Framing lumber for bench? What is the trick?

[Rick Cicciarelli]

I have been wanting to build a bench for years now but I have had several excuses that I keep coming up with for not doing it. No money for hardwood for one. No jointer/planer. Need a bench to build a bench etc. I have decided I am just going to do it. I will be following the lead from others and using framing lumber for it. I have decided that even though I would like a hard maple bench, since this IS my first bench, I would rather screw things up using framing lumber. Plus it will allow me to see what I like and dislike about the design and THEN, later on, I can make my "good" bench out of hard maple.

So here is my problem. I have seen all these guys posting photos of their great looking benches made from framing lumber obtained from Lowes/HD and what not. I go down to start getting ideas of a cost for this project. I am in upstate New York and stopped at the Lowes, Home Depot and another more local lumber yard. We don't get southern yellow pine up this way. But I know folks make very nice benches out of Fir as well. Problem is, all I see available is knots with a little wood holding them in place. This lumber is junk. It is all knots! Where are people finding even reasonable framing lumber to use for making a bench? I am looking at 2x10's and 2x12's in 12, 14, and 16 foot lengths. I can barely find anything that I would be able to get a 7 or 8 foot length of wood from that would not have knots on the edges, which would then become part of my bench top. What am I missing here?

[Prashun Patel]

What you're 'missing' is that the quality and quantity of lumber varies from store to store in these big boxes.

For instance, I can get quite clear, straight KD DougFir 2x4's where I am, but the same store doesn't sell 2x6's or larger that are KD.

If you are going to go the Big Box route, then you gotta (IMHO) be prepared to shop a few locations.

That being said, straight, clear stock is really only important on the top, where flatness over seasonal changes is demanded. I submit that without a jointer or planer, you might have a tricky time getting any lumber flat enough with just the tablesaw for a good glue up. So, have you considered using framing lumber for your support structure, and MDF or plywood for the top? This can make a great bench that can serve your needs until (and IF) you want for more cowbell.

I'm on my 3rd bench now, and with each I really learn a lot about what I like and don't like. I'm glad I didn't invest a lot of effort in my very first (I think I built it in an afternoon: PARTICLE BOARD and 2x4's).

[Guy Laporte]

Hello, Building an "ugly" bench is to me very worthwhile. I've had mine for about 5 years now and it I keep changing stuff here and there. One of these days I'll make a pretty one. This bench has a maple top from an auction and otherwise built using 2X6s. I used a plane a squared them up, glued and screwed. My first bench was built using plywood cut, screwed and glued (laminated)to make dimensional lumber. I did that because it was to be the base for my wood lathe and I didn't want anything to move. It was a pain but I still have it and it is still solid as day one. If the wood where you are at really sucks then maybe laminating plywood may be the way to go. Like I said, a lot of work but it gets the job done. Good luck!!

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Living in the northeast, I've had better luck waiting until the building season picks up; once lots of construction is going on, you'll see the stock start rotating a lot faster. (At one location in my area, multiple times a day from what I've heard.) In the winter, it seems like stuff takes a lot longer to move, so a lot of times the junk you see is are the leftovers other people left, and have been sitting there for weeks. Sometimes you just have to go more than once. If you go when it's slow, sometimes you can get them to let you pick into a new pallet.

Also, if you're going to be ripping 2x12s and laminating them, if the edge has a few knots and the center is clear, you could in theory put the knots on the underside. Still not the best solution, I know.

Nothing I can really add to this but sometimes you have to go back a few times. If you can find a manager who's helpful, they might give you an idea what time of the week new shipments come in or things get rotated.

I've had better luck at other home centers, smaller regional chains like Curtis Lumber, but because of the way they operate, you're not always able to go picking through the lumber yourself like you can at a HD/Lowes type place, unless you get someone to bend the rules a bit. Helps to not go in the morning when they're hammered with contractors.

[Rick Cicciarelli]

I had thought about the laminated plywood route or MDF for a top but I really want to do a laminated timber top...just the principle of it all. Like I said...I would like to use this cheaper lumber as my first time/model for a better/higher quality bench down the road. I don't need the timber to be perfect, especially on the framing, but I don't want big voids and holes in my bench top. I know that it is not ideal, but I had planned to use a hand plane to get as nice of a glue surface as possible for gluing up boards for the top. I was also going to incorporate two or three 3/8" threaded rods to assist in holding the laminations all together after the glue up.

[Johnny Kleso]

All you need is a Bailey Stanley No6 and some way to sharpen the blade
You can pick one up on ebay for about $65 and a new blade and chipbreaker from Stanley for $17.50
http://www.stanleytoolparts.com/12-325-1-02-0c-02.html

You can flatten the top of a 2x12 glue up in less than one hour maybe two hours for perfection

[glenn bradley]

Maybe a secondary wood from a yard where they have properly cut, dried and stored material available. I did the math (after the fact unfortunately) and I would have spent very little more on poplar at a good yard than than I spentd on BORG construction fir by the time I factored in the waste.

[Jeff Wittrock]

What others have said about multiple visits....

I live in Indiana, and southern yellow pine is available here at a reasonable price.

Every time I go into a Menards (even when I'm not looking for wood), I check the 2x8 and 2x10 piles to see if there is something I can use. Often I don't find anything. Even when I do find something, I seldom walk out with more than two. I just stock up for when a project comes along, and have the advantage that the wood can acclimate a bit.

Happy Hunting .

-Jeff

[Will Boulware]

I live in the south and love southern yellow pine for shop furniture. I'm also in the process of building a bench. I don't know how The Schwarz did it, but I have been unable to find enough "usable" SYP in one trip for a bench regardless of where I shop. I'm rather picky, and they just don't have a bench-ready pile sitting around. However, I've made a habit of digging through the entire pile of 2x12x12's and 2x12x16's every Friday or Saturday. A week is usually enough time for my FLHS to go through whatever is on the bottom bunk and open a new one (they yell and engage in large amounts of arm waving and manager calling if you climb to the top one. Don't ask how I know this.)

My "board a week" strategy works well for me. I'm usually able to find a board or two that is sufficient, and in some cases actually really nice, clear, and straight. If you're in a hurry to build your bench, YMMV. You could also try an actual lumber yard or sawmill. They could have just what you're looking for.

[Casey Gooding]

You may want to try heading to the back of the store where they carry wood intended for floor joists. Dig through the stacks and you can usually find some straight and pretty clear boards. Usually, the longer and wider boards are the best. So, if you have the means to move 16' 2x12's, then you should be good to go.

[Mike Siemsen]

The advice to look through the longer wider planks is good advice. Take it a step farther and build a Nicholson joiners bench. Keep it simple. You will find that the softer SPF type lumber is a bit grippier and being softer the bench dents instead of your project. It is also easier to flatten with a hand plane. This type of bench can be built with hand tools in a weekend. (We built one with power tools in about 5 hours) I posted about building one at
http://schoolofwood.com/node/22
Bob Rozalieski also posted on his
http://www.logancabinetshoppe.com/1/...derations.html
The material doesn't have to be perfect.
Mike

[Prashun Patel]

Ash is cheap, stable, hard, and heavy. I think it's great. The only possible downside is that it's opengrained, so it can be a *little* harder to sweep and not so friendly to write on as closed grain woods. However, these too are not insurmountable: a wetsanded oil/varnish topcoat can fill some of the grain.

[David Keller NC]

Rick - In your area, it looks as if maple (soft maple - but it isn't actually "soft") is about the same price as poplar. Regarding poplar, the greenish color of poplar rapidly goes away when exposed to air. After a couple of months, it's a nut-brown color. This is assuming that a finish is not applied, though it will still turn color, just more slowly. In my view, the ideal bench material doesn't exist - it would close-grained (no open pores to accumulate dirt), non-resinous, cheap, hard, dense, strong, straight-grained, and (the kicker) easy to work with hand tools. That last one is what makes the ideal non-existent - hard, dense and strong usually is diametrically opposed to easy to work with hand tools.

However, my short list would be: maple (hard or soft - both species/groups are really hard), beech, yellow birch, hickory and white oak. Running close seconds would be walnut, cherry, & poplar, though walnut and cherry would only be cheap enough if you live where the trees grow and can get it from a micro-mill or a wood-mizer owner. Thirds would be the softwoods and open-grained woods: southern yellow pine, douglas fir, ash, and red oak. Running fourths would be eastern white pine (because of its softness and weakness, though it would still make a great top, just not so great of a base), hemlock, spruce, basswood, and white fir.

Having said all of that, any of the afore-mentioned material will make a superb bench if it's designed right and due consideration is given to the properties of the wood. For example, I wouldn't hesitate to make a top out of EWP if I hand an opportunity to pickup some clear, thick beams - particularly if it's salvaged old-growth timbers. I would probably choose another wood for the base because I would be concerned that racking forces from planing would work the joints loose.

Finally, I'd say that there's a danger of paralysis by analysis when selecting the species of wood for a bench - you can drive yourself nuts over the relative advantages/disadvantages of a particular wood species. I'd note that most folks wouldn't have even considered making a bench out of SYP before Chris Schwarz put his book out, and in many ways, it's not the ideal bench building material from the workability, resinous nature and hardness aspects. But I would follow his lead - Chris basically decided that it was nuts to follow that unwritten "all workbenches must be made of clear, hard maple" rule, and dove in with the best selection that was readily available in his area. I've seen a bench made some 40 years ago entirely out of south american mahogany - it was beautiful, but more importantly, it was the right selection at the time. Mahogany back then was very inexpensive, it was obtainable in huge, knot-free sizes, and there are few woods with better workability.

[Bas Pluim]

I've made a habit of digging through the entire pile of 2x12x12's and 2x12x16's every Friday or Saturday.

In my experience, your best bet at getting good construction lumber at the big box stores is Tue-Thu. During the week, professional construction crews come in and buy the good lumber. The twisted, splintered and warped pieces are left in the rack. The store then throws that out on Monday and puts in new load from storage. There might still be some good pieces on the weekend, but it's usually buried under the rejects that the pros left behind.

[Greg Portland]

Problem is, all I see available is knots with a little wood holding them in place. This lumber is junk. It is all knots! Where are people finding even reasonable framing lumber to use for making a bench?

My local store has 2 piles @ 2 different price points. One is kiln-dried and fairly free of knots. The other is wet and full of knots (and cheaper). I ended up spending a good bit of time picking through the "good" pile to find enough lumber for my bench. Also, I built a torsion box design which used significantly less wood & allowed me to use good plywood for the surfaces. The dog holes were created by laminating pieces of a 1x6 between two 2x6s (which was then attached to the torsion box top).