Workbench Build #2: Glue up

A very sturdy and attractive work bench.

How did you attach the top to the cross piece at the two ends of the table?

Dalec

This is one hefty looking bench. But it is looking pretty good so far.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

You’re making good progress Steve. I had to go back and look at Part 1.

It looks great. Seeing all these great benches on this site makes me want to try one.

-- Martin, Kansas

Beautiful top, i really like the wood. so planning the top was not to hard to do, i am planning on making one some day and leveling the top was one of my concerns

-- mjhaines

Good looking Steve. It starting to look like a bench now.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Looks great Steve. I’m interested to know the offset on the draw bore. On a small project I’m working on I’m using a 1/16th” but something this large, what would you use?

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

I gotta say that is a nice looking bench you’re building!

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Nice bench, I couldn’t help noticing but is your top vertical grain douglas fir? If so, I used it once on my bench. Was a lovely top, come to think of it my bench base is vg douglas fir also. Made it when I was 14 years old to young to drive so my mother drove me to the lumber yard and I picked out the wood I wanted. Got the wood home and my dad was furious about the choice of lumber. He was a wholesale softwood salesman and he knew the cost of vg douglas fir. I guess I knew good wood when I saw it. Can’t wait to see the end cap completed.

-- bobdurnell, Santa Ana California.

very nice looking bench Steve.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

Thanks people. This thing is a bit more work than I anticipated. I thought I would just bang it together. I guess the size of it has me a bit intimidated.

I plan to lag bolt the top to the base, so I can remove it later if needed. It is just sitting on it right now.

It was fun to plane, but anytime you have that much vertical grain, it makes it a lot easier.

I used 1/8 inch offset for the draw pins. They were a bit of tapping to get them in. Also the softwood compresses a lot more than a hardwood would. (Woodchuck would?)

It is Douglas Fir bought at Home Depot. Straight, pretty, and cheap (but really soft and it does splinter a bit).

Steve

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

Looking very attractive and solid, Steve. I used draw-bored tenons on my base too. Pounding them in was a rewarding feeling, like something from another era.

-- North Texas

Great progress, bravo!

always,
J.C.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

Great looking job so far! The is going to be one beefy bench.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Looks great Steve, I am considering this same type of joinery for my stretchers out of Doug Fir, I was thinking 1/32 for the dimension to pull the joint together, but it sound like from your experience you are suggesting 1/8 worked pretty well with this wood?

-- Michael, Seattle, WA

Hey Michael, it worked for me. It is pretty soft wood. I would suggest doing a prototype or two. I used a drill press to do all the holes, but even then they tended to wander a bit, with some splintering and all. I don’t know if I could hold that kind of tolerance with this wood. I am hoping that DF will be OK for the top, I have crushed it a couple of times with clamps. But what the heck, it’s a workbench, and maybe it is better to have a softer top so it will absorb the dings rather than a future work piece. Just go for it.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon