Bench top gap filling

[Zhent]

Hi everyone,

I'm working on my bench, and I have finished laminating the top of my bench together.



Being my first lamination and my first experience with hand planes, some of the joints are not nearly as solid as they should be. I should have cross-cut it to size before trying to plane it all flat as well, but live and learn. The question I've got to answer now is: What do I do with some of those larger gaps in the top? 



Is that something that I can just fill with wood glue, or do I need a special filler for this? I've seen some wood filler at Home Depot while wandering through the paint section, is that designed more to cover screw holes than for something like this? Thanks!

[JGrout]

It depends on how well the rest of the lamination went


You could rip a kerf in each gap and fill it with more wood which is what I would do at this point

or you could fill the gaps with bondo ( yes the car body filler) and it would accomplish what you want. 

Joe

[Alan S]

You have several options.  One would be to rip the boards apart at the gaps, rejoint, and reglue.  This is likely not practical because the thickness prevents cutting all the way through.

Another is to clamp on a straightedge so you cut a circular saw kerf right over the gap.  Then you can make a shim that just fills the kerf and glue that in.  This might be the best option.

If you fill the crack with something other than wood, epoxy would be the best bet, as it holds well and is strong enough that it won't fragment and come out of the gap when you pound on the bench.  I suspect wood filler might do that.

Lastly, even though it doesn't look good, it's likely strong enough now that you could ignore it and just make and use the bench.  The big question there is whether you can leave it alone since you would need to look at it as you work.

[AUswimKC]

Leave em. They won't hurt nothing as long as they are not all the way through. Doesn't look like they are.

If you are concerned with dirt/debris getting in there...use a thin epoxy to fill it just before your final flattening pass.

Do not use wood putty. It's too brittle

[Steve N]

Flatten the top as best you can, and I'd just use it like that. Joe hinted about the how well the lamination went, right now you know you have what you can see. It could still look like that in 10 years, or come Summer it may be coming apart. If the top stays together, and with use the cracks bother you I would just fill the gaps with Durhams rock hard water putty. I think it wears a lot better on a surface than bondo.



2x4 material is an inexpensive top, so it has that going for it, but it is usually much wetter than lumber for furniture, it's also not the straightest, or most well behaved wood to do much with except frame houses. The plus side is you can see that things didn't work out. Next glue up maybe more glue, and for sure better distribution, and a whole lot more clamping pressure, possibly a lot more clamps too. But hey, this is how you learn.

[Tapper]

Another is to clamp on a straightedge so you cut a circular saw kerf right over the gap.  Then you can make a shim that just fills the kerf and glue that in.  This might be the best option.

This one would be my choice. 1/8" kerf, 1/8" filler strip - rough trim and when the entire top is hand planed flat, it will not be obvious and all material is the same.

Doug

[JGrout]

leading without a single original thought 

[Tapper]

"Let me see if I can say something insulting and and demeaning to help make myself look clever- Oh yeah, I've got it!"  

......leading without a single original thought 

Fixed!

DT

[barryvabeach]

First,  nice work.  I remember seeing a photo of someone doing a lamination once and wondered, how did he fit so many clamps on that lamination, then later learned, that you need as many clamps as you have and then some.   
I am sure the structure of the top is plenty solid, even with those gaps.  While kerfing and inserting shims would work, for me, it would be easier to route a 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch wide slot into the top, go about 1/2 inch deep,  then mill a piece of stock for a fairly tight fit, then glue into place like inlay.  Again, you will have plenty of glue surface to keep the inlay in place, and if it is a tight fit, you can hit into place with a hammer, and it should stay there till the glue dries, then plane it smooth to the top.

[gMike]

I suspect if you just leave it alone those gaps will just fill up with sawdust and associated shavings, etc.  Another option that I've found that works well is to cover a bench top with 1/8" Masonite using double stick tape.  When it gets beat up, rip it off and reskin it with another sheet.  At least in my world, it isn't about a bench being furniture, it's about it being useful without having to be worried about it.