Flattening Workbench Top
2009.12.19
The four parts of the top will need to be planed down to make the overall surface flat. Each one slopes a little, so that at each unglued joint one or the other sticks up about 1/16″. Of course they’re not consistent all the way along. In fact each glued-up set seems to be a twisting trapezoid, high on one corner at one end, then high at the other corner on the opposite end.
Rough Planing with Fore Plane
First I had to camber the blade of my fore plane. Then I got started by taking a few quick passes along the high spots where the four sections come together. Then I planed across the grain, starting at one end and sliding down to the other end, then back to where I started.
Next I planed diagonally, first one direction, then the other.
Tear Out
I knew to expect some tear out, planing in all kinds of directions like that. But some of it was really bad. Also, despite planing a chamfer along the back edge before diving in, I still split out a couple long fingers when I was going across the grain. Have I mentioned that douglas-fir will splinter if you look at it?
Flattening with Jointer Plane
I switched to my jointer plane and worked in the long direction. As pass after pass went by, the plane began to take out the scallops of the fore plane and bring everything down to a smooth, reasonably level surface. It tamed some of the tear out as well, but not the deep stuff.
2010.01.11
Yesterday I built this stand for a clamping work light. By turning off the overhead lights and adjusting the clamp light, I was able to get nice raking light across the surface of the workbench, highlighting all the imperfections. (Oh like I needed any help…)
I did some more planing today with the jointer plane, but to get rid of all the tear out, I’d have to take the entire top down another 1/16″ or so. Considering that I was still getting some new tear out in a few places as I used the jointer plane, I don’t know if I would ever eliminate it all. I should have tested the grain direction on all the boards before deciding how to glue them together. But the two boards with the worst tear out seem to shred no matter what direction I try. I decided to move on to other tasks after today. I think I’m just going to live with the tear out. It goes with the nail holes and other quirks of using recycled house framing.
Top Wedges