My First Workbench Build - A Journal

[Phil Mueller]

Eric, I too struggled with my planing technique for some time. And so, my shameless plug for David Charlesworth's download; Hand Tool Techniques Part 2: Hand Planing. Worth every bit of the $25. Different techniques work for different people and are all legitamate. But what this video did for me was provide a good foundation of how to approach flattening a face and edge with a disiplined procedure. I've put this to use on furniture sized pieces up to my 6'X2' bench.

Again, it's not the only way, but has worked very well for me. You may want to check it out.

[Eric Schubert]

Thanks for the recommendation, Phil. I'll check it out. It definitely helps when you can see someone working and explaining. My bench, though it has a split top, will end up around that size.

[Robert Engel]

Eric,

Have you considered using a router sled? If you're not averse to power tools, I think this is ideal for a split top bench.

I flattened the Scandinavian workbench I previously showed by hand, but for this one I used the planer sled. It is 3x7 bowling alley w/ DF aprons and white oak front dog hole apron.
Bench.jpg

I started doing it by hand, but quickly realized how time consuming the task was going to be, not to mention my shoulders and back aching.

I used a Magnate 2" planer bit. Just a little bit of sanding took the tracks out.
Here is the set up. Once I get it set up it took me less than 30 minutes to do the whole top.

Flattening sled.jpg

BTW, we are all anxiously waiting for some pics!!

[Eric Schubert]

Eric,

Have you considered using a router sled? If you're not averse to power tools, I think this is ideal for a split top bench.

I flattened the Scandinavian workbench I previously showed by hand, but for this one I used the planer sled. It is 3x7 bowling alley w/ DF aprons and white oak front dog hole apron.
Bench.jpg

I started doing it by hand, but quickly realized how time consuming the task was going to be, not to mention my shoulders and back aching.

I used a Magnate 2" planer bit. Just a little bit of sanding took the tracks out.
Here is the set up. Once I get it set up it took me less than 30 minutes to do the whole top.

Flattening sled.jpg

BTW, we are all anxiously waiting for some pics!!

Robert, I've seen the concept of "planing" with a router, and it's not a bad way to go. Though, I've not seen the 2" planer bits, that's cool! And I do have a good router that could handle the work load. But, I'm keen to finish this project using hand tools. It's definitely slower, but I enjoy the feeling that I'm creating something with my own hands.

As for the pictures, I did take a couple from the last couple of sessions. I didn't share them because they just looks like all the others. But, if you insist...

Flattening and straightening the first side of slab #2. Normally I'm averse to putting my face on the intertubes, but hey... I'm having a good time with this.



And my last progress update, where I worked on the edge surface of the second slab.

[Eric Schubert]

Last night I sharpened up my #7 and had at it some more. It definitely helped having a sharp iron again, and I paid more attention to how my hands applied pressure to the plane. It will still require some practice, but it seemed to help quite a bit.

I also have this habit of planing more on one side than the other, so I ended up with a slanted surface that I had to correct. Definitely have to pay more attention to that...

Anyway, here's the latest update. Notice there's only a very small gap under the aluminum guide. The guide is 3-4 inches wide. I'd estimate the gap is about 1/32" or so. MUCH better than before.

[David Eisenhauer]

The more you do, the better you get at noticing problem areas. The sooner you notice them, the sooner you correct the problem. Somehow, with all of the noticing and correcting, you get better at doing the task and you often times cannot really say exactly what you did to get better at it. You do realize, don't you, that you will be able to better tackle furniture-type planning after finishing up the bench. What are you using as the long straight edge?

[Eric Schubert]

The long straight edge is an extruded aluminum edge guide. Something you'd likely use to guide a circular saw. I know extruded materials tend to be quite straight (if done correctly), so I've just used it. I don't have much of a reference, other than my level, but they seem to both be straight on their long edges when I place them back-to-back. I could buy a long, 6-foot level for a straight edge. I just haven't wanted to spend that kind of money, yet.

[Eric Schubert]

Got a little done today. Worked on the second edge surface and removed the twist from it. Still need to make sure it's good and flat.

How important is it that the edges be parallel to each other on a split top Roubo-style bench? Will that hamper me at all with making boxes, dovetails, or other furniture?

[Robert Engel]

Looking Good. Use winding sticks on the edges good idea but probably not as critical as if you were gluing in to one big slab.

I've not done a split top, so FWIW I think square edges and having the two slabs parallel and the same width would be very important. Any discrepancies will reverberate all the way through the rest of the project.

You look like a strong young man & you'll have a great feeling of accomplishment when you get through with that top.

BTW I bought a 6' level when building my bench it has been quite useful for many other things, like most recently prepping the top for a dresser I'm building & redoing the fence for my miter/RAS station.

[David Eisenhauer]

By "edges" do you mean the four long sides of the two bench top pieces? I can't see how some out-of-parallel will affect furniture building unless you somehow use more than one edge at a time to reference something square against. I use sliding storage boxes in the "split" so I watched that gap for parallel so the boxes could easily slide and be interchangeable for any position up and down the entire run of the "split" but don't recall ever noticing if the two separate tops were in or out of parallel during furniture making/assembly. Basic obsession (must be my German blood coming to the fore) with "correct" made me work to getting some parallel to the tops, but I have never re checked it again.

[Eric Schubert]

Thanks, guys. Yep, David, I'm referring to the narrow surfaces on the long sides of the boards when I say "edge surfaces". I know they're not edges, but I'm sort of thinking of the slabs in terms of large flat faces and narrower edges. If that's confusing, I'll try to reword that in future posts.

Robert, thanks for the encouragement. Getting started on this project has been somewhat tedious. But, I'm finally starting to see the progress, and can't wait to move past this phase and start working on the assembly. Chopping those mortises for the base components, and then again to attach the tops, could prove to be a challenge. I need to make sure I watch my angles, and that my mortises are nice and perpendicular into each piece.

As for my question on parallelism...

I was thinking that getting both slabs the same width wasn't really important. And, if my memory serves me, I thought I even saw some benches with uneven slab widths on purpose, to have a wide slab and a narrow slab.

But, I was considering what the consequences would be if the long, narrow, surfaces on the front, back, and in the gap of my split top weren't parallel to each other. David, you make a great point that having them parallel in the center will be useful if I plan to use sliding storage boxes on my bench, which I have considered doing. I'll definitely want the center gap to be nice and straight with parallel sides, then. Other than that, I'll keep an eye on the width of my board and see if it's pretty consistent. If it is, my faces should be fairly close to parallel, as long as I get them nice and flat. I just need to keep checking as I go. I need to be more diligent about that.

[Eric Schubert]

Got more done last night. Started smoothing out the bench top surface of the second slab. There were a bunch of saw marks to remove, some of them fairly deep. So, it took a bit of work to get down through them. Not that it really matters, because I still have to work on the thickness for this slab to match the first slab. I'll get it fairly close, and then I'll do a final smoothing to get them the same by putting them side by side and planing all the way across them. At least, that's the plan.

Finally got to sweeping up around my work area. I used my 55 gallon garbage can to put the shavings, stuffing and stuffing them in to pack them down. And I still have more to go after filling a bag. There must be 20lbs of shavings in that bag. Crazy how much wood gets removed in this process.

[Chris Hachet]

If the 7 is a bit too heavy, you can also consider a transitional, #30 or #31. They're as big as the 7 and 8, but weight muuuuch less. They are also much less expensive. Worth a look-see, for sure.

I have a wooden ECE #8 that works beautifully in situations like this.

[Eric Schubert]

I'd love to try out a nice wooden plane. I've seen a few in antique stores, but they're always in rough shape. Usually with checking or splitting, cracks around the wedge area, etc.

I know it's possible to make one. I'll have to put that on my project list for once my bench is done.

[Eric Schubert]

Didn't do a lot last night, but I did sharpen up my #7 again to prepare for the next round of planing. Next, I'll need to lay out the overall thickness I need for my second slab so that it matches the first, and then work on planing it down until it's close. Time for some sweat equity... but that won't happen until after the weekend due to plans.