Thread: Hardwood joinery advise

If you are building a work bench then I would use big coach bolts

If it just a normal bench then suspect glue will be just fine

Yep, coach bolts are ideal. For gluing, some PVA glues will dry clear and have a sort of crystalline look to them. These are also a bit brittle and may tend to crack loose over time and your bench will get the rock and rolls.

The yellow glues or Titebond 3 would be a better choice perhaps. I mentioned TB 3 as I use it fairly extensively and it hasn't let me down.

Cheers

Bryan

Jim, what do you intend to use the bench for?

With benches, especially for hand work, you must guard against racking. Lap joints are very strong, but I imagine much weaker than a mortice-and-tenon when dealing with movement. The best aid to prevent racking is a sheet of ply across the rear of the bench.

4x2 is not very substantial on its own. What else are you adding to the design?

Regards from Perth

Derek

A halving joint & a couple of heavy-gauge screws can make a very solid joint in hardwood and if you aren't looking for something flash, it's easier & quicker to make a good halving joint than a really accurate M&T, which needs to be a good fit or the glue will provide very little strength.

This bench frame is made from recycled hardwood building scraps and scrounged wood (the drawers were retrieved from a skip at my workplace). Joints are secured by a couple of 14G screws, no glue: Bench for lathe b.jpg

As a lathe bench it doesn't have to withstand much in the way of wracking forces, but I have every confidence it would be fine. It has to tolerate a good deal of vibration when starting large out-of-round pieces but the screwed joints have remained firm (it would be getting on for 20 yrs old & has seen a lot of use). My metalwork bench built in the same style at much the same time as the lathe bench does cop some heavy use & shows no sign of flagging.

These benches may not look terribly sophisticated, but they are mechanically sound, and have the advantage the bench can be easily dismantled for moving, should the need arise, so if you want a 'rustic' look for an indoor bench or a solid workbench, some heavy recycled hardwood is probably the most economical way to go. For a workbench, I would echo the advice to go a bit heavier for legs, 4 x 4 or even 4 x 3 would be better and enhance the solidity. The 4 x 2s would be fine for rails, imo.

Cheers,

Gday I will be joining to 4x2’s together for the legs(4x4) and the frame of bench will be 4x2 . I was going with 2x sheets of 19mm plywood for the bench top and may lay a sheet of MBF on top of that to give a good finish ( when the Mbf gets knocked about I can replace it easily)
I will have shelves underneath and once I get a little more experience I will add draws . I am going to add fold down caster wheels .

Thanks everyone for the advice. Really help. What a great site