Adventures With Twisted Panels and Twisted People

To all earthlings driven to construction of objects of the wooden nature: Greetings. The construction of the much ballyhooed and aforementioned router table has slowed to a snail’s pace.

Allow me to explain. Most router tabletops call for two laminated layers of MDF (medium density fiberboard), with banding on the edge, and formica laminated to both sides. Using Titebond II, a flat work surface, weights, and an intrepid spirit, I launched into a voyage of uncertainty yesterday, laminating the two sheets of MDF. Unfortunately, the glue-up was problematic. Instead of a flat plane on both sides of the MDF panel, I created a twist in the panel itself. Faced with this dilemma, I had two choices. Choice #1: Start from scratch… lose more money… waste more time. Choice #2: Flatten existing MDF panel… lose less money… waste less time. Remember, the panel is 26” x 48”, so using the jointer is not an option. All possible solutions pointed to the lowly hand plane… more specifically, the scrub plane. For those of you unfamiliar with said beast, it is a tool no woodworker should be without. The blade is curved like a gouge, and it sports a very large throat. The cut produces a concaved trough, which removes material quite aggressively. The scrub plane, a straight edge, and of course adequate elbow grease, will produce a flat panel. The finished product may be obtained by using a regular bench plane, a large sanding block, or even an orbital sander to smooth the surface.

After flattening the MDF panel on both sides, I banded the edges with half-inch plywood. My next step in the process will be gluing the formica (laminate) to the panel. Regrettably, the weather (14 inches of snow and low temperatures) has decidedly dampered my advances. I will eventually report back successes and or failures.

Take Home Message I: Ponder seriously your acquisition of a scrub plane. It is an important tool in your arsenal.

Take Home Message II: As most of you know with any real construction project, the estimated date of completion is more or less a fairytale, as it is with the router table. Therefore, after missing one estimated date of completion, I will refrain from venturing another guess.

Remember: Quality trumps speed.

SCRUB PLANE AFFICIONADO