Workbench fix question (stupid mistake)

[Rich Person]

I am making a workbench/assembly table with a 36"x84" top made of 4 layers (1xply, 3xMDF) of 3/4" material. I had that much done and was getting ready to put a 1/4" maple ply top on it, just pryor to adding 8/4 maple apron. The MDF top was a little high in the middle (3/16") of the long axis, but flat across the short axis.

General mistake: Time is at a premium in my life now, so I rushed the application of the 1/4" top.

Specific mistake: I used too much glue for the final layer and didn't have appropriately spaced cauls to flatten it.

So, now I have a top that has nice ripples in it in odd locations. I figure I have two solutions:

1) make a table flattening jig and use my router to flatten the top (through the 1/4" ply) and then correctly glue a thicker top piece over the resulting ugly, but flat, top.

2) remove the top from the legs, cut it up and toss it (full of screws); go buy some Veritas bench slabs and mount them onto my level legs, and finish my apron as above.

I don't have time to build a top from scratch or I would. Any thoughts?

[Vaughn McMillan]

Rich, if money isn't an issue, then I'd vote for option #2. That said. option #1 should save you some money though, and yield good results, as long as you don't rush things again. (With a name like yours, maybe saving the money isn't an issue. :D )

Seems lately I spend more time on my projects fixing problems than actually building the darned project. And of course, the vast majority of my problems are self-inflicted as the result of being in a hurry. Ironically, it's usually the "finish" where things start to get dicey. :o

- Vaughn

[Norman Hitt]

Rich, I may be wrong, but I would be a little Leery myself of mixing plywood and MDF together in a lamination I wanted to remain flat, and especially using the two different thicknesses of material as well. I hope you find a satisfactory "Fix" for your problem though, and that it all works out. If time is the most important factor though, I would definitely go with option 2.

[Joe Jensen]

Rich, I am planning a new outfeed table/assembly table/router table for my shop. I've spent a lot of time researching and thinking about the top and how to construct the most stable and tough top. Here are my thoughts;
1) Mixing MDF and plywood could cause warping problems if you don't balance the panel, meaning if you use 1/4 plywood on the top, then use 1/4 plyood on the bottom.
2) 1/4 maple plywood is not a very durable work surface. I'd either flatten the whole thing and put something tougher on the top, and balance by putting it on the bottom, or I'd start over.

[Rick Thom]

Rich, bit of a delema.
Wonder if a few minutes with a belt sander using a finer grit paper (and a light touch) followed by an in-line hand-held sander would knock off the high points in short order. You might need to use some filler if voids are left in the ply. If this works out, then I would be inclined to cover with 1/4" hardboard, fastened using 1/2" long countersunk screws.Much tougher and more durable than maple plywood.
This isn't an elegant solution or 'fine woodworking', but should get you in business with minimum expenditure of time, energy and money. Go for the permanent solution when the time is right.
That top you made must be HEAVY

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

It's a bench top. It's a work surface. I use mine in the most horrendous of ways driving screws into it or pounding nails in it -whatever I need to do to do what I'm trying to do. In short it's just a tool made from wood.

I don't think I'd ever consider building one of those fancy schmancy laminated maple or beech tops as I'd have to stop work just to weep each time I drove a nail in it.

Given the above I submit you just "git 'r done" the fastest way possible and start using it.

[Mark Pruitt]

Hmmm........any way you could flip the thing over and attach a new "top"?

[Joe Jensen]

Mark, you win the prize for efficiency today. Brilliant solution...joe

[Rich Person]

Hmmm........any way you could flip the thing over and attach a new "top"?

Ah, an option I hadn't considered. Thank you. I could rough sand the current top, add a 3/4 ply to balance it, flip it over (oh my back) and then add a new top surface (hard board?).

I'll have to sit down, look at it and see if that looks like a workable option.