t-bone Posted June 30, 2011 Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 hi, i was wondering if i could still use the legs on the bench i am trying to build, each leg is off 1/16. They were cut before i found out how to cut a measurement correctly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted June 30, 2011 Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 What kind of bench? You could try dowels or pegs, and put a smaller foot on the bottom of the leg, slightly larger for a dramatic reveal. It might mean cutting a small bit off the bottom of the leg, which will help even out that difference. I have a small table that wasn't level. My solution was to cut it smaller, and deal with with a smaller table. Considering that the material I'm using is 1x 2, I'm not going to peg it. So I can't take my own advice. If you want to just level them, I'd start with a block plane, and even them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-bone Posted June 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 What kind of bench? You could try dowels or pegs, and put a smaller foot on the bottom of the leg, slightly larger for a dramatic reveal. It might mean cutting a small bit off the bottom of the leg, which will help even out that difference. I have a small table that wasn't level. My solution was to cut it smaller, and deal with with a smaller table. Considering that the material I'm using is 1x 2, I'm not going to peg it. So I can't take my own advice. If you want to just level them, I'd start with a block plane, and even them out. thanks for the info. by the way it's a workbench Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNehlsEnd Posted June 30, 2011 Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 I will assume for the time being you are referring to length, if this is the case its a simple fix. Shim the legs so that the bench doesn't rock. Then the with a scribe go to the shortest leg and set your scribe to its height from the floor to the bottom of the leg. Now scribe all the remaining legs with this measurement and trim at the scribe line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted June 30, 2011 Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 If you're putting the workbench in your garage or other outbuilding, odds are the floor is nothing flat. You might find that you need to install levelers in one leg anyway. Otherwise, Greg's suggestion is best if you want to fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted June 30, 2011 Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 I will assume for the time being you are referring to length, if this is the case its a simple fix. Shim the legs so that the bench doesn't rock. Then the with a scribe go to the shortest leg and set your scribe to its height from the floor to the bottom of the leg. Now scribe all the remaining legs with this measurement and trim at the scribe line. I would just add that you should shim the bench so that it doesn't rock and is the top is level. Otherwise, this technique is spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-bone Posted July 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 I will assume for the time being you are referring to length, if this is the case its a simple fix. Shim the legs so that the bench doesn't rock. Then the with a scribe go to the shortest leg and set your scribe to its height from the floor to the bottom of the leg. Now scribe all the remaining legs with this measurement and trim at the scribe line. thanks, that really helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-bone Posted July 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 I will assume for the time being you are referring to length, if this is the case its a simple fix. Shim the legs so that the bench doesn't rock. Then the with a scribe go to the shortest leg and set your scribe to its height from the floor to the bottom of the leg. Now scribe all the remaining legs with this measurement and trim at the scribe line. hi, i should have told you that i am a newbe.Do you mean putting shims under the legs till it doesn't rock and than measure from the floor to the shims, or measure from the floor to the top of the shortest leg. let me ask you this, so i build the workbench than measure the shortest leg, than cut the rest of the legs while being attached to the workbench Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Maybe an easier way would be to get a wooden yard stick. Flip the table upside-down. Place the yardstick along the outside corner of the leg so the end is butt-up against the tabletop. Use a pencil to mark where the bottom of the leg is on the yard stick; do this by using the bottom of the leg like a ruler edge. After doing all 4, you'll have one line that's the lowest. That's the shortest leg. Cut the yard stick at that line (as in make sure the kerf removes the line); the stick should now be flush to the top of the shortest leg. You can now use the stick on all the legs to mark exactly where to cut to get the legs the same length. If it rocks after that, then your floor is uneven and you need to shim the bottom of the feet... but the yard stick trick fixed the uneven legs at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 One option a family member suggested to me, when I was relating this tale, was to put foam pads under the legs of the bench. this will help deaden the impacts, and act as levelers for the legs. (At least, that's what they told me. not having done this on all four legs of anything, I can't verify the results.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-bone Posted July 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Maybe an easier way would be to get a wooden yard stick. Flip the table upside-down. Place the yardstick along the outside corner of the leg so the end is butt-up against the tabletop. Use a pencil to mark where the bottom of the leg is on the yard stick; do this by using the bottom of the leg like a ruler edge. After doing all 4, you'll have one line that's the lowest. That's the shortest leg. Cut the yard stick at that line (as in make sure the kerf removes the line); the stick should now be flush to the top of the shortest leg. You can now use the stick on all the legs to mark exactly where to cut to get the legs the same length. If it rocks after that, then your floor is uneven and you need to shim the bottom of the feet... but the yard stick trick fixed the uneven legs at least. Thanks, i hope i am not being a pain just learning the tricks of the trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-bone Posted July 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 One option a family member suggested to me, when I was relating this tale, was to put foam pads under the legs of the bench. this will help deaden the impacts, and act as levelers for the legs. (At least, that's what they told me. not having done this on all four legs of anything, I can't verify the results.) Thanks, i hope i am not being a pain, i am a newbe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-bone Posted July 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 I would just add that you should shim the bench so that it doesn't rock and is the top is level. Otherwise, this technique is spot on. I thank you very much it makes sense,i will try this out should be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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