r/Workbenches • u/Purple_Pay_4361 • 2d ago
Pay absolutely no mind to the miter gaps
Just about finished this up, just need to center and secure the top. It’s 2x4s for now, just to see if I like the style of the bench.
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u/Strict_Lettuce3233 1d ago
Dang I can see them from space, but noice bench, considering
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u/Portercableco 1d ago
Looking solid! Do you have a lot of people trying to rent out the wide belt?
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u/carjac75 9h ago
How much do you charge to use the wide belt sander?
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u/Purple_Pay_4361 4h ago
No wide belt! DENIED!
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u/carjac75 4h ago
I just had to ask, since you have that very lovely inviting sign...
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u/Purple_Pay_4361 4h ago
It’s for the trucks we rent to ship our stuff out. We just happen to keep it on a machine that a lot of people ask to rent out lol.
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u/bcurrant15 1d ago
Would’ve laminated some legs personally. Already see those have started going through their rigors.
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u/Purple_Pay_4361 1d ago
I realized that as I was working them. Worst case scenario, I just flip the whole thing and put some laminate legs on it.
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u/TotalRuler1 11h ago
what is the advantage for laminated legs? kind of fail safe in case they start cracking?
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u/bcurrant15 11h ago
4x4's and 6x6's are usually made from the center pith of a tree. They are prone to twist and warp and cracking. It's not ridiculous to see a 4x4 twisted up like a corkscrew, doing at least 90 degrees over an 8 foot length. This can introduce a lot of bad tension into a bench and give the whole thing some rack or twist.
Now you're trimming legs to get things to sit flat, but now the top isn't level so you're planing that down.
But to have the bench sit flat on the floor and be flat and level on the top, the bench itself is cockeyed.
All this is easily eliminated by laminating some legs out of better stock.
In benchmaking, or trying to do anything with construction lumber, my recommendation is to use 2x6 or greater widths as they are necessarily selected from better stock than 2x4's etc.
In commercial processing, the best widest clearest boards are always selected up and the worse material selected down. They will not make 4x4's when they can make a more expensive boards from the same material.
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u/TotalRuler1 10h ago
Ah okay, thanks, didn't understand. Also didn't realize 2x6 were made out of "better" material than 2x4.
Related question: Are aprons intended more to reduce racking during use or to keep the legs straight/square?
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u/knarleyseven 1d ago
What method did you use to hog out material for the stretchers?
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u/Purple_Pay_4361 1d ago
They’re just cut 45 degrees on the end with a 1.5” half lap to join to the leg with screws and construction adhesive. I hogged the majority of the laps out with the table saw on a crosscut sled, and cut them to final depth with a plunge router referencing off of some scraps of the stretcher. Same thing for the corresponding cuts on the legs. If you’re really interested, I’d be happy to pm you pictures of the plans.
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u/TotalRuler1 11h ago
what is hogging?
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u/iLLogicaL808 1d ago
Nice bench! Interesting joinery on the lower braces, and you’re 1/2 a sheet of plywood away from having a big auxiliary shelf down there
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u/Purple_Pay_4361 1d ago
I am actually in the process of drawing up some hardware-less drawers to go under it. I’ll clutter that shelf completely in 15 seconds flat haha
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u/big_swede 2d ago
What mitre gaps....? Oh...
🤪 Looking fine, your best work will be ON the bench not "on the bench". 👍😉