Eli Gunnell
01-11-2007, 1:55 AM
First time post here from a real novice! I have been "lurking" for a couple of weeks, and I am in awe of some of the stuff I've seen on here. It's pretty inspiring.
Just to get started by spending next to nothing, I bought a really old, warped, cheap workbench a couple of months ago. I am sure it was a real cheapie even when new, but it had been sitting outside, was stained, dirty, moldy and warped. I believe the wood is beech. It's a small bench, about 5 feet long.
I've been working on resurfacing it by hand. I am using a LN low-angle jack plane and I've also got a LN scrub on the way (very much looking forward to that). I am using a carpenter's square to check for flatness, and there are some larger hump areas that I'm trying to plane down.
Never having undertaken this before, here is the question: Do I stand a decent chance of getting the benchtop flat with the tools I have, or will I need a jointer plane? Any other advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Just to get started by spending next to nothing, I bought a really old, warped, cheap workbench a couple of months ago. I am sure it was a real cheapie even when new, but it had been sitting outside, was stained, dirty, moldy and warped. I believe the wood is beech. It's a small bench, about 5 feet long.
I've been working on resurfacing it by hand. I am using a LN low-angle jack plane and I've also got a LN scrub on the way (very much looking forward to that). I am using a carpenter's square to check for flatness, and there are some larger hump areas that I'm trying to plane down.
Never having undertaken this before, here is the question: Do I stand a decent chance of getting the benchtop flat with the tools I have, or will I need a jointer plane? Any other advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.