The shoulder vise was going so well. Until I got to the vise jaw ...
Yet another glaring example of what can happen if you don't mark your parts so you can tell which way is up, what's the "inside" and what's the outside etc.. Fortunately this screw up was recoverable. As a bonus, the pause to figure out the fix brought up the following:
With the invaluable help of a buddy, the bench top slab and the two thicknesser strips were run through the drum sander to a) get all the dirt and grime that'd built up on what had been the original bench top so I'd have fresh wood on both glue surfaces b) to remove the finish on the parts that had been under the old bench top but where now going to be visible and c) to begin taking the crown off the top slab. Lots and lots of very light passes through the sander, turning to get all of the 20 1/2" wide by 55 7/8" long top sanded using an 18 inch wide drum sander. The operation required two people, one to feed and push and one on the outfeed side to pull and support the work - the little 1/8th hp belt feed motor not designed to handle stuff this big and heavy.
Doug, I could never have gotten this top sanded without your help. I owe you at least a week's worth of Super Burritos from the Burrito Factory!
The glue up of the bench top to the front and back "edge thickening strips" was done right on the base unit of the bench, with all the parts "right side up" - after working with them upside down for the last few days/daze. I covered the top of the base with that stretchy Saran Wrap stuff to protect it from any glue drips. Set the "thicknesser strips" face up on the bench base, line them up, poured out the glue, spread it with a piece of 1/4" ply scrap and helfted the top onto them. Get one corner lined up and clamp it, go to the next corner, line things up, clamp it, go back to the first corner, re-align and tighten the clamp, back to the second corner to check and adjust - until all four outside corners were aligned correctly.
Then I got out almost every clamp I own and started clamping every three or four inches all the way around the bench top.
Now do you see why "You can never have enough clamps!". Got just a little squeeze out which meant there was enough glue BUT not too much glue.