The bench is ready for drilling for the threaded inserts.
Bought a 7/16" drill bit.
The original holes are 5/16".
Drilled out one of the holes to 7/16" on the drill press to test out the fit of the threaded insert.
The threaded insert uses a hex wrench to install.
The hole was chamfered so that the insert will sit slightly under flush.The test went well.
The tension on the threads as it was being installed was just about right. It required some significant force but no so much as to be concerned about splitting the board.
Drilling out all the rest of the holes.
Used the adjustable stop on the drill press to ensure that the drill bit does not go through the bench.The drill depth is about an inch below the surface of the bench bottom.
While drilling, had to support the board on the end with some scrap wood to get the board to be close to level.
Checked the depth of the holes to make sure that the inserts will not bottom out before reaching the right depth.
Applied some grease to the threads and the wood to reduce friction as the threaded inserts are installed. Worked well.
Installed the legs using 2" long bolts with a washer.
The bolts are too short. The right length is 2.5" (not 2). Although the bolts will install, they don't go deep enough into the threaded inserts. One of the bolts will not install (only catches one thread before bottoming out).Will need to buy some longer bolts & replace all of them.
