Same process as just described gets done to the other side; another 3 hours of hacking on the underneath side with planes. Here's the "finished" result of the rough planing:
First, the left edge has a crack that runs the full depth of the glu-lam. In order to make the bench stable, I'll have to stop the crack, probably with a butterfly.
Second, the wood seems to have dried out more on this side than the other; the grain is raised and there are splits in almost all of the lengthwise boards. I'll want to fill those to stabilize the wood and to keep more cracks from forming through to the top. I might be able to close up the splits by adding moisture in the form of tung oil; I'll have to try that, experimenting on the underneath side.
The left edge has a bunch of missing pieces; the whole edge has several dings, gouges, and missing wood, so maybe I'll want to fill those in, creating a new edge.
I'm satisfied that I can make this both structurally sound and "pretty." Anything I can do on this side to perfect my techniques will transfer to the other side - the side everyone will see.
CHEERS!
Phil
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