Help on work bench table flatness

R

Runhard

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Dec 17, 2011
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I tried makeing a small work table using the Benchcrafted Moxon Vise hardware and hard maple about 1 year ago. The top is not close to being flat. The top is 3-8" sections of maple dominoed and glued together. Should I buy some hand planes and try to flaten it out or cut it apart and start over? I do not have a planer or jointer. I have been wanted to buy some Lie Nielsen planes and this would be a good reason. I was thinking about the low angle jack and No 4 smoother.

Thanks,

Daniel

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It only takes a smidgen out of square to cause that if the boards were not jointed that could be the problem. You might try cutting them apart and using the TS55 or TS75 to joint them.

Seth
 
Those boards are too wide for the purpose. For a workbench you want flatness and stability rather than contiguity of figure.

I'd rip it apart and further rip each plank into at least three pieces. The narrower each piece the less it can influence the flatness of the whole. If you re-assemble the strips with the alternating grain (as in the present assembly) then subsequent seasonal movement will be within the ability of a hand scraper to adjust.

tableend.jpg


This construction is the ultimate for stability. The narrow strips limit the ability of a single board to affect flatness when it expands or contracts with the seasons. With alternating grain in the assembly of the boards the worst than can happen is a microscopic zig-zag of the surface.

That picture reminded me of bowling alleys and I read that those boards are nailed together and found this picture.

original


A bowling ally lane is just a bunch of straight strips of wood nailed together and sitting on a steel support frame.

A great bench can be made from strips aligned by splines (T&G, Dominos, biscuits, dowels, etc.)
 
SRSemenza said:
Is the bottom side attached to anything?

How did  you joint the boards?

Seth
Click to expand...

I dominoed 2 pieces of maple to the bottom of the table top, but did not glue them. I can remove them when I want or if I need too. I bought the maple at a local woodworking store and had them mill it to 1-3/4" from 8/4 stock and it was supposed to be S4S. I let the wood sit in my basement for about 2 months before I cut it to size. I used my TS75 and Kapex for all the cuts.
 
Michael Kellough said:
Those boards are too wide for the purpose. For a workbench you want flatness and stability rather than contiguity of figure.

I'd rip it apart and further rip each plank into at least three pieces. The narrower each piece the less it can influence the flatness of the whole. If you re-assemble the strips with the alternating grain (as in the present assembly) then subsequent seasonal movement will be within the ability of a hand scraper to adjust.
Click to expand...

I was wondering if that was the problem. I will try to cut this one apart and start over.

Thanks,

Daniel
 
SRSemenza said:
Are the boards Dominoed together? Not the underneath  that you mentioned but the edges?

Seth
Click to expand...

Yes, the boards are dominoed and glued together.
 
I need/want a table saw, jointer, planer, and band saw, but I just don't have room in my 12'x24' basement shop  [mad]
It will be a little difficult to make all these rip cuts with my TS75. I know it can be done, but it gets tricky with the narrow pieces.
 
Just get yourself a Lie-Nielsen No 62 to flatten the top of your bench and that should work fine. That is what I used to flatten the top of my Joinery bench with the Moxon Hardware installed. I am no expert when it comes to hand planing but the No. 62 will work out nicely on this size bench.

James
 

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My material is 1-3/4" thick, how wide would you cut the material before glueing them all back together?
 
try this : The Woodwhisperer has a Video on how to flatten a work bench like yours with a router  

 
From the photos it appears as if your boards are flat, but your edges are not square to the faces. Planing this glued up surface flat will take some time. I would rip the boards along their glue joints with a TS saw, flatten the surfaces again, make sure the edges are square and reglue them together.

Perhaps glue them together one at a time so that if they are not flat you can pass them through a planer or use a hand plane? My choice would be a low angle jack plane if a planer is unavailable.

It also appears as if your middle board has some checking in it. That could be unstable no matter how flat you get it. Cut it in half or thirds, re-glue and try again.
 
When I cut the boards I should glue them with the end grain facing the top correct? In other words, glue the boards face to face.
 
Runhard said:
When I cut the boards I should glue them with the end grain facing the top correct? In other words, glue the boards face to face.
Click to expand...

It depends. It will make the top more stable, you may need to get more stock to get to the same width, but only you will know if it's worth the effort.

Do you know what the moisture level of the maple was when you glued it?

RL said:
From the photos it appears as if your boards are flat, but your edges are not square to the faces.  I would rip the boards along their glue joints with a TS saw, flatten the surfaces again, make sure the edges are square and reglue them together.
Click to expand...

I agree with Richard here. You need to check you S4S to make sure it is actually square and then glue up to a flat reference surface. It looks like the pressure from clamps on one side forced the glue up out of flat.

A low angle Jack will be useful in jointing edges if they are not square.

RL said:
It also appears as if your middle board has some checking in it. That could be unstable no matter how flat you get it. Cut it in half or thirds, re-glue and try again.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Since it sounds like you are going to rebuild anyway, you might as well remove that check.

Tim
 
I'm going to cut it apart and start over. I have some extra stock left over from this project if I end up needing it. I do not know the moister content. As I said above, I cut the material with my TS75 and I hope that it is cutting square. I will report back, hopefully with a better bench.
 
Personally I'd rip the boards apart. match them up flat, clamp them all in place and rip the seems with the saw and guide rail.  That will effectively match joint the edges. Then re-glue without  Dominos in the edges. If the dominoes are not perfectly perpendicular in the edge  they will force the pieces  out of flatness to each other.  This will not take long and will likely work.

  You might also try washer head screws in slotted holes  underneath. The crosses pieces that are dominoed on may have simply become too tight to allow enough movement. The screws can be adjusted for tightness.

  If this doesn't work you can still go with the other methods suggested and only have lost about a 1/2" of material.

Seth
 
You could try flattening it with a sled and a router bit. Make sure you finish the top and bottom with the same amounts of finish .

Ripping it apart with a tracksaw and starting over would also work but you need to make sure the tracksaw blade is at 90 degrees or flip the boards when regluing (careful with the grain direction)

Handplanes work great you can't go wrong with LN but keep in mind sharpening and technique is equally important so if you buy planes, buy stones.

Considering this is to be a workbench perhaps consider the hand planes and work on your jointing and sharpening techniques while flattening your bench ;)

Dan Clermont
 
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