[ruddhess]

My first "benchtop"

Beginning to make a Japanese style planing beam/board. 6 boards from Lowe's - 2 X 10 X 12's cut in half and staked up on my old sawhorses.

I used a 1 X 2 "select" pine as a straight edge - screwed to the 2X with drywall screws as a guide for my circular saw. Set the depth to leave a wafer thin "bridge" on the very bottom so I didn't cut into the board below. Worked very well. (Bit of a "mis-start" on the first board. I am ripping each one down the center and the cut edge will be the top side. Garage is absolutely full of boxes of my junk. I need to go through them and sort stuff out (plus find my hand plane and any other tools that may be lurking in there).

This one has a LOT of gummy sawdust. Smells good though.

Thin wafer on the bottom of one side. I took an old chisel and sliced it off even with the cut face.

Here is the first one all split and ready to go.

All ripped and stacked up. Fairly even and almost the same width - 4 5/8". The top ones are very heavy and knotty with a lot of sap. The slab will be 18" wide and 70 or 71 inches long after laminating. I don't have but a couple of small clamps, so I got five 3/8" all-threads X 24" and some fender washers and nuts to cinch it all down good. I am going to have to be precise in drilling my holes so the threaded rod will fit - I will drill larger holes (say 7/16" or 1/2") with a Forstner bit (I have a small drill press). I bought some Elmer's wood glue to do the lamination, but later I bought a tube of Liquid Nails heavy duty adhesive instead. I'm going to use a plastic putty knife to spread the adhesive out on each board. I also bought five 4-1/2" bolts to glue two boards at a time, then join those together later.

 

[ruddhess]

Drilling holes for bolts and all-threads

Using some 3-1/2" bolts to glue up two boards at a time. It is easier to keep everything square and straight this way. Also there's no rush just gluing two boards together.

The holes are 5/8" so that when I get ready to glue up the 6 sets of paired laminations, I can use the 3/8' threaded rod - hopefully the holes line up well enough.

 

[ruddhess]

Glueing up pairs of boards and then glueing up quads

This is the first two boards glued together the night before this picture. I have taken the bolts out and everything looks solid. Time will tell. This first one was probably the worst for glue coverage as I was in a hurry - it has been too long since I glued boards together. I keep thinking that if I didn't hurry, the glue would set up and I'd have to do everything over again. But I think it will still be OK. I used plenty of glue on both sides and the only part I'm really only slightly concerned about is the end corners - I don't remember if I spread the glue all the way out.

This Yellow Pine is beautiful!

Here is my glue up area. I had some old closet doors to use as a flat work area - they are hollow and light, but fairly flat and easy to clean up the glue because they are painted. I got wise and started using a cheap plastic putty knife to spread the glue out more evenly.

Glue is running out, so that's a good sign!

Now all five pairs have been glued up.

So the first pair from the day before and the second pair from early morning get glued together at the very last of the day before going into the house.

And here is a quad glued up- the camera amplifies the difference in height of the laminations - this end curled a bit on one side before the glue-up.

More later.

 

[benchbuilder]

Glueing up pairs of boards and then glueing up quads

This is the first two boards glued together the night before this picture. I have taken the bolts out and everything looks solid. Time will tell. This first one was probably the worst for glue coverage as I was in a hurry - it has been too long since I glued boards together. I keep thinking that if I didn't hurry, the glue would set up and I'd have to do everything over again. But I think it will still be OK. I used plenty of glue on both sides and the only part I'm really only slightly concerned about is the end corners - I don't remember if I spread the glue all the way out.

This Yellow Pine is beautiful!

Here is my glue up area. I had some old closet doors to use as a flat work area - they are hollow and light, but fairly flat and easy to clean up the glue because they are painted. I got wise and started using a cheap plastic putty knife to spread the glue out more evenly.

Glue is running out, so that's a good sign!

Now all five pairs have been glued up.

So the first pair from the day before and the second pair from early morning get glued together at the very last of the day before going into the house.

And here is a quad glued up- the camera amplifies the difference in height of the laminations - this end curled a bit on one side before the glue-up.

More later.

I dont believe you need to rush that much with the yellow glue. I usually glue three at a time, all 6,7 or 8 ft long. Then glue them up in pairs and pairs into slabs. Works well and if you spred the glue even and on both pieces and dont try to mash them when clamping, you will have great bench tops, just remember your 7 Ps, pryier proper planing prevents piss poor proformance. Sorry for the bad word here, just the facts..

 

[ruddhess]

Glueing up pairs of boards and then glueing up quads

This is the first two boards glued together the night before this picture. I have taken the bolts out and everything looks solid. Time will tell. This first one was probably the worst for glue coverage as I was in a hurry - it has been too long since I glued boards together. I keep thinking that if I didn't hurry, the glue would set up and I'd have to do everything over again. But I think it will still be OK. I used plenty of glue on both sides and the only part I'm really only slightly concerned about is the end corners - I don't remember if I spread the glue all the way out.

This Yellow Pine is beautiful!

Here is my glue up area. I had some old closet doors to use as a flat work area - they are hollow and light, but fairly flat and easy to clean up the glue because they are painted. I got wise and started using a cheap plastic putty knife to spread the glue out more evenly.

Glue is running out, so that's a good sign!

Now all five pairs have been glued up.

So the first pair from the day before and the second pair from early morning get glued together at the very last of the day before going into the house.

And here is a quad glued up- the camera amplifies the difference in height of the laminations - this end curled a bit on one side before the glue-up.

More later.

Thank you benchbuilder. I just saw your comment today. I am getting more at ease with the gluing now. I have 14 boards glued together now and it is 21" wide. I still need to get someone to help me bring it down from my 2nd story apartment into the garage. It got so cold recently that I brought the pairs of boards up inside where it's warm to glue them together. I didn't do anything to the surfaces of these when I glued them up. The glue seems like it will hold very well even though each board wasn't "perfect" - some had a few mill marks, some had a few voids where knots were, etc. I have read that the wood glue works best when the two surfaces being joined are nearly perfectly flat against one another and a lot of pressure is applied. Some technical advice includes XX lbs per sq in for different species of wood. I don't get that technical with anything I do. I haven't conducted any tests on the strength of the glued joints that I have done either. I have made one "coffee" table that was just wood and glue - it's about 10 years or more old and holds together just fine - I didn't prep any edges with that one either - it's white pine. I did use some dowels though on the top - three 2 X 6's at 48" long. I am going to use glue and dowels on the rest of my bench too (I usually use bolts and other hardware in addition to glue when putting things together, but I now know that glue will hold it together alone if designed a certain way.) I had thought about gluing up beams and slabs and then chopping out a bunch of dovetails and mortise/tenons, but that seemed less efficient than just designing it to fit together like a puzzle - after all the boards start out as 2 bys and if you cut them right and fit them together right, they make their own mortise & tenons. I'll post more pictures as I go along. It's still too cold out to do very much gluing.

 

[ruddhess]

Glue Curing Box

Here is what I did yesterday: made a long box to keep the wood and glue warm while curing.

Everything I needed was laying close at hand - literally! I had four old closet doors that I used as shelves a long time ago that were standing in the corner. I had used a couple of them as a flat work place to start gluing up the boards for my slab. I found 8 little metal angle braces with screws that I had bought a while back and never used. It is 78" long (my 72" boards fit just right) and 12" X 15" otherwise.

I will cover the ends with some old blankets.

And I had a single bulb and bare fixture hanging right beside my shop light. It was 40°F in the shop when I put the thermometer inside and closed the ends up with blankets.

Everything hooked up and ready to go.

I found that with an extra blanket on the top, it will stay 60°F inside all night. Even with outside temps as low as 7°F like last night.

 

[benchbuilder]

Glue Curing Box

Here is what I did yesterday: made a long box to keep the wood and glue warm while curing.

Everything I needed was laying close at hand - literally! I had four old closet doors that I used as shelves a long time ago that were standing in the corner. I had used a couple of them as a flat work place to start gluing up the boards for my slab. I found 8 little metal angle braces with screws that I had bought a while back and never used. It is 78" long (my 72" boards fit just right) and 12" X 15" otherwise.

I will cover the ends with some old blankets.

And I had a single bulb and bare fixture hanging right beside my shop light. It was 40°F in the shop when I put the thermometer inside and closed the ends up with blankets.

Everything hooked up and ready to go.

I found that with an extra blanket on the top, it will stay 60°F inside all night. Even with outside temps as low as 7°F like last night.

Yes this works well, i did the same for a dog house but in place of blankets on the ends i used plywood with styrofom glued to it and on hinges with weather striping. Its amazing how much heat you can get with just one light blub. I used a 75 watt blub and have a happy dog. His water never frezzes as the temp stays about 58 to 65 degrees depending on outside weather, we to have had 4 degree nites and still a happy dog. You do have to keep a watch on the blub as they dont last but a few weeks being on full time..

 

[ruddhess]

Glue Curing Box

Here is what I did yesterday: made a long box to keep the wood and glue warm while curing.

Everything I needed was laying close at hand - literally! I had four old closet doors that I used as shelves a long time ago that were standing in the corner. I had used a couple of them as a flat work place to start gluing up the boards for my slab. I found 8 little metal angle braces with screws that I had bought a while back and never used. It is 78" long (my 72" boards fit just right) and 12" X 15" otherwise.

I will cover the ends with some old blankets.

And I had a single bulb and bare fixture hanging right beside my shop light. It was 40°F in the shop when I put the thermometer inside and closed the ends up with blankets.

Everything hooked up and ready to go.

I found that with an extra blanket on the top, it will stay 60°F inside all night. Even with outside temps as low as 7°F like last night.

benchbuilder,

I didn't think of styrofoam until I saw a picture of someone else's glue cabinet/closet here on LJ. I think a lot of people line them with the aluminum backed stuff too. If I used that stuff it would get much hotter in there I think. There were some fairly big cracks in it because I didn't put but one screw in the middle and a couple of the doors were bowed a bit. But the extra blanket over the top took care of any heat that was escaping out the top. It is kind of amazing how much heat a bulb puts out. Sounds like your dog has some of the comforts of home in his house. That's cool.

 

[siavosh]

Glue Curing Box

Here is what I did yesterday: made a long box to keep the wood and glue warm while curing.

Everything I needed was laying close at hand - literally! I had four old closet doors that I used as shelves a long time ago that were standing in the corner. I had used a couple of them as a flat work place to start gluing up the boards for my slab. I found 8 little metal angle braces with screws that I had bought a while back and never used. It is 78" long (my 72" boards fit just right) and 12" X 15" otherwise.

I will cover the ends with some old blankets.

And I had a single bulb and bare fixture hanging right beside my shop light. It was 40°F in the shop when I put the thermometer inside and closed the ends up with blankets.

Everything hooked up and ready to go.

I found that with an extra blanket on the top, it will stay 60°F inside all night. Even with outside temps as low as 7°F like last night.

This process is new to me, does glue for the laminations need heat to cure?

 

[daddywoofdawg]

Glue Curing Box

Here is what I did yesterday: made a long box to keep the wood and glue warm while curing.

Everything I needed was laying close at hand - literally! I had four old closet doors that I used as shelves a long time ago that were standing in the corner. I had used a couple of them as a flat work place to start gluing up the boards for my slab. I found 8 little metal angle braces with screws that I had bought a while back and never used. It is 78" long (my 72" boards fit just right) and 12" X 15" otherwise.

I will cover the ends with some old blankets.

And I had a single bulb and bare fixture hanging right beside my shop light. It was 40°F in the shop when I put the thermometer inside and closed the ends up with blankets.

Everything hooked up and ready to go.

I found that with an extra blanket on the top, it will stay 60°F inside all night. Even with outside temps as low as 7°F like last night.

I think it's Just so the glue doesn't freeze.

 

[ruddhess]

Glue Curing Box

Here is what I did yesterday: made a long box to keep the wood and glue warm while curing.

Everything I needed was laying close at hand - literally! I had four old closet doors that I used as shelves a long time ago that were standing in the corner. I had used a couple of them as a flat work place to start gluing up the boards for my slab. I found 8 little metal angle braces with screws that I had bought a while back and never used. It is 78" long (my 72" boards fit just right) and 12" X 15" otherwise.

I will cover the ends with some old blankets.

And I had a single bulb and bare fixture hanging right beside my shop light. It was 40°F in the shop when I put the thermometer inside and closed the ends up with blankets.

Everything hooked up and ready to go.

I found that with an extra blanket on the top, it will stay 60°F inside all night. Even with outside temps as low as 7°F like last night.

siavosh,

If the ambient temperature falls below around 45°F (most glue labels say 60°), then it doesn't cure properly. You can tell when the glue is going to fail (or is quite likely to fail) if the glue gets "chalky" - there appears a light colored powdery surface on the glue - that is a bad sign. I built the box to put long pieces of laminated lumber in to let the glue cure when the shop temps fell below around 47° or so - I didn't experience any trouble at all when the temp was between 47° and 52°. Like 'daddywoofdawg' says, it's important to keep the glue from freezing when it's in the bottle. I've been bringing the glue bottles (and construction adhesive - AKA Liquid Nails) inside when the temps were falling to below 40°. And that worked out well enough.

 

[ruddhess]

Getting Close to Full Width

I ended up gluing inside my apartment where it was warmer. Ice and snowoutside. It is wide enough now that it won't fit inside the glue box anyway.

All 12 boards glued up. I think that I will add 2 more to make it 21" wide.

Finally got a decent picture of all 14 boards glued up. Now to find help carrying it down to the garage when the weather turns nicer. It weighs over a hundred pounds. Not bad.

 

[ruddhess]

Reinforcing my old sawhorses

I'm adding some reinforcement to my old sawhorses. I want to set my workbench top on these for a while and I don't want them to wobble or collapse. I'm just using some old 3/8" T1-11 siding that I had from a long time ago.

Some small "A" frame gussets attached with drywall screws.

And with what was left of the siding, some 6-5/8" wide stretchers/stringers.

Line it up flush on the right, and whack the left side off. I'm using my "three drill system" - the old orange B&D for drilling the pilot hole/my grandma's old silver metal bodied drill with the countersink bit/old green and putty gray B&D with the side chunk missing and the phillips bit driver embedded in the chuck (seriously, no amount of force in the universe will loosen the chuck, I even broke the chuck key for this drill trying to loosen it). Works good, except for all the cords going everywhere, but I'm used to it by now.

Stretchers bow in on this one. The sawhorse lumber is from an old chicken barn 2X4s and has twisted or was twisted to begin with maybe.

And a little bow to the outside on this one.

 

[ruddhess]

Remainder of yellow pine lumber for workbench

Here is the remainder of the yellow pine that I need for my workbench. I had decided to give this thing legs and a skirt (hmm, sounds bad I know - hey maybe it's a Scottish bench? LOL). The 2 X 12 was for the skirts on the front and the back, and the 2 X 8's were for leg stretchers. I had 6 pieces of center ripped 2 X 10's left over from making the top that I could use to make the legs. Still deciding whether to make a regular workbench or stay with my original plan of making some very sturdy Japanese trestle style horses to put the benchtop slab on. What to do, what to do?

This 2 X 12 is beautiful. The winter growth rings are wide and it is a heavy board. It has part of the pith of the tree running down the middle and after cutting the 12 footer in half has begun to cup a bit at one end. I will monitor the cupping and decide whether to cut a little bit of the pith out and re-glue it together. That's probably what I'll do.

I am leaning toward this style of "horse" to set the slab on and keep to the original plan of a Japanese style slab on horses work surface. (Watching Stumpy Nubs video on making a saw bench is what gave me the inspiration for this particular design - I'm not sure where the original style came from.)

Beginning on the Saw Bench/Saw Horse stands shown above.

 

[ruddhess]

Beginning Cuts on Saw Bench/Saw Horses

Cheap tools (except for the Starrett combination square - left over from my metal fabrication days) are getting the job done for now.

My saw cuts are getting better. Fairly square - they need to be since I haven't dug out my jack plane and my block plane needs sharpening, and I don't have a solid place to hold anything down yet.

I'm using my Swiss Army knife to mark my cut-lines and putting a shallow kerf line on three (or sometimes four) sides before making my thru-cut. Much better accuracy this way.

These four braces came out relatively equal in length with saw cut only (no planing - just a bit of sanding of burrs off the ends).

 

[ruddhess]

Cutting more boards for the saw bench style saw horses

All the boards are cut now and lined up.

A couple of the uprights and the top boards standing up on the work area.

Marked them to keep track.

Beautiful end grain!

 

[ruddhess]

Dovetail Saga - Dovetail Number One

Beginning dove tail number one.

This is how I clamp it up to work on the end cuts.

More saw cuts to remove waste between the pins.

It doesn't want to fit yet.

Got start whittling it down - just now wants to fit together.

About 1/3 of the way.

Almost there!

Finally! Not too bad for first dovetail ever.

 

[waho6o9]

Dovetail Saga - Dovetail Number One

Beginning dove tail number one.

This is how I clamp it up to work on the end cuts.

More saw cuts to remove waste between the pins.

It doesn't want to fit yet.

Got start whittling it down - just now wants to fit together.

About 1/3 of the way.

Almost there!

Finally! Not too bad for first dovetail ever.

Off to a great start Rodney, good job!

 

[ruddhess]

Dovetail Saga - Dovetail Number One

Beginning dove tail number one.

This is how I clamp it up to work on the end cuts.

More saw cuts to remove waste between the pins.

It doesn't want to fit yet.

Got start whittling it down - just now wants to fit together.

About 1/3 of the way.

Almost there!

Finally! Not too bad for first dovetail ever.

Thank you waho6o9,

Now that I have caught up on my blog posts and pictures, I can tell you that I have abandoned the dovetails for rabbet joints on this project. My very first dovetail was the best one. Admittedly I was a bit impatient. I have not abandoned making dovetails - I am just going to practice some more before trying to incorporate them into a project. Your encouragement is appreciated though! Lots of great people here on LJ! I am really enjoying this!!!

 

[ruddhess]

Dovetail Saga - Dovetail Number Two

Went a little past the mark on the tails on this one.

Yikes! Looks a little bit jagged on the back side - that's the side it's more difficult to keep an eye on.

Uh oh! Big mistake - back to the lumber yard to fetch more wood to fix this mistake. Just a teeny bit discouraging.