Building a real woodworker's workbench

Step 26 The top, interlude three - filling voids

I found, when I cut the oak countertop, that the interior oak wasn't always of the same quality as the exterior. The cuts left exposed a large knot with an extensive void. This needed to be dealt with.

I clamped the top to the side of the base, as I had done before, so that the edge with the knot would be easy to work with. I mixed up some ordinary five-minute epoxy and added just a touch of black epoxy pigment. I applied this freely. After about twenty minutes I checked on it and found that in the deepest spot the void wasn't entirely filled, so I mixed up another batch and added more. After that had cured for a bit I eased the top to the floor and applied a coat of oil to the bottom side. I planned on attaching the base to the top the next day, and I wanted the bottom side oiled to keep it from absorbing moisture.

As I said earlier, be careful moving the top. I rigged a simple pulley system to make moving the top possible for one person. Photos in a later step. But a husky friend or two would work as well, and would be faster.