Built a new bench!!

[Whiterabbit]

as well as tying it together.

[Dark Mod]

It looks like that tabletop is made by laying 2x4's sideways, gluing them together, then cutting the whole peice to size. Could you give a breif outline of the process? Im assuming you wait until the woods dry, glue and clamp, then cut, sand, and stain?

thats really more in line of what i want my benchtop to look like

[Whiterabbit]

first you pick your material. The "standard" for the "standard" workbench is 2x2 maple, but pick your poison. I like 2x4's because they are CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. My secret is to nip off each side to make it 1.5x3 dimensioned lumber (no 2x4 rounded corners). That's my secret to making people think I spent 2x on my projects as I really did.

anyways, you take whatever wood you choose and sight down the beam. Lay the wood on the FLAT side on the ground or whatever you'll use as your glue-up surface. If there are any cup and bowed pieces of wood, they will cup side to side.

Rather than line them up in the "spoons" position, alternate so they "fight" each other. This will balance out the stresses when the glue dries. Glue and clamp and give it some time to set.

Once cured, start the beltsander and sand agaisnt the grain. work in V patterns to flatten the surface. If you chose a hard glue, use a scraper to pull the squeezeout and go back to the belt sander. Once flat you go WITH the grain in a circular pattern to finish the surface.

Stain as desired. I don't.

[WoodenGun]

It looks like that tabletop is made by laying 2x4's sideways, gluing them together, then cutting the whole peice to size. Could you give a breif outline of the process? Im assuming you wait until the woods dry, glue and clamp, then cut, sand, and stain?

thats really more in line of what i want my benchtop to look like

They are 4x6's. The top is ~5 inches thick.

My suggestions: scour Craigslist for tables that have an appropriate top. You might need to Frankenstein the top using 2, 3, or 4 different tables.

Go to HD and get premade ones - you might want 2 and glue them together. Use screws to hold the two together while the glue dries.

Go to IKEA and get some wood countertops.
Again, you might want to glue 2 together.



Making a flat and stable top requires some tooling and skills that I am assuming you don't have. If you aren't into woodworking you probably don't want to invest in the tooling and time to make your own top.

[meaty-btz]

Many years ago I found 24 year aged wood in the basement, only 3 planks 8"x20' It was light as a feather.

People build wood tables out of green wood and wonder why they are so damned heavy.. water, so much water. Pine and Fir should be almost feather light when dry (really dry). Only hard woods have significant weight and even then, it isn't as much as you think.

In order of quality, lowest to highest, for cabinet making (furniture, benches, etc): Green Wood (90% of wood on market), Kiln-Dried (9% or so of wood on market and it is pricey), Seasoned Wood (takes a year or more, the older the better).

Did you know that people pay a premium for wood recovered from old houses? Seasoned Wood cannot be replaced even by kiln dried wood. Of course seasoned wood is even more expensive because you do lose wood during the aging process, splits, cracks, warpage, cupping even in the best of cases. The wood that comes out the other side is the best. I would love to have more Seasoned Wood to work with, it cuts easier, shapes easier, and takes the stain way better.