I am going to put an apron on a 24″X72″X1.5″ laminated maple top for a workbench. Do I have to worry about the top moving much with the change in temp. and humidity? The top has a seal coat on it.
How wide should the apron be? What is the best way to attach it to the top?
Thank you
Replies
I built a new workbench last summer and had the same question...here is what I did...I laid everything out, got it clamped in place so all my apron boards were perfectly sized and I attached them to the table with pegs or dowells. I drilled all the way from the outside through into the bench about 2 inches then glued a pounded them in. I started on one side and worked my way around bench adjusting as I went...pretty easy. I also pegged the corners together...you may need to screw the corners in place first then peg and remove the screws(plug of course)...I got away with it using clamps. Any parts of the apron that stuck up got leveled with a plane.
Later that summer we got 113 degree days and the table moved as one piece.
Coach B
A hard maple panel 24" wide will expand/contract about 1/4" (quartersawn) or 1/2" if flatsawn with a seasonal change of 25% in relative humidity. Maple is an unstable wood and movement must be allowed for with any cross grain attachment.
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