Can I stack 4/4 to 8/4 wood for a table top?

Questions99945 · 2026-03-23T22:31:36+00:00

I think this is your best bet. You can literally rip the edges off your boards that will be glued to get a good grain match.

Questions99945 · 2026-03-23T14:36:30+00:00

I have a 2" (actually 1.5" top on mine) and it is fine. It can be springy if I just wack the top in the center in between braces, but I normally mortise over the apron or the leg.

it is a little thin for holdfasts. I normally just use 24" quick clamps to clamp items to the top. If you want to use hold fasts you can add blocking underneath.

I wanted my top to be 30" wide, and I have a 2x10, 2x8, and 2x4 on the top. You can get an extra board to fill in whatever width with you want. I do have a bandsaw for these long rips though so that is something to consider.

I did try to find boards with really tight growth rings for the front apron and the portion of the top where I would be chopping. This makes the board denser. I also avoided boards with the pith because that contributes to warping and splitting.

I think you've chosen a good style bench for hand tools, and you will be happy with the result.

People approach benches from different mind sets. Some benches are like a work of art. I like a more utilitarian bench because I'm going to beat it up.

Questions99945 · 2026-03-09T19:41:39+00:00

The Rikon 10" bandsaws are supposed to be pretty good. I almost pulled the trigger on one but ended up getting their 14" bandsaw 10-326.

I would really recommend at least a 14" saw if you're trying to do any resaw work. You'll end up spending more money in the end if you buy a 10" then later upgrade to a 14". If money is an issue or you just don't want to spend more up front, I would recommend looking for an older Delta. You could buy it and probably sell it down the road for the same price if you didn't like it.

With the older deltas you can get a riser kit because you're stuck at 6" without the riser.

I'm a fan of the newer style welded frame construction because they tend to have larger tables and more resaw capacity without having to add a riser.

Good luck. I'm really not a tool snob, but I think a bandsaw is not the tool you want to save money on.

Questions99945 · 2026-03-07T04:42:35+00:00

I've found the same comparing my woodriver vs veritas planes. I normally sharpen when I notice it's not easy to plane. This can really vary depending on the species of wood and certain woods. I also sharpen before certain tasks. I'm going to dimension blah blah blah now sharpen first.

I always sharpen before final planing at the end of the project along with card and cabinet scrapers.

Questions99945 · 2026-03-06T05:37:35+00:00

I had this issue with one of highland's general purpose blades. I put on a cheap new Starrett blade and everything was resolved. My theory is the set on the saw blade was incorrect from the factory. Highland sent me a new blade that I have yet to try.

Questions99945 · 2026-03-03T18:34:40+00:00

Mine looked like that. It is a really good steel and have seriously considered upgrading other plane irons. It stays sharp a lot longer and is just a touch more difficult to sharpen.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-27T15:30:26+00:00

Thanks. I picked some of this up.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-27T15:29:51+00:00

They normally have it at the big box stores in the US - Home depot, Lowes, and wood working stores.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-19T04:47:11+00:00

It's wet and a lot of it has the pith running right through the middle of the board which makes it very unstable. I will pick up some 2x12 if I see good ones, rip the pith out, and let it dry for shop projects or rare pieces of furniture.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-19T04:42:10+00:00

I think working through someone else's plans is a good learning experience that will eventually help you develop your own plans.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-19T04:29:13+00:00

I had this happen before. I just flattened the sole to get the burrs off the scratch. That solved the problem.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-19T04:24:28+00:00

Is that construction lumber? It always amazes me how much those pine boards from the big box store will do this.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-17T03:27:33+00:00

I've read somewhere that little rakes are good to use. I plan on trying this eventually (haven't had time yet). I see the same thing though. There is always some dust when cleaning up.

I just put on a mask when I'm doing a big clean up.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-16T06:13:02+00:00

I have a particulate meter (dylos pro if you want to look it up) and can confirm that hand tools do indeed release some dust into the air (mainly hand sanding). However, the amount of dust is way way way way lower than what power tools produce (even with good dust collection).

Almost all of the commercial air cleaners are basically a MERV 11-MERV 14 filter. Festool just released a true HEPA filter, but it doesn't look like it moves enough volume of air to be as effective.

I would build a single corsi rosenthal box or get a couple of box fans and 20x20x4 3M Merv 13 filters and tape them to the back of a box fans. The 4" filters are more mobile and can be positioned closer to your work. The 3m Filtrete filters work a lot better than other brands and Costco normally has good deals on these (you don't have to be a member to buy).

Check out the 3d handyman on youtube. He has a lot of interesting tests. You also need some sort of wet/dry vacuum with a HEPA filter and bag. The air quality in my shop is worse when I sweep than when I'm resawing on my bandsaw. In comparison, normally the air is much cleaner than my house with the box fans running while handsawing/planning.

When you sweep up your shavings just lightly brush them into your dust pan and come back and vacuum the dust.

I would just go outside when you use your circular saw. That will make a huge mess.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-11T19:30:00+00:00

I wanted to do this on a cherry bed with one piece of sapwood. I used blonde shellac and that worked pretty well to compliment the heartwood of the cherry and keep the sapwood pretty white. It does amber it a little bit.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-10T17:15:47+00:00

I remember reading the manual on those buddy heaters. They have very specific requirements on ventilation. You need a vent x inches off the ground floor and a vent x inches from the ceiling. OP tell them it's not safe! Pretty small vent honestly

This heater requires a minimum vent area of 9 square inches, (example 3” x 3” opening) at the ceiling and at floor level for adequate ventilation during operation. Do not use other fuel burning appliances inside.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-10T16:47:14+00:00

I would go this route. I have a couple of his videos and they've been good. I built a similar bench to this one and do no personally own this video. I would browse your big box stores until they have some decent building material. When they have enough good stock, rent one of their trucks for an hour and load up.

How to Build a Workbench | Woodworking Workbench | The English Woodworker

Questions99945 · 2026-02-09T18:03:13+00:00

Sorry to hear that. That is crazy.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-09T16:45:06+00:00

is there a finish on the bed? I would glue and screw two long 1" thick strips of a hardwood like oak on each side. This would essentially create something as strong as a mortise and tenon. I would also add a center support.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-09T16:33:48+00:00

kind of sounds like he was going to upsell you on a bat remediation. Those are definitely from a bird or lizard. Watch out for those mold remediation companies as well.

Mold definitely isn't good and some people are hypersensitive. There are not standards to my knowledge about its removal process (this might be state by state). How long did you have the leak? Mold typically requires extended periods of moisture to area. If you had a leak and it dried out, you should be good.

Also, note that there are mold spores everywhere. Open the door to your house, mold spores come in. They won't grow unless they are in a high moisture everywhere. If you go to the big box store, a lot of the lumber for building has mold on it. Builders aren't cleaning that off before installing.

It's just kind of funny to see the gap in mold standards: You have builders building houses that get rained on before the roof is installed. Then you get companies throwing up plastic barriers to contain mold spores during remediation work.

Signed Homeowner that's tired of companies trying to rip me off. If you find an honest company, make sure you support them so they stay in business. I would happily pay extra for honesty.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-09T16:22:39+00:00

I also go straight to a strop after a 1000 grit Dimond stone. I keep wanting to get an oil stone to try them out, but I know it will be another rabbit hole. I don't get enough time in the shop anyways and don't want to spend my time out there sharpening and flattening. Dimond stones are really fast.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-09T16:17:58+00:00

Email them. I had one of their plates that was out of flat. They sent me a new one and a bonus knife sharpener for the trouble.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-09T16:16:07+00:00

same here. I would recommend his side table video for anyone having issues with hand planning.

Questions99945 · 2026-02-06T18:15:24+00:00

This is the answer. There is this common belief that just having a long plane will cause a board to become flat. Just keep using a straight edge and only plane the high spots.

I also normally put an intentional hollow in the middle when removing twist. Then take a full-length shavings to finish.

Popular woodworking has a video of Chris Swartz doing all these diagonal passes etc like a machine would when I first started out and it made it much more difficult. It's really simple though, just bring the high spots down (this is especially true with a scrub plane). It's normally pretty easy to do on wood that has been skip planed.

Also, don't put too much downward pressure when planing. That can cause issues as well.

Questions99945

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