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Matt's Monster Workbench

Matt's Monster Workbench (post #161672)

Wabi Sabi on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 13:28

General Discussion

I've decided to tackle Matt's workbench and I'm not sure how he attaches the top to the base. I'm assuming lag bolts from the bottom. any other insights?

How I did it... (post #161672, reply #1 of 14)

by MKenney in reply to Wabi Sabi [original] on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 19:56

Wabi Sabi,

I hope you don't mind an answer from the horse's mouth. I actually did not and still haven't attached the top. It is very heavy and it's weight, plus friction, hold it in place without any trouble. However, your plan for using lag bolts would also work fine. Use one at both ends and perhaps put an elongated slot in the upper cross member of the trestle legs. But, if you use just one bolt at each end, the elongated slot really isn't necessary.

Good luck with the bench.

Matt

Matt Kenney / senior editor / Fine Woodworking

Monster bench (post #161672, reply #2 of 14)

by Wabi Sabi in reply to MKenney [original] on Tue, 02/08/2011 - 15:23

Thanks for the prompt reply. I plan to scale it down a bit as I bought a 72x24x2.25 top.

LEgs are birch as that's all the 8/4 stock I could get.

Hopefully a pic will be coming in the future.

Cost (post #161672, reply #3 of 14)

by Imola in reply to MKenney [original] on Tue, 02/07/2012 - 10:00

I purchased the plans and I had a question about the top. I have a friend who has been a professional woodworker for 30 years. He offerred to get the wood from his supplier because it is surfaced, straightlined, wholesale and much higher quality than the home centers.

I have the room and wanted to build the top at your length of 7' but wider. When he priced just the material for the top it was over $800.00. I live in Washington State so I know there are added costs for shipping as most hard maple comes from you area. But I ended up ordering a premade block from John Boos Blocks. At 1 1/2" it was half the cost of building the top myself.

I hope you don't mind me asking, what was the cost for your top?

cost of maple (post #161672, reply #4 of 14)

by MKenney in reply to Imola [original] on Tue, 02/07/2012 - 13:54

Imola,

$800 for the top?! Holy cow. There must have been a serious upcharge for the milling that was done. My benchtop is 84 in. long by 24 in. wide (I think) by 2 1/2 in. thick. That's only 35 bd. ft. of lumber. Even if I bought double that for the top to account for waste and milling, I could still get it for around $300. If I recall correctly, I spent around $500 on lumber for the entire bench.

But I'm glad you found something that works. You could have just made it from a wood that grows locally. (Doug Fir would have worked).

Good luck and have fun, Matt

Matt Kenney / senior editor / Fine Woodworking

I also built this bench. (post #161672, reply #5 of 14)

by MKWerman in reply to Wabi Sabi [original] on Wed, 02/08/2012 - 19:46

I attached the top with lag screws. I had to drill through the trestle and part way into the top, then finished drilling the pilot in the top. I put 1 screw in each end, in the middle of the trestle. I have had no problems. The top seems very secure.

I had my top made by a couple of guys that deconstruct houses being demolished. They had old Southern yellow pine floor joists that they glued toghether to make the top. My top was smaller, only 60 inches long but the same width. The top was $250. I had other wood from an old workbench that we tore down. I spent the most money on the vise. I opted for the Lie-Nielsen twin screw. I LOVE that vise.

Good luck with the workbench. The design was perfect for me and I enjoy using it.

Marsha

I have a couple additional (post #161672, reply #6 of 14)

by Imola in reply to MKWerman [original] on Mon, 02/13/2012 - 09:43

I have a couple additional questions.

1. It seems like a long distance between the bearers under the top. Was there a reason for no support in the middle?

2. Besides the top, did you seal the rest of the bench?

I love this bench. I decided to use all hard maple. I have never used mortise and tenons or built trestle feet. I'm excited to do this!

Imola, The distance (post #161672, reply #7 of 14)

by MKenney in reply to Imola [original] on Tue, 02/14/2012 - 11:25

Imola,

The distance between the trestle tops isn't too far. The way the top is glued up, each individual board is on edge and when on edge, a board resists sagging very well (think about the vertical part of an i-beam). So, the span between the legs isn't so great that the top will sag. As for a finish, I used boiled linseed oil on the entire bench. I like boiled linseed oil because it's easy to apply and easy to renew. And, it's no problem to plane through it when you need to reflatten the top (and you will need to from time to time).

I'm glad you like the bench. Mine is still in use today and I'm very happy with it. And good luck with the new skills (M/T joints, tressle feet).

Matt

Matt Kenney / senior editor / Fine Woodworking

I bought some boiled linseed (post #161672, reply #8 of 14)

by Imola in reply to MKenney [original] on Wed, 02/15/2012 - 08:40

I bought some boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits just for this project. Believe it or not, I don't have a good backsaw. Lie-Nielson just sponsered a demonstartion over in Portland and I almost bought a set of the Glen Drake saws. I just didn't know which ones to get and I wanted to do more research. Now I wish I had picked them up.

Any reason I can't do the stub tenons on the tablesaw with the stacked dado? I don't have a shoulder plane either, can't decide on which size.

Thanks Matt for all you and the other guys do at FWW. I've been enjoying my subscription a lot.

You can do the stub tenons at (post #161672, reply #9 of 14)

by MKenney in reply to Imola [original] on Wed, 02/15/2012 - 11:25

You can do the stub tenons at the TS with a dado set. However, since the stretchers are so long, I'd use some type of sled to guide them through the dado set. If you try to use just a miter gauge, with the stretcher resting on the saw's table, you might find that the far, unsupported end doesn't want to move along with the end by the blade. The stretcher becomes angled (even if just a tiny bit). In the best case, you end up with a shoulder that's slightly out of square. In the worst case, you won't even be able to push the stretcher through the blade. A sled should solve that problem.

I'm glad you like the magazine and the website. We do our best to produce articles and videos that are interesting and useful.

As for the saws, which you buy really depends on what you intend to do with them. If you only need them to cut dovetails, then get dovetail saws. If you really want to cut tenons by hand, too, add a larger backsaw down the road.

Good luck, Matt

Matt Kenney / senior editor / Fine Woodworking

tuning tenons (post #161672, reply #10 of 14)

by RalphBarker in reply to Imola [original] on Thu, 02/16/2012 - 08:12

"I don't have a shoulder plane either, can't decide on which size."

For the faces of tenons, you might also consider the rabbet block plane:

http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?g...

The pre-made top I purchased (post #161672, reply #11 of 14)

by Imola in reply to RalphBarker [original] on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 10:36

The pre-made top I purchased is cupped about 1/4" over it's 36" width. I called the manufacturer and they suggested oiling it and waiting a couple days.

My next step was preparing the apron for the twin screw vise and gluing it on the top. If I oil the top do I have to worry about the glue adhering?

I don't have a jointer/planer, it's on my list, otherwise I would have loved to build the top myself and it would be dead flat. I'm not putting oil on the sides for now, but I can't help thinking the glue will not work very well when using on a surface that has boiled linseed oil/mineral spirits.

Any suggestions? I'm using Titebond III.

Thank you.

attaching the top (post #161672, reply #12 of 14)

by RalphBarker in reply to Imola [original] on Wed, 02/22/2012 - 08:46

FWIW, I believe the usual method used to attach the top to the the leg assembly would be with screws or bolts, not glue.

I'm asking about the (post #161672, reply #13 of 14)

by Imola in reply to RalphBarker [original] on Wed, 02/22/2012 - 09:38

I'm asking about the attaching the apron. It is attached with glue. If there will be a problem because of the boiled linseed oil, I wonder if some planing and/or sanding might help. As I stated, I didn't put any oil on the side where the apron will attach, but I'm sure it migrates there.

If the glue won't adhere, lag bolts might work. They would not be going through end grain so that's a plus.

Ah, OK (post #161672, reply #14 of 14)

by RalphBarker in reply to Imola [original] on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 10:46

My monitor didn't fully understand what your keyboard was saying. ;-)

But, yes, I'd do the glue-up before applying the BLO to that area.

NEW! Faster Search Option

Matt's Monster Workbench

How I did it... (post #161672, reply #1 of 14)

Monster bench (post #161672, reply #2 of 14)

Cost (post #161672, reply #3 of 14)

cost of maple (post #161672, reply #4 of 14)

I also built this bench. (post #161672, reply #5 of 14)

I have a couple additional (post #161672, reply #6 of 14)

Imola, The distance (post #161672, reply #7 of 14)

I bought some boiled linseed (post #161672, reply #8 of 14)

You can do the stub tenons at (post #161672, reply #9 of 14)

tuning tenons (post #161672, reply #10 of 14)

The pre-made top I purchased (post #161672, reply #11 of 14)

attaching the top (post #161672, reply #12 of 14)

I'm asking about the (post #161672, reply #13 of 14)

Ah, OK (post #161672, reply #14 of 14)

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