Workbench flattening for a hand-tool 'newb"

[HMH]

Good afternoon all - as the title states, I'm somewhat more experienced in the realm of power-tools than the nuances of hand-tool use on a larger scale. That said, I've been putting off building a solid workbench for myself for some time, and in the meantime, right place/ right time, happened to be lucky enough to come across a brand new, (still in the shipping boxes), top-shelf workbench, for not much more than I estimated I'd have in materials to build a decent one myself, (and this one came w/ MUCH nicer vises that I was considering), so I bit, win-win for all, (will post pics after she's flat, ha).

It's now all assembled and setup in it's new home, and I've noticed a pretty pronounced crown running pretty much the full length of the bench. I have not yet measured the height of the crown, but by eye, it's in the neighborhood of 1/16 - 1/8" (variable).

My question for the group, (more skilled than me), is in the best way to tackle this. The largest hand plane I have is a #5. Perhaps not terrible for the task, but it's obviously not a #7/ jointer. The power tool route would suggest taking a belt sander (carefully) to the crown, but as we all know, a belt sander can hog off a lot of material in a hurry, and it's easy to make a real mess of things, real fast. Of course, I'll hit it w/ a ROS w/ pencil lines once I'm done regardless.

So there you go - any suggestions before I jump in here?

Not unrelated/ and not to hijack my own thread - but feel free to jump in w/ favorite/ preferred finish products for a hard-use workbench as well.

Thanks!

 

[Rwe2156]

I wouldn't fool around with a hand plane, I'd go with a router sled. Final planing is risky b/c of grain direction changes especially with a laminated top, so I would definitely put the plane away and use a scraper or sander or combination of the two.

I like boiled linseed oil for workbenches b/c it can be refreshed. I mix it 50/50 with turpentine or naptha to help with penetration.

And evacuate the shop for a couple days while the smell dissipates. Can't stand the smell of BLO!!

 

[pop-pop]

I would start by using winding sticks (Al angles corner up) to survey the top for high spots and twist. Mark where wood needs to be removed and hack it off with a scrub plane. This only takes a matter of minutes.

Then traverse the top at +45and then -45 degrees with your jack plane. Check with your winding sticks and fix any high spots. Then use your jack lengthwise to get close enough for now.

Your bench top may move as it adjusts to its new home. Check it again this Fall.

 

[zapdafish]

finish the top and bottom

 

[Wiley's Woodworks]

2 ?s:

• Can you easily take the top off the frame?
• Do you have access to a large drum (thickness) sander?

If the top can be separated, you can run it through an open end drum sander using 120 grit sandpaper. Go with really shallow cuts--< 1/64"--per pass until you have skimmed the entire surface once. Doing it this way means you don't have to do any further sanding.

If a router sled can be fitted directly onto the bench top, you could flatten it without having to disassemble the bench, then ROS with 120 grit until you've removed very light pencil squiggles from the entire top.

Planing by hand takes more skill than muscle for all the warnings above. If at all possible take advantage of properly set up machinery.

 

[tvrgeek]

Did mine with winding sticks, strait edge, and my #7 for finishing. Getting close was with a #4 scrub. My top is made from SYP 2 x 12s ripped to 5 inches, so it was not too bad to start with. I am sure I did mine in less time that it would take to set up a sled. It IS a workbench, not a machine reference plate. I do not see the wisdom of perfection some strive for. 1/8 is a lot. 1/16 I would not worry about until it got beat up and needed refreshing.

Or, with winding sticks and strait edge to mark and a belt sander. Just don't use that 40 grit belt. 120 won't get you into trouble too fast. Scraper and ROS? You will be looking for short cuts a week from now.

I did a quick slop of poly on the entire bench. It is a workbench, not a dining room table. It will get beat up, so you will refresh the top time to time anyway. I guess Osmo would be a good choice over top of BLO.

PS: I am no hand tool snob. More hybrid. I dimension by power, joint by hand. I have found hand tools to be easier and quicker than setting up machines for many tasks. A scrub plane is a marvelous device but can take off more than you expect in very short order. Your #5 may be a lot safer. I have recently learned how great a #7 is, both for smoothing and for shooting. Beats my 5's. I also have a WEN hand held. I'll use it on rough lumber where I need to whack off like a quarter inch or more to get close enough for the jointer and planer.

 

[HMH]

Thanks guys - the top weighs in around ~250#, so it's not coming off routinely, ha, and certainly not getting pushed through a wide belt. I may start w/ my ROS in "aggressive" mode to hit the high spots, and work back from there to fine-tune it - thanks for the insight!

Fortunately, when sighting my winding sticks initially, there's really no twist/ warp at all, just a fairly consistent crown running the length. Thanks!

 

[pop-pop]

Thanks guys - the top weighs in around ~250#, so it's not coming off routinely, ha, and certainly not getting pushed through a wide belt. I may start w/ my ROS in "aggressive" mode to hit the high spots, and work back from there to fine-tune it - thanks for the insight!

Fortunately, when sighting my winding sticks initially, there's really no twist/ warp at all, just a fairly consistent crown running the length. Thanks!

A jack plane with a cambered blade (say 8” radius) would serve you well in this situation.

 

[Graywolf]

Unless you are working extremely large pieces you do not have to be dead nuts flat.
odds are that you will never have a truly flat surface at that size. Currently my bench has a slight crown down its length about a light eighth in six feet. I work on either end of the bench and the crown hasn’t effected my work. My bench top is a solid piece of oak about 4inches in thickness. I’ve had it really close to flat once and I have discovered that perfectly flat over all is not necessary.

 

[Mike Davis]

A jack plane with a cambered blade (say 8” radius) would serve you well in this situation.

 

[marinosr]

BLO is a good choice of finish, but i came to say from personal experience, do NOT let finish get in the dog holes of you intend to use a holdfast. They will not hold fast.

I would borrow or drop the money for a #7 for the final levelling (@45 deg first then along the bench, light cuts). Your #5 can get you 80% of the way there, though. I did this no problem with minimal skill for my bench... It was dead flat after.

Agree strongly with comment about letting it acclimate for a few months before doing anything.

 

[Martin Roper]

Definitely let it sit for a while before doing any thing as others have suggested.

The router sled idea makes sense too.

 

[chris_goris]

A CNC can make quick work of it too.

 

[Mike Davis]

If you don't have a router sled, CNC, Festool super sander, large drum sander, or wide surface planer
then hand planes work just fine. They have for hundreds of years.

 

[Willemjm]

I would start by using winding sticks (Al angles corner up) to survey the top for high spots and twist. Mark where wood needs to be removed and hack it off with a scrub plane. This only takes a matter of minutes.

Then traverse the top at +45and then -45 degrees with your jack plane. Check with your winding sticks and fix any high spots. Then use your jack lengthwise to get close enough for now.

Your bench top may move as it adjusts to its new home. Check it again this Fall.

That's the way I would do it as well. It takes time though and might be a bit of a challenge for those new to using a hand plane.

 

[tvrgeek]

And remember, all the worry we do about our benches; English, Scandinavian, Roubo, Anarchists, wall mount, none of them are part of the final product. You can make museum quality furniture on a Roman bench. I got buy with a Workmate for years. Did a complete kitchen on it.

Tip: You can set up your #5 to do scrub, fore, and smoothing. Just have three irons with a lot of crown, moderate, and just corners eased. Swap the irons as needed. Handier to have a till full of planes set up, but don't let that slow you down now.

PS: Hand planes are great. For a few of thousands of years, they scraped with a rock. It worked. As an added bonus, I don't have to turn on my dust collector when using a hand plane.

PPS: I have not tried it yet, but I think one could do about a 10 to 15 degree back bevel on a #5 and make a high angle for difficult grain. So 4 irons?

 

[Rwe2156]

A workbench ww'ing benchtop really needs to be dead on flat, if nothing else, just so there's no aggravation factors.

I know I'm the odd man out here, but I'm sticking with my router sled suggestion mainly b/c I'll bet the farm it's not just a minor crown, but there's also some twist. Add to that you've got to flatten both sides to a consistent thickness.

Not an easy task, especially with nothing but a No 5 & maybe not even have flattened a board by hand.

All that said, if its just a top to pound on or tinker on, he could use it just like it is.

 

[John Jimenez]

+1 for BLO for finish…just don’t leave rags soaked in BLO wadded up in a plastic trash can with paper and wood shavings

 

[Melinapex]

Mine is "mostly flat". I left it a little high relative to the top of my vise so I can keep working on it as the wood settles over a few years. If I need perfectly flat I can use my tablesaw top. I did not put any finish on it- to me it is another tool, not a piece of furniture... and I want the surface to be a little grabby, and finish normally doesn't help. I used my #5 and it is working out so far.

 

[tvrgeek]

Do pay attention to the comment about letting it stabilize for a while. A big thick heavy top may take quite a bit to become stable. It may not have the ridge once stable. Months. I bet it went through a drum sander at the factory, so give it a chance to get over shipping.