What is kindest glue to plane blades?

[novocaine]

pick and choose Beau, you take your moisture meter with you and you pick the best of the 3 pallets they tend to have in. it Zilch-Wedlock the staff off but it is what it is. You look at the ends and take the tight grain and if possible the least amount of pith, then sort that by number of knots and shakes and finally straightness.

I'd rather have a softwood bench top over a hardwood bench any day, if I drop a piece, it marrs the bench, not the piece, I don't have to be careful around the bench and when it dies I can drill out the fox wedge on the through tenon and make a new top. the entire bench cost me less than 50 quid. it's been a year plus since it was built and it's not showing any real signs of death, it has a sheet of MDF over one end to over some protection next to the metal vice (as much as I intend to do in terms of protection), the lower rails are bowed because of the stuff I've stacked on them, the top hasn't moved more than seasonal allowance.

didn't put much effort in to planning the legs, why when no one can see them and they are completely functional?

The bench by David Rees, on Flickr

 

[thetyreman]

just use ordinary PVA

 

[ColeyS1]

My bench top is a couple sheets of birch ply. Gets used 6 days a week with no issues.

For me birch ply is a better choice in terms of stability. It's 10x4 so having solid wood would have meant it would have moved considerably. This is zero maintenance, other than a quick sand every couple years and a lick of water based varnish.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[custard]

I am using non-steamed Beech in a workshop that can get a bit damp. So I am expecting some movement. From what I read, levelling a workbench top every few years isn't uncommon, but I could be wrong.

Depends what you make and how you make it. I use my bench as a reference surface for loads of things, from running a shooting plane when edge jointing veneers to levelling up side table legs. Consequently I choose to keep my bench pretty flat. If you're making windsor chairs or carriage wheels I doubt you'd have the slightest interest in maintaining a flat bench.

Horses for courses.

 

[custard]

My bench top is a couple sheets of birch ply. Gets used 6 days a week with no issues.

For me birch ply is a better choice in terms of stability. It's 10x4 so having solid wood would have meant it would have moved considerably. This is zero maintenance, other than a quick sand every couple years and a lick of water based varnish.

That's a handsome looking job.

=D>

 

[MikeG.]

Many of the bench build wips lately have used laminated PAR tops.

PAR is pricey in comparison to sawn or PSE timber. PSE is dried to an extent too, so it is a decent compromise if you choose well (which should always do whatever timber you are buying).

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I mentioned elsewhere that I was re-gluing an old stool at the weekend. The remains of the PVA glue, despite the 37 years setting time, were still soft enough to pare away easily with a chisel. Similar texture to hot melt glue.

 

[AndyT]

Who said benches need to be flat?

This is a bench at Abbeydale. I think we can safely say it was still in productive use, without too much fuss being made of it, when it was retired.

6371F Redundant - a sacrifice to progress by Graham Fox, on Flickr

 

[novocaine]

do you know what glue they used Andy?

 

[AndyT]

do you know what glue they used Andy?

No, but I'm pretty sure the timber didn't come from a diy store...

 

[Beau]

pick and choose Beau, you take your moisture meter with you and you pick the best of the 3 pallets they tend to have in. it waters the staff off but it is what it is. You look at the ends and take the tight grain and if possible the least amount of pith, then sort that by number of knots and shakes and finally straightness.

I'd rather have a softwood bench top over a hardwood bench any day, if I drop a piece, it marrs the bench, not the piece, I don't have to be careful around the bench and when it dies I can drill out the fox wedge on the through tenon and make a new top. the entire bench cost me less than 50 quid. it's been a year plus since it was built and it's not showing any real signs of death, it has a sheet of MDF over one end to over some protection next to the metal vice (as much as I intend to do in terms of protection), the lower rails are bowed because of the stuff I've stacked on them, the top hasn't moved more than seasonal allowance.

didn't put much effort in to planning the legs, why when no one can see them and they are completely functional?

The bench by David Rees, on Flickr

That picture does explain better why the use of small section PSE. Nothing against softwood but I have had some terrible experiences with supposedly kiln dried PSE that has made me very wary of it. If I have a job requiring softwood I favour getting sawn redwood. Cut roughly to size then leave it to finish drying before commencing work. Each to there own I guess but it's worth remembering the bench is the most used tool in the workshop so make it a goodun.

 

[Bodgers]

I noticed Paul Sellers used PSE for his bench. This builds in an awful lot of planing to get rid of the round edges. It would seem obvious to me to instead of buying 3x2s or 4x2s, then spending hours planing, you should buy 6x2s or 8x2s and rip them up the middle with a circular saw, leaving a square straight edge for the top surface which should only need cleaning up. Less planing......less chance for the glue to blunt your edge: something that has never crossed my mind in my entire life!

I have full width slabs 550-650mm wide, of Beech that vary in thickness from 28mm to 38mm with what might be termed 'live' but debarked edges. So I have a lot more processing to do than construction SPF with rounded edges

Below is cut off from the 2.4m lengths I have...

 

[Bodgers]

Who said benches need to be flat?

This is a bench at Abbeydale. I think we can safely say it was still in productive use, without too much fuss being made of it, when it was retired.

6371F Redundant - a sacrifice to progress by Graham Fox, on Flickr

Lol.

Even though I have been doing this 'hobby' for a couple of years, I still class myself as inexperienced. And with that inexperience comes doubt about whether you have everything both square AND flat. It is kind of an obsession, and when you have moments where you don't know what you are doing, I always come back to flat/straight/square. When assembling a small draw recently I was constantly checking if it wasn't twisted, and having a known flat surface always seemed like a solution.



Sent from my MI 3W using Tapatalk

 

[AndyT]

To be fair, and judging from the vice, that bench was used by a metalworker. I guess the work was all done in the vice, with the bench as somewhere to put tools down. After a few decades of always putting his tools in the same places, I reckon he lost all chance of putting them anywhere different.

 

[novocaine]

looking at the size of vice and the bench mount upsetting block I'd say it was a farriers bench. would also explain the deep wear from hot stuff being set on the bench.
beside the point though, anything that needs a flat surface can be done on a flat surface by chucking a bit of MDF over it.

 

[novocaine]

my previous image made me look back further in my pictures, it shows when I got the timber but didn't make the bench, the top sat on trestles for 6-8 months as separate sticks clamped together underneath before I even started the glue up, guess that might be called acclimatization of sorts.
didn't stop me using it, wasn't flat at all, still had the round over on the edges.

Williams Shop by KustomMade by David Rees, on Flickr

 

[ColeyS1]

That's a handsome looking job.

=D>

Thanks custard.

I think the most important factors of a bench are sturdyness and getting the top the right height. Having a top that's flat is definitely helpful, so longs it stays flat though with the differing humidity. Probably winding sticks on what ever you're making would be a belts and braces approach.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk