Replies

1. 
   Midnight | May 12, 2005 02:59am | #1

   Tony... movement is the nature of the material; atmospheric conditions in your shop are bound to be totally different to those int he shop where the top was made; the movement is simply the wood adapting to be in equilibrium with your shop conditions.

   Mike Wallace

   Stay safe....Have fun

2. 
   Ole | May 12, 2005 09:13am | #2

   It's quite normal and to be expected.

   If you got access to David Charlesworths 2nd DVD Hand Planning he got some tips on planning your benchtop and he says that a craftsman will do it when it is first made and then maybe one or twice a year as wood moves....

   Ole

   .... I Love the smell of sawdust in the morning....

1. 
   woodworker418 | May 12, 2005 04:54pm | #3

   thanks for your replies, i thought that made sense but i just wanted to check. thx. tony.

3. 
   JeffHeath | May 12, 2005 05:02pm | #4

   Tony

   I plane my benchtop every 12-18 months as needed to reflatten it.  It's the norm.

   Jeff

1. 
   lumberjacksson | May 12, 2005 05:22pm | #5

   Are these benches not finished?  After planing would they need refinishing?

1. 
   BG | May 12, 2005 06:18pm | #6

   AEsarte,
   Yup, gotta refinish too after you plane.
   Little story: Last fall I was slapping on a second coat of shellac on my workbench when the mayo jar slid out of my hands and crashed on the concrete floor. Thinking about keeping a wet edge and two or three days to remelt more shellac, I bent down dipped my brush in the puddle and continued to apply the shellac. The next morning it looked great...ran my hand across the top and sliced my fingers in about 5 places. Moral of the story: reduced fat mayo comes in plastic jars... 

1. 
   lumberjacksson | May 12, 2005 08:10pm | #7

   MAYO?  Thats got a place in the shop?  Keeping a wet edge?  I'm new and apparently missing something. 

   Nothing like the look of a glass shard finish...

    

    

1. 
   BG | May 12, 2005 09:08pm | #9

   AEsarte,
   Mayo = mayonnaise..required to make a cold turkey sandwich palatable.
   Mayo Jar = what is left over after the mayo is gone...great for holding liquids, especially shellac Wet Edge = when applying shellac,which dries very quickly, you need to overlap brush strokes while the previous stroke is still wet. Glass Shard Finish = adds bling to workpiece

   Edited 5/13/2005 5:35 am ET by BG

2. 
   EdHarrison | May 13, 2005 07:21am | #10

   BG,
   What you do with that cold turkey is this:
   1) Shred with a fork.
   2) Buy a 50-pack of corn tortillas
   3) Nuke shredded turkey and some tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds.
   4) Make yourself some little turkey soft tacos and squeeze some lime juice on them. Tabasco sauce to taste. Forget the mayo.
   5) Celebrate all the calories that you saved by not using the mayo by washing that down with an adult beverage.
   6) Repeat often: "It's always Cinco De Mayo around here!"Sorry, don't have time to straighten you out on the shellac problems. Take care, EdWorkbench question: If you actually use your workbench to make things it will get pretty gnarly after the passage of time, in addition to flattening issue. You will probably want to re-plane and refinish, anyway.

3. 
   lumberjacksson | May 13, 2005 05:32pm | #11

   lol

4. 
   forestgirl | May 13, 2005 05:52pm | #13

   "Nothing like the look of a glass shard finish..."  Must be the light-reflective qualities, eh?  Wonder if Jeff Jewitt's caught wind of this yet?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   forestgirl | May 13, 2005 05:50pm | #12

   Too funny! 

   Peanut butter and Nutella also come in nice plastic jars. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

3. 
   WillGeorge | May 13, 2005 06:34pm | #14

   Mayo Jar...

   I dip mine in that rubber stuff you put on tool handles.. If I drop it ... it just bounces back onto the table...

1. 
   BG | May 13, 2005 10:07pm | #15

   Will,"If I drop it ... it just bounces back onto the table..."It sounds like you've gotem well trained too....lol 

4. 
   Napie | May 12, 2005 09:03pm | #8

   Spend a total of $500 or less on vices and material and build your own.  A thousand bucks will buy a lot of great hand tools.  It’s a great project and one you will always be proud of.  A woodworker should always build his own bench and tool box. I built this last bench of mine 9 years ago, it gets resurfaced at least once, maybe twice a year.  Also, I use NO finish at all, the bare wood seems to grip the stock better.