Wood to make workbench

[David Eisenhauer]

I used cypress recovered from an old water tank off of my grandfather's farm for outdoor furniture. It was soft and light, easy to work with. Makes lots of fine, fine sanding powder if sanded. My memory of working it is that it may be a little too soft for a work bench, but that is the only time I have used it. Other cypress may be a little harder.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Kent, I agree with Mel, I think those prices are bit on the high side for this side of Tucson (sorry Ken). I'm guessing there are lots of local mills near you that are more reasonably priced. I found Wall Lumber in Mayodan, just a bit north of you that appears to cater to woodworkers - no minimum order for cash and carry - ( http://www.walllumber.com/premier). They can straight edge the stock and even plane it for you which for a bench build you might have them do unless you really want to put those new hand planes to work.

If you are going to build a bench, then go to your local library and see if they have any workbench books. The Workbench book by Scott Landis is a good resource as is the Chris Schwarz "The Workbench Design Book". Another good book is Lon Schleining's "The Workbench - A complete guide to building your perfect bench". Hard Maple is a favorite species used for workbenches, but many, many other species are used as well. Chery is not a common choice, primarily because there are harder, less expensive woods better suited to the use (and abuse). The Gramercy holdfasts (Tools for Working Wood) work just fine in my 3 1/4" in thick top. I had to rough up the shafts with some 100 grit sand paper, but after that, they grip the work just fine.

[Charles Wiggins]

Southern Yellow Pine. It's a workbench, not furniture. SYP readily available in the Southeast, reasonably priced, easy to work, has a fairly good strength to weight ratio, and will harden over time as the resins in the wood dry out.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/wo...rn-yellow-pine

http://blog.lostartpress.com/2014/08...d-workbenches/

[Phil Mueller]

Kent, I'll throw in my 2 cents, as I'm relatively new to hand tools and in the midst of a bench build. I went with a bit of a hybrid. The majority of the wood is pine. On the front legs that will have a leg vise and dog holes, I faced the legs (front and back) with hard maple. I also faced the front rail with maple that the deadman will slide on and the front and back of the top is maple. I'm using hard maple for the leg vise chop and some Purple Heart I had for the deadman.

In the course of the build, a couple things became apparent. The pine is much more forgiving when it comes to tool sharpness and that made it much less frustrating. On the other hand, when you pound a part to check fit, use a scrap...the pine will dent. But throughout the build, I keep reminding myself this is just a workbench...a tool and it's going to get a few dents and nicks over time.

I agree with a few suggestions above. Get a book or two on bench building. Also check out Paul Sellers bench build video.

[Robert Engel]

I agree re: SYP but for 70 cents more I would also go with ash.

IMO a workbench top should be of a dense wood although a softwood will probably work just as well.

IMO 2" is not thick enough. How thick? I think 5 is overkill and 3- 3 1/2 is probably ideal.

[John Sanford]

Anyone see a problem with using domestic cherry?

A problem? No, nor would I see a problem with using air dryed walnut, honduran mahogany teak. All, however, would be a suboptimal allocation of resources. Almost any wood will work, the question is how much does it cost, how stable is it, and how easy is it to work with the tools you'll be using? IF somebody gave me a thousand board feet of cherry and I had no cash for other wood, then I might use the cherry, but I'd cry when doing so because cherry is a great wood for making furniture. (In a better world, I'd sell enough of the cherry necessary to buy soft maple for the base and hard maple for the top, and still end up with more cherry than if I'd made a bench.)

Setting aside the big box/construction lumber route, if cost were a concern, I'd go with a poplar base and either hard or soft maple top. Relative advantages and disadvantages of the two maples have been proferred by others. FWIW, cost not being the primary concern for me, and being my third bench, I'm currently building one with a soft maple base, hard maple top and some purpleheart accents.

[Mark Kornell]

Anyone see a problem with using domestic cherry?

I made my workbench top from cherry, 4" thick. It is a good wood to work with in general, and presents no issues being used in a workbench. Allocation of resources is a personal choice.

[William Ignelzi]

I made my workbench using SYP from a combination of scavenged material and purchased from The Hardwood Store of NC. Two factors for the choice of SYP - expense and authenticity. It felt right to use SYP in North Carolina.

Been buying from The Hardwood Store for many years, it's a well run operation.

[Kent Adams]

Charles, one problem though with pine, I hate the look of it.

[Charles Wiggins]

Charles, one problem though with pine, I hate the look of it.

My natural response is, "Who cares what it looks like? It a workbench." Oh well, as the Schwarz says, just about any wood will do as long and it is dry so it's relatively stable.

"Any wood (even plywood) can be used to make a bench. The material should be cheap, easy to get, heavy (if possible), dry-ish and heavy (if possible). After a few years of use, your bench will look like every other used bench – beat up, broke in and awesome." http://www.popularwoodworking.com/wo...bench-builders

[Kent Adams]

My natural response is, "Who cares what it looks like? It a workbench." Oh well, as the Schwarz says, just about any wood will do as long and it is dry so it's relatively stable.

"Any wood (even plywood) can be used to make a bench. The material should be cheap, easy to get, heavy (if possible), dry-ish and heavy (if possible). After a few years of use, your bench will look like every other used bench – beat up, broke in and awesome." http://www.popularwoodworking.com/wo...bench-builders

Part of my joy in the workshop is working with material I find enjoyable, looking at material I find pleasing and working with tools that bring me enjoyment. Pure utilitarianism doesn't inspire me. I won't be building anything out of pine except maybe the outdoor raised bed. It's everywhere we live in our part of the country. I have pine overload. I may not choose cherry, but walnut and maple. Heck, I may build the top out of sapele .

[Pat Barry]

Heck, I may build the top out of sapele .

Cool idea. Please post pics of your progress

[George Sanders]

I am also starting to build a bench. I'm using an article from Popular Woodworking Feb. 2001 called the $175 workbench. I just bought syp yesterday. I am restricted on space so I will only make it 6' long and 26' wide. It will only have 1 vise for now and I can add an end vise later.

[Charles Wiggins]

Part of my joy in the workshop is working with material I find enjoyable, looking at material I find pleasing and working with tools that bring me enjoyment. Pure utilitarianism doesn't inspire me. I won't be building anything out of pine except maybe the outdoor raised bed. It's everywhere we live in our part of the country. I have pine overload. I may not choose cherry, but walnut and maple. Heck, I may build the top out of sapele .

To each his own. If you have the means and it makes you happy, why not? Personally, I love to go into an old building and seeing SYP. When we first moved to Rutherford County we rented a house built in the 1920s. The paneling in all of the family spaces, and all of the floors were SYP. Thankfully, no one had ever painted any of it. The rooms were dark, but that wood was gorgeous.

[Adam Cruea]

I'd be looking at hickory. Way harder than yellow pine but only a buck pbf more.

Just curious. . .you ever made a workbench, completely by hand, from hickory?

Don't get me wrong, I love my hickory workbench. . .but I will probably not build another one in my lifetime.