# Wood movement in a workbench



## ivan.lt (Nov 29, 2017)

Hi! In a typical workbench where you make a thick solid top from 2x4s then attach legs then connect the legs, how do you account for wood movement? From what I've read on the Internet about tables (I'm building my first one), it's a big "no" to rigidly attach a table top to the supporting frame.


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## J_L (Apr 22, 2014)

Good for you for doing your research before building. You've heard correctly. The top is one large chunk of wood that will expand and contract with the change in moisture content within the wood. If you were to lock it down, you'd likely experience failure in some part of the build - either the top or the legs. 

My workbench top is over 300 lbs with both vises attached. I put an indexing pin (festool domino) in the top of the two front legs that goes into the bottom of the bench top. No glue. This aligns the bench top to the front and then the back side is free to move as it wants to. And it has moved about 1/4" from original construction. Otherwise gravity does the rest to hold the bench top in place.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Depending upon your design it does not matter. What is your design?

George


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## ivan.lt (Nov 29, 2017)

Here's the design I'm referring to. The image is not mine (Jay Bates' I think?) and I've seen quite a number of similar workbenches on YouTube. All joints are glued.


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## WesTex (Jan 5, 2014)

It’s similar to my bench. The leg tenons are drawbored into the mortises in the top, and the stretchers are drawbored into the legs. No glue used here. Haven’t had any problem with movement. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Forget about it.

George


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Glad my workbench is metal frame and MDF. Know what I mean?


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## 35015 (Nov 24, 2012)

Hi Ivan.It

Are you familiar with "Lost Art Press" and the work Chris has published on Work Benches...??

Mind you, these are the "traditional benches" and not the modern interpretations made of 2x stock. Either way, your understanding it correct, wood moves and you have to be aware of it and which direction to build a bench that won't have issues. Do that well and you don't need to glue anything, unless you want the top 2x stock glued...It can all be jointed together, as the original were...


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

I made mind from 2x6s glue-laminated. I glued the whole thing together. I glued the legs to the top, and used mortice and tenon joints in the cross pieces that help support the top. They have some PL construction glue in them, but being that they are essentially mortice and tenon joints, they don't need glue, and if the top expands and breaks the glue, I don't care. I'd never see it if that happened anyway.

In the design you are looking at, it looks like there is no supporting frame ... just the legs. They look like they are mortice and tenoned into the top. So what is the problem you are worried about exactly?

Here is my bench build ...

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/roubo-bench-build-172394/


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