Popular Woodworking 2008-10 № 171, страница 22

to have the halves of the top finish at least ll'/i* wide, but less than 12*.

The length of the bench was alsoa variable. 1 wanted a minimum length of 84". but 1 was able to get clean lengths of 90* from the 8'-long rough material. After all the parts were milled. I let t hem sit over a weekend tobe sure the wood wasn't going to mow or warp.

1 began laminatingthe top boards in pairs glued face to face. To keep them flat, I clamped them together on the strongest, straightcst surface available: an I-beam made of W-thick plywood. I let each pair sit in the clamps for at least four hours, and let them all sit for 24 hours to allow the glue to dry.

Back to Milling, then Serious Gluing

I ran the edges of each glued pairovcr the jointer to get a straight, square edge on each lamination. I then ran the boards on edge through the planer. Once again. I stopped when 1 had two clean surfaces rather than taking the boards to a specific thickness.

The clcancd-up pairs were slightly over my planned 3* thickness, but I would still need to remove some material after gluingupcachtop

Sum of il* parts. I In-llatntts of the finished benchtop depends on the quality of its component parts. Milling the pieces as true as possible and gluing thent together on a flat surface is

section. How much to remove would depend to work on, and provided t he ability to reach

on how well these ptcccs went together. around, over or under the topsasl wassetting

I set two long boards between my horses, the clamps. A test-stacking of three pairsof

and placed square boardsacross them, about boards gave mc the confidence to glue each

a foot apart. This gave mc a nice level surface half-top section in one go.

Spread with speed. A disposable paint roller applies an esm coal of yeHosv glue quickly. Apply the glue lo one fide of the lamination only. Doing both sides wastes time and glue.

Prac Ike makes perfect. Taking time to set up a level and ac cessible surface for gluing, and making a dry run, makes the final glue-up stress-free and yields good results.

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