Did some woodworking for the first time, have some questions

jugojugo wrote: ↑ Bench: Will the middle begin to dip/sag over time? There 7 2x4s running 6 foot long, and the legs are 2x6s. Made out of "SPF Dimension Lumber"

jugojugo wrote: ↑ Planter Box: Made mostly out of cedar, so it is quite heavy. Will get heavier with rocks, soil and water in it. I want to put it on my 2nd floor deck, which is 6x8 ft. Will it be too heavy for it?

SubjectivelyObjective wrote: ↑ Welcome to the crippling tool addiction!



7 2x4s spanning 6 feet is stronger than the floors in your house. I highly doubt you will have any issues with sagging.



If your deck is built properly, I think it should be able to support a live load of around 40 lbs for sqft. Since you won't be standing on top of your planter, just do the math if you can figure out how much it weighs and then the footprint.

Aside, how are those bottom boards of the planter held in? (the ones that you will be putting soil on top).

jugojugo wrote: ↑ Thanks for the reply!

Regarding the planter box, the bottom boards has 4x 2" deck screws drilling up, and titebond 2 wood glue holding them up. The deck was built by the home builders too, it should be built properly? My rough guess for the planter box is that it can weigh up to 200 lb? Not sure how far off I am. The box is 68" x 22" x 46".

jugojugo wrote: ↑ Thanks for the reply!

Regarding the planter box, the bottom boards has 4x 2" deck screws drilling up, and titebond 2 wood glue holding them up. The deck was built by the home builders too, it should be built properly? My rough guess for the planter box is that it can weigh up to 200 lb? Not sure how far off I am. The box is 68" x 22" x 46".

engineered wrote: ↑ 200lbs won't be a problem. That's just one average man.
Also agree that the bench will be solid as is.

SubjectivelyObjective wrote: ↑
Ok sounds good, just wanted to make sure you used screws or some kind of fastener that wont pull out as opposed to nails. Also, just as an FYI for future projects, titebond 2 is water resistant, whereas titebond 3 is water proof. I generally just use titebond 3 for everything now a days. That said, the screws should cover you here even if the glue fails overtime.

In regards to your deck, you can pull up your City/Town standards for decks, or just a nearby one if you can't find one for your property. They will usually say "if you build your deck with these joists, at this spacing, on these footings, your deck will be good for a live load of 40psf". Would be a good step to just make sure you deck is in a good condition before you put extra weight up there, or just in general if you want to see if they did it right. As it is a raised deck, it does require a permit, but that doesnt mean that a permit was ever opened for it.

200lbs over such a large area is pretty minor, so should be fine, if you're worried about that, I would more so be worried about having a bunch of people up there.

rcmpvet wrote: ↑@jugojugo Kudos to you for the bench. Many a new woodworker would have placed the 2X4s on their sides as opposed to placing them on edge as you did. You did right.

jugojugo wrote: ↑ Thanks all completed the move onto the deck. Used about 60lb of rocks and 240L of soil.

Also first time gardening. Everything became droopy after I moved the plants from a small pot to the new planter. Hopefully it becomes normal.

engineered wrote: ↑ Why did you put rocks into it? To fill the box instead of soil? Styrofoam or wood would be a better and lighter choice.

Jerico wrote: ↑ Drainage in the bottom. Do you even soil dude?

BouncyBall wrote: ↑Lots of smaller plants become droopy after you move them. Especially if it was warm when it was done. Their root structure is pretty small and the stems are very weak. Completely normal.
We just moved a ton of small flowers to the side of our garden and all of them were flat on the ground looking like a kid just walked all over them! A day or two later.. right back to normal. just keep them watered well for the first day or two.

Owbist wrote: ↑Nice work, now you are on the road to becoming a full fledged do it yourselfer

engineered wrote: ↑ lol, nope, not mechanical enough Why not just use landscaping fabric with some screening on top?

jugojugo wrote: ↑ Didn't want to start a new post for this, but has anyone used princess auto trigger clamps?

https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/ ... -p8636938e

They are a lot cheaper than what I was looking to buy, irwin/dewalt.

SubjectivelyObjective wrote: ↑ What are you looking to use the clamps for?

Every time I've bought cheaper clamps, I've regretted it (or they broke for some reason or another). Also, I have a bunch of dewalt trigger clamps, bought them at a few of the once a year sales at Atlas or Sauga Hardware; I usually only use them for an extra hand, hold down, or cuts. For glueups I use other clamps with more clamping force, or just ones that are better suited for clamping.

Aside, this combo pack from HD is really great, not sure if its what you're looking for: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/bessey ... 1000833691

SubjectivelyObjective wrote: ↑ What are you looking to use the clamps for?

Every time I've bought cheaper clamps, I've regretted it (or they broke for some reason or another). Also, I have a bunch of dewalt trigger clamps, bought them at a few of the once a year sales at Atlas or Sauga Hardware; I usually only use them for an extra hand, hold down, or cuts. For glueups I use other clamps with more clamping force, or just ones that are better suited for clamping.

Aside, this combo pack from HD is really great, not sure if its what you're looking for: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/bessey ... 1000833691

jugojugo wrote: ↑ I am looking for clamps to do glue-ups. These F style clamps are better than bar style with triggers?

engineered wrote: ↑ I was thinking landscaping fabric.

In my experience the cheap trigger clamps are ok, but don't have a lot of clamping force like the quality ones, Irwin clamps for example.

SubjectivelyObjective wrote: ↑ If you buy good trigger clamps, I think I have 300lbs and 600lbs, I think you might be good for glueups with softwoods, but for hardwoods I believe you need to at least go up to f clamps or parrallel/pipe clamps.

A lot of times it depends what you're doing and how good your joint is. If you can make a perfect joint, in theory you don't need too much pressure, but I think most joints are a bit off perfect.

Generally speaking, I don't really glue up any softwoods, so I'm more so speaking to hardwoods, in which I use parallel clamps which I can tighten lightly and get adequate clamping pressure.

It really comes down to what you plan to do with the clamps. If you're going to joint up a cutting board, probably want some f clamps or parallel clamps, if you're just going to clamp something down after putting some glue on it so you can drive in a screw, then trigger clamps are probably fine.

In fact, in the past when I've done larger projects, ie, a wardrobe or something that is huge and I run out of clamps for, I'll often use pocket screws and dados, so the pocket screws hold everything in place while the glue dries.