Jim Izat
03-01-2003, 10:09 PM
I thought I might share what I learned in the shop today on my assembly table/bench project.
I saw a bench project on the cover of (I think) American Woodworker a while back that got me started thinking it was time to make one of my own. A week ago when I realized I needed the assembly space for the bed I was working on, I got started.
I decided to make the top from pine as it was cheap, and there was no way I was going to use hardwood on a first attempt at strip lamination. I'm pretty glad I didn't. I ripped three inch strips from the 2x10s I bought at HD and let them sit over a couple three nights in the shop. Then I jointed and planed them to a final dimension of 1 3/8 by 2 7/8. I made a total of 27 strips. While the squaring up job wasn't perfect, it was pretty good. Then, of course, they sat in the shop for two more days until I could start gluing them up. I decided to glue them up in fives as that width would fit on my jointer but six wouldn't.
I was a little surprised to see that those strips that were quartersawn retained their straightness and squareness very well, while those that were slash or plainsawn by and large did not. Not detered by either experience or common sense, I dove right in and glued them up any way because I didn't want the top to turn out 3/4" thick!
Turns out the individual glue ups didn't turn out too badly. I used my besseys to pull the laminations approaching flat when necessary, and then set them aside to cook. I pulled each one from the clamps and face jointed it, edge jointed one side square to the now flat side, ripped the other side parallel and then planed to finish. I didn't lose too much dimension with either operation. The 2 3/4 x 6 1/2 inch blanks I ended up with didn't deflect at all in the planer which was a good thing.
I guess the only thing I could have done to improve this process was to sticker the construction lumber I used until it dried to maybe 12% but patience never has been my strong suit.
Tomorrow I'll glue up the top (using biscuits for alignment), throw it across a couple sawhorses when it's dry and build the rest of the bench on it.
Overall I'm pleased with my fumbling first attempt at large scale lamination, and I encourage anyone else who (like me) is hesitant to tackle the job to give it a shot. Those who are truly courageous can do it with hardwood the first time. I'm glad I used pine. Some day when I come across some hardwood that looks like it'll make a good top I'll replace the pine. Until then I won't have to cringe everytime I drop a chisel on it.
Thanks for letting me ramble on. I've never talked to anyone who'd done this before, I thought it might be helpful to share my experience with someone who hadn't had the chance either.
Jim Izat
I saw a bench project on the cover of (I think) American Woodworker a while back that got me started thinking it was time to make one of my own. A week ago when I realized I needed the assembly space for the bed I was working on, I got started.
I decided to make the top from pine as it was cheap, and there was no way I was going to use hardwood on a first attempt at strip lamination. I'm pretty glad I didn't. I ripped three inch strips from the 2x10s I bought at HD and let them sit over a couple three nights in the shop. Then I jointed and planed them to a final dimension of 1 3/8 by 2 7/8. I made a total of 27 strips. While the squaring up job wasn't perfect, it was pretty good. Then, of course, they sat in the shop for two more days until I could start gluing them up. I decided to glue them up in fives as that width would fit on my jointer but six wouldn't.
I was a little surprised to see that those strips that were quartersawn retained their straightness and squareness very well, while those that were slash or plainsawn by and large did not. Not detered by either experience or common sense, I dove right in and glued them up any way because I didn't want the top to turn out 3/4" thick!
Turns out the individual glue ups didn't turn out too badly. I used my besseys to pull the laminations approaching flat when necessary, and then set them aside to cook. I pulled each one from the clamps and face jointed it, edge jointed one side square to the now flat side, ripped the other side parallel and then planed to finish. I didn't lose too much dimension with either operation. The 2 3/4 x 6 1/2 inch blanks I ended up with didn't deflect at all in the planer which was a good thing.
I guess the only thing I could have done to improve this process was to sticker the construction lumber I used until it dried to maybe 12% but patience never has been my strong suit.
Tomorrow I'll glue up the top (using biscuits for alignment), throw it across a couple sawhorses when it's dry and build the rest of the bench on it.
Overall I'm pleased with my fumbling first attempt at large scale lamination, and I encourage anyone else who (like me) is hesitant to tackle the job to give it a shot. Those who are truly courageous can do it with hardwood the first time. I'm glad I used pine. Some day when I come across some hardwood that looks like it'll make a good top I'll replace the pine. Until then I won't have to cringe everytime I drop a chisel on it.
Thanks for letting me ramble on. I've never talked to anyone who'd done this before, I thought it might be helpful to share my experience with someone who hadn't had the chance either.
Jim Izat