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Thread: My First Workbench Build - A Journal

  1. #226
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Austin Texas
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    1,957
    "No finish" or some use/combo of BLO, wax and/or mineral spirits are the most popular choices. Slippery benches suck (for me at any rate).
    David

  2. #227
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    springfield,or
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    Eric
    I applaud your patience so far in getting everything perfect and square. I'm currently working on my bench and as much as I hate to say it, I've found myself doing lots of good enough... I started out with perfection in mind and not to make any excuses, but have grown tired of hearing my wife complain about her projects not being built lol.
    I figure I'm 25 and will probably build another bench. So as long as this one is solid and functional , I'm not worried about aesthetics.

  3. #228
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
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    Loveland, CO
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    418
    Sounds like no finish is just fine. Thanks, Robert and David!

    Michael, trust me... the quest for perfection gets pretty old, too. Sometimes it's even discouraging, because you know just how much work is ahead of you. But, the worst part is over. All of that flattening and squaring of large pieces was quite a tedious job, but it's really starting to pay off. I just hope my mortise and tenon joints will fit properly. Getting nice, flat, square shoulders is important. As is getting a nice fit in the mortise. I'm going to be checking my work frequently as I go...

  4. #229
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
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    SE Michigan
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    Eric, just thinking ahead a little...while you're in the process of tenons. One thing I did was make a duplicate of a leg tenon (assuming they are all the same). I then used that to test the mortise on the underside of the bench top. That way, I didn't need to dry fit the entire base assembly each time I wanted to check a mortise.

    Here, the base is set into the mortises, with the duplicate tenon in the foreground.

    IMG_1224.jpg

  5. #230
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    Jan 2014
    Location
    Loveland, CO
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    Not a bad idea, Phil. Making up a dummy tenon to fit with the top slabs could make things easier. The catch is I'd still have final fitting to do, since they'll all be slightly different. But, if I can get the tenons created very similarly, that may be a huge help.

    One thing I noticed is that all of my legs are slightly different thicknesses. Some are 8.5" wide, while others are 8.25" or 8" wide. In theory, your tenons can still work, though. If I make the tenons sized from one side and cut them all to be the same dimensions, I could use that technique. But, if I create my double tenons such that each tenon is measured from its own side, that won't work. I'll have to think about this one...

  6. #231
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    Jan 2014
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    Loveland, CO
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    Got in a bit more progress last night. I finished up my tenons on both long stretchers. I should be all set for starting to cut my legs down to length and get my double tenons cut on the tops of those. Yay, progress!

  7. #232
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    Jan 2014
    Location
    Loveland, CO
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    418
    Well, this just sucks... I grabbed one of my 5x8 pieces to start cutting it down and prep for making the tenons, and I noticed a pretty big split all the way down the length of the board. It split such that it's now completely out of square again... *sigh* I'm guessing it was still fairly wet and just shrunk as it lost moisture. I know, being center-cut pieces, that they're not ideal for woodworking. But, they're what I found. Guess I should've been a little pickier..?

    Now the questions are... Do I just square it up again? Or do I leave it sit until it's dried out? Or should I find some good, kiln-dried pieces to use now and save these for a later project? Can I even use them, or will they wreck my bench after it's assembled, should they keep drying?

    The two pieces that I've checked, so far... the others look okay:






  8. #233
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Austin Texas
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    If it were my bench, I would replace the ones that are splitting. I can't back that feeling up with any scientific knowledge, just would not want splitting or even split-but-no-longer-continuing-to-split legs on a bench that should last for many, many (lifetime?) years. Too much work to get to this point and too many years to look at it.
    David

  9. #234
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    Jan 2014
    Location
    Loveland, CO
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    Can't say I'm thrilled about the splitting, either. But, the leg pieces are quite thick. Thicker than quite a few other benches I've seen. I'm not too concerned about the strength of the legs, despite the splitting. I just don't want them to throw things out of square, should they continue to move, split, and dry out.

    From the start, I've just assumed that, at some point, I'll probably replace this bench with another design. So, it's mostly just to get myself a work surface to start getting projects done. A prototype, if you will.

    So, I'm torn between just using what I have after squaring everything up again and finding some way to fix or replace these split pieces.

    I do have at least one or two extra, long 6x8 pieces. These were spares, but weren't my first choices for boards due to being a bit more warped or dinged up than the others.

  10. #235
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    Apr 2017
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    Michigan
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    Making the top thinner is a good plan, 4" would be plenty. Rip the beams with a circular saw from both sides.

    6 x 6 legs sound like a good plan; a good look and some weight down low. Put a generous chamfer on them, maybe an inch or more. My bench has 6 x 6 legs with massive aprons connecting them. No stretchers needed. Easy sweeping underneath. Below the aprons I turned the legs round for a furniture look.

    A split top with 3" gap in the center minimizes expansion problems.

    Start on the legs to give the top lumber some time to acclimate.

    Worry less about moving it. A lever will move the earth and a mover will move it to another address. Or you can stand it on end and use a hand truck against the top. And the size you are talking about will go thru any door.

  11. #236
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
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    SE Michigan
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    Eric, sorry for the set back. I feel your pain. My neighbor gave me a number of 8'x6"x5" redwood beams. I had every intention of using them for my bench legs. Spent a good amount of time cleaning them up and planing them square. When I went to cut them to length they decided to split in multiple places. Pretty strange since these had been sitting around in his garage for years. Internal pressure, I guess.

    Now in my case - and I'm guessing I'm a bit older than you - this was going to be my first and last bench. So I started with new wood for the legs.

    You're probably fine structurally, but it wouldn't surprise me if it cracks some more over time. As mentioned, most likely just an aestethic thing. But I would bet you'll go quite awhile before building another and it may just drive you nuts looking at it. After a bit of time has passed, you may kick yourself for not spending the extra time to redo it.

  12. #237
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    Aug 2013
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    This is fairly common with beams that have the tree center, or pith as it's called, in the beam. The beam is shrinking and it's common to crack. Often times, before this is allowed to happen the beam will have a stress relief sawn into it on one side. In timber framing this is done on the side that will not be seen in use.

    I'd probably saw the center completely out of the beams and then glue them to create something like 5 x 5 for the legs.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  13. #238
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe View Post
    This is fairly common with beams that have the tree center, or pith as it's called, in the beam. The beam is shrinking and it's common to crack. Often times, before this is allowed to happen the beam will have a stress relief sawn into it on one side. In timber framing this is done on the side that will not be seen in use.

    I'd probably saw the center completely out of the beams and then glue them to create something like 5 x 5 for the legs.
    And this is also exactly what I would do.

    Chris

  14. #239
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    Mar 2006
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    Austin Texas
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    Good idea Brian and Chris. Then the previous flattening/squaring effort is not all gone to waste. Something to consider Eric.
    David

  15. #240
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Loveland, CO
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    Brian, Chris, David... thanks. The thought had crossed my mind at some point. I'm glad you think it's a good idea. I may just go that route. Unfortunately, it may be too late for the split beams. Looks like both the split side and the opposite side are no longer square. I'll have to check for flatness on the adjacent sides, but I'm guessing the board is not only split, but it's probably also twisted. I have a feeling I'll need to square and flatten these all over again after halving and gluing them.

    On the bright side, at least they were some good practice to get comfortable with planing and squaring. I think it helped me a lot with the stretchers. And now I won't have such a deep hole to bore (and keep straight!) for my barrel nut bolts.

    EDIT:

    Almost forgot Tom! Thanks for the suggestions, Tom! But, the top is already glued up. Those pieces were actually quite dry and still look really good. I took two of the 6x8's, split them to make 4x6's, and then glue them up to make two slabs that were each about 4x12. By the time I got done flattening the top surfaces, they turned out to be about 3-5/8" thick.

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