Questions answered – Why laminate legs?

ByPaul Sellers

Greetings.  

I greatly enjoyed your video about making a workbench in the back yard.  Lots of great info.

Questions:

1. you made the top out of spruce, and the legs out of pine, is that correct?  

2. I understand laminating the top, by why laminate 2X4’s instead of using a 4X4?

Best regards,

Tom

DSC_0058 Hello Tom,

1) Somewhat! The wood that I used was the equivalent of SP&F in the US (spruce pine and fir). In other words it could be pure or a hybrid.

DSC_0252_1 KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA DSC_0017 2) I wanted something so real that it would meet the needs of everyone anywhere. Everyone in Europe and the USA can get hold of four-bys. My two-bys came from B&Q – the equivalent of The Home Depot or Lowes in the US. I also wanted to buy stock people could hand plane the surfaces of that didn’t necessarily matter so that they could practice their hand planing to gain mastery of the plane without risking anything and at the end of the day still have a solid thing that they made that had a true functional value and they could either be proud of or have their first stepping stone to perfecting or at least establishing planing skills. Simple yet effective, this project provided the ideal vehicle for that.

The back yard thing may seem a bit gimmicky but I wanted something real for that too.in the US, which is where you are, four-bys are standard stock in dimensional building lumber from HD and Lowes. That’s not the case at all in Europe and the UK, although you could find it if you dig deep enough. European housing is not made from stick-frame stock but usually brick, stone or similar.

Thanks for the questions. I may post them on my blog so others an understand the reasoning too.

Best regards,

Paul

3 Comments

  1. Phil Adams noted that the Housing dado on the apron can be glued. However I have a follow up question
    If the joint is glued, is the bolt still necessary to apply “lateral” force?
    If lateral force is necessary, is there a non hardware alternative to the bolt?

    Thank you so much for your response
    Best regards,
    Ken

  2. is there a non hardware alternative to the bolt?

    If the Housing dad is glued, is the bolt still necessary to apply “lateral” force?
    If lateral force is necessary, is there a non hardware alternative to the bolt?

    1. There is. Added complication of what is presently very simple I suppose. The bolt is the perfect solution in combination with the joint so I just love it!

Comments are closed.

Privacy Notice

You must enter certain information to submit the form on this page. We take the handling of personal information seriously and appreciate your trust in us. Our Privacy Policy sets out important information about us and how we use and protect your personal data and it also explains your legal rights in respect of it. Please click here to read it before you provide any information on this form.