My Workbench - Almost Complete!

[TheDudester]

Last year I was given 4 boards of maple. Each board is roughly L60"xW10"xH1.5". The boards themselves are made up of roughly 10 strips of maple glued together.

One way of glueing the boards would be in a 2 x 2 fashion giving me a bench configuration of L60"xW20"xH3".

Each board on it's own is extremely heavy and I can't even imagine what it would be like to lift this.

Another option would be to use three of the boards (cutting one in half) which would give me a bench configuration of L60"xW15"xH3".

This would leave one maple board to make chopping boards as gifts or something.

The bench is the number one priority but space is also a factor, so my question would be is a bench of 15" good enough for planning and typical bench tasks,.

Thanks

D

 

[Chris Knight]

15 inches would be good enough for a lot bar assembly. Certainly most planing operations could be accomplished as could anything done in front vices. Japanese planing beams spring to mind..

However, rather than double them up to increase thickness, I'd make the top as wide as you really want and simply fasten it to a sheet or two of MDF to increase weight and thickness.

 

[TheDudester]

15 inches would be good enough for a lot bar assembly. Certainly most planing operations could be accomplished as could anything done in front vices. Japanese planing beams spring to mind..

However, rather than double them up to increase thickness, I'd make the top as wide as you really want and simply fasten it to a sheet or two of MDF to increase weight and thickness.

Hi Chris

That is a great idea and would allow me to either make 2 benches or twice as many chopping boards

Thanks

D

 

[TheDudester]

Just posting a picture of three of the boards I have, the fourth is hiding behind the other three.

Have been looking at bench posts and will post more details soon.

Regards D

 

[TheDudester]

Can anyone see any problems with using the maple I have to make the bench legs, stretchers etc? Remember these pieces are made up from individual pieces glued together.

Regards

D

 

[tnimble]

Depends on how well they are glued up (nice thight joints, board orientation (are they all flat, all rift or all quarter sawn and are the growth rings all in the same direction, are they alternating or random)). Most probably will not be a problem at all.

 

[TheDudester]

Depends on how well they are glued up (nice thight joints, board orientation (are they all flat, all rift or all quarter sawn and are the growth rings all in the same direction, are they alternating or random)). Most probably will not be a problem at all.

The picture below shows the pieces I have cut using 2 out of the 4 glue-ups.

They were cut to rough dimensions and will need to be cut to length and thicknessed.

I tried to start and stop each cut on a single piece of wood with no glue-ups showing. This was mostly successful. These pieces will be used to provide 2 feet, 4 legs, 2 stretchers and 2 arms to support the bench.

I have 2 glue-ups left to make the bench top, including space for the bench dogs and tool holders (no tool tray) etc. I know I will have design questions regarding which joints to use. If needed at a later date, I can add something underneath sitting on the 2 stretchers

Regards

D

 

[TheDudester]

I spent some time today thicknessing the stretchers and sorting through pieces to identify then as legs, arms or feet.

The top will be 18 inches deep by 54 inches long. This excludes any edging, vices etc.

Given the depth of 18 inches my question is this:

a) should the legs come to the edges of the top and therefore the feet and arms be slightly wider or

b) should the feet and arms be 18 inches long and the legs therefore sit slightly inside the edges.

I hope this is clear.

Thanks

D

 

[TheDudester]

I am working on the top of the workbench today have jointed the edges. When I push them together there is a bevel on one of the pieces that when pushed down corrects itself.

Should I a) use biscuits to align the top surfaces or b) since the whole top is being screwed to a piece of MDF use that or c) do both ?

Thanks

D

 

[OPJ]

Since you're probably going to 'flatten' the bench top once it's all glued up and fixed in place, I don't see why you shouldn't use biscuit joints to help close any gaps up.

 

[TheDudester]

Here are some pictures of the almost finished top.

This is the top glued together and left to dry overnight....

and this is the setup I used to flatten the surface....

and these are two pictures of the finished surface sanded to 120 grit....

The top still needs to be cut to final size which will probably be 4'6 x 18".

I need to buy some timber to wrap around the maple top and 2 layers of mdf The final size of the top will probably be 4'10" x 22".

Regards

D

 

[wizer]

very nice work there. What are those things the router is running on?

 

[TheDudester]

very nice work there. What are those things the router is running on?

Thanks WiZeR.

It is the Festool Multi-Routing Template MFS.

The option "MFS Rounting Techniques" will show you in great detail what it can do.

Regards

D

 

[TheTiddles]

very nice work there. What are those things the router is running on?

It appears to be running on purest gloat. Bessey, Festool, just fit some LN in and it's a full house

Aidan

 

[neilc]

Looks very well Dudester.

Neil

 

[TheDudester]

very nice work there. What are those things the router is running on?

It appears to be running on purest gloat. Bessey, Festool, just fit some LN in and it's a full house

Aidan

No room for a tool tray on this bench and I don't know if I need one. Just slots near the back for chisels, saw etc

The dog holes will be round so I can use clamping equipment I already have.

Regards

D

 

[TheDudester]

I am ordering a sheet of MDF tomorrow to add to the top. The maple top at the moment is 33mm thick. I could add one or two pieces of 18mm MDF, giving 51mm or 69mm respectively.

Would there be any advantage in having the greater thickness?

D

 

[Paul Chapman]

In general, I find that the heavier and more solid a bench is the better. Ideally, a bench shouldn't move at all when you are working on it - if you've ever used a lightweight bench, which bounces about all over the place, and then tried a really heavy, solid bench, you would appreciate the difference immediately. I'd go for the thicker option.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[TheDudester]

In general, I find that the heavier and more solid a bench is the better. Ideally, a bench shouldn't move at all when you are working on it - if you've ever used a lightweight bench, which bounces about all over the place, and then tried a really heavy, solid bench, you would appreciate the difference immediately. I'd go for the thicker option.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Thanks Paul.

I've decided to go for the double thickness.

I will glue the two boards of MDF together and then screw the MDF to the maple top. Do you need to allow for movement by elongating the holes?

Thanks

D

 

[woodbloke]

Dude - in addition to the mdf which will give a thicker and heavier top (and I agree with Paul's comments) I'd suggest that you include as well a piece of 'sacrificial' hardboard which can be replaced when too damaged...it's also a more resilient surface to work on. Just a thought - Rob