Beginner's Workbench - Thickening Laminated Top?

[Pat Meester]

Hello everyone! I am very new to woodworking and got the bug bad. I just purchased a 1.5" birch top to make a smallish first bench. I've been trying to come up with a plan to make this, but they are all overly complicated without the benchtop being about twice as thick. The top is longer and wider than I need, so I was considering cutting it down to the dimensions I need, gluing the excess to the bottom and then filling in the areas where I don't have enough excess with 1.5" x 1.5" to 2" maple or ash ribs or runners spaced a couple inches apart. The plan is to glue, clamp, and screw all of this in place, and then remove the screws after the glue sets so I don't have any stray metal in the ribs so I can drill dog holes through them if necessary. Once I have this done I'll run something like a 3" piece 6/4 Maple apron around the front vise and end vise sides, which will now be fully supported by the "3 inch" thick top. I have attached a drawing if I'm not making any sense. When doubling up a laminated top to increase thickness can it all be glued together, or do I need to allow for expansion/contraction?

Thanks to anyone who can give me some advice!

-Patrick

[Matt Meiser]

I don't get what you drew, but my bench is a 1-1/2" factory-made top with 1-1/2" thick by 6" tall aprons added on the front and vise end. Its worked well for me for at least 5 or 6 years now.

[Pat Meester]

OK, well my idea was to trim down the top and glue the extra stuff to the bottom. Essentially, I was wondering if I could take two of these 1.5" "butcher block" birch tops and glue them together to make a 3" thick top, basically face jointing them? Or would I have to use bolts/screws with some method to allow for expansion and contraction?

I've seen plenty of designs where people stack layers of plywood like that and glue several layers together since it is so dimensionally stable, but have not seen anyone do it with a laminated top, since people are usually making their own and just go for the thickness they want from the beginning.

[Mel Fulks]

I've never seen a birch factory top ,most are maple. But those things make good bench tops.Sometimes you can buy used ones at restaurant supply places.

[Dave Richards]

I think what you've draw out will work fine. The extra thickness will give you good mounting areas for the vise and for dog holes. You probably don't need to fill in the space inside the pieces you glue to the bottom.

[Larry Browning]

I think what you've draw out will work fine. The extra thickness will give you good mounting areas for the vise and for dog holes. You probably don't need to fill in the space inside the pieces you glue to the bottom.

I agree with Dave. I would only add thickness to the areas where you need it for vises and dog holes. The area in the center can just be 1.5" which will be plenty thick for strength.
Is the top a laminated solid birch, or some sort of composite? If it is solid wood, any apron you add to the end grain will need to have allowance for expansion/contraction or you will have problems. Not so much if it is a composite (like MDF).
Oh, BTW: Welcome to the Creek, glad you are here!

[glenn bradley]

Firstly, WELCOME.

Another vote for having the thickness only where required / convenient. I made a top 3" thick throughout and next time will use thickness where my dog holes will be and skip other areas. I also mapped out where screws were as opposed to removing them; I will remove them next time.

I think your plan is fine if your top is not prefinished. If it is prefinished you will have to shad through that finish or use a glue that will bond the finished material. I urge sanding (if required) as when gluing a finished surface, the bond is only as strong as the bond between finish and base material. That is, the bond could fail between the finish and the wood as opposed to between the glue and the finish ;-)

[Pat Meester]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. The top is laminated solid birch and unfinished, which I picked up at woodcraft (am I allowed to mention retailers on the forums?) for I think about 50% off during a sale. All your ideas and tips have helped a lot and I think I have a solid plan to go with now. I'll be sure to post some pictures when I get it finished! I've already got the front vise and most of the lumber, now I just need to find the time to do it all!

[John Leake]

One caution about thickness. I have a bowling alley duckpin lane end as a workbench top (it is large and made of hard maple with a yellow poplar core). My wood vise fits, only after I routed a recess to permit the jaws to come close to the top. Measure your vise, etc before you start cutting.

[Prashun Patel]

Beware regluing the A pieces across the whole width. You might constrain movement. I see no issue with
thicker front and back aprons with B.

[Jerry Miner]

Beware regluing the A pieces across the whole width. You might constrain movement.

It's probably a little late, as this guy was asking this back in September, but as long as he maintains the same grain orientation as in the uncut top, there won't be any constraint of movement. The added "A" pieces will move in the same manner as the pieces they are glued to.