Advice please; Work-bench and Vice

[Copes]

Thanks Cordy, second section is now gluing up.

One more to go after that, then we'll work on how to clamp all these peices together with only the big clamps!

 

[Cordy]

Have you got pocket hole tackle ?
You could Glue planks; then [to tighten joints] screw prepared pocket holes to underneath side

then remove p/h screws later -- they clamp wood together really well, even without glue

Can't work on mine today; next job is noisy thickness machine, new neighbours so don't want to wind them up :roll:

 

[thetyreman]

looking good so far

 

[Copes]

Hi guys, so two of the three slabs are now glued up.

I've got a bit of an issue with one of them however, all the tops i'm pretty happy with. Doesn't seem to be any major gaps but we'll see once i plane it down a bit if anything creeps in.

However, underneath on one of them there's quite a long section which is about 1mm wide and about 60cm ~ long - Question is, how do i fix this? ( does it need fixing? ) My initial thought was i could get some epoxy to fill it?

As it happens i also have a couple of knots sadly which are going to go in to the top which have splitting/cracking going on, and was thinking of filling those with epoxy as well?

Attached a couple of photos so you get what i'm talking about (left most joint.) Sorry my camera wanted to take extra-arty photos today.

Thanks

 

[MattRoberts]

Yep, epoxy the hell out of them

 

[Cordy]

Not sure what I can do about the snipe

These are the 4 sash clamps bought for the job; 2 aluminium and 2 cast iron from T/S

Bench top is quite heavy to move around now

 

[memzey]

I think in feed and out feed support will help with snipe on a thicknesser. Snipe on the planer requires fettling of the out feed table hight to a few thou' above the top dead centre of the knives.

 

[Copes]

All starting to come together Cordy! I wish i had a P/Thicknesser, i'm actually going to go and ask for some suggestions in the buying advice forum I have a terrible feeling my top isn't going to go together well at all with just a few long clamps, it took an awful lot of force to get the individual bits to sit nicely, and annoyingly on one of them there's a little bit of stepping at one end which must have snuck in on tightening up.

Keep up the good work I'm going to do my final peice tonight.

 

[thetyreman]

I'd epoxy the gaps then plane it flush if the gap is quite big, I found it's a massive waste of time sanding epoxy, just use a card scraper or plane instead, I found it took 2-3 days though to fully harden not 24 hours, and that's with 'quick dry' 2 part araldite.

 

[Copes]

I think i'm more worried about the overall flattening of the bench. if all the gaps are at the bottom, i'm worrying that i'm maybe cupping the top to close them all.

I just need to find a buddy who has a planer/thicknesser in herts, any takers? ;-) I don't really have the space for a stand-alone P/T, so i would have to get one of these woodstar/Scheppach 8" benchtop jobbies... not really sure if anyone has much experience with them? they all look a bit naff, but sometimes looks are deceiving.

 

[ED65]

However, underneath on one of them there's quite a long section which is about 1mm wide and about 60cm ~ long ... does it need fixing?

Pretty sure no, but it does depend on how deep the unglued section extends into the joint. If you're worried yes dribble in some epoxy. Have a hair dryer on hand to heat the epoxy up and it'll penetrate the crack deeper.

As it happens i also have a couple of knots sadly which are going to go in to the top which have splitting/cracking going on, and was thinking of filling those with epoxy as well?

Worth doing I'd say. I always do when I want the surface smooth.

In this case I'd add a little sanding dust to your epoxy. You won't get a good colour match if you use dust from this wood so I'd go darker. Have any hardwood dust saved? If not go create some, you'll probably need less than teaspoon so it won't take long.

Edit: if you don't like the look of the knots you could drill them out and fill, or do a few Dutchmen.

 

[Cordy]

Mine is just a thicknesser Here
Excellent machine; snipe only occurred due to long length of timber
Just do not fancy having to swap from planer to thicknesser all the time with a combined machine

On YouTube there are many ways to substitute the planer with sleds etc

 

[novocaine]

get it built then flatten the top, either by hand with a scrub then a jack plane or with a router jig. your going to have to do it anyway once it's built (are you putting a tool tray in the middle?) how are you joining the top to the legs? you've missed a great chance to make wedged mortises the easiest way ever.

 

[thetyreman]

you could always use a hand plane instead, that's what I am doing, my entire bench is going to be all hand planed, it doesn't take as long as you'd think, but it's obviously very physical.

 

[skeetstar]

I just need to find a buddy who has a planer/thicknesser in herts, any takers?

Could you ask around local woodwork shops or wood yards and see if anyone would do it for a small fee? My local
hardware store will machine up timber and they will plane/thickness timber if they know it is new and free of metal fixings.

They are an old established family firm, and as well as being the hardware store they are also the undertakers. The shop where they make coffins hasn't changed in 120 years and the machine shop is kitted out with old Wadkin machines.- the sort of place we all dream of.

 

[Copes]

get it built then flatten the top, either by hand with a scrub then a jack plane or with a router jig. your going to have to do it anyway once it's built (are you putting a tool tray in the middle?) how are you joining the top to the legs? you've missed a great chance to make wedged mortises the easiest way ever.

Originally i was going to do through-mortices, but i changed my mind / lost the bottle and decided on smaller mortice/tenons that will be hidden but dry fitted, no glue. Then pop a couple of bolt screws, up through the two top side rails.

I did think about cutting the mortices during glue up, but i thought with the wood being a bit wonky in all directions, i'd get better results doing it once its sitting on top of the base frame and i can mark them all out exactly.

Hopefully once its all together, planing it on top of my tablesaw will be easier, when i tried planing each individual one it was a nightmare keeping them steady. Hopefully all the extra mass will keep it steady.

(are you putting a tool tray in the middle?)

No, i'm just going to go with a straight forward top. I do have plans to add all sorts of draws and bits and bobs to it once its basic form is built.

Deep bottom draw under the front rail for blanks/offcuts, a long short height draw between the front/back rail coming out of the side, under the shelf to keep all my screwboxes. I also have a junior record vice which i might repurpose as a left sided tool holder, holder

We'll see, i might be getting a bit ahead of myself!

 

[novocaine]

Heres mine with wedged tenons and through mortises. I cut the legs post glue up, because I changed my mind on the build after id already done it. made from the cheapest tomber around (orange box store cls) it isnt the bench to end all benches but its servicable and I can beat on it without worry.
I ha a peice of mdf that got tacked to the top as well for extra protection form the hot stick.

Guess it depends what you eant from a bench.
https://flic.kr/p/FpubzB

 

[Copes]

Yeah that looks great, exactly as i was planning originally. I decided against it as i think it would massively bother me if i did it wrong and it was gappy, i'm so fussy about that kind of thing.

Your bench is massive compared to what mine will be Only shooting for 1.5m wide.

 

[ColeyS1]

You have been busy, looking good so far !
Just a thought regarding the clamping. I wonder if threaded bar bolted right through all of them may have worked ? Something like an m10 with mahooosive square washers to allow you to torque em up. May be a cheaper option for somebody else looking to make one.
Keep up the good work

Coley

 

[Copes]

Quite possibly, although i think also having the patience to plane each one would have also helped a lot