Need some help with workbench build mistakes

[Mike Palmowski]

Hey guys, I am in the process of building my first real workbench and have run into a few snags that I am hoping you can help me with. When I planned the build I designed the legs to be flush with the front and back of the top, but after milling and gluing the the top came up about a 1/4" shy.... The only options I can come up with is to either add another boars to the back side, or maybe trim it with a piece of hardwood and bail on am chance of adding a leg vise down the road.

The bench is assembled upside down on my old bench and I'm thinking that I should probably finish the legs now, then finish the top after I flatten it. Thoughts? Also What should I use to finish this Douglas Fir? Stain followed by? Or no stain at all, and oil it? I know nothing about finishes. Thanks as always for any ideas you might have.

[Michael Peet]

Hi Mike,

So is the base already assembled and you are trying to match the width of the top to the base? If so I would just add a thin board to the top to bring it to the correct width. A leg vise is very nice and I would hate to see you build in such a way as to prevent that in the future. Also, it may be easier to add the leg vise now if your base is not permanently assembled yet.

I would not stain it, as a lighter colored work surface might be easier on the eyes. Personally, I would not add oil or any other slippery substance to the top, but others will have different opinions on the finish.

Good luck!

Mike

[Kenneth Speed]

Mike,


Many of us here are mistake pros inasmuch as we've probably made them all at one time or another.

UM... you don't really give a lot of information about the workbench but the first possible fix that comes to my mind is the addition of a tool tray to the back of the bench. Personally, I hate the things almost as much as I hate a root canal but it could fix your problem.

Ken

[David Kumm]

I'm assuming the legs are already attached to the stringers so you can't plane 1/4 inch off the front. You could add a thicker board on the front of the top and also add to the front of the legs to match. Thicker boards are easier to deal with and will look like part of the plan. Dave

[John Coloccia]

Shoot...just add a 1/4" board and move on. If that's your big mistake, you're doing OK.

[Mike Palmowski]

Here is a picture to show what I did. I am leaning towards letting the back side be the flush side and adding 3/4" maple to the small side and using it with a front vise.

[Kenneth Speed]

Workbenches are, I've discovered, intensely personal items and one man's ideal bench is junk to another. I think, generally, benches are more useful when there's an overhang on the long edge or edges. It gives you foot room for working ( like the kick on kitchen cabinets) and it also makes it easier to clamp things to the bench top.

I also much prefer a bench I can access from all sides which is one reason I really detest tool trays.

Ken

[John Coloccia]

Here is a picture to show what I did. I am leaning towards letting the back side be the flush side and adding 3/4" maple to the small side and using it with a front vise.

You mentioned a vise a couple of times. I'm not sure I understand how your choice of vice is impacted by this.

[Hovey Moore]

Just add another board to the back, not a big deal and no one will know you made a "mistake". The front should be flush to the top but the back doesn't matter. In fact if you plan on placing your bench against a wall then the over hang will touch the wall first closing up any gap so things don't roll off the back. Fir can get blotchy with stain so I would just avoid the stain. Just finish it with a coat of danish oil or boiled linseed oil. You don't want to use a finish that forms a surface film on a bench (too slippery).

[Mike Palmowski]

You mentioned a vise a couple of times. I'm not sure I understand how your choice of vice is impacted by this.

Unless I am not understanding Leg vices (good chance) I thought the top had to line up with the legs? If I added 3/4" to the 1/4" gap my table will the be proud of the legs by 1/2"

[Mike Palmowski]

Thanks Hovey, I am 99% sure I am going to do just what you mentioned. I was thinking of using BLO, but would I need to urethane or something after that? For hardness so to speak.

[Terry Beadle]

My choice would be to remove the top from the front legs. Before you do (if..hoot!), mark how much you need to remove from the front of the two legs to match the width of the top. Then if the leg assembly is dry fitted, take the front legs to the band saw and remove most of the the material. Then hand plane to dead flat. If leg assembly is already glued/screwed/bolted etc, then just take a good jack plane to the two front legs to remove the 1/8th inch what ever.

My choice is that the legs will not lose much strength from the 1/4 ~ 1/8 inch material removal where as the gluing of a thin piece to the front edge of the work top has a good chance of delaminating over time.

If I were to just widen the table top, I would cut the outter most edge table top piece from the rest of the top. Cut a new wider piece, square true, and re-glue to the table top.

The front edge of the work table always gets clamped, pounded on, re-trued etc over it's work life.

Just my 2 cents! Enjoy the process.

[Hovey Moore]

Just use one or two coats of oil. Then when it gets a little worn from use you can touch it up easily. If you use urethane, varnish and the like you can't easily touch it up. Some people recommend finishing the top with a toothed plane to leave a rougher surface to keep your work from sliding around. This is a tool not a piece of furniture (even if many of the benches posted here do look nicer than any furniture I own).

Also in case it wasn't clear you can add a partial width board to the back if you don't want the extra depth.

[Peter Hawser]

For what it's worth, I would also take it off the legs and not try to add anything to the top. You'll be fine. Top looks nice and beefy by the way.

Also, you do know all the posts of some guy showing a perfect maple with purple heart accents bench as his, "first ever wood working project done entirely by hand in candle light without running water" are total baloney! :-)

[Jim Andrew]

If you are a perfectionist, glue another piece of the same lumber to the edge, and then rip the top exactly the same as the base. Looks like a nice bench.

[Mike Heidrick]

Id take it off the legs. Either Plane it off or flush trim against a piece of mdf tacked on for a second.

[Pat Barry]

I like symmetry. I would add another full board to it, then rip front and back equally to give you the finished width you desire.

[Alan Schwabacher]

Your upper stretcher supporting the top will keep the legs from moving apart, while the crossgrain top will expand and contract with the seasons. That means you are not likely to be able to make both the front and back of the benchtop flush with the legs all the time. One option is to attach the top near the front legs, then allow movement toward the back. Another is to not worry about relatively small discrepancies. Another is to build a gap in the benchtop so that both front and back can be attached, and expansion goes to the center. Note that the bench designs with front and back legs flush to the top frequently lack short stretchers on top, and use the thick top for structure.