bench top from oak tongue and groove flooring?

[Bob Glenn]

I was given a quantity of T and G oak flooring boards. Not enough to do a room, but enough for a work bench top. I am thinking, I'll rip off the tongue and groove, which will leave a two inch wide board that is about 3/4 inches thick.

Next, I would begin laminating them, leaving the leveling until the top is done.

Has anyone done this? What kind of problems would I encounter?

[Frank Drew]

Bob,

I'd probably run the boards through the planer lightly before gluing.

You could rip off the tongue leaving the grooves on, and put them on the underside, for just a bit of extra thickness.

[Wayne Hendrix]

I would leave the tongue and groove on and lay them flat just like you would when laying them on the floor, then stack them several layers thick, off setting the joints, and you would quickly have a top that is as thick as you want. You would only need to rip the tongues off of one side and the grooves off of the other to make the sides square.

It would look kind off like this when viewed from the end.
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[Dan Andrews]

Bob,
If you have enough oak, time and patience, I would recommend laying up the top exactly as you propose. Should make a great top. Oak is a little more likely than maple to splinter at the surface if beat on hard and long enough, but under normal woodworker use it will last for generations.

[Richard Niemiec]

Its doable, if you've got enough stock, but as someone pointed out you should remove the grooves on the back side and plane the front side so you have a flat front and back. That, and taking off at least one side of the tongue and groove (personally, I'd take off both) is a lot of milling to get the glue up stock and will take a lot of time. The glue up would be a bear as well and very time consuming. I don't know if all the work is worth it for a 2" (possibly less after all the milling) thick top when you can get SYP fairly cheap and make a nice 3 1/2" or thicker top that will give you similar service.

That being said, if you've got the stock, and are willing to put in the time, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the idea as long as you know in advance it will require a lot of work.

[Roger Newby]

30+ years ago I made kitchen counters and back splash from 1 1/4" T&G oak glued on 1/2" plywood and finished with laquer. We did a complete remodel 2 years ago and the old cabinets and oak counters are in my son's shop. They're getting a little scratched up now from heavy use but are still a durable work surface. At the time I bought the flooring (left over from a new house) I gave 150 bucks for about 800 sq. ft. Installed two floor, the counter backsplash and some other small projects....I think I got plenty of bang for my buck.

[Bob Glenn]

I would leave the tongue and groove on and lay them flat just like you would when laying them on the floor, then stack them several layers thick, off setting the joints, and you would quickly have a top that is as thick as you want. You would only need to rip the tongues off of one side and the grooves off of the other to make the sides square.

It would look kind off like this when viewed from the end.
->--->--->--->--->-
--->--->--->--->---
->--->--->--->--->-

Considering all the posts, I agree laminating the flooring face to face on edge would be a lot of work. Wayne's idea above would certainly be less work, but I'm wondering how much flex the top would have across the grain. Would the top need lateral support across the underside of bench?

[Dave Anderson NH]

Bob,

Don't let folks disuade you from laminating up a top face to face. If you use Titebond's Extend glue it is eminently doable without insane rushing and you can laminate up 6 or more pieces at a time without difficulty. I just spread a very wide bead of glue down the center of the face and use one of the many fake credit cards I get in the mail as a disposable glue spreader. It worked great for me when I made my bench in late 2008. A gallon of glue isn't that expensive and you'd end up with a very low priced and incredibly sturdy and stiff top. Like some of the others, I rip off both the tongue and groove for both consistency and so that it is easier to attach vices and other bench hardware and naturally attaching the top to the base.

[David Gendron]

I am with Wayne, i think it is the best way!

[Jim Koepke]

I have a thought...

If you are going to laminate, why not run laminations in the middle at right angles to the top and bottom layer?

I am not sure if this would add any strength or not.

jim

[Frank Drew]

I have a thought...

If you are going to laminate, why not run laminations in the middle at right angles to the top and bottom layer?

s

Jim, I think because of the thickness of the material the cross-grain issues would play hell with the glue lines and you'd end up with delaminations and/or wood cracking.

In any case, I think that laying the wood edge up would give a somewhat stiffer top than laid flat, as Bob notes.

[Jim Koepke]

s

Jim, I think because of the thickness of the material the cross-grain issues would play hell with the glue lines and you'd end up with delaminations and/or wood cracking.

In any case, I think that laying the wood edge up would give a somewhat stiffer top than laid flat, as Bob notes.

Thanks, that is why I asked.

jim

[Bob Glenn]

Okay, if I go edge up, do I have to plane the grooves off the bottom face of the flooring? The flooring is 3/4's thick and the grooves are 1/8 deep. I'm thinking three 1/4 inch wide grooves across a 2 inch face wouldn't reduce the gluing surface that much. I would still have over an 1 and 1/4 inch of surface adhesion.