I am making a Fortune/Nelson bench. I am now ready to make the tail vise and flatten the top. I have never flattened anything so large before and would appreciate advice. I plan to do it with hand planes. In fact I roughly flattened the bottom after each glueup of the major pieces (two of them). The bench is about 22 by 75. How long should the winding sticks be? Does one place them just at the ends of the bench or at various positions in between to determine the high and low spots. Up to this point I’ve only flattened boards 10 in and 12 in wide and considerably shorter. I must say it was a pleasure to get a 2+3/8 wide thin shaving five feet long when working on the bottom of the strip containing the dog holes. I guess I would like the know the proper order of doing things so I don’t have to do any of them twice and take off more wood than needed.
Thanks, Rod
Replies
Rod,
You only need winding sticks about 3 feet long, or the width of your top, whichever is greater, and they need to be placed only at the ends. I usually place a light colored board behind the far winding stick to make the deviation stand out better. To flatten the top, mentally divide it into quadrants. In theory , where these quadrants intersect, will be the benchmark and all the other points on the top will be planed to match this point. Any humps, up or down, along the length, along with any cupping, will have to be planed out before you can use the winding sticks. The winding sticks will show you which two oposing quadrants need to be planed, to obtain a flat surface. For such a large top it is easier to plane across the grain for the bulk of the work. Check frequently with the winding sticks and straightedges to insure you're on the right track, and then finish up with a sharp jointer going with the grain.
Rob Millard
Thanks for the tips. It gives me greater confidence to go ahead with the flattening. I came across an archived discussion about flattening bench tops where some of the authors indicated that one didn't need to be excessive about it. I may just do it in stages as I get better with planning.
Rod. I have experience with this. The first thing after you use your winding sticks is to get out your long level and shim the feet of your bench until your top is level. The shims may take care of some of the twist in the top without taking a single shaving. Also, there are definite benefits to having a level top: square and plumb are easier to judge and your chisels won't roll off. Get yourself a very long straight edge. It can be of the inexpensive aluminum measuring stick home center variety. Use it to check the surface in both dimensions. The location of the high spots will become apparent. Circle or shade these areas with a crayon and start on these spots first with a jack plane, checking frequently with your straight edge. As the top gets flatter you could switch to a smaller Starret straight edge and a feeler gauge if you are very particular. I finished by moving methodically over the entire surface with a jointer plane(a good excuse to buy a Lie-Nielsen!)cross grain then with the grain. In about an hour or so I was able to get my bench flat to within .01" to .005". Happy planing!
--Rick
Thanks for the tips. It really did help to get the base leveled, I noted it when I worked on the bottom of the bench top again. I had planned to put levelers into my bench feet, but hadn't gotten around to it. Now it is clear that it is important.
Rod
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