# Help me fix gouges in a pine workbench top



## sfmaker (Jan 27, 2019)

I laminated Doug Fir 2×4's to form an end grain workbench top. Used hand planers (my first time and it's probably part of the problem) and sanders to finish the work bench top and it now has lots of gouges or tear outs with the grain. Should I sand more with a belt sander or fill the gouges/tear out?

If filling is the option what should I use?

See pics.


----------



## Sylvain (Jul 23, 2011)

I understand your desire to have the nicest possible workbench but… it is good enough.
It is only a workbench, which will be beaten while working on it.
Anyway, you might have to re-flatten it in one or two years when the wood is acclimated to your shop. (or to erase the inevitable scars)
In the mean time you will have honed your sharpening and planing skills and you will achieve better results.
Otherwise, try to smooth it with a very sharp plane and the thinnest shavings you can achieve and then use a card scrapper.
Now, on the contrary, some of us will make their bench-top slightly rough to have a better grip by planing it with a toothed plane.
IMHO, just use it as it is.


----------



## JCamp (Nov 22, 2016)

It's a work bench….. it's going to have some rough spots. My vote is to finish it and use it as is. Take a look st some of the antique work benches around. At one point they were nice beautiful benches, then someone used them, a lot. 
If you use yours you'll end up with many more rough spots, it's the nature of the beast. Finish the bench and start building other things


----------



## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

Those gouges are from tear out with the hand planes. Not necessary to do anything since its a workbench, and the top can be skimmed any time. Maybe wait for now and work on your hand plane set up skills, when you have figured out how to prevent the tear out, re-plane the top then. If you post what plane(s) you used your issues can probably be fixed quickly.


----------



## BlasterStumps (Mar 13, 2017)

When you are orienting the boards just before glue up, it is good practice to determine the direction of grain for each piece and lay them out so the grain direction is the same for all. That way when it comes time to plane the top and you are planing with the grain, not against it, tear out should not be as much of a problem. You may have done this, but you still had some unruly grain, I don't know. I have gone to my low angle jack plane for times like that.


----------



## BlueRidgeDog (Jan 2, 2019)

You can continue to plane it down, but your planes are causing the tear out, so I would sand it if it is bothering you. As others have said, leave it for now and in a year or so when your plane sharpening and setup skill has blossomed you can take another shot at it. Getting a plane working just right is shockingly complex thing that requires some time with the tool and a great deal of experimentation.

When you see that sort of tear out, change directions (and verify you are taking a small enough bite with a very sharp blade).


----------



## ArtMann (Mar 1, 2016)

Just for vocabulary sake, that is referred to as edge grain, not end grain.



> I laminated Doug Fir 2×4 s to form an end grain workbench top. Used hand planers (my first time and it s probably part of the problem) and sanders to finish the work bench top and it now has lots of gouges or tear outs with the grain. Should I sand more with a belt sander or fill the gouges/tear out?
> 
> If filling is the option what should I use?
> 
> ...


----------



## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

And in addition to the vocabulary lesson, technically douglas fir is not a pine…

"Although both fir and pine trees are conifers, bearing cones, and members of the same plant family, Pinaceae, their plant group names are different. Fir trees are members of the genus Abies; whereas pine trees belong to Pinus"

Source: What Is the Difference Between Fir & Pine Trees?


----------



## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

Douglas Fir is not a true fir, it is in a genus all it own. Pseudotsuga menziesii


----------



## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

Don't worry about it there will be plenty of dents soon enough.

For future reference if you plan to hand plane, orient the grain direction the same in all the boards.


----------



## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I've always thought it was odd that Doug fir, which is not a fir at all, was given a genus name that loosely means false hemlock (Tsuga is the genus for hemlock). LOL, what were we talking about?


----------



## jacksdvds (Jun 13, 2015)

Why would anyone use DF for a workbench and not expect it to show usage and flaws? DF is meant for studs hidden inside of walls.


----------



## builtinbkyn (Oct 29, 2015)

Had a few on my DF benchtop after planing. Now with all the battle scars, I can't tell where they are. It's soft wood and will easily dent and ding with the work we do on them. I'd say just enjoy your bench.


----------



## builtinbkyn (Oct 29, 2015)

It should look like this in short order. This way we'll know you're using it


----------



## sfmaker (Jan 27, 2019)

Thanks for your responses. Really appreciate it. I'll put on a finish and get to working!


----------



## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

Pottery barn would charge you an extra $2000 for that vintage hand scraped look!

I agree, coat it as is.


----------



## Mr_Pink (May 20, 2017)

I like to view the tear out on my workbench as areas of enhanced traction. This sort of reframing is especially helpful if you have a child who decides to draw borders around those areas with a pencil.

Tear out is only going to be a problem if you try to remove it and create depressions in your bench top.


----------



## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

> Douglas Fir is not a true fir, it is in a genus all it own. Pseudotsuga menziesii
> 
> - johnstoneb


Glad to hear, i was appalled thinking that poor defenseless animals were being slaughtered just for their fir.


----------



## JohnMcClure (Aug 24, 2016)

Gotta add mine here. If you look at my projects you can see when it was new.









Syp not Doug fir, I think, maybe a bit harder than yours but it's not important. Just have a surface to hold your work and bang on chisels.


----------



## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Plenty of solid work area remains to support the work you do on it. Being it's a conifer it will be plenty soft enough that your projects won't be dented and beaten up by it. I'd much rather have a beaten up bench top than a beaten up casework I was working on the bench top.

IOW don't sweat it, as already said it's a bench, it's supposed to get beaten up.

A very good lesson taught about orienting your grain, so you are just fighting one fight. Learn from that, forgetaboutt the bench top, it's fine.


----------

