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Building Tips and technical articles. => Building techniques => Topic started by: Steve Schoenecker on November 17, 2016, 07:20:46 AM
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I've been looking for a glass desk top or something to put on my work bench... Right now I have a small one.. and I am liking it... would like a bigger one... Haven't had much luck yet... way to much $$ to order from binswanger or somebody. Also wanting to get something for my grandson
What about mirror? Lowes has a 36" x 60" 1/4" thick unframed mirror for < $50 Has anybody used a mirror? I wonder if they will cut down to 30 x 50? or whatever??
I've been watching Sparky's hangouts and the glass workbench looks like a GREAT idea!!
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Steve
St Vincent De Paul, Goodwill or any other such Thrift store sometimes have older beat up coffee tables with strong fairly thick top glass tempered for cheap
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Steve,
IMHO, I would go score a piece of granite. These guys have left over stock that they would let go for a small cost, or maybe none.
The granite is flat and true.
Glass, even thick glass can bow depending what it's laying on.
Plus, granite looks nice.
Charles
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I went out and bought a piece of 1/2" sheet glass. If you shop around you can find a decent price. Brought it home and put it on my work bench yep, it followed the contour of the work bench pretty good. Had to make 3/4" square pine strips to go under it then shim with pieces of cereal box cardboard and paper to get it flat.
MM
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Here in Dallas area we have an outlet called Seconds and Surplus. They have damaged (broken) pieces of granite that are really cheap. I got a piece 7' x 3' for $129 It will bow in the middle if you don't put it on something relatively flat but nothing like glass. The only problem with mine I've noticed is it is mottled in color and if you drop like pins or small screws, washers etc...they are kinda hard to see. Wish it was a solid color. Other than that it is flat and true in both axsis (pl)?
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I got a 1/2" x 24" x 72" glass top free off Craig's list. Almost perfect condition, with only small scratches. Came off an old coffee table.
Chris
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I currently have 3 different building table surfaces, glass, granite, and pool table slate. Glass is now my last choice, as mentioned earlier you need to shim it flat, it will follow whatever your support surface is. If you can find a granite countertop supplier check them out, when I told the local granite shop owner what I was doing he gave me 2 cutoffs big enough to build wings on. One edge is rough but who cares. If you have a billiard supply (pool table) store nearby go there and get in touch with whoever does their setup and repairs. The slate tops usually come in 2 or 3 pieces, if you are persistent you may find a cracked but still whole piece sometimes for the price of hauling it off. Pool table slate is my first choice for a building surface.
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I never would have thought of granite... or a pool table slate... great ideas.... I live out in the boonies... far from big cities... I get to Abilene frequently as my daughter lives there... I can look around there some more...
I have a couple of desks with really good flat surfaces... years ago I built on these .... put a 2 x 4 ceiling tile on top to pin to... waxed paper on top of that... good and flat when checked with my metal rule every which way.... maybe not perfect, but no big gaps... I really like the idea of a really flat surface like the glass or granite. on this desk there would be no need for shimming.
learning...
thanks for the ideas
steve
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I use glass 1/2 inch thick. but my table is 3/4 inch wood and is well braced underneath. Took years to finally get the table that I always wanted and I'm perfectly satisfied with mine. It is dead level everywhere. Not bad for an 8 by 5 foot table
Dennis
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I don't understand the mania for a workbench flat within 0.001". Whatever you build will certainly "settle" after building. Warps, and small "movements" always happen with wood. So your expensive table top is for nothing!
The solution is to monitor your work as it is assembled and covered. Careful measurement, and "eyeball" scrutiny will correct deviations, or warps. Many completed models will require adjustment after first flight to get it into trim.
My workbench is covered in thick MDF composite. It's pretty flat. Good enough!
Floyd
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Floyd,
That's one take on it and I'm sure it's not unique to you. My obsession with a true building surface goes back a long time but became really serious when I began cutting and sheeting foam wings for others. You can't charge someone $200 for a sheeted wing with a visible imperfection/bow. Now I build and align everything including built up wings and fuses on my slate tables. One thing I wonder is what you base your careful measurements on if you don't have an accurate surface to work from? In the end it's all a hobby, if pretty flat is good enough for you that's all that matters. George
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Floyd,
That's one take on it and I'm sure it's not unique to you. My obsession with a true building surface goes back a long time but became really serious when I began cutting and sheeting foam wings for others. You can't charge someone $200 for a sheeted wing with a visible imperfection/bow. Now I build and align everything including built up wings and fuses on my slate tables. One thing I wonder is what you base your careful measurements on if you don't have an accurate surface to work from? In the end it's all a hobby, if pretty flat is good enough for you that's all that matters. George
George,
A man after my own heart, well, in my R/C pattern days.
I'm sure you use no Robart angle meters.
Tell me I guessed correctly
Charles
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I don't understand the mania for a workbench flat within 0.001". Whatever you build will certainly "settle" after building. Warps, and small "movements" always happen with wood. So your expensive table top is for nothing!
The solution is to monitor your work as it is assembled and covered. Careful measurement, and "eyeball" scrutiny will correct deviations, or warps. Many completed models will require adjustment after first flight to get it into trim.
My workbench is covered in thick MDF composite. It's pretty flat. Good enough!
Floyd
I'm mostly in agreement with you, Floyd. Our building surfaces need to be flat and true, but not to the umpeenth thousandth of an inch. I build on 1/4" glass on a 3'x7' table. Laying a straight edge across the glass reveals a slight drop in the middle of the whole thing, but hardly enough to slip cereal box cardboard into. Certainly not enough to fret about. I can't build that straight anyway.
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I have a 4'x 6' bench with a butcher board top. The glass covering it is from a dinette set from a garage sale, 36" x 66" x 3/8". When building a wing, normally using the lost foam process, I place another piece of glass on top of that, 16" x 72" x 3/4". It is flat. But I still have to tweak the wing/flaps when trimming the airplane. The problem is mostly in getting the flaps aligned properly.
I like building on glass, but really have a lot of problem of getting pins to stick in the glass.
Keith
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You're not heating the pins up enough Keith
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I like building on glass, but really have a lot of problem of getting pins to stick in the glass.
Keith
I've just starting gluing things right to the glass with tiny drop of thick CA. Usually sticks good enough to hold things in place but will pop right off when I need it to. Sometimes I might have to coax it loose with the knife.
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The glass I use is a mirror 1/4 inch thick. I shimmed it flat and always check it before a new wing. If it's a few thousand out no big deal as stated in previous posts the wing will move after dope and covering. The best thing is your eyes to check for warps as you go.
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If anyone is in the North Georgia/ Atlanta area and wants a sheet of glass I have one you can have. 24"x60"x3/8" thick with polished edges, all you have to do is come get it. George
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Hi. followed this thread with interest. If you want to build on glass and don't want to spring a bunch of money, try your local soda bottler. They usually have a bunch of soda coolers around that are waiting to be trashed. The doors on most of the coolers are a perfect for a building surface. Most have a frame around the glass that's about 1/8 inch proud of the glass, Perfect for butting the trailing edge of a wing against. This is what I use and I really like it