BORG Edge-Glued panels for bench top

[Jim Belair]

I'm considering laminating some of these pine panels to use as a bench top. Four panels would give almost 3" total thickness. I don't want to go through the effort of gluing up dimensional lumber and shying away from a pre-made maple or beech top because of the hardness and they are generally 1 1/2 - 2" thick. Pine is a bit soft and there are some knots (the ones available around here are either lodgepole or radiata pine so a bit harder than white). To avoid (?) cupping on the glue up I'd do 2 sets of two panels, then glue the two doubles together. Anyone tried these or see any big drawbacks?

322337
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-Edge-Glued-Panel-Common-21-32-in-x-24-in-x-6-ft-Actual-0-656-in-x-23-25-in-x-72-in-493597/202017003

[Frank Martin]

Face gluing these may not end up being as easy as you think. I have not personally checked but I would expect these to have some amount of cupping. If you don't want to make it yourself, why not buy a pre-made one. Ikea has really nice beech countertops that are a bit over an inch thick. You can add a thicker apron or just a layer in under the front and back to end up with a very workable bench top at a cost not much more than raw materials with little effort.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I have used these panels from the blue borg, and moisture content was all over the place and were the pieces used to glue them up. The blue borg actually has (or maybe had) two types of panels: one type was made from full length, edge glued together, the other type was made of shorter pieces butt glued and edge glued.

If you try to do this, do not open the plastic until the moment you will begin gluing, otherwise you may have the panel start to twist and cup as it acclimates to your shop.

If your after thickness, why not explore some other options, such as buying some 2 X 10's, ripping them to 3" width, then gluing. There are a number of plans floating around the web on making a low-cost bench out of dimension lumber. Or go the IKEA route or even look at the tops on the Grizzly site.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I concur... For face gluing, I assume that you would want a press to hold things in place. This press could be made of sand bags or similar, but, you would also need to be sure that the boards were completely flat (or at least that they mated properly). I have seen people do this sort of thing with MDF type surfaces or even to place a thin hard board surface on top of a bench.

[David Eisenhauer]

If I tried this, I would use cauls to glue the two panels together to help pull them together throughout the entire panel surfaces and prevent cupping as bet possible.

[Jim Koepke]

In a different section of the BORG they should have hard wood counter tops. You may find a better bench top solution there.

jtk

[Jim Belair]

Thanks for the input all. You've convinced me not to go this route. IKEA/ BORG countertop selection is not good up here but I do have a LV store a couple of hours away so will go with this....

322364

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=67722&cat=1,41637

[Jim Koepke]

That should make a great bench top.

Hope you have a vehicle to haul it.

jtk

[Chris Hachet]

I built a hardwood bench top, it was not that difficult, actually.

[steven c newman]

Not sure IF a Menards is in the OP's area, but they have a RedOak 1-1/2 thick benchtop blanks for sale.....

[Graham Haydon]

Glad to see you went for the option from LV. Those edge glued panels from the borg are versatile but not a great choice for a lot of face glueing.

[Frank Martin]

That is a great option! Should make a great bench top.

[Phil Stone]

Thanks for the input all. You've convinced me not to go this route. IKEA/ BORG countertop selection is not good up here but I do have a LV store a couple of hours away so will go with this....

322364

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=67722&cat=1,41637

I have a similar (Bally Block) top on my bench. One caveat: don't try to handplane it. The glued-up blocks switch grain direction, and it's pretty tough to plane without tearout.

[Jim Belair]

I have a similar (Bally Block) top on my bench. One caveat: don't try to handplane it. The glued-up blocks switch grain direction, and it's pretty tough to plane without tearout.


Good to know. Thanks Phil.

[Phil Stone]

Good to know. Thanks Phil.

Sure thing. Also, keep it encased in finish. I.e., if you cut it in any way, refinish the exposed wood. I've heard that maple tops like this can cup or warp very easily if not fairly well sealed. This product
http://www.butcherblock.com/product/emmets-good-stuff/ is exactly what is on Bally Block tops (not sure about yours).