Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Bench top question
Rick Strawser
>What would be the problem with using a ready made laminated bench top (say 24x60) and then lag bolt/glueing an additional built up strip for dog holes/tail vise to the front edge? This would save a lot of glue-up time
Would movement require slotted holds behind the washers?
I have never seen this method mentioned and wonder why, what am I missing here?
Re: Bench top question
Jim in Burlington Ontario
>I have seen a few benches made that way. They are very stable. That said I have a 160bf of 12/4 maple for another bench and I am not really looking forward to the giant glue up yet again. A top can easily wieght over 200lbs and can bring all other work in the shop to a dead hault.
Re: Bench top question
Paul in NJ
>Rick,
You are not missing anything there. As long as you are glueing long grain to long grain you won't have to worry about movement. Make sure you plane off any finish to get a good glue bond and a tight fitting joint.
Paul Dzioba
Re: Bench top question
William R. Duffield on the Cohansey
>As long as the grain runs the same way, as noted by Paul, you shouldn't need anything but glue to hold the front section in place. That's probably all that's holding together the individual boards from which that the top was made up. Make sure that the edge of the top is flat and freshly planed, and doesn't have any finish on it.
There are a few other things you should pay attention to:
First, the front assembly and the rest of the bench top should have reached equilibrium moisture content for the conditions in your shop. In other words, don't try to glue a very dry front to an unseasoned or green top, or vice versa.
Second, try to use the same species of wood, or at least two species with similar rates of expansion with changes in humidity.
Third, pay attention to the directions of the growth rings on the two subassembles. Most hardwoods move about twice as much tangentially as the do radially.
Note that the second and third points, above, are not nearly as important as the first point. If you look at the grain orientation of the boards that have been glued up to make the top, you may think they were laid down at random, depending on the manufacturer.
Re: Bench top question
Doug Ball in MD
>A nice technique I've learned is to make a rip cut of ~6-8" off the back edge of your slab, prepare the dog hole slots and reattach it to the front edge, thus guaranteeing compatible grain and dryness.
Eager to try that myself!
Doug