Originally Posted by
Harold Burrell
It is my understanding...that construction grade pine will harden significantly over time. I am sure that it will "ding up" much more than, say, maple though.
However...it is, after all, a workbench.
Harold, my understanding is the same, especially for yellow pine. I'm not so certain about doug fir, but the numbers show it to be slightly stiffer, slightly lighter, and about the same hardness - before the aging, I would guess. Still, even if it's a bit soft, that is actually appealing to me. I like the idea of my "work dings the workbench" instead of the other way around. That's one reason I've been looking at using (untreated) doug fir, instead of maple or ash. Plus, by my calculations, I should be able to get all of the lumber for about $300. And that's for a 5" thick top! If I drop to the 4-by material, it'll be about $250.
Hard part will be handling the lumber. I'll have to show up at the lumber yard with my sawbenches and a hand saw in order to get it to fit into the truck! (My plan is to buy 12 or 16 footers and cut them down to transport, I've heard many times that the longer stuff is usually clearer than the shorter stuff.)
daniel
Last edited by daniel lane; 08-26-2014 at 12:01 AM.
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