Used workbench question

[Chris152]

I'm thinking about buying a large-ish beech workbench. The top's 60mm thick and apparently has a convex bow toward one end of about 2mm, and a couple of ripples along its length that are no more than 1mm high. From what I've read some movement of this sort is normal, but based on what I've said (it's all I know) would you think that sort of movement could easily be sorted with a hand plane?

edit - it's just over 700 mm deep and composed of 7 boards jointed.

Thanks

Chris

 

[Woody2Shoes]

I'm sure it's perfectly possible to do with a hand plane or two - good exercise!

What planes do you have?

Cheers, W2S

 

[Chris152]

What planes do you have?

A 5 1/2 and a 4. I need something longer maybe?

 

[custard]

It's a doddle, you wouldn't even break a sweat. A 5 1/2 is fine.

 

[Chris152]

Ok, thanks chaps. If I go ahead, do I leave it in the garage (it's no longer drafty, but still unheated) for a while before attacking it with the plane?

oh - and is it easy enough to drill the holes for bench dogs by hand? It has none at the moment, and a better method of clamping boards is one of the reasons for thinking to get a different bench.

 

[custard]

If it's been stood outside then okay, otherwise just crack on. Most craftsmen only bother keeping the first 12" or so of their bench reasonably flat, for critical work like truing up the leg lengths of a side table you can always temporarily put some MDF on top.

Don't overthink it, it's a bench, and at 60mm thick you can have a fair few attempts at getting it just how you want!.

 

[Chris152]

Brilliant, thank you!

 

[thetyreman]

I've been surprised at how long it stays flat, my bench hasn't moved at all in a whole year, I measured it today and it's still completely flat, a 5 1/2 plane should be perfect, the extra weight and width is useful, it means less physical effort.

 

[AndyT]

Drilling the holes is easy too - simplest way is a brace an auger bit and a couple of blocks of wood to check for square.

 

[Chris152]

Thanks both. i was thinking to get an auger for another job I want to do, so that'll work fine.

But - it turns out it's a 2 mm concave section, not convex - which I guess means much more wood to remove to get it level with the rest? Don't want to work up too much of a sweat, is that still a reasonable challenge?

 

[xy mosian]

oh - and is it easy enough to drill the holes for bench dogs by hand?

This might be of use,

Taken from brace-auger-angle-guide-suggestion-t108196.html

Just nail three blocks of wood together,
xy

 

[custard]

Convex, concave, makes no odds; 2mm is gone in little more than a dozen plane strokes.

 

[ED65]

Ok, thanks chaps. If I go ahead, do I leave it in the garage (it's no longer drafty, but still unheated) for a while before attacking it with the plane?

Depends what it's coming from (how similar the conditions are to your garage). If it does need to acclimate wait more than a fortnight if at all possible.

oh - and is it easy enough to drill the holes for bench dogs by hand?

If it's keeping vertical you can use a pre-drilled guide block to make it easy peasy.

Or use a simple vertical drilling guide, here are some common variations on the theme:

Edit: if using a brace to drill the holes the wooden ones need to be made with one limb long enough that it can be clamped down from the edge of the bench, freeing up both hands for the drill.

...and a better method of clamping boards is one of the reasons for thinking to get a different bench.

Is your current benchtop too thin for dogs? There are a great many workholding solutions in addition to dogs (specially if you have a vice) but on a thinner bench if you just want to add a few dog holes packing pieces can be glued to the underside where the holes need to go to provide the requisite thickness.

But - it turns out it's a 2 mm concave section, not convex - which I guess means much more wood to remove to get it level with the rest? Don't want to work up too much of a sweat, is that still a reasonable challenge?

Still shouldn't be a problem I would think.

In case you don't know when you hog off a lot of material it's fairly normal to start working across the grain, either at 90° or on the diagonal. Wood doesn't put up much resistance going this way so even with a good hard wood it makes the job much more manageable. Also, in case this hasn't been mentioned above the iron in the 5 1/2 does need to have a suitable camber.

 

[MikeG.]

Convex, concave, makes no odds; 2mm is gone in little more than a dozen plane strokes.

..and frankly is utterly unimportant anyway. If mine were only 2mm out I'd think it was a piece of furniture, not a workstation.

 

[custard]

frankly is utterly unimportant anyway. If mine were only 2mm out I'd think it was a piece of furniture, not a workstation.

Depends what the bench is being used for.

If, for example, you're making windsor chairs then any beefy slab will do (or at least it did me when I made windsor chairs).

But it becomes tedious trying to accurately plane a piece of wood if the workpiece isn't reasonably well supported along its length, and there are plenty of cabinet making tasks where it's convenient to use the workbench as a reference surface.

 

[Chris152]

Thanks all for the replies. Quick update - for logistical and other reasons I didn't go ahead and buy the bench. Under 'other' reasons is the realisation, reading your comments and reading other threads, that I don't actually know for sure what I need. I'm convinced I need a flat surface (planing thin legs recently, I thought my resawing to size had gone wrong (wandered) as the plane was missing a section along the middle of the leg, and it turned out the bench sagged a little at that point and the leg was just sinking into it as the plane passed) - and I've just sorted this by shimming the plywood top so it's now flat (it's just screwed down, so easy to adjust).

I thought I needed a thicker bench (your comments show there are alternatives) and I thought I needed to be able to work wide things from both sides of the bench, but just rotating things with an easier clamping method will do. And I didn't know how a bench away from the wall (albeit narrower) would work in my garage. But I also think I thought I needed something that looked nicer, which might be true but not worth hundreds of pounds. Yet.

SO - I'm sticking with my quick-build bench for the time being, til things are clearer. I've moved a vise from the side to become and end vise and fitted a new cheek from beech (the old one was a nasty scrap of cls - it was supposed to be temporary) and I'm in the process of thickening under the bench top with pine to allow deeper holes for bench dogs (as per some suggestions above). Heading off to buy a 19mm drill bit now, I'll post a pic of the outcome later!

edit - actually, a photograph of a piece of messy ply with two lines of holes in isn't that inspiring. But it does now work and I can get back to shaping more interesting pieces of wood....

Thanks again, C