GlueLam workbench?

[Tom Scott]

Just to clarify, there is a difference between glulams and microlams (LVL's). Glulams are made by face gluing 2x wood members together. Their size can vary based on the width of the 2x member and how many are joined together. There are also various grades from industrial (very rough) to architectural (good enough to be exposed) to premium.
LVL's are like structural plywood (thinner veneers glued together) and are closer to actual dimensional lumber in size.
They cut easy enough, but I don't think i would take a hand plane to them to level or smooth the surface.
Attached are a couple of images to show the difference.

Tom

[Jim Terrill]

LVL's are like structural plywood (thinner veneers glued together) and are closer to actual dimensional lumber in size.

Compared to gluelams, yes they are closer to dimentional, but microlams can be pretty big, we used some that were somewhere around 15" wide by 4" thick. They were monsters trying to get them into place.

[Tom Henderson2]

Hi Tom-

Thanks for the summary and comparison of glulam vs LVL -- I have a better picture of the differences now.

Would it be feasible to use a section of architectural glulam for a workbench top? Even if a full-width beam isn't available then assembling a top from two or three smaller glulams would seem to save a bunch of time and effort.

I'm assuming that the architectural beams are comparable to a bench made up from dimensional lumber and could be flattened with handplanes, etc.

Any thoughts?

-TH

[Jim Chan]

Hi there, I've recently finished building a workbench out of douglas fir gluelam beams. I used one 5"x12"x16" for the top and one 5"x5"x16" for the legs. I cut the top lengthwise and inserted a few boards of ash to make the dog holes and insert the wagon vise.

To cut the gluelams, I just used a guided circular saw. Made the cut in the top as far as it would go, then fliped it over, and realigned the guide as carefully as I could, and cut it from the bottom. Jointed the sides and flattened the top with handplanes. As mentioned, it's very easy to work. I didn't have any problems with dulling tools at all.

Would I do it again? Not really sure.. I think it's a fairly economical way of building a bench, and definitely makes it easier doing the lamination. However, I've found the douglas fir is too soft of a wood for a bench top, I've made little dent marks in my top since I've been using it for other projects while I was building it, and I haven't even put the first coat of finish on yet.

The gluelam also has quite a few knots. Some of them were filled with woodfiller by the manufacturer, which was kind of unattractive. Luckily I had a side that didn't have any of the woodfiller, but it does have some crumbled knots which I plan to fill with epoxy someday. The other semi-annoying thing is that all the edges are rounded over, so you have to trim off all that material. I trimed the top with my circular saw, but I found it kinda tedious to get everything aligned. I trimed the legs with my bandsaw.

Pictures of the bench before I installed the leg vise below.