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23 November 2016 at 6:40 am #142633
I built my “Paul bench” about 3 years ago, using nothing but cheap 2 x 4 stock from a big box store. Legs, tops, spreaders and aprons, all low quality 2 x 4 ‘stud’ stock. I think I paid $2.48 per stick (no extra charge for the knots).
When I built it, I planed the surfaces that would be glued, then planed the laminated sections to remove the rounded corners and reach a flat surface. I feel like that approach was harder on my plane irons because of the glue, but the time saved was worth it.
I know it’s one of Stanley’s most derided products, but I used a # 6 bench plane, set fairly rank. I’m in fairly good physical shape; the workout of the wide iron set rank was intense. But the extra width made the rough planing go much faster, and I find myself wondering why everyone hates the 6. A finer set 5 got me close, and of course final smoothing with a 4.
The bench is in my garage-shop in NC, where humidity varies widely between seasons. After about 18 months I did touch up the tops with a smoothing plane, to take out some wavyness due to the wood drying. I probably didn’t need to, I was just being fussy.
I use the bench daily and it’s as solid, stable and square as it was when I built it. (For the record, that’s not a statement about my technique, but praise of the design!)
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