Question for the Carpenters/Cabinet Makers

[nutoflyin]

I built a bench for a friend of mine a I used I-Joists for the frame work. They are staight and will not flex. No need to straighten them. Just my two cents worth.

[Dumorian]

The bad thing about solid lumber is it moves. Any humidity change will cause a change, as in warpage. Some folks even say the boards like to look at the moon. I'm own a small cabinet shop and if I were doing what you are after I would use 3/4" plywood at least for the band around the table. A decent grade of like shop birch should do the trick. I would not use rough grade plywood. The reason for this is generally shop birch has a poplar core whereas building plywood is often times southern yellow pine which is very likely to warp.

If you cut two 5.5" strips and glue/laminate them together you will wind up with a very stout table with what amounts to 1.5 x 5.5 as the band.

A few cross braces would be a good idea. As for legs, lumber is fine as it does not grow in length very much and a warped leg won't affect the surface unless it warps one heck of a lot.

MDF (multi-density-fiberboard) is a great top material and as was posted earlier, it is also available in 1" thickness. very nice for a workbench top. It could also be used for the bands but would not be as strong as the plywood.

I would suggest using 3/4" x 3/4" screw blocks to hold the table surface to the framework. Screw them around the inside perimeter just slightly below the top edge, and then cinch the top down by screwing in from the bottom. This will give you a blemishless surface (at least until the first build creates the first blemishes).

This sounds like a great project. Good luck!

[Dan767]

Doesn't MDF contain Urea Formaldehyde in the glue/resin to hold it together?

(sorry off topic)

[Dumorian]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Dan767
	Doesn't MDF contain Urea Formaldehyde in the glue/resin to hold it together? (sorry off topic)

In very small amounts these days. But this was not the question. Just like 2-stroke engines are being banned in many states. God forbid we go into CA glue fumes.

Now, back to building a table.

[mike chandley]

On my thread with the 50% extra 300 I show a step by step for a perfect table I used a 12 foot straight edge that we use building corian style countertops. I cut granite for a living but I will not go into the details of why I did not use granite instead.
Hope this helps.
good luck!

[crazyjoe]

Get an 11 7/8 x 8' micro lamb at the lumber yard they are very strait and will stay that way because they are laminated. Then rip it in half on a table saw and you will have 2 strait pieces for your sides that will stay that way forever. You can use 2x6s for cross members they are cheaper than micro lambs.

[3D1]

I have a glass company and we need to use a worktable that is 10x16 which gets soaked with water and oils and fuel from my planes which will slowly ruin MDF as I found out when making my first bench. I used 4x8 advantec flooring it has a 50yr warrantee and is $25 a sheet. very stong and is tongue and groove if you join two sheets together. I also cover the top in felt. you can sweep it off and it will grab any screws you would usually loose. but I put a old piece of glass on top when building works really good. my point is use Advantec and glue it to the framework with flooring glue.

[GSFriend]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Dumorian
	The bad thing about solid lumber is it moves. Any humidity change will cause a change, as in warpage. Some folks even say the boards like to look at the moon. I'm own a small cabinet shop and if I were doing what you are after I would use 3/4" plywood at least for the band around the table. A decent grade of like shop birch should do the trick. I would not use rough grade plywood. The reason for this is generally shop birch has a poplar core whereas building plywood is often times southern yellow pine which is very likely to warp. If you cut two 5.5" strips and glue/laminate them together you will wind up with a very stout table with what amounts to 1.5 x 5.5 as the band. A few cross braces would be a good idea. As for legs, lumber is fine as it does not grow in length very much and a warped leg won't affect the surface unless it warps one heck of a lot. MDF (multi-density-fiberboard) is a great top material and as was posted earlier, it is also available in 1" thickness. very nice for a workbench top. It could also be used for the bands but would not be as strong as the plywood. I would suggest using 3/4" x 3/4" screw blocks to hold the table surface to the framework. Screw them around the inside perimeter just slightly below the top edge, and then cinch the top down by screwing in from the bottom. This will give you a blemishless surface (at least until the first build creates the first blemishes). This sounds like a great project. Good luck!

This is IMO the best way so far two layers of plywood will not warp at all and the birch top will stay ture also.

Greg

[zoomer260]

	Quote: Originally Posted by dougpeck
	I think that's a good route to take, Ben . When you pick out the 2 X 6's at your local Home Depot (or wherever you buy at ) you can make it easier for the jointer by sighting down the edge of the board before you buy. You will be able to tell which boards are close to straight very easily. Try it a few times and you will see how easy it is. You may have to look through 20 boards to find 6 that are straight. When you take those to your local cab maker he will have an easy time making them perfectly straight. You could also save weight and add to strength by using Elmers glue on top of framework before you attach top w/screws and using a 3/4" MDF. You will get both strength and fairly light weight . You could even use 2 X 4's instead of 2 X 6's and save additional weight - but only if you glue the top on. I have a friend here in Vegas who builds my planes for me (and does a beautiful job ! ) and he uses a solid core door w/a piece of 1/2" sheetrock on top so he can cut w/o dulling his knife blade cuts. Then he simply replaces the sheetrock occasionally. The sheetrock is heavy enough that it doesn't move around much while building. If you go this simple way, make sure you use the top side of sheetrock as the back side can be very bumpy and irregular. This would certainly be a cheaper/easier way of probably getting what you want. A solid core door at Home Depot would probably cost less than $50.

This is how I topped my table also. Except I used a hollow core door and two layers of sheet rock. I figured the weight of the sheetrock sandwiching the door between it and the popular framework would work well.


I note Mike Chandley posted on this thread and his table is huge and very well made. I followed the thread where he built it.