Workbench advise, almost no pun intended

[Ed in Tampa]

I think everyone knows I have been trying to decide what to do with my shop layout. My workbench was my pride and joy. What I had done was after pricing rock hard maple I found a place selling sections of bowling alley. So I bought a six foot section and split it in half to make a bench top. I framed it with more maple with some walnut accents and using dovetail jointer it looked nice. I loved it.

However after all this talk about workbenches and etc. I began to check out my top. Much to my amazement and dismay I found my top was warping in and out of perfectly flat daily. I'm at a total lost to explain it all but putting a straight edge across the top at the same marked location shows variations from perfectly flat to cupped to a dip. I used two known straight edges and checked and rechecked my results. The top was moving more than worm on a hot plate.

I'm seriously considering dumping the top with all it's classy dovetails and inlays and manufacturing a top made for two thicknesses of 3/4 MDF and either topped with hard fiber board so it can easily be replaced or just using poly on the MDF.

I don't think Birch ply is a good idea by the way, not stable enough or able to stand up to much abuse.

This top won't look nearly as nice as my present top but if you don't have a perfectly flat surface to work on your work will come out wrong. The fact the top isn't remaining perfectly flat begins to explain some of the weird things that I have had happen that were real mysteries because I assumed a flat surface on my bench. I know I have adjusted the SS at least twice figuring it was the fault and I tossed a level and a straight edge. However I fairly sure both were in fact defective.

Incidently for your info the maple bowling alley was tongue and grooved, really wide tongues and grooves. Then nailed using cut nails that peirced three boards. Sanded flat on top and finish applied on top and bottom. Framed in maple held with slidding dove tails and jointed with through dove tails. I have had it about 25 years and I would guess it to be much older.
Apparently now that I realized it is moving as it is, this movement has been happening every since it was built.

[crousetrodomis]

Ed, do you think it has anything to do with the 9 billion % humidity Tampa has to offer:D !!!! Seriously, i'd melt down there. I would think that your set up would have been perfect and i'd definiately never would have thought about using that kind of material for a workbench. (making it a very unique bench) I've used Baltic Birch in lots of projects and it seems to be very strong. I'm afraid that if I drill/drive too many holes in MDF that it would begin to crumble a little bit. ALSO, I checked the thickness of my current top and its actually only 5/8"s. The track that I already have is 1/2"d by 3/4"w. Leaving only 1/4" to play with is sort of scary. (crumble factor) Baltic Birch is very hard, sits flat in Indiana and seems to be the obvious choice to me. I think instead of using screws to hold down the track, i'm going to use small bolts and washers to keep things strurdy. If later I descide to make a rolling cabinet like whats in "Bob's Plan", i'll give my current bench to my brother, who could use a good bench for DIY projects.

(I stopped to take small break with the baby while typing this and now here's an idea)

Ed, do you think I could use a remnant counter top for my project (t-track project)?? Think about it.. Its 3/4" MDF with laminate covering. OR would routing out the channels create alot of chipping to the laminate and make it look like crap?? (for better use of the word) By using counter top.......it would be for the most part chemical resistant, easier to clean, non-maring.......

I think its got real possibilities!!!!!!! Again, that habitat for humanities sells counter top in various lengths for next to nothing. (they basically recieve peices from lowes and menards that were cut too short or wrong for special orders) HUMMMMMMM...

[ryanbp01]

Why not cut a piece of Masonit 5" long and 30" wide? Then you could use the top of your Shopsmith with the tables as a workbench? That what I use when I need to assemble something.

BPR

[Ed in Tampa]

Ed, do you think it has anything to do with the 9 billion % humidity Tampa has to offer:D !!!! Seriously, i'd melt down there. I would think that your set up would have been perfect and i'd definiately never would have thought about using that kind of material for a workbench. (making it a very unique bench) I've used Baltic Birch in lots of projects and it seems to be very strong. I'm afraid that if I drill/drive too many holes in MDF that it would begin to crumble a little bit. ALSO, I checked the thickness of my current top and its actually only 5/8"s. The track that I already have is 1/2"d by 3/4"w. Leaving only 1/4" to play with is sort of scary. (crumble factor) Baltic Birch is very hard, sits flat in Indiana and seems to be the obvious choice to me. I think instead of using screws to hold down the track, i'm going to use small bolts and washers to keep things strurdy. If later I descide to make a rolling cabinet like whats in "Bob's Plan", i'll give my current bench to my brother, who could use a good bench for DIY projects.

(I stopped to take small break with the baby while typing this and now here's an idea)

Ed, do you think I could use a remnant counter top for my project (t-track project)?? Think about it.. Its 3/4" MDF with laminate covering. OR would routing out the channels create alot of chipping to the laminate and make it look like crap?? (for better use of the word) By using counter top.......it would be for the most part chemical resistant, easier to clean, non-maring.......

I think its got real possibilities!!!!!!! Again, that habitat for humanities sells counter top in various lengths for next to nothing. (they basically recieve peices from lowes and menards that were cut too short or wrong for special orders) HUMMMMMMM...

Yes I think humidity is the culprit. I thought I had it in control but to my dismay it isn't. What is happening is each individual board in the top is reacting differently and to different degrees. One day this board will be slightly proud and the next the one beside it will be. Doesn't sound like much but when one board is slightly proud and another is slightly below level things rock and clamping surfaces become interesting. I had these little ghost of problems running around in the my shop and I couldn't figure out where they were coming from until I laid a straight edge across my bench. I did it to see if the straight edge was true because I just knew my top was. Imagine my surprise when after checking and rechecking I discovered the top was out. The even more surprised when I found out it was changing on a fairly regular basis.
While individual boards standing with edge grain is a very tough and rugged surface each board is still an individual. While this type of top really looks impressive I'm thinking MDF might be better and certainly cheaper.

However MDF and the substrate (usually particle board) used under laminate counter tops are all susceptable to swelling if exposed to enough moisture like spilled coffee, sweat for a cold drink glass, or wet rag used to clean up glue. So everything comes with its own set of problems. Now if I could find a nice thick piece of Corain that some body was tossing. It is stable, water resistant and hard enough to stand up to a most abuse but will not damage cutting surfaces.

[charlese]

Hi ED! I really think MDF is your answer. My bench is three layers of the stuff glued and screwed together. True, we don't have humidity problems, but coated with polyurethane it should hold up real well. Just think - That is the same stuff tables at Wal Mart and other stores sell. The surfaces hold up pretty well.

When I dig into my bench top, I just put on another couple coats of poly.

[crousetrodomis]

Okay, here's an update to my workbench project. Over the weekend, my wife and I went to Indy to pick up our baby's crib (which we ordered over 6 months ago.....no thanks to USA Baby ) BUT right around the corner from there is Rockler. I bought several legnths of t-track and extra added t-track jig parts. We then ate dinner and strolled over to WoodCraft (my mega store) where I purchased some UHMW plastic stock, and a couple of diffrent odds and ends totaling more than I really wanted to spend infront of my wife. Today I went to a local business that does Kustom Kounters (the actual business name and what they do ) I found that they had laminate coverings in an discounted section (1.30/lin.ft.), found a cool light colored peice (so it reflects light slightly better) and looked into some granite peices to work on some hand planes that could use a tune up. Now, for never doing any sort of laminate work........(there's a story i'll add after the main post) and figuring the price for tools, particle board, glue, the added clamping weight not to mention having a "Scrubs" moment about the appliance commerical about the guy standing in water in his basement and his girls ask him if its "going to be another circus", I figured that I would have the top made for me by the pros. For 75$, this business is going to make a top for me using the thickest laminate covering I could find and mount it to 1.5" MDP (not F) for my workbench top. I've come up with the plan that I'm going to rout a grove 3-4 inches from the back which will hold a 6' peice of t-track and up to 5 more peices that will run into the long track in the opposite direction for multidirectional clamping. The only hang up is knowing were i'm going to rout the other grooves. **STICK WITH ME ON THIS ONE OR JUST GO STRAIGHT TO THE PICTURE THATS ATTACHED** I think i'm going to make my first groove about 3 inches from the left end then make another about 16" from there. My third groove will be about 16 inches from the 2nd groove and 4th about 18 inches from that and 5th (optional) 20 inches further from the 4th. It sound confusing I know but that would allow me to be able to clamp small peices to the left side of the bench and longer peices as I go by the different legnths but always starting at the left (ususally). Therefore i'm able to clamp peices close to 68 inches in legnth if i'm thinking this out right. I might only use 4 peices and space my t-track out further if need be. I drew a diagram on my white board in the garage (everyone should have a white board in the garage, mines huge). I think its pretty easy to read but i'll explain. Black is the basic 2'X6' table top dimension. Dark Blue is the t-track, Red is the clamps/jigs I plan to make (which I have several in mind), Dark Green is obviously the board i'd be working on and yeah....I spelled Ross Perot's name wrong.....but doesnt it remind you of the stuff he did!!!!!

Now, funny story time. I was calling around to some local businesses that specialize in counter tops and cabinets. One particular business I called, a woman answered. I told her what I needed (2'X6' top with no back splash or front lip) and then told her why I wanted it that way. She then told me that it sounds like something I'd have to do at home. HERE'S WHERE I MESSED UP-- I mentioned that I was a woodworker and that I had never delt with laminate coverings before and that I thought it would be best if I allowed a professional to handle my heavy work. She started laughing and said "Wait a minute.......you call yourself a woodworker and you dont know how to do laminates!!!!!" I dropped my head to the floor and all I could say was "well, I didnt say I was a good one........" Needless to say, I felt like an idiot. She did give me some good suggestions after that but I still could have jumped through the phone line rung her neck. ANYWAY she was the one who suggested the business I bought my top from today. PLUS, its going to be done by tommorrow.

I'm out for the night but thanks for reading and i'm still open for suggestions. I'll post more pictures of my work in progress but PLEASE if anyone can think of something that might be helpfull..........TYPE IT!!!!!!

[crousetrodomis]

Being that i'm awake still and thinking about this project I decided to clear off the workbench and place some T-track to see some of the possible set-ups. Heck, you guys can even vote on which one you like best. I'm thinking that i'm going to have to cut at least one of my 4 foot peices for some set ups. I've got 14 feet of t-track and i'm trying to come up with the best setup to cover not quite but almost the entire workbench. Take another look and tell me which of the 3 set-ups you guys like.

I have my favorite one of the 3 but for kicks, whats yours. (and/or what would you change to make the top better)

[brown_hawk]

By a long shot.

A woodworkers vice on the end would allow long clamping without any shims, etc. A woodworkers vice on the side would give three stop distances that way. For that matter, just two channels would probably work as well. Remember that most benches have only two rows of holes running the length. I'd just go the whole length, and not bother with the two cross pieces at the end

Even without the vices, the three (or 2) parallel channels and some hold down clamps will have an amazing amount of flexability. The other two setups seem to have the channels a little far apart if you start working on small pieces.

If you remember to poly the groves before putting in the channel, AND drop some poly in the screw holes, it should be fairly spill proof. And some poly on the bottom for insurance.

And DANG YOU!! Now I'm thinking that routing a couple of channels in my present workbench might be a good idea. As if I don't have enough projects already!

Hawk

[knottythumbs]

Okay, so, I'm in the process of building my wonderbench with t-track. I salvaged a few solid wood commercial doors and will use at least one as a bench top. Got any pictures of your completed bench with the track installed? Now that it's done, what might you do differently?

[timster68]

I'm still planning on making that work bench however since I'm in the business of workbenches right now I think I'm going to make an upgrade on my existing one. I know that in my last post I was really pushing the reilability of my 3/4" MDF top but I think i'm going to do some editing on it. (really more of a deletion actually) The top is 6' by 2' with a 4" bench vise mounted to the right corner. I think i'm going to completely replace that top with 3/4" baltic birch BUT i'm going to rout out sections for adding T-track. I'm going to have a 6' section about 5" from the back wall and then 3 or 4 channels of 16-18" track running up to the 6' track. I got the idea because a while back I was pulling free plans off the internet and ran into this one: http://www.bobsplans.com/FreePlans/DNLD/Workbench.pdf Now, I'm not too sure if I could pull off the t-track on the sides like Bob's theory due inpart that my bench is made of angled steel but I believe making my top more accessable to home made style clamps and jig peices from Rockler or Wood craft would be to my benefit. Here in Muncie, we have a outlet store that is ran by habitat for humanity where I could get steaply discounted cabinets to atleast save me some time and money to make Bob's workbench (which I do think is pretty cool) and have actually though about removing my current workbench with "Bob's Bench". (having a small area could make that useful, I could place my ShopSmith on that wall and move my work bench to the other........but thats just thinking um.....outloud??) ANYHOW, I'm planning on making clamps for my T-track out of UHMW stock and cutting it down into jigs like in Bob's plan. I dont know if I'm going to place my Bench vise back on the bench or if i'm going to add it to a base where I could slide it into the t-track for a "modular design". I also thought about making two 6' tracks down the legnth of my workbench and making sort of a grid system. Has anyone ever used T-track like this or have any suggestions??????

To Bob's credit, I did make his router table which I did use until I bought my Kreg Table. (the making of said table resulted in slight injury....ie...see pictures)

What did you use here on your router table. I have the plans for the workbench and I'm i the middle of cutting shelves, etc, so I haven't gotten to the tops yet. If I recall, the plans for the bench mention using 2 sheets of MDF so the support of the top piece with the miter slots isn't an issue - just what to put on top. Maybe just many coats polyurathane & wax - I haven't quite gotten there yet.

-Tim