mill – TrentDavis.net

The extension wing provides a lot of work surface.

The finish has been applied to the bench-top so now it’s time to attach the hardware. This is a tricky subject to explain clearly. I’m going to do my best but I’m planning on coming back and editing this post a bit in an effort to clear some things up. That being said, if any of my explanations below are confusing, please leave me a comment and I’ll try explaining it in more detail.

This post has a lot of pictures so be patient while it loads.

Attaching the angle iron to the ends of each piece.

The bench-top is 23-7/16″ deep so I need to cut four pieces of angle iron to that length.

A metal chop saw was used to make all my cuts but you can do this with a hacksaw if you don’t mind the blisters and carpal tunnel.

The chop saw leaves a jagged burr on the edge of the angle iron so I’ll need to knock that back.

You can use a hand file to remove most of the burr from each end of the pieces of angle iron. I did this while slightly rounding over the ends.

To remove the burr on the inner corner I needed to use a rat-tail file.

The burrs were removed from both ends of each piece of angle iron.

A test fit gives a preview of how it looks and lets you make sure that none of the metal pieces are too long.

The screws will be attached in the center of the angle iron so I set my combination square to half the width which ended up being 5/8″.

I used the combination square to set the position of a metal shop rule on the angle iron and I clamped it in place.

I decided on the placement of the screws by first marking where the center screw will be and then adding the marks for the outer screws about 1-1/4″ inches in from the edge. I then found the center point between the outer marks and the central one. I used a silver Sharpie to mark the placement of the screws with some hash marks on pieces of painters tape so I could repeat them on each piece.

The screws that I am using to attach the metal require a 7/32″ hole.

When drilling through metal you should usually apply a few drops of 3-in-1 oil to where you will be drilling out the holes. This is what I did when I made the holes using a drill press.

Since I wanted the screws to sit relatively flush with the top of the metal, I added a countersink to each hole using a 3/4″ countersink bit. I went just deep enough for them to be flush but I didn’t want it too perfect since I’m going for a more used, industrial look. Fortunately, making things “not perfect” is a specialty of mine.

This took quite a while. I ended up doing most of them with a hand drill which actually went much faster than the drill press and helped contribute to the imperfect look that I was going for.

When it was time to drill the holes, I clamped the angle iron to the ends of the bench-top pieces so I could ensure their placement was correct and that it wouldn’t slip.

I used some blue painters tape on my drill bit to mark the depth of the hole that I needed for the screws.

I drilled just to the point that the painters tape touched the metal. This is easy to do if you watch the shavings that gather around the hole you are drilling. When the tape starts to brush them aside, stop drilling.

The pieces were then attached with screws. Now the bench-tops are officially done.

Attaching the legs to the bench-top.

I am using hardware by Steel-Tek to create the legs for this desk. To get a visual on what pieces are needed where, I laid them out on the underside of the bench-top in the approximate area where they will be attached.

I attached a 3/4″ flange (part no. 673-104HC) in each of the four corners of the main bench-top piece. I set them 2″ in from each edge.

Four screws were used to attach each flange. I also added a fifth flange along the back edge which will help support the bench-top along the length.

Since I still had the hash marks on my shop rule from when I drilled the holes in the angle iron, I laid that out and used it to arrange the hinges for attaching the extension wing. I debated about using a piano hinge for this as it would provide better support since it would be screwed into the side rather than from underneath. In the end, I decided to attach four hinges along the underside and I’ll just keep an eye on it. I can always come back and change it later if it starts to weaken.

I ended up spacing the hinges a little over 2″ apart. This measurement will vary depending on the hinge that is used.

Each hinge was attached and they seem really solid so I’m not too worried. I needed a slight gap between the main table and the wing because of how the wing is going to be held upright. This will be explained later.

Back to my chop saw to cut down the 3/4″ tubing to the various lengths that I needed.

Using a disc sander, I added a slight chamfer around the edge of each piece of pipe in case anyone wants to take this bench apart in the future. I wouldn’t want anyone getting cut on the sharp edges.

As I was cutting these down, I realized that this piping would allow me to run wires through them in case I wanted to add a few outlets along the top. If you’ve ever run conduit, you probably understand the importance of removing the jagged edge along the inside so it doesn’t damage any wires. I did this with a deburring tool.

I got all my hardware gathered up. Along with ten single socket tees (670-104HC) from Steel-Tek, I used the following lengths of pipe.

(qty: 1) 52″
(qty: 4) 28 ¼”
(qty: 3) 16″
(qty: 1) 12 ½”
(qty: 1) 6″

I also used 1″ rubber feet which fit perfectly over the 3/4″ pipe. Four of these were used for the legs and a fifth was used for the extension wing support arm.

I inserted the 6″ piece of pipe into the center flange and tightened the set screw.

Two single socket tees are then attached to two of the three 16″ lengths of pipe and the set screws are tightened. These will be the horizontal support braces that will go between the front and rear legs.

I slid two legs all the way through the tees on each of the horizontal braces and temporarily tightened the set screws. I set these aside for later.

Then I attached three of the tees to the 52″ length of pipe. First I attached one on the end and tightened down the set screw. After that I slid one of the tees over the pipe and moved it towards the center but didn’t tighten it at all. I then added the last tee to this piece and tightened it up.

Once it was all together I fit the loose central tee over the other end of the 6″ pipe and tightened the set screw but only the one that attaches it to the shorter piece. This meant the large 52″ piece can slide around if I need it to while I’m attaching the legs.

At this point, the only piece of pipe that is secure is the 6″ piece. This let me insert one of the sets of legs into the flanges on the side without the extension wing. I made sure the legs were square with the bench-top and tightened down the set screws in the flanges. The tee that attaches the rear rail to these legs is still loose. It’s worth noting that I have all of the set screws one every fixture facing the inside of the desk. This will make it easier to remove the bench-top from the legs without having to move the bench away from the wall.

The extension wing support is next. I put this together somewhat similarly to the rear rail except I centered the tee and tightened it down. I also inserted the 12-1/2″ piece with the rubber foot on the opposite end. I tightened this set screw but knew I would probably have to come back and adjust this later. The two tees on the end are kept loose and will remain so.

The extension table support is then slid on to the other set of legs. To make attaching it easier, I temporarily tightened the set screws for the tees that attach it to the legs.

This leg assembly is inserted like the opposite one. Make sure it is square to the bench-top and tighten the set screws on the flanges. Then, I ensured that the rear rail was the same distance from the underside of the bench-top at either end and tightened the set screws on the tees at each end of the rear rail.

Then I loosened the set screws on the tees that attach the extension wing arm support to the legs and slid them down so the rear tee rested on top of the tee on the rear rail. I tightened it down and set the opposite tee on this piece to the same height and secured it as well. I then lowered the horizontal brace so it rested on the rubber foot of the extension wing arm and tightened it down. Once that was in the correct position, I took a measurement and duplicated this position on the horizontal brace on the other legs.

Since I didn’t tighten the set screws that hold the extension wing horizontal brace to the front and rear legs, this whole mechanism can swing up and support the wing. I needed to make a wedge for the leg to press against. After ensuring that the bench-top pieces were co-planar, I swung the arm down and measured the angle.

I then transferred that angle to the table saw.

I cut a bevel of that angle on a scrap piece of oak flooring that was left over from this same project. I left this piece longer than I needed in case I need to try attaching it in different areas.

Once it was cut, I applied a coat of the same stain that I used on the rest of the desk and a single coat of polyurethane.

I pressed this piece firmly into the foot of the extension wing arm and secured it with drywall screws. I didn’t glue it in case I wanted to make any adjustments.

I set the bench upright and tested it out. The wing sagged a bit but rather than remove the wooden wedge and move it forward, I loosened the set screw that holds this arm in place and slightly extended the arm a bit. I tightened the set screw again and made sure the wing was flat with the main table.

If you want to lower the extension wing, you simply lift the extension wing slightly and the support arm swings down out of the way. The rubber foot on the end grabs the bottom brace and friction locks it in place.

All finished.

It’s time to call this project done. My wife and I moved it up to her studio and I gave her a few days to test it out. So far it seems to be very sturdy. I have plans to add a shallow drawer or two but I’m going to let her use the bench for a bit to see if that is something that she really needs.

It really does provide a lot of work surface. The overall dimensions of the work surface is 24 ½” x 83 ¼” when the extension wing is up.

When the extension wing is not needed, it easily folds out of the way creating a work surface of 24 ½” x 60 ¼”.

This gives her the space to work on her computer while still having her projects set up.

Please let me know if this helped you in any way or if you have any suggestions for how I could have done this differently. I’m also planning on a few more projects along this same style so if you have any suggestions, please let us know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you. Also, please consider signing up for my mailing list to be notified of future articles. I am also available on social media. Stop by and say ‘Hi’. I can be reached at the links to the right.

<< Back to Workbench: Part 6 – Finishing the benchtop
<< Back to Workbench: Part 5 – Cutting the benchtop to size
<< Back to Workbench: Part 4 – Gluing up the new top
<< Back to Workbench: Part 3 – Change of plans
<< Back to Workbench: Part 2 – Gluing up the top
<< Back to Workbench: Part 1 – Milling down some 2 x 4s

After letting it sit for 24 hours, the bench is now ready for the hardware.

Workbench: Part 6 – Finishing the benchtop

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisFebruary 5, 2017December 10, 2021One Comment

This is a continuation of Workbench: Part 5 – Cutting the benchtop to size

The workbench top is almost done. It’s been glued up and cut to size. Now all it needs is the finishing touches to get it ready for the hardware.

Adding a shallow rabbet on the ends of each piece.

The left and right edges of each section are going to have angle-iron that wraps around the corners. Since these will be recessed, I need to add a shallow rabbet on each edge. I did this with my table saw and a dado stack. The depth was pretty crucial but the width was approximate. I knew I wasn’t going to get a final fit until I rounded the corner so I just made sure not to make it too wide.

Cut a shallow rabbet on the left and right edges of the benchtop pieces.

I did a rough-fit just to make sure it was deep enough but not too wide.

This is how the angle-iron will sit on the edge.

A close-up view shows how I need to apply a roundover to the corner.

I need to add a roundover in the corner so the angle-iron sits flush.

I used a contour gauge to determine the radius of the inner corner.

Using a contour gauge to determine the correct roundover to apply.

The router bit that fit best is a 1/8″ roundover bit.

It looks like a 1/8" roundover bit will work.

I set the benchtop upside-down on my router table and used it to set the height of the bit.

Then it was a simple matter of pushing the piece along the bit. The piece was pretty big but since my router table is mounted on my table saw, it was actually not too bad.

Cutting the roundover on the left and right edges.

It looks like this is going to be a better fit. Now it’s time to finish the rabbet.

Now I need to take the rabbet back by a bit.

It looks like I need to take an additional 1/16″ off the top.

I set the fence on my table saw so I would remove just a hair under 1/16″. I’d rather remove too little and have to take off just a bit more than remove too much.

Setting my fence so I can take ~1/16" off of the existing rabbet.

I carefully extended the rabbet just a bit. I didn’t end up needing to move the fence at all, but I did have to raise the blade up just a bit and make a second pass.

Running the pieces over the spinning dado stack.

That fits much better. It’s not perfect but it’s close enough.

Applying a stain to the tops and sides.

Now it’s time to apply the stain. For this, I’m using Varathane Kona wood stain.

I applied a generous amount using a 3″ brush.

First I apply the stain with a 3" brush.

My wife followed up with a blue shop towel and dabbed up most of the stain before it could soak in too much. As you can see, this leaves a lot of the stain in the deeper spots, like the dents, mill-marks, and “worm-holes”.

The towel soaks up most of the stain but can't really get into the dents, mill-marks, or "worm-holes".

I’m pretty happy with how this looks so far.

We need to let it sit for about an hour before we do anything else to it.

We put the angle-iron on the rabbet to get an idea of how it’s going to look when we are finished. I think it looks pretty good.

This is how the angle-iron will look next to this stain.

After waiting an hour, we made sanding blocks out of scrap wood and 220-grit sticky-back sanding discs.

Making a sanding block out of a scrap piece of wood and some sticky-back 220-grit sanding discs.

We used these to go over the benchtops and knock back the high spots a bit.

Knocked back the high spots with the sanding block.

The contrast was a bit too much so my wife decided to lightly dab on some more stain in spots to bring the contrast under control.

Lightly dabbing on some more stain to reduce the contrast between the light and the dark parts.

It’s probably worth mentioning that we made sure to get the front and back of each piece.

Making sure we got the front and back of each piece.

Now we need to let it sit for a few more hours before we apply the polyurethane.

Letting it sit for another couple of hours.

Protecting it all with polyurethane.

For this project I’m using Varathane brand matte finish interior polyurethane. It goes on easily and rinses out with soap and water. An added bonus is that you don’t have to sand in between coats. I still prefer to sand right before applying the final coat.

I used the same brush that I used for the stain to apply a generous first coat of polyurethane.

Applying the first coat of polyurethane.

After applying the first coat, I went over it lightly with the brush to smooth it out. You can see how the poly sits in the deeper spots. Our intention is to apply enough poly that it fills in these spots, making a smoother surface.

I'm hoping it will help fill up the low spots and even out the top.

Finished applying the first coat. I’m letting that sit overnight before applying the next coat.

Got to let it sit for a few hours before adding more coats.

I applied the second coat and let that sit for a few hours.

Applied a third coat…and waited.

…and a fourth.

After the fourth coat has been applied, I'm starting to wonder how many more coats this is going to take.

I let the fourth coat sit for 24 hours. It looks like it’s ready to be sanded before applying the final coat. The polyurethane has helped smooth out the high and low spots a bit. I’m not going for a writing surface here so it doesn’t need to be perfectly flat.

The fourth coat is dry and ready for sanding.

I carefully flipped the pieces over so I can stain the underside. Obviously, this isn’t as critical as the top and I could probably not worry about it at all, but the smaller piece will most likely be attached the the main piece with a piano hinge and will hang down on the side when not in use. This means that the underside of the smaller piece will be visible at these times.

Turned the bench-top pieces over so I can stain the underside.

I started the tedious process of applying the stain to the underside. This piece is pine plywood and it soaks up the stain a lot faster than the oak. As a result, this is going to be much darker than the top.

I soaked up as much excess stain as I could.

Soaking up as much excess stain as I can.

After waiting about an hour and a half, I lightly sanded the underside with 220-grit sandpaper. I’m just trying to knock back any bumps before I seal them for all time under a layer of polyurethane.

I let the stain sit for about an hour and a half then I lightly sanded the undersides.

I applied a single coat of polyurethane to the undersides.

This is the only layer of poly that I am planning on applying to the underside. I’m going to let it sit for 24 hours before flipping the bench-top pieces back over and finishing the tops.

The polyurethane has been applied and needs to sit overnight.

After letting the poly coat on the underside sit for 24 hours, I flipped the benchtop back over and lightly sanded the top with 220-grit sandpaper in order to knock back any bumps or high points. This also further distressed the top.

I sanded the top with 220-grit to knock down some of the high spots.

I carefully applied the fifth and final coat of polyurethane and let it sit for twenty-four hours.

I carefully reapplied the fifth and final coat of polyurethane.

After sitting overnight, the finish on the bench-top is complete and now it’s time to attach the hardware.

Do you have any tips on staining and protecting your work? What has worked for you? Let us know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you. Also, please consider signing up for my mailing list to be notified of future articles. I am also available on social media. Stop by and say ‘Hi’. I can be reached at the links below.

Previous articles in this series…

Pen-making on my lathe – Christmas 2016

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisFebruary 3, 2017December 10, 2021

For Christmas 2016, I decided to make some pens for my co-workers.

I remember when I first got started turning, and pen-making in particular, I would scour the web looking for different approaches and techniques from various wood-turners. I made a lot of expensive kindling in my attempt to learn to turn. Although I still have a lot to learn, I feel that I pretty much mastered the finish that I put on my pens.

In an effort to educate, I have roughly documented my technique below. This isn’t intended as a complete tutorial; more of an outline of my process. If this post generates enough interest, I will make a more detailed walk-through and an accompanying video. If you are interested in such a tutorial, please leave a comment at the end of this post.

I started by choosing a pen blank to go along with the kit. I try to look for pen blanks that have a lot of character, although sometimes a flat walnut will look good with the correct hardware.

For this project, I used a storage caddy to hold the pen kits and blanks. Seven of the nine kits are classic slimlines. Two of them are Cigar pen kits from Woodcraft.

Pen kits and blanks organized. — Kits and blanks all organized.

For each kit I lay out the blank and the tubes. I look for any markings in the wood that look interesting and focus there. Of course, the outer grain is going to most likely be different from the inner grain, but a look at the end of the blank can help show what type of character the finished pen will have.

Pen blank marking tools. — Tools for marking pen blanks.

Using one of the pen tubes and a silver Sharpie, I make a mark just past the length of the first tube. You’ll notice that the tube isn’t right up to the end of the pen blank. I’m not going for precision in this step. I just want to make sure that I have enough material for both tubes.

I draw a line over the mark using a 6″ combination square.

Tracing a line on the pen blank. — Tracing a line where the blank will be cut.

Then I lay the other tube on the blank using the newly drawn line and make another mark.

Tracing a line where the blank will be cut.

One trick that I picked up is that I make an “X” over the first line. This makes it easier to line up the wood grain once you put it on the lathe. You’ll see what I mean later…

Marked an "X" through the first line. — Marked an “X” on the first line.

Here are the wood blanks all marked.

Once they’re marked, I take the wood blanks to the band saw and cut on the lines I made. Here you can see them cut. The X that I made is now split in two, making it much easier to match up the wood grain.

The blanks after being cut along the first line.

I drill the holes for the tubes on my lathe. There are many ways to go about this but this is the method I prefer.

I try to stay consistent with how the blanks are lined up. For example, you’ll notice in the following picture that the wood has half of the “X” facing me and on the right end. After I finish drilling this piece I’ll put the other half in but I’ll make sure that the other half of the “X” is still facing me but this time it goes on the left end.

Mounted the pen blank on my lathe for drilling.

I drill out the blank being careful not to let the bit get too hot. I also have dust collection going and although it doesn’t get all of the big shavings, it does get the fine dust.

All the holes drilled.

Another trick I picked up is to sand the tubes before inserting. I do this by wrapping a piece of 150 grit sanding strip around the tube and spinning it while pulling it through. Just be careful not to use that piece of sandpaper for anything other than the tubes.

Now it’s time to glue the tubes in place. I use a few cheap IKEA kids plates, which you’ll see later, while I’m making my pens. I use one with a blue shop towel or just a plain paper towel over it. This doesn’t necessarily protect the plate, but rather the plate keeps the blue towel from getting glued to the workbench. For gluing the tubes in place, I use Titebond Medium cyanoacrylate glue. I recently learned from another pen turner that he’s had problems with the chemicals in stabilized woods causing the cyanoacrylate to cure before getting the tube fully inserted. This results in a wasted tube and possibly the pen blank. Instead, he uses 5-minute epoxy.

Materials for gluing the tubes in place.

I put a coat of the cyanoacrylate glue on the sanded tube and use an insertion tool to push the tube into the wood.

I always try to have some extra material. This gives me room to true up the edge but also helps the grain flow more smoothly by taking up the room that the center band takes up on the final pen.

Once I’ve allowed sufficient time for the glue on the tubes to cure, I mount each of the blocks in the lathe and use a pen mill to trim down the edges. This ensures that the end of the finished pen section is nice and flat where it meets up with the pen hardware.

Mounted the blank on the lathe for milling.

Take your time with this. I’ve had certain woods, such as zebrawood, use this as an opportunity to split. You want to trim it down to the edge of the tube. If you see any brass shavings coming off with the wood shavings, you’ve gone too far. Not the end of the world, but still…calm down there, tiger.

Here you can see the edge of the brass tube showing. This is what I look for.

When you can see the edge of the brass tube, you're done. — When you can see the edge of the brass tube, you’re done.

I could take this one down just a bit more but it isn’t necessary.

All the pieces are now ready to go on the lathe.

I mount the blanks on the pen mandrel using the “X” that I drew before to line up the pieces. I tend to turn my pens with the left side being the tip of the pen and the right being the end cap. It doesn’t matter how you do this, but I prefer to stay consistent. For slimline pens it doesn’t matter at all.

I’m not going to go into detail how I turn them. There are much better woodturners that you can learn that from. The important thing is that I turn it down to where it’s almost the final diameter.

Turned it down to close to the final size and shape.

I sand it to it’s final diameter and shape using cloth-backed 150-grit sanding strips. This is where having the dust collector on my lathe really comes in handy.

Sanding the pen blanks to their final diameter.

After sanding with 150-grit, I move on to 240, 320, 400 and finally 600. After each grit, I always stop the lathe and sand it left-to-right, or “with the grain”. This removes banding that can occur which is very visible since it goes across the grain of the wood.

Done sanding...for now. — Done sanding…for now.

Then I do a quick sanding with 0000 steel wool. One very important step at this point is to wipe down the sanded blank with denatured alcohol. This removes the extra sawdust while giving you a sneak peak at what the finish will do to the colors in the wood. Also, this removes surface oil from certain wood species that may keep the finish from adhering to the wood. If you skip this step with wood like Olivewood, you may find that the CA finish you apply will start to peel off at the edges almost immediately.

Here you can see one of the crappy IKEA plates that I put on my lathe for the remainder of the pen project. This thing is beat to hell. It is there to help protect the cast iron bed of the lathe.

To apply the finish you’re going to want a few things. I use a thin CA glue and a spray activator.

Additionally, I use a pair of nitrile gloves and an extra baggie that the pen kit came in. This is another trick that I picked up. I put the baggie over my first two fingers. Then I hold little pieces of paper towel that I use to wipe on the thin CA glue. When you apply CA glue, it gets pretty warm and can actually melt through the gloves. I find that using the baggies over my fingers helps the gloves last longer. Before doing this, I was typically changing my right glove with every coat of CA glue that I applied.

I will go into more detail on actually applying the CA glue in a later article. This is a photo of a pen after 8 coats of thin CA glue have been applied.

I then use a micro mesh sanding system to polish the CA glue. I sand it down using 1,500, 1,800, 2,400, 3,200, 3,500, 4,000, 6,000, 8,000 and 12,000 grit sanding sponges. I use the 1,500 grit sponge to do the bulk of the final shaping and smoothing. Also, as with the dry sanding done before, I always stop the lathe after sanding with each sponge and sand the pen going with the grain as well.

After sanding, it is ready to come off the lathe.

I lay out the pen blanks carefully so I don’t lose the orientation of each piece. Otherwise, the “X” that I drew earlier would be for nothing. I use a little scrap of 600-grit sandpaper to break the edges of the finish.

I simply angle the pen blank and carefully rotate it on the sandpaper. This removes the CA burr that has formed which if left in place can cause the finish to chip off when I press the pen together.

I have a beat up piece of scrap wood that I routed a few coves in so I can lay out the pieces without losing anything.

I use my small arbor press and a few scrap pieces of leather to put the pen nib in place.

Be careful not to put too much pressure on the pen and to guide the nib in straight.

Then I turn it upside down and press the twist mechanism into the pen. I push it in so the groove that is visible lines up with the top of the blank. It’s best to err on the side of caution. I usually press it in so it sits above the blank by a hair, then I insert the pen refill and twist it to see how the tip looks when fully extended. I also make sure that when the pen is twisted closed, the tip doesn’t still stick out past the end of the nib.

A little bit of trial and error to get this right.

Then I grab the other half of the pen and attach the clip and end cap. You want to be careful that you have the orientation right. I also look for a part of the wood that had rather boring features and line up the clip there, although that can be adjusted after assembly.

Then I’m done.

Here are some photos of the finished pens.

I hope that this was helpful. If you have any techniques or tricks to share, please leave them in the comments section below. Also, please consider signing up for my mailing list to be notified of future articles. I am also available on social media and can be reached at the links below.

All done with two slabs cut to 5' and 2' in length.

Workbench: Part 5 – Cutting the benchtop to size

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisJanuary 22, 2017December 10, 2021One Comment

This is a continuation of Workbench: Part 4 – Gluing up the new top.

The top is all glued up so now I need to strengthen it by attaching 1/2″ plywood to the underside. I can then cut it down to the final size to prepare it for finishing.

Looking at the underside of the glued up benchtop.

There were a few spots of glue squeeze-out that I decided to remove so they don’t interfere with attaching the benchtop to the plywood. I just scraped them flat with a chisel.

Removing the glue squeeze-out with a chisel.

I am attaching two sheets of 1/2″ plywood cut to 2′ X 4′ pieces. I laid them out to see which would be the best placement for them. The benchtop so far is about 25″ deep so there will be a lip overhanging the plywood at both the front and back. My initial plan was to cut the front and back edges flat then attach a border, but that plan changed, as you’ll see in a moment.

Laying out the 1/2" plywood. — Laying out the 1/2″ plywood.

I am using Loctite PL 510 construction adhesive to attach the plywood to the benchtop.

LocTite PL 510 construction adhesive for attaching the plywood.

I ran a bead of the construction adhesive down the length of each strip of flooring. This is, of course, working on the underside of the benchtop. Then I placed the plywood sheets on top of that. I tried to get it relatively centered.

Attaching the plywood with the construction adhesive.

I clamped and cauled the plywood sheets to the benchtop and let it dry for 24 hours.

My original plan was to mill down some more of the flooring scraps and make a border along the front and back of the benchtop that was 1-1/4″ tall and 1/2″ deep. This was mostly to cover the plywood that is being attached to the underside of the benchtop. I started by cutting the tongue off the side of the flooring pieces.

Cutting the tongue off several pieces of flooring.

After that I cut off the groove on the opposite side.

Removing the groove from several pieces of flooring.

Then I trimmed the tongues and grooves off each of the ends.

Using the miter gauge to remove the tongues and grooves from the ends.

Finally I trimmed off the grooves along the bottom of the flooring pieces. I also ended up shaving a bit off the tops just to clean them up.

Cutting the grooves off the bottoms of the flooring pieces.

This left me with some nice oak stock to use for the front and rear trim.

Now this gives me some nice usable stock to work with.

The final width of each piece was a little over 1-7/8″ wide…

This leaves me with ~1-7/8" of material to work with. — This leaves me with ~1-7/8″ of material to work with.

…and 5/8″ thick.

This gives me some nice 5/8" stock. — This gives me some nice 5/8″ stock.

I removed the clamps and cauls and decided to get my wife’s opinion on the front and rear trim idea. I’m glad I did. She had the idea of just cutting the milled stock into strips and gluing them to the lip, therefore just covering the plywood and not the edges of the oak flooring.

The lip runs the whole length of the benchtop on both the front and back.

I cut some of the milled oak stock down to usuable pieces. I decided to just make them 5/8″ X 5/8″.

Cutting the oak stock into 5/8" X 5/8" strips. — Cutting the oak stock into 5/8″ X 5/8″ strips.

I was able to get enough strips by cutting down just 4 of the milled oak pieces. This leaves me with some more milled oak stock to use for other projects.

I laid out the pieces and applied a bead of Titebond 2 to the lip.

Applied a bead of Titebond 2 to the lip on the underside of the workbench.

I attached the oak strips and clamped them in place with small quick-release clamps.

Holding the strip in place with some small clamps.

The strips wanted to pull away from the plywood in a few spots so I used some larger clamps to apply lateral pressure. I don’t have a lot of clamps that are over 24″ so I had to get creative with some of them, but it all worked fine in the end.

Getting creative with some clamps that are just a bit too short.

After the glue dried I did the same thing for the back of the bench.

Applying some lateral pressure with some larger clamps.

There was some glue squeeze-out on the underside of the benchtop.

I used a random orbital sander on the entire surface of the underside and…

Sanding the bottom smooth to get rid of the glue squeeze-out.

…it looks a lot better now.

Now it was time to cut everything down to size. I took the glued up benchtop to my SawStop table saw so I could trim off one end.

Trimming off the edges of the benchtop at the SawStop table saw using my sliding crosscut table.

The ends of the workbench will be covered in metal. I’ll get to that in a future article. All I need now is for them to be flat.

I then trimmed off the opposite end.

Trimming off the opposite edge at the table saw.

It looks so much better now that I have trimmed off the excess on the ends.

I then trimmed the excess material off the front and the back.

Trimming the front edge at the table saw.

This was the look I was going for.

The benchtop was pretty unwieldy since it was so huge. As a result, the table saw left some burning on the edges.

The table saw caused a little burning on the edges.

The random orbital sander easily removed the burn marks.

The burning is easily removed with a random orbital sander.

The plan was to turn this into a 5′ long workbench with a 2′ long flip-down wing. I marked the benchtop at 5′.

Marking the benchtop at 5'. — Marking the benchtop at 5′.

I used my SawStop sliding crosscut table to cut the workbench at the 5′ mark.

Cutting the benchtop to length using the SawStop sliding crosscut table.

The sliding crosscut table makes it very easy to perform this type of cut.

Cutting it down at 5'. — Cutting it down at 5′.

It cut cleanly and didn’t really burn it except for where I stopped pushing the material so I could take the picture above. A little sanding and it disappeared.

The workbench is now cut to the final size and is ready to be finished.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I’d love to hear from you.

Back to Workbench: Part 4 – Gluing up the new top

Back to Workbench: Part 3 – Change of plans

Back to Workbench: Part 2 – Gluing up the top

Back to Workbench: Part 1 – Milling down some 2 x 4s

Workbench: Part 3 – Change of plans

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisDecember 19, 2016January 12, 20173 Comments

This is a continuation of Workbench: Part 2 – Gluing up the top.

After gluing up half of the top, I repeated the process and got the other half glued up as well.

Both halves, ready to be glued together.

Once it was dry I joined them together with glue and biscuits just like I did for the individual boards.

After taking the clamps and cauls off I was left with a fairly warped but completely glued up benchtop.

At this point, the project wasn’t looking too promising. My goal was not only to make a benchtop but to see if it can be reasonably accomplished using common 2 X 4 material. Unfortunately, they are so dimensionally unstable that they do a lot of twisting and warping as they dry. Maybe if I had these sitting in my shop for a few seasons so they can thoroughly dry then the end result would have been better. Still, I was somewhat determined to make this work.

I started sanding it using a random orbital sander.

This was taking a long time so I switched to a belt sander. This want a lot faster but I was still unhappy with the results since there was so much warpage to this. I know I can eventually get it to work but I’ll have to remove so much material that it won’t be as sturdy as I want it.

It was at this time that my wife asked if I had any of the leftover wood from our newly installed hard-wood floors. She had the idea that I can just use that since it already has the tongue-and-groove in place, plus she likes the look of oak more than fir. Normally, I’m not a fan of oak but I had to agree that this would look better and be stronger even though the tabletop would be 3/4″ rather than 1″.

I decided to give it a shot. I gathered up the scrap wood flooring and started laying it out. I needed to get enough material to make a 7′ X 2′ section. The plan is to have a 5′ wide bench with a 2′ wide flip up extension.

I had to cut some mating grooves in a few of the pieces but I was able to get enough material. Once it was laid out, I attached a piece of blue painters tape to each piece so I could label them.

I labelled each piece with the row (number) and which order it is in from left to right (letter)

Now, this is where this gets interesting. One of the reasons my wife wanted me to use the oak flooring is because she wanted me to try to get “mill marks” on some of the boards. Normally, I’m not a fan of faux-finishes and antiquing techniques, but this was an interesting challenge.

I tried approximating it by hand with 24 grit sanding pads and the result wasn’t pretty (as I expected). The other technique I wanted to try was to put actual milling marks on the wood.

To accomplish this, I needed to get a blade that I could damage. Specifically, I needed a 10″ table saw blade without carbides. I knew I wasn’t going to find this in the store so I would have to look for a used blade. I started my search at Habit for Humanity ReStore. I couldn’t find anything there that was 10″ so I decided to try at a pawn shop. I eventually found an old Craftsman blade that had all of my requirements and was new in the box. To top it all off, after I told them why I was getting it, they knocked $6.00 of the price.

Found a cheap 10" blade with no carbides. — Found a cheap 10″ blade with no carbides.

As you can see, it's cheap but in decent shape. — As you can see, it’s cheap but in decent shape.

To add the mill marks I took one of the teeth and bent it towards what would be the right of the blade after it was installed on the saw.

Bending one of the teeth with a pair of vice grips.

Then I installed it on my saw and made a few test cuts. I then bent it a few more times until I found the right amount.

The blade installed. The bent tooth is marked with an arrow.

Here’s a test cut. I’m going to do a bit more distressing and see the final result after I stain this wood.

Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know if you’ve tried this technique or have any other ways of distressing wood that have worked for you.
Up next: Workbench: Part 4 – Gluing up the new top.

Back to Workbench: Part 2 – Gluing up the top.

Back to Workbench Part 1 – Milling down some 2 x 4s.

Workbench: Part 2 – Gluing up the top

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisDecember 15, 2016December 19, 20168 Comments

This is a continuation of Workbench Part 1 – Milling down some 2 x 4s.

We got another snow day so this gave me an opportunity to work some more on my wife’s workbench.

Now that the boards have all been milled down, it’s time to start gluing them together.

For this project, I knew I was going to need a few sets of cauls. If you are unfamiliar with a clamping caul, read on…

A clamping caul is simply a set of boards that are used to keep the top and bottom of a wide glue-up relatively flat. Their use will make sense at the end of this article. They are extremely easy to make. I made two sets for this glue up. I started with some 1 X 3 stock that I cut down to be a few inches longer than the width of the final glue up.

The benchtop I am making is going to be 24″ deep so I made my cauls about 28″ long. There’s no need to be exact, just make it a bit longer than the final glue up.

The boards have been cut to 28" long. — The boards have been cut to 28″ long.

After cutting four pieces that are 28″ long, I took them to my oscillating belt sander. This step is optional but I find it really helps. What you want to do is add a little bit of a slope at both ends of one side of each caul.

The end goal is a set of boards that have a gap between them at the ends. This is so when you attach them, the clamps will pull them together but it won’t bow up in the middle.

After I shaped them with the sander, I covered them in packing tape so the glue won’t stick to them.

Now, time to work on the actual benchtop. First I laid the milled boards out how they will be glued together.

I am going to be using biscuits to align everything so I put little pieces of painters tape on the edges of the boards where I was planning on putting the biscuits.

Afterward, I made marks where I should center the slot for the biscuits. The placement here isn’t critical.

Next I added some tape so I could number each board. The reason I’m doing this with tape rather than just writing directly on the boards is because these boards are douglas fir and are pretty soft. I didn’t want to make indentations from a pencil on them if I could avoid it.

The boards are all numbered and in order

Using the marks I had drawn, I used my biscuit joiner to make slots at all of the marks.

Lining up the biscuit joiner to cut the slot on the mark.

Biscuit slots cut into one of the edges.

Now it’s time to try gluing this all together. I decided to do this in sections, gluing up half at a time. Setting up a few pipe clamps, I arranged the boards up so I could glue up four of the eight boards.

The boards are arranged so that the glue can be applied.

I applied a liberal amount of glue to the edges of three of the boards, including some extra glue in the biscuit slots. Then I inserted a size 10 biscuit in each slot on the three boards with glue applied.

The biscuits are in place after the glue was applied to three of the edges.

Then I carefully rotated the second, third, and fourth board and inserted some glue in those biscuit slots. After that, I laid the boards out on the clamps so the biscuits inserted into the slots on the adjacent board and started to bring the clamps together. I didn’t really tighten them that much since I needed to nudge a few of the boards with a rubber mallet to get the marks on the tape to line up again.

I got them all aligned and started to tighten up the clamps.

The glued up pieces being aligned to the marks on the tape.

Now it’s time to attach the cauls. I started by sliding one of the cauls under the glued up boards. The side of the caul that I sanded the slope onto is facing up.

The bottom part of the caul set in place.

Then I set another caul on top of the glue up with the sloped edge facing down.

Then I clamped them together. The slopes on the edges allows the cauls to bend as they “give” a little bit but will direct most of that deformity to the edges of the cauls instead of raising up off the glue up in the middle.

Both parts of the caul clamped together.

I attached the second set of cauls at the other end along with a few more clamps.

The second caul attached near the other end.

Time to wait…

After this sets up, I’ll do the same to the other half. That’s going to have to wait until another day.

Up next: Workbench Part 3 – Change of plans.

Back to Workbench Part 1 – Milling down some 2 x 4s.

Workbench: Part 1 – Milling down some 2 X 4s

Tutorials, Woodworking

Trent DavisDecember 9, 2016December 16, 20164 Comments

My wife is a lot like me in that she likes to make stuff. She wants a workbench for her studio. The design we are thinking of consists of a one-inch thick top and a metal pipe framework for the legs.

I’m going to worry about the legs later, but for now (since we had a snow day yesterday so I had the day off) I decided to work on the table top.

The look of the tabletop that I’m going for is a dark-stained pine with a lived-in look. My wife wants something with a butcher block top but she doesn’t want me spending a lot of money to make one out of maple. As an experiment, I thought I would try making this from 2 X 4s. I’m thinking it will look right but I’m more concerned about the durability. I plan on milling them down, staining them, then throwing several coats of polyurethane to hopefully make it strong enough to withstand her leatherworking, which usually consists of lots and lots of hammering.

My first step was to joint two edges of the 2 X 4s on my jointer.

After that, I cut the third side on the table saw, using the freshly jointed side as a reference against the fence.

Milling the third side on the table saw.

Lastly, I threw them through my planer to mill up the final edge.

After handling this material so much while milling it down, I’m fairly skeptical that these will be strong enough for what they’re intended for.

The next step is to glue them all up, sand them smooth, stain, and finish. That’s for another day.

What do you think? Have you ever done something like this using 2 X 4s? How has it worked for you? Let me know in the comments section below.

Part 2 – Gluing up the top...

Tag: mill

Workbench: Part 7 – Installing The Hardware

Attaching the angle iron to the ends of each piece.

Attaching the legs to the bench-top.

All finished.

Workbench: Part 6 – Finishing the benchtop

Adding a shallow rabbet on the ends of each piece.

Applying a stain to the tops and sides.

Protecting it all with polyurethane.

Previous articles in this series…

Pen-making on my lathe – Christmas 2016

For Christmas 2016, I decided to make some pens for my co-workers.

Here are some photos of the finished pens.

Workbench: Part 5 – Cutting the benchtop to size

Workbench: Part 3 – Change of plans

Workbench: Part 2 – Gluing up the top

Workbench: Part 1 – Milling down some 2 X 4s