cheap tough workshop table

[Scott Perkins47]

I have 4 or 5 new construction residential homes going
up within a half mile of me and I have an almost unlimited
amount of 2x4 and 2x6 cutoffs available to me ( in the dumpsters)
and I have already brought home a pickup truck full for firewood
and kindling. It occurs to me that I could glue these boards
together and either get a 3.5 or 5.5 inch thick table top
for only the cost of the glue. But I expect it would take
a ton of glue. My guess is probably two gallons to be applied
with paint brush and I wonder if the project is worth the
cost of the glue? Any ideas on the cost of that much glue
and where to buy in such larger quantities ?

I know epoxy and wood glue would be the most expensive,
and was thinking that the 2 part polyester used with fiberglass
fabric in boat-hulls comes in large containers and more
affordable. The question is would it be strong enough if
used as glue ?

What else would be a good use of all those lumber scraps
glued up to make thick planks ?

[Roy Harding]

My Grandfather made me my first workbench top out of 2X4's (actually, it was his workbench, then became mine). He didn't use glue - he ran threaded rods through the whole thing and tightened up the rods with nuts which were recessed into the face of the outside pieces. It wasn't good woodworking workbench top per se - but was extremely useful for general purpose work (fixing broken "stuff" mostly).

If I were to glue up such a top, I'd use regular wood glue, applied with a small paint roller rather than a brush, and I'd run the surfaces to be glued over the jointer and through the planer to flatten them properly. That said you want to be REAL careful regarding staples/screws/nails that may be lurking in there.

[Mike Heidrick]

Just get the wood nice and dry before starting anything.

A gallon of titebond 3 is $23 at Lowes.

[Scott Perkins47]

the threaded rod would be a good idea if I had long pieces of wood. The wood I
will use will be mostly 1 to 3 feet long and I dont have a planer or a joiner
but as graded lumber it looks good enough to glue together. Do you think
the polyester resin glue would work ? Big glue surface areas and much
better than Gorilla glue that gets all foamy with the trillions of air bubbles.

[Dave Zellers]

I don't think the faces of 2x4's will be flat enough to effectively glue together without gaps. Some will have small cups across the grain, some will have small twists along the length. If you could joint and plane the faces parallel it would work but it would be a pain gluing all those small pieces and keeping them from sliding around.

[Bill Bukovec]

I built my workbench from 2x6's from a pallet. I would think a gallon of glue should be enough.

I jointed and planed all the faces before I glued them up.

The best part about a bench like this is, if you make a mistake, just glue on a new piece. I wasn't concerned about how my looked.

It's a pretty sturdy bench, but of course not as heavy as maple.

The pine bench is a good "practice" bench. Meaning you will learn from your mistakes. Someday I plan to make a new one using hardwood.

Bill

[John Schweikert]

I've never seen 2x4 material to be exactly the same dimensions to sandwich many together and glue as is. Wood glue is not a gap filler like epoxy is. Jointing and planing would be a must in my mind.

[Jacob Reverb]

I think polyester resin will be marginal as a glue for your application. It works for gluing FG cloth to wood, but for this I see these shortcomings:
1. Adhesive strength is nowhere near something like Titebond.
2. Pot life is probably shorter.
3. It's no cheaper, and from most sources more expensive, than Titebond.

Also, I don't think you need to have glue on every square inch of the mating surfaces. I'd probably put a 3.5" x 3.5" area of glue every foot or so.

I think if I was gonna do it, I would glue & clamp two "layers" at a time, let the glue dry, then run through a planer to get parallel faces. Make several of these 2-layer glueups, and run them through a planer to get parallel sides, then glue several of the 2-layer composites together at once to get your bench top.

[Bryan Slimp]

"I dont have a planer or a joiner"

I think is the key to what you're trying to do (or probably shouldn't try to do.) If it's not flat/square/parallel you're going to be frustrated. Dimensional lumber is really wet (or it seems to be around here.) I tried to make panels for a toy box a few years back out of short lengths of lumber and ended up wasting more time and effort than anything else. As it dried it twisted, cupped, and snapped all of the glue joints. Tossed it out and never went back to that project.

[Roy Harding]

"I dont have a planer or a joiner"

I think is the key to what you're trying to do (or probably shouldn't try to do.) If it's not flat/square/parallel you're going to be frustrated. Dimensional lumber is really wet (or it seems to be around here.) I tried to make panels for a toy box a few years back out of short lengths of lumber and ended up wasting more time and effort than anything else. As it dried it twisted, cupped, and snapped all of the glue joints. Tossed it out and never went back to that project.

You're right about the dimensional lumber. I use a fair bit of it for chests and boxes as it's cheaper than pine, spruce, or fir (around here, anyway). I wait for a sale, then buy a bunch of 2x4's or 2X6's, or whatever, then they are stacked and stickered in the shop for a month or two before I use them.

Bringing them home from the store and attempting to use them right away is a great way to drive yourself crazy.

[Michael W. Clark]

My bench is glued up 2x4, but I purchased mine straight as possible. I ripped the edges off and glued and screwed them together. I didn't have a jointer or planer at the time. I have more tools now so would do it differently today.

If you have random lengths and shorts, I would use that for other things besides a top. Maybe shelves, shop cart frames, or legs/supports for something.

[Homer Faucett]

Here's a vote for ripped, glued and screwed. Unless you have a jointer and planer. I've planed, ripped, and glued tops from 2x6 shorts. If dried adequately, no prob.

[george newbury]

My Grandfather made me my first workbench top out of 2X4's (actually, it was his workbench, then became mine). He didn't use glue - he ran threaded rods through the whole thing and tightened up the rods with nuts which were recessed into the face of the outside pieces. It wasn't good woodworking workbench top per se - but was extremely useful for general purpose work (fixing broken "stuff" mostly).

That must have been some project plan. I've got the same workbench in my shop. Made by a different Grandfather :)

[johnny means]

2x4s are way too inexpensive for the headache your asking for.