Replies

1. 
   robkelly | Jul 17, 2004 06:57am | #1

   I made 2 benches from 8/4 red oak about 42 yrs ago. The pieces for the top were 8-10" wide and 12' long, 4 x 4 legs on 30" centers, 12" overhang each end, 2 x 4 frame, all red oak, half-lap joints, legs bolted to the floor with L-irons.  The top pieces were lag screwed to the frame . The wood was locally cut and bought wet in the summer from the sawmill in Matson, MO. It was air dried for a year or so in the barn. All the wood was rough sawn, no planer, no jointer. The boards for the top had gaps between them in some places, which were filled with epoxy and fiberglass.

   After it was assembled,  It began to move; the frame shrunk, so the lag screws had to be tightened every now and then, and more fiberglass was needed for the shrinking top. Besides shrinking, a few of the top boards cupped in places.  20 yrs ago, I took a power plane and a 60 grit beltsander to it, flattened it out, and it's been perfectly flat ever since.

   This is a most of the time unheated shop, with temp from10* to 110* thruout the yr. If the oak is really dry, it makes a great bench, but if yours is only a year or so from being a tree, the wood's likely still too wet.

   The nice thing about oak is that as it ages, it gets harder. Those bench tops are almost like iron now.

1. 
   Hal3 | Jul 17, 2004 05:12pm | #2

   Rob, Thanks for your input and I think I may let my 6/4 dry a bit longer althrough my moisture meter indicates around 12-14%. Instead of butting the boards together I planned to glue them side grain up after they are cut to thickness.

   Thanks

2. 
   hammer1 | Jul 18, 2004 12:46am | #3

   Oaks porous nature makes it more susceptible to humidity changes. The lumber contains tannins which react with iron and water to leave dark black marks. When exposed to moisture the grain can separate and become very uneven, flaking up, basically a splinter machine. It is hard, dense and strong. You may not experience any problems in your life. Certainly would make a great base.

3. 
   joinerswork | Jul 18, 2004 05:25am | #4

   Hal,

   I made my bench, top and all, from old red oak timbers salvaged from an old warehouse that was torn down.  Two 6X10's for the top, 8' long.  After I flattened the top, in 1975, it's stayed pretty flat.  I resurfaced it about 15 yrs ago. Although it was flat enough for most purposes, it had gotten discolored from spills of stain, coffee, etc so I wanted to clean it up.  I give it a coat of oil occasionally.  This bench has gotten full time,daily use since it was built, and I have no complaints about the qualities of the oak top.

   The worst problem I had was in surfacing the rough timbers the first time.  I noticed that any tool left on the top overnite would be covered with rust the next day, wherever it contacted the wood.  Came to find out the warehouse that the timbers came out of was used for storing FERTILIZER!  I ended up adzing about 3/4" off the top of the top, washing it down, and dousing it with linseed oil.  Fortunately that got rid of the rusting problem.  I used the chips I adzed off the top for mulch.  I figured they'd be real good for the plants!

   Regards,

   Ray