# Jointing Laminated 2x Benchtop before or after glue up.



## NeophyteGrant (Jan 2, 2017)

I'm building one of the many 2x SYP bench tops out there in the world and want to limit the amount of jointing I have to do after gluing up sections and the final consolidated top.

I've seen a lot of examples of folks skip planing the pine, spring joining (essentially), and just laminating them without face (the part that's glued, face to face, on end) or edge jointing the stock (so the top is relatively flat out of the glue up). Then they'll joint the sections, top) and run them through the planer (bottom) (or hand plane the final glued up top, in Sellers case, I believe). Downside to doing it before is you might shave down size to get it true then only have to flatten the top again.

Doing it before to each individual board before seems to make me feel better, and I think that my stock is a bit warped, too. Plus, I don't want to have heavy sections running over the jointer.

Compelling case to do it either way?


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Glue up, joint and plane as wide as you can before gluing sections together. You'll still have to flatten the top pretty much no matter what.


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## MrWolfe (Jan 23, 2018)

I did it the 2nd way you've described… edge jointing the stock (so the top is relatively flat out of the glue up). Then they'll joint the sections, top) and run them through the planer (bottom) (or hand plane the final glued up top, in Sellers case, I believe). In my case too I ended up using a Stanely #6 to hand plane the top. I did end up shaving down the bottom to flatten it but I was very happy with how flat the top ended up even though I lose some thickness (final thickness was just under 3 inches). The bottom had to be as flat as the top for the trestle design I used. After jointing each board I used a lot of biscuits during the glue up to help with alignment only but not for strengthening the laminate. It was a good method for my bench but that is the only one I've ever built so I don't have another build to compare.

The only thing I wish I had done BEFORE gluing up the laminate is I wish I had MORE experience reading the grain. I accidentally glued up boards next to each other where the grain ran in opposite directions. That is what caused me a bit of an issue when hand planing the surface. By the end of it all though I have a much better understanding of that issue.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/359633


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## NeophyteGrant (Jan 2, 2017)

Mr. Wolfe-I'm confusing myself with the way I wrote it. For clarification: did you joint the edges before or after the first glue-up, waiting to joint and plane the sections to height.

That's a beautiful looking build.

I think your right TheFridge. Overthinking it/redundant and uncessary to face and edge joint (true) every board before the first glue-up.


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## MrWolfe (Jan 23, 2018)

Thank you Grant,
I jointed the edges before the first glue up… I also planed it by hand after it was all assembled due to some uneven heights on the bottom. I glued it together upside down with the biscuits to make the top as even/level as possible.
Somewhere in the process the bottom was not as flat as i wanted and the hand planing brought it down flat so it would rest on the trestles. Beginner's mistake on my part.


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## NeophyteGrant (Jan 2, 2017)

Gotcha MrWolfe. I'm having trouble thinking this through in my head. Is there ever a need to face (wide face, the one to be glued) joint the boards. It seems no one does this at any stage, but wouldn't edge jointing without jointing a reference face run the risk of producing an edge that is out of square.

I think I'm overthinking that component, but it's the last one I'm seemingly hung up on.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

I squared all sides. Then again. I used scraps of varying widths so it was necessary unless I wanted to send it through the planer 50 times.

If I was to joint and plane any part then it would definitely be the face.


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## Sylvain (Jul 23, 2011)

In his old serie of videos about building a workbench, Paul Sellers planes the faces to be glued together just enough to eliminate the sawmill ripple.

Some of the wood I used was warped. Too much to be straightened in one piece without wasting much of it.
I cut it in 3 or 4 sections; 
planed one face flat on each section;
glued the sections to the already glued slab done with he straightest boards;
after glue up, planed the other face of the sections straight and perpendicular to the slab face.
rinse and repeat ;-)

Alternating boards cut in 3 and boards cut in 4 ensure the joints will not be at the same place in the slab.
Before gluing the sections, I clamped them to the slab and sawed again between them to have end grain meeting as best as possible.


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