the leg and be done with it but will that cause a major issue? No, I mean when you dry fit other projects if your bench isn't flat it makes it much harder to make pieces that will set level. You want your working area to be dead flat because most of your other work will be based of that workbench as a reference surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Vitale Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I would say if you have the resources try and get it as flat as possible...like many others have said. However I also like the mdf idea also, at the end of the day man as long as your happy that is the real important part! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhanskat Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Hmmm, I could be difficult to get it 100% flat at this point. I actually read the article suggested on using a router to make it 100% flat. The problem is that I think i tried to take off too much material with the router at one time, and it actually pulled the bit out of the chuck (New guy mistake I know!). The biggest concern I have with trying this again would be that I can't flip it over again! If I mess it up beyond repair, then I'd have to start all over again most likely, and one of the reasons I decided to build the bench myself was to save a few bucks and have a better bench. I really appreciate the feedback and I hope to finish the project this weekend. Perhaps I can figure out a way to just trim up the areas that are higher with the router jig and use the sander to flatten them out. It's either that or just deal with a semi flat bench! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamnolen Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I did the same thing for my workbench that I'm using now. Mine is not flat by any means, not quite as bad as yours though. It isn't really all that important that it is dead flat. If you need a surfice that is flat for assembly or something, look down. There's a concrete floor at your feet. Most of the time, you don't need that absolute flattness. I am hoping to get a jointer plane soon so I can flatten mine and take the dents and chips out and get it flat at the same time. I've had mine now over 2 years without it being flat, and I haven't run into any problems. Let me suggest this, although it looks heavy enough not to scoot around, having one in the shop, I know it's just not heavy enough. I made a lathe stand recently, and it had this really cool feature to help weight it down. It has a trough near the bottom that holds sand to add weight. Here's a link to the plans I used to build it. Take a look at it if you're not really understanding what I'm getting at. http://www.plansnow.com/lathestnd.html Good job on it. To have not glued it up in several sections and flattened them individually, it turned out not too shabby. Best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlamulle Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Hey Brother, You've had so many good suggestions I can't really add anything new except if you have any woodworking shops close to you maybe you could drop them 20 bucks and let them run it thru their wide belt sander. That would level it on both sides in a couple of minutes. I happen to have a shop that makes custom doors close to me and they are very helpful if I need something. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I agree 100% with mdbuilder. Let it go for now, and flatten it when & if it ever starts to bother you. I think we ("we" means "I") chase perfection sometimes, when we could be checking things off our list & getting stuff done. As you get deeper into the hobby, you will know when the bench is starting to limit you. Until then, it's very sturdy and a great first bench for many purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhanskat Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Thanks for all the great tips guys! I really appreciate it. I'll look into a local shop that could sand it out butthat kinda takes away the fun of doing it yourself right!!! Maybe I should just splurge for a decent belt sander and take out those corners. I can easily get fixated getting it perfect but I think you're all right in that being my first attempt, it's not too bad and if I can get it closer with a bit more elbow grease whynot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhanskat Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Oh before I forget, what about finishes!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekG Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Do you know anyone with a select of hand planes near by? A good ole Stanley #7 or #8 could make not so quick work of flattening it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB1 Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Oh before I forget, what about finishes!? I just used danish oil on mine. -Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhanskat Posted January 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Do you know anyone with a select of hand planes near by? A good ole Stanley #7 or #8 could make not so quick work of flattening it out. Nope, don't really know anyone that has those kind of tools in my neighborhood. I think I'm going to work it out with a belt sander and my ROS sander. I just used danish oil on mine. -Jim Yea I did some reading and saw Tung oil recommended a few times. I hope to have everything sanded and level today, and add the finish tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon003 Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 I'd worry less about it being level than about it being flat. Flatness is not just for glueups. You can level it fairly easily with some scrap wood and a router, see here: http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/flattenaworkbenchwitharouter.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhanskat Posted January 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks for the really detailed link! I got everything about 90% flat/level yesterday. I'm sure at some point I'll need to refinish the top after it takes a beating (or I'll realize that I need it more flat/level than it is!) so I'll take the opportunity then to rout it level to the nth degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhanskat Posted February 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 Thought I might show a picture after the second coat of finish. Sorry for the dark room. When I'm done I'll make sure to take a picture in the light! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB1 Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 Very nice. Looks like you've got the top pretty flat too. Good job! -Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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