SPF for bench top?

[Dustin Keys]

I went to buy the lumber last week for my bench. The Home Depot near me has had a stack of SYP 2x4s for months. I finally caught a break in my schedule, and my brother was in town with his truck, so we went to get my lumber to build a bench. They were out of SYP 2x4s. Not only were they out, they had no idea what I was talking about and said it must have just been some special order stock that they had. They have no plans of getting any more.

Of course, they have more SPF than you know what to do with and couldn't understand why I wasn't interested in it. It's typically labelled "whitewood." I didn't think I would have any problem finding the SYP as I had seen it every time I was in HD. I never see anyone building a bench from SPF, so I'm concerned that it is a bad choice.

Should I look harder for SYP, or will the SPF make for a serviceable bench top? It's fairly cheap and available in abundance, which is the only reason I'm considering it really. I was originally told it was far too soft to make a good bench top though. It's a fairly significant investment in lumber and the time it will take to build it, so I want to get the right material.

They had SYP 2x12s, so I did grab two of those for the stretchers. At least I didn't leave empty-handed.

Thanks,
Dustin

[Pat Barry]

Dustin, what is SPF? Its a new term to me. Also, if they have the material in 2x12, I'm assuming you could rip it to size you need.

[Robert Rozaieski]

SPF (i.e. Spruce-Pine-Fir; a generic term they use to identify stud wood that can be from any of these species) will be fine.

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[Prashun Patel]

I wouldn't use SPF studs for two reasons. Pine and spruce aren't as dimensionally stable or heavy as fir. Second, those studs at HD tend to be rather knotty.

If you must use BORG wood, then use the KD Douglas Fir studs just to the right of the SPF bin. They're less knotty and will hold up a little better.

Some of the 'white wood' in the hard board section might be SYP. The 5/4 pieces usually look pretty good to me; but I can't tell you what they are.

Last, I submit that if you are considering using studs for the bench, then you are prepared to do a lot of planing and jointing to get a solid, smooth, laminatable surface. If you have access to a planer and jointer, then you might consider getting ash or soft maple from a lumber dealer or even mail order. It will be a little pricier, but a lot heavier and harder. Hey, my bench is DougFir + MDF top + DougFir edge banding, so don't go by me, but I'll tell you that my bench takes a beating and shows it easy.

[Dustin Keys]

Ugh, I should have bought it then while I had the truck there in that case.

I could have sworn that I had read it was a really bad choice for a bench.

Oh well, I'll have to buy him dinner again I guess to get him back over here with the truck.

Thanks,
Dustin

[Dustin Keys]

I wouldn't use SPF studs for two reasons. Pine and spruce aren't as dimensionally stable or heavy as fir. Second, those studs at HD tend to be rather knotty.

If you must use BORG wood, then use the KD Douglas Fir studs just to the right of the SPF bin. They're less knotty and will hold up a little better.

Some of the 'white wood' in the hard board section might be SYP. The 5/4 pieces usually look pretty good to me; but I can't tell you what they are.

Last, I submit that if you are considering using studs for the bench, then you are prepared to do a lot of planing and jointing to get a solid, smooth, laminatable surface. If you have access to a planer and jointer, then you might consider getting ash or soft maple from a lumber dealer or even mail order. It will be a little pricier, but a lot heavier and harder. Hey, my bench is DougFir + MDF top + DougFir edge banding, so don't go by me, but I'll tell you that my bench takes a beating and shows it easy.

DF is not plentiful nor cheap where I'm at. Most of the DF that is available is treated lumber for outdoor use. The SPF in my stores is far too white to be SYP.

I don't have a jointer or planer yet, so this won't be the showpiece job that some of the benches I see here are. I'm following the construction steps that are in Bob and Dave's Good, Fast and Cheap Bench plans. I've modified the design a bit to suit my needs and vise, but I'm going to construct it basically the same way they do. They did theirs without a planer and jointer, so I should be okay.

Thanks,
Dustin

[Andrae Covington]

...They had SYP 2x12s, so I did grab two of those for the stretchers...

Why not buy more of the 2x12's for the rest of the bench? In Schwarz's workbench book (the first one) he specifically recommends buying 2x12's rather than 2x4's, as they tend to be much clearer and straighter. He then rips them into narrower pieces to glue up for the top (for a roubo-style bench, anyway)... basically discarding the flatsawn or pith middle and ending up with two rift- or quartersawn boards that are ~3-4 inches wide.

[Michael N Taylor]

Dustin, You don't want to use SPF for your top, it will not hold up over the long haul and it would need to be replaced a lot sooner than other material. Why don't you get the 2x12 in SYP and rip them to size, the material in the 2x12 will be less knotty and a lot straighter.

[Erik France]

They had SYP 2x12s, so I did grab two of those for the stretchers. At least I didn't leave empty-handed.

The SPF wouldn't be bad for a top. It is not quite as hard as SYP, but I don't think it makes that much of a difference.

I made mine from ripped SYP 2x12s and 2x10s from Home Depot. Their SYP 2x4s were not very straight or clear. I got a lot more usable wood from the 2x12s. Grain orientation for the top was easier to deal with using the ripped 2x12s. Sorting through the 16' 2x12s wasn't very much fun. I had already gone through the shorter boards during the base build. I found that the longer 2x12s were straighter too. I had HD crosscut them in half so I could get them home easier. There wasn't much difference in the price per BF between the sizes either.

[Chen-Tin Tsai]

I made mine out of 2x12's that were marked "Hem/Fir", which supposedly is Hemlock or Douglas Fir, whichever it may be. While it's not quite as hard as SYP, it works just fine and cuts (more or less) cleanly. The Schwarz recommends buying the longest, clearest 2x12's and ripping those down. This is usually because the longest, clearest pieces end up as 2x12's since they have to span long distances, while 2x4's are usually not as clear and have more imperfections (knots, twists, bows, etc) which will have to be worked out before .

[Brett Bobo]

Dustin,
I'm not but only 200 miles South of you and at Lowe's and HD, all I can find is SYP dimensional lumber with the occassional bin of SPF and 4x4 DF. You may have already done this but I'd suggest calling several stores in the Dallas area for the availability of SYP. Don't quote me on this but I believe Temple-Inland in Dibol, Texas supplies most of the Lowe's and HD stores in the Texas area.

In my opinion, you can't go wrong with selecting almost any available wood as long as you realize the downsides (or upsides) of what you select. For example, the SYP, SPF, and even DF are less dense, approximately half, than "typical" workbench woods such as maple. So, just expect more dings and dents and the frequency that you re-flatten the top. I wouldn't select anything less than a #2 grade of dimensional lumber for a workbench, preferably #1 grade, to reduce waste and avoid stability issues over time. Also, I would avoid ripping larger material down to smaller material as there may be extensive tension release within the wood itself, particularly several days after. What may be a straight board today may be a big banana several days to a week later with woods like SYP, particularly if the wood is wet or been wet from sitting outside of the store uncovered. At the very least, rough cut your material over-size to allow for tension release and then after it has stabilized, joint and plane the boards to their final dimensions.

[bradley strong]

If you don't have a jointer and planer, you are in for a tough project. Have you considered laminating sheet goods. Someone else mentioned MDF with edge banding. This is a great idea. Top it off with a piece of hard board that can be replaced once it is worn out. The bench will be flatter and more usable. For woodworking, a bench much not only be stable, it must be flat as well. OSB is very dense and cheap. You can have it cut at HD or Lowes to the size you need. Glue it up with liquid nails and top it with hard board. Any top made from construction grade lumber will warp unless you let the lumber dry in your shop for a few months and then joint and plane everything before you build. Even then it's going to move some.

[Johnny Kleso]

I used SYP 2x4s for my bench that I have outdoors and only covered with a tarp..

I never planed to 2x4s till they where glued up and so far 5 years it is doing just fine replanning the top and adding spar varnish ever other year..

I glued it up in two and three boards at a time then planes the glue faces till they matched well and glued the small glue ups into larger ones..


My first WW Project pretty much..
http://home.comcast.net/~rexmill/pro...ench/bench.htm

[Zach England]

I thought he was putting sunscreen on his bench. Seriously.

[Kevin Grady]

Look into Glulam beams. They're already glued up for you. Just need to flatten them. Just got two 3 1/8" x 12" x 8ft beams for a split top I am building and using "white wood" 2x6s for the base. Glulam beams (at least here in the NW are made primarily of DF). Also, make sure you get the architectural beams (made for exposed beams construction).