Bench top screw on or glue on

[Nathan Callender]

H all. I've assembled the base for my Nicholson-esque bench and am about to start the laminated top. With the structure of the base, I could either glue the top or screw it on and be able to remove it and replace it in the future. So, what would you do? I had planned on screwing it down the whole time but now I'm wondering if I should just glue it while I'm at it. Structurally, I don't think it's going to make a difference in performance.

[Winton Applegate]

I will pound the table later on this one ( I have to go relight the water heater; high winds have blown it out twice in a week).
For now :


Hand tool bench tops should be solid wood so they can be planed to flatten them. Oh are you thinking laminated with the layers vertically like a "butcher block counter" (not a true butcher block with end grain up) rather than like a sheet of plywood?
The top should be very heavy
If very heavy it can just fit down over loose fitting bullet shaped dowels; only takes two to hold it in place one on each end of the base. See Klausz bench for the bullet dowel idea.

[Pat Barry]

I will pound the table later on this one ( I have to go relight the water heater; high winds have blown it out twice in a week).
For now :


Hand tool bench tops should be solid wood so they can be planed to flatten them. Oh are you thinking laminated with the layers vertically like a "butcher block counter" (not a true butcher block with end grain up) rather than like a sheet of plywood?
The top should be very heavy
If very heavy it can just fit down over loose fitting bullet shaped dowels; only takes two to hold it in place one on each end of the base. See Klausz bench for the bullet dowel idea.


I agree with the top just fitting down over dowels or tenons. The top will likely be heavy enough to be solid. I borrowed an idea from someone else's bench wherein the top of the legs have tenons that fit into blind mortises in the bottom face of the laminated top. It can be removed easily by lifting it straight up.

[Jim Matthews]

If you're having concerns about the top shifting, use pocket screws or brackets underneath the top.

You don't want hardware sticking up to snag tools, scar pretty boards or cause "leaks" from your fingers.
DAMHIKT

[Nathan Callender]

Thanks for the feedback. The dowel idea is actually very intriguing!

[Adam Maxwell]

H all. I've assembled the base for my Nicholson-esque bench and am about to start the laminated top. With the structure of the base, I could either glue the top or screw it on and be able to remove it and replace it in the future. So, what would you do? I had planned on screwing it down the whole time but now I'm wondering if I should just glue it while I'm at it. Structurally, I don't think it's going to make a difference in performance.

Nathan, I fastened my Nicholson-ish top (1-3/4" tulip poplar) down with deck screws, and no glue. Mike Siemsen glued and screwed his top down, but I've had no problems or regrets after two years of use. Of course, you counterbore the screws to avoid hitting them when flattening; I also bashed in some wooden plugs.

[John Crawford]

Here is a link to a free "extra chapter" of Schwarz's workbench book, where he discusses various options for connecting the top. I'm at about the same stage in building as you are, and found this helpful.

http://blog.lostartpress.com/2007/12/19/download-a-new-chapter-to-the-%E2%80%98workbenches%E2%80%99-book-free/

[John Vernier]

I attached the top of my Nicholson style bench with screws only, because I knew it would need to be dismantled for transport (I had freight elevator issues). I was concerned that it would work loose over time but three years on, and after one move and reassembly, it is still as sound as new. It has a heavy frame of aprons and cross-members, and screws on via wooden cleats fixed to all of these members. If I were to do it again I might just use figure-eights. I probably did overkill on the number of screws, but the bench is solid and doesn't bounce when pounded on, even though the top is just Borg 2x12s planed to about 1 1/4. I know it sounds cheap and cheesy but it does everything I need it to do, and well, so I have no regrets, and I have more options if I ever decide to modify the thing.

[Christopher Charles]

My BC split top roubo top sits on loose tenons at the tops of the legs. I also used lag bolts driven from below to attach the top to the base so I could drag it around the shop easily, or to say, without the top popping off. The bullet dowel is also a fine solution.

Good luck.

C

[Roderick Gentry]

All three of my benches just have the top sitting on the base. Two were designed to be screwed on, but I never got around to it. If I understand N benches, the top isn't all that massive. If so, I would be securing it somehow, so it can be removed makes sense.

[Brian Holcombe]

I attached mine with bolts 3/8-16 into threads tapped right into the wood. I elongated the holes in the base to allow for movement.