bleedinblue Posted January 9, 2019 Report Share Posted January 9, 2019 I may have an opportunity for some reasonably priced 4"x6" white oak beams. How difficult would it be to modify the plans to give it a go? I'm assuming the 4" would have to come down to 3-3.5" for flatness, so I'd probably have to bring that 6" down to close to 4". It could be a lot of waste, or I may be able to rip off an inch and salvage some 4/4+ boards. I'm mostly concerned with the dog hole strip, the outer top laminate that the end cap ties into, and vise installation, since I'll stick with BC. Random thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted January 9, 2019 Report Share Posted January 9, 2019 If the beams are really old, as in have been air drying for several decades, I'd use them as close as possible to their full size. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted January 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2019 Danger of a lot of movement if I mill too much off? Ideally I would keep the 4" dimension close to 4" and glue them up "face" down. That could mean I might use as few as four beams for the whole bench top. I just don't know if I can keep them close to the 4". There's a strong potential that this will be more trouble/risk than it's worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RichardA Posted January 9, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 9, 2019 I don't have a Ruobo, and at my age a lifetime bench is two saw horses and a sheet of 3/4 ply. That said, for the last few years here, ruobo's have been built as thin as 3 1/2" and no one seems to be having a problem with them. My only take is that if you take them down to whatever thinness you want. Remove the waste equally from both sides, and do them at the same time. Don't allow one side to remain un trimmed for any length of time. You want any expansion or contraction to proceed equally to both sides. Just my 76 year old opinion. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 9, 2019 Report Share Posted January 9, 2019 BC covers using tops thinner than 4" thick so it is possible to use them even if you get down to 3.5" though you have to make some changes or modifications Most notably the end cap still needs to be 4" and will hang lower than the main bench. You could solve that by making the front piece taller and from a milled down beam on edge. How much are these beams that you found? If they are super cheap snap them up and try and turn them around for a farmhouse table or fireplace mantles? That whole rustic thing is still trendy no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted January 9, 2019 Report Share Posted January 9, 2019 My comment was only if they were old, then they should be pretty stable as is, and I wouldn't worry about them being too thick, or too wide. The only reason I would make them smaller, for this purpose, is if they contained the center of the tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
procell40 Posted January 9, 2019 Report Share Posted January 9, 2019 Dog Hole strip is a non issue if you're going round dog holes. And the vise installation (at least tail vise , haven't gotten to the Main vise stage yet) , is also a non issue , as the plans call for building the full slab first , and then routing out a ton for the rails / screw cavity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted January 9, 2019 Report Share Posted January 9, 2019 I don't see any problem using them. I'd mill the 6" width to 4" (and as you said, you'd likely get some decent 4/4 boards as waste, which could then be laminated together to get your side rails). Once you flatten them, you will probably end up with 3 1/2 wide boards, so there's that much less gluing to do to get your tops. In order to keep construction simple, I would aim to keep the dimensions of the dog hole strip and front laminate as per the plans. I'm just finishing my tops now, and starting with 4" thick tops makes all the math much simpler. Obviously it can be done with a thinner top, but why not aim for 4" if you can? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted January 10, 2019 Report Share Posted January 10, 2019 I would love that problem and would definitely want to do whatever is needed to make it happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Mick S Posted January 10, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 10, 2019 They won't work at all for that application. Let me PM you my address and I'll take them off your hands! I'll even split the shipping costs with you. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted January 10, 2019 Report Share Posted January 10, 2019 11 minutes ago, Mick S said: They won't work at all for that application. Let me PM you my address and I'll take them off your hands! I'll even split the shipping costs with you. Excellent way to help out a befuddled woodworker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim DaddyO Posted January 10, 2019 Report Share Posted January 10, 2019 A typical hold fast like the Grammercy has a minimum top thickness listed at 1 3/4". After around 4" they seem to loose effectiveness and the bottom of the bores need to be counter bored. The top I have built is under 4". I can't remember the exact number. I haven't used it yet as I am still building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 10, 2019 Report Share Posted January 10, 2019 4 minutes ago, Jim DaddyO said: A typical hold fast like the Grammercy has a minimum top thickness listed at 1 3/4". After around 4" they seem to loose effectiveness and the bottom of the bores need to be counter bored. The top I have built is under 4". I can't remember the exact number. I haven't used it yet as I am still building. I learned today that 4" is the lower limit for Benchcrafted hardware without plan modifications. So shooting for 4" is key i guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pondhockey Posted January 10, 2019 Report Share Posted January 10, 2019 17 minutes ago, Chestnut said: I learned today that 4" is the lower limit for Benchcrafted hardware without plan modifications. So shooting for 4" is key i guess. Just checking, did you mean to say "lower" limit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 10, 2019 Report Share Posted January 10, 2019 9 hours ago, Pondhockey said: Just checking, did you mean to say "lower" limit? I think so... any thing thinner than 4" requires extra attention for the tail vise at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pondhockey Posted January 11, 2019 Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 16 hours ago, Chestnut said: I think so... any thing thinner than 4" requires extra attention for the tail vise at least. So you're saying that it can't be thinner or thicker than 4". I get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
procell40 Posted January 11, 2019 Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 9 hours ago, Pondhockey said: So you're saying that it can't be thinner or thicker than 4". I get it. it absolutely can , you'll just need to modify the plans slightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim DaddyO Posted January 11, 2019 Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 Just to clarify a bit. The Benchcrafted tail vise is specified for a 4" thick top. It can be put in a thinner top by shimming, or a thicker top by recessing. Or, not use one at all and make the thickness anything you want. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post bleedinblue Posted January 29, 2019 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 I'm going to go pick up the beams tomorrow or the next day it looks like. They're either not going to work or they're gonna be awesome...one way to find out, get em in the shop and get them cleaned up. I may end up buying 8/4 stock for the dog hole strip, outer laminate and the side rails. I suppose that could be prevented if I can resaw the beams and they dont move like crazy, but who knows how that'll go. Again, one way to find out. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcschoenthal Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Those look like some great beams. Look fairly straight and no pith that I can see. By the looks of the faces, you're going to have to mill them some, so I would go with your original plan. Rip a 4/4+ strip off the width and mill down to 3½ x 4 boards for your 4" thick top. Use some of the strips for the dog hole and front laminate strips. You even have some good sized stock for the endcap. What are your plans for the legs? Most would have to laminate 8/4, but your beams are pretty close to the final dimensions. Chris "It's never too late to have a happy childhood" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted January 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 I just got the wood home and moved around to the back of the house. It was a lot more wood than it looks like in the pictures, gave my little Colorado...and my back... a workout. The 12 footers were HEAVY. There's quite a bit of red oak mixed in...maybe even more red oak than white. It's hard to be sure in the rough state. Not my first choice, but I'm not complaining in the least. It may mean some dyeing and will mean some design choices and strategy. Not a bad thing really. I am pretty sure I can get each leg out of a 4x6 "blank." I may end up slightly smaller than the plans, but it will be close enough to not matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 1 hour ago, bleedinblue said: It may mean some dyeing and will mean some design choices and strategy. Just remember that is a workbench and as pretty as it may look when finished, eventually it is going to end up looking like a work bench. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 1 hour ago, bleedinblue said: I just got the wood home and moved around to the back of the house. It was a lot more wood than it looks like in the pictures, gave my little Colorado...and my back... a workout. The 12 footers were HEAVY. There's quite a bit of red oak mixed in...maybe even more red oak than white. It's hard to be sure in the rough state. Not my first choice, but I'm not complaining in the least. It may mean some dyeing and will mean some design choices and strategy. Not a bad thing really. I am pretty sure I can get each leg out of a 4x6 "blank." I may end up slightly smaller than the plans, but it will be close enough to not matter. The leg dimensions weren't all that critical, as long as you adjust for any discrepancy. I ended up 1/4" smaller in one dimension and 3/8" smaller the other way because of movement after I glued them. It didn't cause me any real grief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 6 hours ago, Chet said: Just remember that is a workbench and as pretty as it may look when finished, eventually it is going to end up looking like a work bench. Aaah no! Its a roubo and you need to treat it like a fine piece of machinery right? I mean 3 years in I might have a couple nicks in mine but other than that looks like the day I finished it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted January 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 Milling these is going to be fun. One of the small beams is 90 inches. I threw it on a scale, it weighs 60 pounds. I left all of the ten and twelve footers on the back patio. When it warms up a little I will take a hand plane to them to figure out species. I need to decide what needs to come into the basement to spend some time in dry air. They've spent five years stickered outside, but I dont know what the MC is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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