Question about building a workbench top

[Brian Hale]

I'm making a new top for a very very old workbench i inherited and i'm wondering what's the best way to assenble it.

Short story..... I bought a Anant 10 1/2" vise and found that i'd need a 3 1/2" thick top (or spacers) to get the top of the fixed jaw flush with the top. This old workbench top is made from 1 3/4" thick poplar and it's pretty beat up. So i went to the borg and bought some fir 4x4's, jointed and planed them and i'm ready to assemble them. The question is, should i just glue them together and call it a day or should i use some threaded rod to hold them together. Perhaps both? Perhaps some splines?

Thanks

Brian

[Phil Ordway]

I've made a couple of these. I would use threaded rods and glue. Drill the holes in a jig to try and make them dimensionally identical. The fir is going to want to move around as it adjusts to its new environment. Be careful gluing it up. The more care you take to keep the top flat will save you time later.

[Tom Hamilton]

I used biscuits to glue four strips cut from SYP 2x6s into a blank, then glued the blanks together with biscuits to form a 42 by 72 bench.

A little work with the No. 7 and No 4 Stanley Bedrock and BLO and bench top was done.

Good Luck with yours. TJH

[Andy Hoyt]

Brian - years ago I built a timberframed workbench. 6x6 legs, 4x6 aprons, and four pieces of 4x8 for the top. The timber had been a tree the week before and was soaking wet, but I didn't care. I jointed the edges, drilled 3/4" holes for 3/4" threaded rod, and pounded the rod through. No glue. Twice a year for about six years I'd tighten the nuts a snoodge and then handplane the top flat. After that the timber was dry and stable. Never had a single gap show up between the 4x8s.

You could park an M60A1 tank on that thing and it would just ask for more. Sure wish I still had it.

Your 4x4 fir is not likely to be thoroughly dry, so I'd forgo the glue, use the threaded rod and plan on some occasional resurfacing.

Hope this helps.

[Randy Meijer]

If that old bench has any sentimental value, could you remove the top and turn it over and then maybe put it on top of your new fir 4x4s??

[Bob Johnson2]

I read somewhere you can rip the old one in 2. run the 2 through a planer then reglue it.

[David Schmaus]

I think I am going without them. the maple has been air dried for 4 years. I think it will be good

[Wilbur Pan]

If you are sure that your DF is dry, glue will be all that you need. I've built a benchtop with kiln dried DF 4x4's from the local borg, using just Titebond III, no threaded rods, biscuits, or anything else.