Best method to Square top?

[Jay Yoder]

Hey all, Happy Thanksgiving! I have a quick question and wanted to get some input. I recently trued up the surface of my bowling alley workbench and would like to add a front face vice. Unfortunately, the front is not squared to the fresh top. Any thoughts on truing it up to install a face vice? It is constructed of hard maple and is about 2" thick. I was thinking that maybe I could use a router with a long bit or use a power planer on its side? Anyone ever run into this issue? Thanks!

[John Sanford]

A long 1/2" diameter bit is one way. Another would be a power or hand plane, but with those keeping a 90deg edge will be a bit more difficult.

[Frederick Skelly]

Jay, How far out of true are you? I flattened my top last spring and never squared the face - my vise works fine. (Dont know if thats true for all vises though.)

Ive never routed anything that thick so Id be a little reluctant to trim that face with a long router bit. Id have some safety concerns from that long, exposed bit. Id also be concerned about keeping that router perfectly flat/true for the whole length/width if that cut in a very hard wood. But thats just me.

Can you still turn the top on its side, so that the front edge is "up"? If so, Id use a long hand plane - a #7 or #8. Another idea, if you can take off the top off, is to take it to a cabinet shop that has a large jointer.

Good luck!

Fred

[Howard Acheson]

Be careful working with bowling alley wood. The strips are nailed together using a gazillion nails, not glued. Therefore you are likely to run into nails if you do any machining.

[Jamie Buxton]

I'd be concerned about using a long router bit. If the router tips just a bit, you get a gouge, or the router jerks out of control. If the edge needs a large amount of wood removed, I'd use track saw, and clean the face up with a hand plane or hand sanding. If you don't have a track saw, use a circular saw guided by a straightedge. Before you cut the actual bench, tune the bevel setting on the saw by trial and error on some other thick material. However, if the bench edge doesn't need a lot of material removed, careful hand planing should do the job.

[Jay Jolliffe]

How about a straight edge with a router and a pattern bit.301069 After the first cut the bearing should follow the cut before...A long bit may flex to much @ 2"....I have used a long bit to do mortices 4'' deep in doors & that worked out fine by taking a small amount at a time. Even on end grain....