First REAL bench nearing completion

PIC #2 flatening the top

John Clifford

>By far the funnest part of building this bench. Next I'll use my low angle jointer. By the way, I tried to use my 5 1/2 and it didn't leave nearly as smooth a surface as the low angle jack. Can't figure out why, I thought the hgher angle would leave the finer surface. Maybe the rules are reversed for softer woods. I would appreciated any input about this phenomenon if anyone has had any similar experiences with a low angle leaving a better finish.

Re: PIC #3 trestle joinery details

John Clifford

>I used the Leigh FMT to cut these twin mortise and tenons. I know, I know, killing electrons, but the results were worth it. The joints came out perfect. I'll say a few Rosaries for my penance.

Re: PIC #2 flatening the top

Greg Sloop, Portland Oregon

>Re: 5.5 vs LA Jack.

Hard to guess, but in my experience, total cut angle is important. The short rule is this. Use the lowest cut angle that produces a decent surface finish.

Sometimes a higher cut angle can produce worse surface finish instead of better. This is one reason I really like bevel-up planes. They allow you to easily modify the effective cutting angles to what is best for a particular situation.

YMMV

Cheers,

Greg

End grain, plain face grain, wild and wooly reversing stuff can all be handled by the same plane with varying cut angles.

I've seen several cases where something like poplar looked terrible with by 65deg total cut set - I just happened to have it in the plane and didn't bother to switch for what I thought was a few strokes. Moving to 45 or even 37 degrees improved things considerably.

Cheers,

Greg

Thanks Greg

John Clifford

>I guess there are no hard and fast rules when working wood. Thanks for your response.

Re: PIC #2 flatening the top

Ted Shuck, Centennial, CO

>I have heard, and confirmed through use, that a low angle plane often does better in soft/stringy woods. I was planing some aromatic cedar recently and getting terrible results from a Stanley #5. Switching to a low-angle jack made all the difference.

Ted

Looking Good John

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>My bench top is also made of salvaged fir 2x4's. I never did put a finish on it other than blood, sweat, and tears. I built a tail-vise and a should vise into it as well, which if I had to do again I wouldn't. I may still do away with them once I get some holdfasts. Are you planning on boring some holdfast holes as well?

Todd O.

Nice looking bench...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>Looks like a keeper to me. Any problems with movement while flattening the top? I'm thinking about building my base the same as yours.

Re: Looking Good John

John Clifford

>Todd, I do intend to make a series of dog holes in the top. I've already purchased some dogs, wonderdogs, and a holdfast from Lee Valley. Can't wait to put them to use. The holdfast is their nice (and expensive) one, the one that screws down. It looks well made and by all accounts it a good one.

Re: Nice looking bench...

John Clifford

>Well Scott, funny you should ask. About a week or so ago I would have said little to no movement at all. But the other day I went out to the garage and found that the top had twisted after I had already flattened it. I have not secured (lag bolted) the top to the base yet. So I need to take the wind out of it and then drive some lag bolts through the uderside of the tops of the trestle to secure it and hopefully make it behave. The top is fairly wide, 34 in. so I'm thinking about three lag bolts through each trestle top. And I would highly recomend using the trestle base with top and bottom strechers, it is very stout. After I built it I got into the middle of it and held myself up on the top strechers and swung back and forth like I was on the parralel bars. This thing didn't budge or rack an inch. By the way I weigh about 210. The trestle legs have twin tenons that attach to the top and feet, and they all have two pins in them. I don't think you can see them in the photos. I'll take some close ups and post them as soon as I can. All in all I like the look of the trestle base better than running the legs straight to the floor. Also, the bench is outside in the garage and the floors get damp, so I didn't want the endgrain resting on the floor soaking up the moisture.

Re: Nice looking bench...

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>John,

went I buyilt mine I rad threaded rod from edge to edge at 3 differnt points. It was a pain to keep all the hole lined up so that the rods woulds pass all the way thru, but my top never warped or twisted so it was worth the effort. Did you do any such a' thing? Maybe some breadboard end caps would help prevent future twist.

Todd O.

Movement problems?

Tony Sade (Charleston, WV)

>Very nice bench,John. I'm in the middle of a bench building process myself so I can appreciate the work that went into yours.

I have a question about your plan to use 3 lags in each trestle. Unless you slot the holes for the lags, won't that cause problems when the top starts to move? I ask because I'm trying to figure out how to attach my top-hard maple-to the base as well, and I'm trying to figure out how to slot holes that go through 3" stock.

Again, major compliments.

Tony

Thanks John...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>Bummer about the top. Thanks for the info on why you did the base the way you did. My bench is going to be in a somewhat damp location also.

Show us some pics when it finished!

Re: Movement problems?

John Clifford

>Hi Tony, the three lag bolts on each side my very well be overkill, I don't know, but my reasoning is to have the top secured at multiple spots to hopefully minimize movement. By movement I mean twist, of course it will expand and contract with the seasons. I'll probably drill the middle hole unslotted and the two others slotted. I don't think the slot will be too difficult to do, I'll just use a forstner bit and overlap a couple of holes and if need be clean it up with a chisel. Good luck with yours. I've found that although it has been a little time consuming (about 4-5 days - 6-8 hrs. each day) it's not been as hard as I would have expected. I would be done by now but I can only find time to work on it here and there. I've got a 2 and a 1 year old I watch all day and then I go to work from six pm to two am. Free time is hard to come by.

Re: Movement problems?

Jack Guzman from Maine

>Tony,You don't need to bolt your top down at all. I can understand John's reasons for doing it but if your top is heavy enough all you need to do is peg it. I drilled a 1" hole in the underside of my bench on each side and put a corresponding 1" dowel into the base on each side.The top drops right in and it hasn't moved since I built it several years ago.---Jack

Planing softwood and twisting issue...

Dave Thompson - Champaign

>Nice bench.

Regarding angle of your blade, I usually find a 45 degree plane better than a York pitch or higher for softwoods and the opposite for hardwoods. If by LA, you mean 37 degrees... I can't comment much on softwood at 37 degrees.

Regarding twisting that you're seeing... Douglas Fir sold at the local borgs here is often sold like regular pine, in that it's not quite as dry as one would like (and sometimes green). Perhaps you are seeing twisting from using green(ish) wood. Another possibility is that thick wood that you are using is not an even moisture content on the outside as on the inside. A moisture meter would help. Planing both sides a similar amount may help some.

Re: Planing softwood and twisting issue...

John Clifford

>Dave I think you're right, the wood was probably not as dry as I would've liked. I did let it sit for a couple of weeks before going to work on it, but wood that's 3.5 inches thick probably could have used a few months or more. I did mill the lumber being careful to try and remove an equal amount from all sides. It probably would have been worse if I hadn't. Anyway the twist is not that bad, I'll be able to knock it out in probably 15-20 minutes. Besides, that just means that I get to use my planes some more;)