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Chris Killingsworth
02-25-2014, 2:32 PM
Hello all, first post but long time reader here.

I'm building a workbench for power tool and hand tool use using the well documented SYP 2x12 or 2x10, cut out middle, face lamination technique (i.e. in schwarz's book). So far so good. I'm clamping up boards right after surface planing them one at a time, taking my time to make sure they are flush with the bench top surface. I will, of course, need to flatten the surface, but this should minimize how much I need to remove.

Anyway, last night I was adding another 8 foot x 1.5 inch x 3.5ish inch piece to the top when I noticed that the top has a slight curve in the face of the laminated bench. That is, if I looked straight down onto the top of the bench (so I've got an 8' tall rectangle that is ~13 inches wide) one 8' long edge is straight but the other has a slight curve to it. I took a chalk line and measured ~1/8 in curvature outward in the middle with the line - the line was flush at the ends. In case I'm not describing well, the top looks like the letter D if the curve of the D was very, very slight - I hope that makes sense.

Anyway, my instinct is that this won't matter one bit, but since I'm ~ half way through my lamination, I wanted to double check that it doesn't matter. If it does, I'm hoping there's something I can do to correct it.

Thanks for any help!
Chris

Dave Richards
02-25-2014, 3:47 PM
If you still have to do anything on that edge, I'd be inclined to straighten it before continuing. You could run a straight pattern trimming router bit along a straight edge clamped to the bench to get it started.

Chris Killingsworth
02-25-2014, 6:21 PM
Thanks for the reply. I don't have a long enough pattern bit but I'll probably try a straight edge and a circular saw then flush bit the rest.

-Chris