Finally putting aside discouragement… A little workbench project help?
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- This topic has 28 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 8 months ago by David B.
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22 July 2017 at 2:43 am #313945
This has to happen. The project must be completed! Though I don’t know where to go from here.
I started making Paul’s workbench nearly 2 years ago. I stopped around November 2015 because of beginner mistakes, resulting in the pic below. I seemed to ruin the tops trying to get rid of the bull noses from the 2x4s. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t seem to correct my planing mistakes. Things got worse the more I tried. In rage/despair, I quit. It has been sitting in my basement since, taunting me. I began to doubt my ability to learn the proper techniques to work wood with hand tools, from sharpening to…well, everything. Paul makes it seem so simple to pick up in his videos.
Two weeks ago, my oldest son (now 12) took a wood machining class and was so excited that he said he wanted to do more. This broke through my self-pity and remorse. He enjoyed it so much that I was determined to get back at it to help him learn to use tools, not just machines.
Which leads me to ask: It may be hard to tell from this picture, but in your best estimate, do I have to start this top all over? I could try to cut off the biggest mistake areas, which are fortunately at the ends. Any help would be appreciated.
-Curtis
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You must be logged in to view attached files.22 July 2017 at 3:08 am #313947Not sure where your problem is, if your worried about getting them flat; first put them aside and build the rest of the frame with the aprons, you can then easily flatten them when you attach them to the frame.
22 July 2017 at 1:34 pm #313950The one on the left doesn’t look too bad, but it looks like you got a little overzealous taking out some twist or something on the right.
The tops aren’t that bad, really. They look clean and mostly flat and (except the right) in plane. Frame it up and like John said you can flatten the tops to the aprons after that. You may have some extra work to because of that bad side, or you can take your lumps, flatten it as much as you can, and leave a dip in the benchtop. If you leave it, I’d put it on the right backside where the bench is least used (unless you’re left-handed.)
You’ll do fine.
Agree with these guys–and stop being so hard on yourself! You can flatten the bench top at the end. You just need to have a flat underside on your top so you can mount it to the legs with as much stability and rigidity as possible. And make sure your tools are always sharp!
- This reply was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by David B.
22 July 2017 at 6:50 pm #313953As mentioned above, if one side is flat you can flatten once together. It looks like you will have to remove a bit of wood. Do you know someone that has a thickness planer? I know it may be cheating a little, but it would save a bit of time.
Of course you could also make 2 benches (one for you and one for your son). This way you would not have to remove so much wood on the top on the right.
22 July 2017 at 7:16 pm #313954Thomas,
A thickness planer would alleviate so many of my concerns! Actually, I’ve asked a friend if I could come over to his shop and use his. He has a planer wide enough to handle these tops (currently 11.5″). He was very hesitant to run these tops through, but he didn’t fully say no. Technically, it is still a possibility. Even so, I think it is a remote one.
I have also considered making two benches. Originally, I was going to make this bench as close to 8ft as possible (the tops are currently 94″). I think I could cut off most of the problem area and still have about 6′ length. It would be easy to simply use only one of these tops per bench and have a well. As it is, I just glued up a second apron. There is still time to mull it over. It just means purchasing another vice sooner than later.
As I think it over, I’ll chop the mortices for the legs. Thank you for the input!
22 July 2017 at 7:45 pm #313955As far as vices go, you can do something like this.
He used a screw from Lee Valley but I found a one from Yost that is $15 cheaper.
A 6′ bench is more than likely as long as most of us need. I have one a little over 7′ and I only use about 3′ of it 95% of the time. It has been a while, but I believe the bench I used when I took one of Paul’s classes was about 6′ long.
If if all else fails you could cut down the tops and use them for the legs and make new tops.
I did forget to say, do not be hard on yourself. Most the things I make I think are trash. I made a Moravian style bench and the more I look at it, is the more I think, what was I thinking. It is not about being perfect, it is about doing the best that you can do. I have never met anyone that did their best that did not improve. In the end, I think there is something therapeutic about being alone in my shop making something.
23 July 2017 at 8:11 pm #313965Since one side of each slab seems to be flat, I can think of two options:
1. Take the flat sides for reference, find the thickness you have to get to, mark and plane away.
2. This option is not exactly beautiful, but less work, and you can keep the better slab at its current thickness: Use the square sides for the top and fit boards under the wedgy slab, where it rests on the leg frames. You either have to fit the boards to the shape of the surface or make recesses parallel to the top and leave the boards straight. I think, recesses might be even easier, except, you cannot use a router, because you cannot rest it on the adjacent surfaces. If you want to hide your mistake, add boards to the ends of the benchtops.
By the way, I did quite the same mistake on two legs of my bench, which caused so much frustration, that I waited two months, before picking up the work again. Don’t let that happen to you!
Dieter
23 July 2017 at 9:57 pm #313969If you have access to a planer just use it, or go to the local cabinetmaker and have them do it.
Takes a couple minutes and costs you maybe a couple of beers.Its just the quickest and easiest way for you to get back on track and to joinery/project building, which is probably the part you actually wanna do.
As for a vice i highly recommend a shoulder vise.
If I remember correctly, you can compensate for unequal thickness boards from below on Paul’s style bench by adding filler material to the thinner board at the supports. It’s been a while since I have watched his bench build. I already had a bench so never built his.
Since I am still a novice at planing, I still put sight lines to plane to. Some day I will be able to work without them but for now I use my scrap wood and pencil marking gages to give me marks on the board not to plane past. My”eye” is getting better but I still find it easy to get carried away without my marks.
26 July 2017 at 9:33 pm #314040I think you would be better off trying to find someone with a planer. I built mine in 2 pieces and then glued them together. All of this top is laminate.This is my first project since starting up my workshop. Before everything was made on my back porch. Found guys that build garage doors that had a planer 15″ wide, and were more than happy to help this retired woman get started. As a bonus, I get all the free scrap wood I want. This was made out of their scrap wood.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.27 July 2017 at 2:12 am #314054Thanks for all the advice!
A friend came over with his planer. My tops are now true! We also planed the aprons.
Getting those tops flat was a huge obstacle for me. Since I’m over that hurdle, I’m moving on. Interestingly, when we gathered all of the parts of the bench, we noticed that some were much lighter than others. Come to find out, most parts were made with Douglas Fir and the legs were made with a very light pine (I’m talking near balsa wood light!). I spent the today making legs from fir. The weight difference is remarkable! Here’s to hoping that I’ll have this completed by the first weekend in August.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.2 August 2017 at 9:57 pm #314267Do you have a pair of winding sticks? I would check to see if each top is twist free with them. Make this your face side. Mark it.
Check with a square to make sure that one side is square to your face side. This will be your face edge. Mark it.
Check the other two sides for squareness, registering off of either the face or the edge side only. You will have to do this for each top.
If Both tops are twist free and square then your problem is with the legs.
With both tops being twist free and square, you can lay your legs on the top to make sure they are twist free.
You can measure corner to cornet to make sure they are square.
Measure height and width on both top and bottom.
If everything measure correctly it has to be the aprons that are warped.
4 August 2017 at 6:13 pm #314287I just completed my first bench this past week. I have several hobbies and visit numerous sites like this. After reading this entry I found myself just wanting to encourage Curtis, but after reading the replies and looking at other conversations I am the one who feels encouraged. So many sites on the internet seem to attack people when they make mistakes or have a differing opinion. Haven’t seen that here and am glad of it. Congratulations to everyone involved.
I’d be happy to help in any way I can.
I grew up in Tennessee and have now lived in Georgia most of my adult life. If you live anywhere close to me I’d be happy to come to you or you/son could come here. Please let us know if there are specific needs you have. We’re all in this together and I hope you succeed. Don’t quit, never quit!
Bryan -
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