Hello everyone,

I'm planning to build a workbench in the upcoming weeks. I bought Chris Schwarz's book and have been adopting some ideas from it. He suggests Southern Yellow Pine, and I think also recommends Fir as a substitute for those out west. I'm in Maryland and the home center stores around me don't have SYP. Can anyone recommend an alternative that I could easily find around here (also, I'm a jobless student on an extremely tight budget)?

One more thing, I notice most of the laminated tops are made from glued 2x4s. Is there any reason not to use 4x4s, with half the amount of boards?

Thanks!