Replies

1. 
   Andrew | Apr 28, 2003 05:31am | #1

   There's nothing stopping you, but if this is going to be the last bench you build, I'd go for something harder like maple. One thing that I found helped make the glueup for my bench top easier is to glue up in sections so you don't have to wrestle an entire top around in the clamps before the glue sets. It also allowed me to use my jointer on 3 8" wide sections, so there was less flattening to do when it was a whole top.

   hope this helps

   Andrew

2. 
   pauld | Apr 28, 2003 06:13am | #2

   EV,

   Your Douglas Fir will work beautifully for the legs and support structure, but it wouldn't be my first choice for the bench top -- although hard and strong, it tends to splinter and exposed edges would be likely to fragment.

   If you'd like to take advantage of the supply of DF you have on hand, you may want to consider using it as structural sub-base and covering it with a removeable skin of homogeneous sheet goods.

   BTW, buy ALL of your hardware before you start cutting lumber.

   Good luck,
   Paul 

3. 
   EdHarrison | Apr 28, 2003 06:40am | #3

   I made my bench from Douglas Fir, including the top. I used 4X4 beams and the top is better than 3 inches thick. The bench lives out on my porch where it gets natural sunlight in the a.m. and will go into my study in the winter. The combination of the orange dewaxed shellac that I finished it with and the sunlight is turning the top into shades of orange and salmon I didn't know existed. I am loath to do anything that will damage the top and usually throw a piece of plywood on it when chopping dovetails or something.

   The trim pieces (i.e vice cheek, plane stop, saw stop, bench dogs) I made from whatever scrap of exotic hardwood I had at hand (Jarrah, teak, mahogany).

   I thought it was fairly easy, satisfying and a learning experience to get the top flat and level with a wood like DF. I am still learning my way around using my No. 7 jointer plane and that dude really came into its own in flattening the bench top.

   Good luck.

4. 
   RANGERP75R | Apr 28, 2003 07:13am | #4

   ev

      Agree with Paul and Ed. I have seen DF timbers come out of building 100 years old and they were as straight as the day they were put in. It's hard to get that grade of DF anymore without rrecovering it from older building that are being taken down.

      It was common many years ago to use DF for framing timbers as it was straight an pretty stable. It will splinter as mentioned if you attack it wrong. I would as Ed and Paul cover it with a sheet of something. I simply use MDF as it is about .004 flat off the shelf and cheap to replace. You can gouge it, get stain an paint on it, scratch it; so what. Replace it very cheaply with a new sheet every so often or just lightly sand it and re-seal.

   Just my opinion.... Good Luck...

   sarge..jt

5. 
   crt2cu2 | May 01, 2003 08:00am | #5

   EV,

   I also recycled a fair amount of Doug Fir two years ago. Most of the wood went into glued up fence posts but some remained for shop needs. If you can, try to orient the glue up so quartersawn grain is on the top of your bench. This may become self explanatory once you start surfacing the stock. For example, the old Doug Fir I had really pecked and splintered badly on the face grain regardless of how I ran it through the planer. However, quartersawn edges were pretty nice. A bit of advice- wear gloves while handling such old dry stock. I think my paws still have bits of fir splinters even after a finished project more than a two years ago!!

   sawick

6. 
   jase | May 01, 2003 09:59pm | #6

   I am nearly finished with a Doug fir bench i made. Laminated 2x4s for the top, 4x4s planed to 3x3 for legs, 2x8s for front and back stretchers, 2x8s and 2x4s for end stretchers. 26" x 72". Weight is 175 pounds. I just need a vise or two. Cost so far is ~$100 which includes a set of Veritas bench dogs.

   The problem I ran into with gluing the top was getting even clamping pressure. Even with 8 clamps on a pair of boards, the boards would want to push away from each other between the clamps. Does that make sense?

   My solution was to throw in some extra boards on both sides of the glue-up to even out the clamping pressure. Once if figured that out, after 4-5 glue-ups, everything went great.

   Jase--Is there a better way?