Sad story of my uneven bench top

[SMALMALEKI]

I am planing to flatten my bench top this weekend. Here is the story. My bench tops were the very first laminating projects I did. I made couple of mistakes and ended up with boards which were twisted and some had jumped up.
Keep it short I flattened one side and left the underneath as it was.
Now my two part of bench top although individually flat and square but they are not in one plane .

I am planing on flattening it this weekend. I am using two parallel rails and router flattening jig.

Can I use winding sticks to make them co-plane?

 

[SMALMALEKI]

This is the method I am using.

 

[novocaine]

Pin a sting form diagonol from corner to corner of the rails. Then do it the other way.
Adjust till the string just touches in the middle. You are now close enough to in wind to jave at it.

 

[SMALMALEKI]

Pin a sting form diagonol from corner to corner of the rails. Then do it the other way.
Adjust till the string just touches in the middle. You are now close enough to in wind to jave at it.

That’s the way this guy does. But as using a winding stick is more familiar for me I was thinking of doing what I know rather than something new.
would it work or not? I don’t know.

 

[novocaine]

Oh. He does that in the video. Sorry, didnt watch it, he irritates me. Just flicked through it now.

Yes you could use winding sticks. The string will be quicker.

 

[Bm101]

An example of what Novocaine is explaining is shown here.
Check the comments of Herman Melville for an explanation of level and flat by the poster.

I used two metal bars to do mine and just clamped them up level for the jig. Beauty is they can also be used for cramps with heads attached and in a few years I can use them again. In the meantime they hang up in the roofspace out the way. As long as the bench is falt it doesn't bother me if its a mill or two higher at one end. I'm not a cnc machine.

 

[Jacob]

Wheeling out the old jpg again sorry! One big advantage of the trad British bench is ease of flattening. Plane the front beam flat then plane the apron upstand at the back, to match.

 

[SMALMALEKI]

An example of what Novocaine is explaining is shown here.
Check the comments of Herman Melville for an explanation of level and flat by the poster.

I used two metal bars to do mine and just clamped them up level for the jig. Beauty is they can also be used for cramps with heads attached and in a few years I can use them again. In the meantime they hang up in the roofspace out the way. As long as the bench is falt it doesn't bother me if its a mill or two higher at one end. I'm not a cnc machine.

I must be very tired after 5th long day shifts. Could you explain how did you use two metal bars as a jig?
I can get two L shaped profile from shop in the morning.

 

[Bm101]

I clamped one length of box section (leveled lengthways with my long spirit) an inch or so below the surface( dictated by your sled height etc). I then repeated along the other side using the first as the datum. The box section is longer than the bench. It's a two person job btw unless you screw them on. The box section then act as runners for the sled. The original plan was make them easy to attach by putting permanent fixings on as a quick router sled set up for other wood but in the end it was actually easier to later adjust the sled for the workbench top itself.

 

[SMALMALEKI]

Wheeling out the old jpg again sorry! One big advantage of the trad British bench is ease of flattening. Plane the front beam flat then plane the apron upstand at the back, to match.View attachment 102111

In fact I followed an English workbench plan from @Paul Seelers old YouTube clips.
I have two aprons on two sides.

 

[SMALMALEKI]

I am struggling to understand something here. I have put two rails / runners on both sides. Three corners are raised 10 mm above the bench corners carefully. Then I used a digital angle finder on an straight aluminium L shaped profile. Making it zero and then adjusting the other end to the same angle. so far I was satisfied that I have a co-planer set.
as I was leaving garage to end today’s work I just checked with winding sticks and to my horror there is a twist on the rails.
my digital angle finder is accurate to 0.1 degree so I can’t explain the discrepancy.
can someone please explain where may I have gone wrong ?

 

[Jacob]

I am struggling to understand something here. I have put two rails / runners on both sides. Three corners are raised 10 mm above the bench corners carefully. Then I used a digital angle finder on an straight aluminium L shaped profile. Making it zero and then adjusting the other end to the same angle. so far I was satisfied that I have a co-planer set.
as I was leaving garage to end today’s work I just checked with winding sticks and to my horror there is a twist on the rails.
my digital angle finder is accurate to 0.1 degree so I can’t explain the discrepancy.
can someone please explain where may I have gone wrong ?

Not sure what you mean. Photo might help?

 

[Silfi]

Smalmaleki--how far out is it? On a 600mm wide bench a .1 deg error is 1.04mm. If error is +/- then 2mm error possible. You say having zeroed the scale you adjusted the angle---to zero presumably? If it out by a large amount could a rail have moved?

Edited to correct typo.

 

[SMALMALEKI]

Rails are screwed on three corners and the fourth corner is clamped waiting to confirm the final setting. I use the finder which can be zeroed by pressing a button or show the absolute horizon.
pictures shows the rails and the aluminium profiles as well as the winding sticks.

 

[Jacob]

Can't you just lay a spirit level over the bench? Can't see the purpose of your two rails and with those thin angle irons look a likely source of error themselves.
Handy to have the thing level but it is not at all critical - you judge the flatness of your work pieces as necessary by looking at them, squint the length, across the width with winding sticks etc.
You don't need to do it by checking against a flat surface - it may not be possible anyway and you'd still have to check the flat surface.
I suggest do some woodwork and stop worrying!
PS have you got a photo of the whole bench? Can't see how you've constructed it. It's common for new items to settle and bend as they dry out or get used to an uneven floor.

 

[Jacob]

Just watched a bit of the Wood whisperer's vid. 22 minutes is about 20 minutes too long. He's mad as a hatter!
There's too much of this sort of stuff on youtube. They make things look difficult so that the solution looks magic. That's what card sharps and conjurors do

 

[SMALMALEKI]

Can't you just lay a spirit level over the bench? Can't see the purpose of your two rails and with those thin angle irons look a likely source of error themselves.
Handy to have the thing level but it is not at all critical - you judge the flatness of your work pieces as necessary by looking at them, squint the length, across the width with winding sticks etc.
You don't need to do it by checking against a flat surface - it may not be possible anyway and you'd still have to check the flat surface.
I suggest do some woodwork and stop worrying!
PS have you got a photo of the whole bench? Can't see how you've constructed it. It's common for new items to settle and bend as they dry out or get used to an uneven floor.

I built my bench two years ago. Until recently I needed to work some wider boards for my kitchen shelves project where the twist between two halves made working difficult. Here is a photo of bench when it was waxed for the first time.

 

[SMALMALEKI]

Just watched a bit of the Wood whisperer's vid. 22 minutes is about 20 minutes too long. He's mad as a hatter!
There's too much of this sort of stuff on youtube. They make things look difficult so that the solution looks magic. That's what card sharps and conjurors do

Jacob
You are a man of wisdom. Would you kindly tell me how would you flatten it?

 

[SMALMALEKI]

These L shape aluminium profiles are flat and straight 1000 mm. I’ve tested them for flatness and they are very good. Perhaps a cheaper alternative to Veritas aluminium winding sticks.

 

[Ttrees]

They might be very flat, but how much can they deflect if not fully supported, like in that picture with the UKJ jig resting on it?
Maybe they don't deflect, I'd guess they would like that, especially if a little weight was applied.
I'd personally use them as a reference to get some good hefty timbers precisely flat for the job.

Nice bench BTW
Tom