Woodworking Workbench - Benchtop Flattening

Now that the clamps have come off and the glue has dried, it’s time to flatten and straighten each benchtop. My guess is that each of them weights about 40-50lbs.

I’ve watched Paul Sellers video where he flattens his benchtop and makes it look easy. However the nuances of the process are lost and that’s where the majority of my learning happened.

Now having flattened 4 large surfaces, I’ve started to formulate a system that works for me. If I have to tackle another large surface in the future, here’s what I’ll do:

• Start off with a large jack plane to take down the obvious high spots including the dried glue. The weight of the larger plane helps punch through the hardened glue.

• Run a straight edge or corner of the plane against the board to get a general idea of where the cups and crowns are.

• Switch over to a smaller plane and start taking down the high spots in the long direction

• Work across the board at a 45deg angle from one end to the next

• Switch directions and plane at the opposite/complimentary 45deg angle. (This should result in a nice checkered pattern across the whole board)

• Finally use a longer/heavier plane to go end to end, leaving a smooth shimmering surface.

• (Removing twist) - I haven’t built any winding sticks yet, so the top isn’t totally finished.

Some reflection on my mistakes:

• My first attempt had a high spot and low spot next to each other. I managed to get it flat in that section, but failed to account for the fact that I was leaving a dip in that area. I have yet to determine whether it’s worth taking down the entire board to bring it to that level or if I can make the opposite side the top and hide this mistake.

• With subsequent tops I attempted to make them absolutely flat, which was frustrating. I’ve now learned what an acceptable level of tolerance is.

Using a small smoothing plane to work down localized high spots and working across the tops at 45deg.

Shavings everywhere… You don’t realize how much material you are removing until you start filling up yard waste (compost) bags.