Replies

1. 
   Midnight | Mar 12, 2005 02:29am | #1

   dlb..

   the best solution will depend on your shop space... do you have enough space to rip a board that length??

   Personally, I don't; I'd have no option but to cross-cut ASAP to make the pieces more manageable..

   If you don't have one already, make a cut-list, study the pieces and see which makes the most eficient use of your set up....

   Mike Wallace

   Stay safe....Have fun

1. 
   DaveRicheson | Mar 12, 2005 02:50am | #2

   I tend to agree with Mike, and I have plenty ofroom for  long rip in my shop.

   I cut to length and then rip because long ripped boards tend to twist and bow more than shorter ones, depending on grain. The shorter boards do so less, and are easier to joint, as well as thickness plane..

   BTW I don't post here much. I lurk a lot and contribute what I can, mostly over in Breaktime

    

   Dave

2. 
   BG | Mar 12, 2005 03:18am | #3

   Dlb,

   I just finished building the mini-workbench, it's fun. If you can get the board home in one piece, the first thing to do is take a piece of chalk and, roughly, layout the parts on the board. Usually, I can't put a board that long in the car so I have them crosscut a chunk that'll represent a couple of parts....like maybe cross cut 50" for the top...so I come home with a 4'+ piece and a 6' piece 

    

    

   
   

   ---

   Edited 3/11/2005 7:21 pm ET by BG

1. 
   dlb | Mar 13, 2005 06:40pm | #5

   I am making the benchtop bench so I can exercise my skills in ww & so I can get some experience so that when I make a full sized bench I will feel more comfortable. Glad to hear that your went well. I look forward to completing mine.

   dlb

   .

    The Undisciplined Life Is Not Worth Examining.

2. 
   dlb | Mar 13, 2005 07:21pm | #7

   BG,

   When you made your top did you use any kind of joinery prior to gluing? I was wondering if I needed to use some dowels, a spline, ... .  My top is going to be make of red oak.

   Thanks,

   dlb

   .

    The Undisciplined Life Is Not Worth Examining.

1. 
   Tao | Mar 13, 2005 08:14pm | #8

   When you made your top did you use any kind of joinery prior to gluing?

   Dlb, a well jointed edge and plain old Titebond will do just fine. 

   I have made or overseen the production of literally thousands of solid case good parts and table tops using that method, and never had a joint failure in the field.  As part of quality control, we did a fair amount of destructive testing and found that the tops very rarely broke on a glue joint, but almost always through untouched wood. Even when part of a break was on the joint, most  of the break still went through raw wood, indicating that the joint was stronger than the wood.

   In my experience, biscuits and splines don't help that much with alignment, either.  Staright boards and careful assembly take less time and actually produce better results for me than relying on biscuits or splines ever did.

   Michael R

2. 
   BG | Mar 13, 2005 08:30pm | #9

   dlb,

   Woodwiz said it all and has lots more experience than I. However, I did make a couple of modifications that I think help the basic design. First, I made it a bit less tall for my own comfort on top of my workbench.(I'm 6'3") You don't have a workbench yet to guage that...  Also, I put two dado's on the underside of the top that locks in the base structure.  That allows me to let the top float(expand and contract) around the screws and still have a very solid feel to the top.  Lastly, I put a 3/4" hole in the base feet/runners so I could drop a dog through to the workbench doghole for greater stability while in use. 

3. 
   Pondfish | Mar 12, 2005 03:39am | #4

   You most definitely want to cross cut first, then rip.  Add +1 inch to the cross cut length.

   Reasons to xcut first are (1) if you have twist, warp, or bow (and you will) the amount is less over the shorter distance; and (2) it's easier to handle a short board when ripping than a long board.

   You don't need to cross cut long boards on a table saw; a chop saw or even a circular saw are fine for making the initial rough (cross) cuts.  Do the final cross cut once all the boards are glued up.

   Good luck, and never be afraid to ask even the most basic of questions.  That's what the board is all about!

1. 
   dlb | Mar 13, 2005 06:47pm | #6

   Thanks for the advice. I didn't think about making a rough cut first with my circular saw then a finished cut on my ts. That is a great idea and it moves the worry concerning exactness from the initial stages of the project to the fininshing stages where you can concentrate more on exactness - I think I am correct about that.

   Thanks again,

   dlb

   .

    The Undisciplined Life Is Not Worth Examining.

4. 
   81treehouse | Mar 14, 2005 05:17am | #10

   I may be too late but this is important....

   Always rough cut fist and larger than the finished piece dimensions.  All solid wood will move after cutting.  It will twist, bend, warp, shrink, grow, end check, etc.  Give it a couple of days to become stable prior to any finish cut.

    

   A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
5. 
   frenchy | Mar 14, 2005 08:02pm | #11

   dlb

       a chunk of maple like that should cost you right around $20.00(I'm assuming all white hard maple FAS grade)  please tell me that you didn't pay more than that.. if you did please ask and I'll tell you how to buy wood at those sort of prices..

1. 
   dlb | Mar 15, 2005 02:58am | #15

   If you did not get my e-mail send a test e-mail to me.

   thenks,

   dlb

    The Undisciplined Life Is Not Worth Examining.

6. 
   pine | Mar 14, 2005 08:31pm | #12

   Hi

   Ripping a long board on a table saw can be tricky , if not dangerous in inexperienced hands.

   Cross cut first, then rip.

   Regards from Africa

   A F Pienaar

   Ps . Your local lumber merchant  should have software that will set out a cost efficient cutting list

7. 
   Steinmetz | Mar 14, 2005 09:11pm | #13

   Dib, most of the previous posts make good sensEspecially prior crosscutting and a waiting period for the material to adjust to the ambient temperature/humidity
   One caution however is not to expect the edges of the boards to be parallel even if your crosscuts are perpendicular.

   Make all (Or most) of the initial crosscuts reasonably at 90 degs
   Then joint (Or rip) all the left sides perfectly straight

   Rip all jointed sections to finish width
   Then, rip the remaining sections to size,
   using the cut side against the fence

   NOW set the sled/miter gauge to
   exactly 90 deg and crosscut BOTH ends of each to finish size.

   Steinmetz

1. 
   dlb | Mar 15, 2005 02:54am | #14

   Thanks for the input. I will give the procedure a try. I was thinking the other evening about the fact that I need to establish a method by which I will aproach cutting lumber. Your's sounds like a very reasonable one.

   dlb

   .

    The Undisciplined Life Is Not Worth Examining.