Plywood workbench advice?

[Andy Guss]

I have some time over the next few weekends to try to throw together a workbench and get started on a router table. After that I will turn to the extension and outfeed tables for my Unisaw. But I would like to get started with the bench. The bench design I like is the "Rock-Solid Plywood Bench" From Fine Woodworking ( http://www.finewoodworking.com/PlansAndProjects/PlansAndProjectsArticle.aspx?id=29507 )- no membership required.

The bench is a laminate design built by ripping ~3 1/2" strips pf plywood and then laminating them together in various lengths to make a frame with mortise and tenons built into the laminated pieces. My only problem is that I don't currently have a working table saw to do all of this ripping. A table saw is called on again after gluing up all of the frame pieces to trim the edges and bring them to theit final dimensions.

What I do have is a perfectly good circular saw, several routers, a Delta 580 benchtop planer, some sanders, and planes. Well, I actually have more than that, but those are the tools I have that seem the most relevant to this project. OK, truth be told, I do have a shopsmith, but I don't really trust the table saw or the jointer on it, but if that seems like the best solution, then I guess this would be the time to try it. I just don't have any type of blade guard for the table saw part of it, the plywood sheets I would be cutting are pretty large, the blade is of questionable sharpness, and I have never even set up the jointer on it. So, I'd like to think of the shopsmith as option z a this point.

What I had in mind was making some kind of jig for ripping to precise widths for my circular saw and then making a cutting table. What I imagined was making a custom sled with a little fence off the bottom of the right edge that would act as a guide spaced exactly 3 9/16" from the right side of my blade. I could even go buy a different circular saw blade if needed.

What I wanted to know was, does this seem safe if the plywood sheed and the piece to be ripped are both clamped to a cutting table? Also, once I have the plywood strips glued up, could I turn them on edge and run them through my planer, or is it a bad idea to run the edges of plywood through a planer no matter how many pieces are glued together?

Thanks,

Andy

[Willard Foster]

Here's what I would do:

1. Get a sharp blade for your Shopsmith. Rough rip the plywood into smaller pieces, do a finish rip on the Shopsmith.

2. Tablesaw guard? Don't worry about it. I think I got one with my saw. Might even find it someday.

3. Sharpen the jointer blades and set up your jointer. Why have it if you are not going to use it?

4. Use the surface planer. It might be tough on the blades, but they can be replaced/resharpened.

[Gabe Caraway]

I'll be building a workbench this weekend myself. Coincidentally, the design advice suggested the following for a circsaw guide and that is the main reason I'm here right now:

Build a temporary cutting guide to fit your circular saw (Photo 1). It’s easy to make by nailing together two overlapping 1x6s cut just over 6 ft. long (you’ll use these boards later as parts of the bench). The edge of the bottom board shows you exactly where the saw will cut, so you don’t have to do any complicated measuring. The top board guides the saw. Nail some extra pieces of 1x6 under the overhang of the top board for balance.

I'm going to start a new thread about some wording in there that confuses me a little.

[Andy Guss]

Thanks guys for the advice.

Gabe, here is some more detailed info on a cutting guide for a circular saw. http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/graph...wintheshop.pdf