grizzly bench top

[Zach England]

I ordered one of grizzly's maple bench tops to replace my MDF top, but it is cupped at least 1/4 inch in the middle. I had read the mixed reviews, but I ordered anyway and hoped for the best. I have an e-mail off to Grizzly to see what options they will give me, but I am not optimistic for one that will work since I cannot take this thing anywhere to have it sent back. I am lousy with a handplane and besides I don't have any good ones. I do have a power planer, but that is more like using a sledge hammer when I need a tiny tack hammer. The way I see it I can

1) cut apart and re-laminate sections of the top, hoping to reduce the cup and lessen the flattening

2) go at it with a belt sander

3) make a lot of cutting boards out of it and try to locate another top from a company that will ship or deliver to me (buying locally and picking up is out of the question)

I know I should stop whining and make my own top, but I have a lot of projects I want to do right now and this is not one of them, plus mine is likely to not be much better.

[Jason White]

You can do it with a router.....

http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-tips/techniques/outfitting-woodworking-shop/how-to-flatten-an-uneven-workbench-top/

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=58




I ordered one of grizzly's maple bench tops to replace my MDF top, but it is cupped at least 1/4 inch in the middle. I had read the mixed reviews, but I ordered anyway and hoped for the best. I have an e-mail off to Grizzly to see what options they will give me, but I am not optimistic for one that will work since I cannot take this thing anywhere to have it sent back. I am lousy with a handplane and besides I don't have any good ones. I do have a power planer, but that is more like using a sledge hammer when I need a tiny tack hammer. The way I see it I can

1) cut apart and re-laminate sections of the top, hoping to reduce the cup and lessen the flattening

2) go at it with a belt sander

3) make a lot of cutting boards out of it and try to locate another top from a company that will ship or deliver to me (buying locally and picking up is out of the question)

I know I should stop whining and make my own top, but I have a lot of projects I want to do right now and this is not one of them, plus mine is likely to not be much better.

[Zach England]

I tried that on a mdf top and it went terrible wrong, but that was mdf.

[Matt Meiser]

I bought second hand, but not very used one which was another brand and US-made and it was cupped about that much. I also had some glue-ups done by my hardwood supplier which were flat when delivered and cupped while sitting in my shop so I wouldn't exactly blame Grizzly--wood moves, especially when you start moving it around to differnt locales. Even if they managed to keep it flat until it got to you, it would probably move once it acclimated to your shop.

I'm not that good with hand planes either and I got mine flat (enough.) Yeah there's some tear out. There's also a place where I accidentally plunged my domino into it so they compliment each other :rolleyes:

You could find someone with a widebelt sander, but that might put enough pressure to flatten it back out and not remove the cup. At least that's what my local supplier told me. The belt sander might work if you are good. A lot messier and probably slower than planing. You could also use rails and a bridge and flatten with the router. Also probably messier and more time consuming.

Serioiusly, just plane it.

[Zach England]

So you think I can get my rusty stanley plane that I bought at lowes for $20 up to it, or do I need to order a real plane?

[Kevin Barnett]

Are you sure it's fully equilibrated?

To me 1/4" isn't too much. I'd screw it down to make it flat. Can you do that?

[Zach England]

Are you sure it's fully equilibrated?

To me 1/4" isn't too much. I'd screw it down to make it flat. Can you do that?

Hmmm...seems too obvious...can I? It's still half in the box on my porch. Maybe I should go try it out and get off the computer?

[Zach England]

You can do it with a router.....

http://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-tips/techniques/outfitting-woodworking-shop/how-to-flatten-an-uneven-workbench-top/

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=58

Thanks for the highland link. The crossing string might have prevented the problems I had before.

[Mike Cruz]

Wait til you hear back from Grizzly. You never know, they might just send you a new one. If they do, they might tell you to give this one to the delivery guy, or to just keep the old one. Wait for their answer before you do ANYTHING.

That said, yes you could rip it into 6" widths, take them to your jointer and tablesaw, glue 'em up, and plane them. If you don't have a planer wide enough to handle the whole benchtop, plane and wide as you can and glue those sections to gether. That way you only have 1 or 2 joints to clean up.

But WAIT! You spent good money. You shouldn't HAVE to do anything!

[Alan Schaffter]

I would wait until you hear from Grizzly. Grizzly, Woodcraft, and others get their tops from Bally Block in Bally, PA. They along with their sister company Michigan Block make thousands of tops of Maple, Ash, Oak, Cherry, etc. for industry, schools, designers, and retailers every year- it is good stuff.

[Zach England]

OK, thanks for the tips. I slid the maple top over the old top and clamped it down along the edges to the point it was starting to seperate the existing top from the rails and the cup is not about 1/8 inch, which is a bit more manageable. Is it conceivable that I can force it flat as it acclimates? My bench is made out of 2x4s and 4x4s, not hardwood, but it is sturdy and very heavy. Is it more likely that the maple will adjust, or that it will pull the rest of the bench? I was going to attach the top with long lag bolts unless there is a better way.

[george wilson]

Mine was nice and flat. I think you should get it replaced. Its laminations might burst open if you screw it down real tight. Since it has finish on both sides,I think it may have taken the set before being finished.

[Zach England]

Mine was nice and flat. I think you should get it replaced. Its laminations might burst open if you screw it down real tight. Since it has finish on both sides,I think it may have taken the set before being finished.

What is that finish, anyway? I had assumed it would be unfinished and was disappointed to see that it was not. It sort of feels like wax to me. It is curious because the sticker on the bottom advises to oil it but the finish doesn't feel like it would be very permeable.

I got thinking, this supposedly comes from Washington, and it is a fair bit drier here in Utah. I am sure this plays a role, but am not sure how.

[george wilson]

It used to be acrylic lacquer,but who knows what it is now. Most likely a water based product. Someone here probably knows.

[Jason Beam]

OK, thanks for the tips. I slid the maple top over the old top and clamped it down along the edges to the point it was starting to seperate the existing top from the rails and the cup is not about 1/8 inch, which is a bit more manageable. Is it conceivable that I can force it flat as it acclimates? My bench is made out of 2x4s and 4x4s, not hardwood, but it is sturdy and very heavy. Is it more likely that the maple will adjust, or that it will pull the rest of the bench? I was going to attach the top with long lag bolts unless there is a better way.

Wait ... did you just say you laid this new solid panel on top of another panel and clamped it down?

You just sealed off one side from being able to breathe and that's not gonna go well, I assure you. To let it acclimate, set it either vertically or laid flat with stickers underneath to raise it up and let the airflow all around it. If you have a cup now, sealing off one side is probably worse for it.

[Zach England]

Yeah, I un-clamped it. I just wanted to see if I could force it into conformity.