Bench Material

[Mike Cogswell]

Any comments on the pros or cons of using soft maple instead of hard maple for a benchtop?

[Prashun Patel]

Aesthetics. Soft can sometimes have grey streaks that some might find undesirable. However, the hardness differences between the two are going to be insignificant on a bench.

For me, the price savings would trump looks, and I'd go for soft.

[Robert Payne]

Soft Maple will work, but it is about 900-920 on the Janka Hardness scale, while Hard Maple is 1450. By comparison, Southern Yellow Pine and Cherry are about the same hardness as soft Maple; Ash, Red and White Oak are all around 1200. I've just bought a bunch of 8/4 Hard Maple to mill into a bench -- it doesn't need to be much better grade than #1 common if you select your pieces and cut the stock carefully.

[Chris Damm]

I built a workbench fro SPF 2 x 4s and covered the top with 1/4" Masonite. It holds up well and the top is easily replaced.

[Jim Andrew]

I used burr oak, a white oak variety for my bench, and still can dent it. Expect it to outlast me though.

[Joe A Faulkner]

I've been wanting to build a real cabinet makers bench for a couple of years now. I was just about to order the hard maple when I did the math. For an 8' x 24" bench, material cost of 8/4 hard maple is going to run me about $450, and that's rough lumber, if I want it jointed and planed, it's another $150 or so. Material cost for SYP will be about $130. As I look at the price difference, I'm thinking I'd rather go with the SYP and apply the savings in lumber towards a nice twin screw vise or big wooden screw components for the vise. On the other hand, I expect to use this bench for 20 plus years, so maybe the extra $320 in material isn't that big of difference over time. Just hard for me to justify the cost difference. Personally, I'd rather work the maple than the pine. My estimates are based on 3.5" thick top and 4.5" x 5" legs.