First Workbench - SYP and a bit of Maple?

First of all, I'd like to introduce myself as a new member! I'm Jeff, and I live in central Missouri. I've just started getting into woodworking and am starting to ramp up to some real projects, such as a built-in desk, end tables, etc. Sawmill Creek has been an amazing source of knowledge sharing and I want to thank you all for being such a helpful community!

I'm in the midst of building a real workbench. I've been reading through Christopher Schwarz's workbench book and getting a design formulated. Due to budget constraints, I'll be working with SYP. However, the question I currently have for you fine folks is this:

I have come across some 4/4 hard maple for $2.50ish/bdft and wondered if it would be at all beneficial to incorporate it in my laminated top for the rows of dog holes. So like 2 plank each per row of dog holes (2 rows). Would that help the holes last a bit longer if I utilized dogs frequently? Also, would it be beneficial to make the jaws for the front vise with the hard maple and the front skirt of the laminated top as well?


Let me know if my questions are at all confusing or if you need more info. Please no comments trying to disuade me from SYP, as finances dictate and I'm comfortable enough in my manhood to have a workbench made of floor joists!


-jeff

Jeff,

First - Welcome to the Creek. The waters are wide and deep, but friendly.
Second - You've already taken the first bit of bench building advise I can offer - you've got Christopher Schwarz' book.

I've never laminated maple with pine, so I don't have any direct knowledge. I just looked over at the Shrinkulator, and it says that loblolly pine (I think the same as SYP) and sugar maple (a common hard maple), have nearly identical expansion and contraction. That means it should probably work without delaminating.

Using the hard maple for the highest wear surfaces on the bench makes sense, but it could make planing the top a little more challenging.

Jeff, First welcome to the Creek. You'll find alot of usefull info and helpfull people here. As to the bench what ever you can afford should work fine. Mine is made of 2x4s from Lowes. I want a new one but this one works for now. I see a lot about maple for bench tops . And I would surely have setup for bench dogs and holdfasts on my new bench. Craig

Jeff,

That is a good price for maple so go for it. I think doing the laminations mixing the two is likely to be fine, too.

Thanks for the input, guys! So it sounds like Maple should laminate fine sandwiched between SYP. I hadn't even thought of that being an issue!

Would you build the entire workbench out of hard maple if it only cost $125 more than SYP? I know, this coming from the guy saying he wouldn't consider it... Also, what is the minimum thickness you'd recommend for a maple top?

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Originally Posted by Jeff Bilbro

. . . Would you build the entire workbench out of hard maple if it only cost $125 more than SYP? I know, this coming from the guy saying he wouldn't consider it... Also, what is the minimum thickness you'd recommend for a maple top?

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Southern Yellow Pine is more than adequate and my experience may not be normal, but this is the post I made while I was working on my workbench top Southern Yellow Pine are Tough Wood. The good news is that it's done now and it looks great. It does dent more easily than I really like, but it's a workbench top, not a dining room table and that's not a real problem. Even after my careful lining up of the grains, I had to scrape parts of the top to avoid tearout.

Money is always an issue for me, but I think if I could have gotten hard maple for that price, and I knew what I do now, I would have chosen it for the top. I'd still use a lesser wood for the base.

Not sure about thickness, but you can go to the Sagulator and compare Loblolly pine and Sugar Maple.

Have fun -

Jeff, welcome aboard.

I've only built a sawbench with SYP--it's a great wood for things that need a lot of mass. If you have a choice between thick (construction dimension) SYP and 4/4 hard maple, I'd probably still go with the SYP, frankly. It would make laminating the top a lot easier. I'd still buy the hard maple for a furniture project, though :).

You might get a -little- benefit out of using maple for the vise jaws, but honestly, I'd go for ease of maintenance. John already mentioned that planing a top laminated with two woods might pose some minor difficulties. I think it would potentially be awkward, but doable. But again, I'd probably privilege ease of maintenance over theoretical durability.

Chris uses his benches far more than most of us, and the SYP Roubo has famously been around since 2005 (?). I saw it in Berea last fall and it seemed perfectly fine to me. I built my workbench around the same time--my top is maple and I can't say it's holding up better in any noticeable (or meaningful) way. If I had SYP readily available I'd use it for most of my shop projects and not think twice about it.

Jeff,

That's a good price if it select.

I'm working on two SYP utility benches right now, and while doing research i cam across two thinks that made me chose it.

1. SYP is stiffer (won't sag as much under load) & heavier than hard maple, yet it's softer. Thus when you inevitebly drop that finely finished board it will dent the benchtop and not the board.
2. SYP is a lot cheaper especially when you buy the big stuff. To build my benchtops I purchased #1 KD 2x12x14's and the per board foot price was $.75 and thats from a borg.

attatatched is one of the tops I'm working on. please note this is the bottom of the top that's why you can see a few small knots.:D

Thanks so much for the replies!

I think I will stick with the original plan of building 100% with SYP.

Another question, why the heck are vises so stinking expensive?! What would be the recommendation for a decent front vise? I've finished the section in Chris Schwarz' book on vises, but am still pretty confused as to what will work best for me.

Vises are expensive, but I don't think they are over priced.

You can go with a leg vise, which keeps costs pretty low.

I decided to drop most of my bench money on the vises. The wood will be around for a long time and will work just about the same whether it is SYP or hard maple. With vises, cost does tend to equal quality. I got some German made hardware from Woodcraft (no longer available but similar to) for my face vise and a Wilton tilting jaw vise for my end vise. Total cost ~~ $250. Looking at lesser vises in person persuaded me to pay for the good stuff. They probably weigh over 30lbs each, are well built to last as long as the rest of the bench, and are a pleasure to use.

I'm down to either this vise from rockler, or one of these from LeeValley. I have heard mixed feelings on Quick Release vises. Do you guys prefer quick release or not?

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Originally Posted by Jeff Bilbro

I'm down to either this vise from rockler, or one of these from LeeValley. I have heard mixed feelings on Quick Release vises. Do you guys prefer quick release or not?

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Those all look like quality products. I'd be inclined to go toward one of the European made ones from Lee Valley as they are a stellar company to work with and I prefer to avoid purchasing from China where I can.

Aside from cost, I don't see much down side of a quick release vise. Cheap ones may not last, but I haven't heard of that being a frequent problem. Only one of my two vises has a quick release, but if cost were no object, they would both have it.