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Thread: Reality check before diving into a workbench build

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Kansas City, MO
    Posts
    26

    Reality check before diving into a workbench build

    I am brand new here and about to embark on a bench build. I have been reading and studying everything (Chris Schwarz, woodworking blogs, forums, etc.) over the last several months and I am ready to do it. I am going with the Benchcrafted Classic Workbench with the classic leg vise with crisscross (it has already been ordered).

    I have been going back and forth regarding which wood to use. I contemplated soft maple, but last week I went to the local Blue BORG and bought Douglas fir lumber. The lumber is in my shop acclimating. It was an impulse buy, because I am ready to get started, it fits my price point and it was convenient (or not, since I spent 2 hours combing through the stacks).

    However, I am now having doubts about the wood choice. I have read tons on the issue but it is clear as mud. I want to know if anyone out there regrets going with a "softer" wood.

    I originally planned to work mostly with hand tools during the build, but I may join the local woodworkers guild to have access to jointers and planers and such. In the future, I plan to definitely work with hard woods and make things that are needed around the house (kid's bed, coffee tables, etc.).

    Reversing course and going with the maple would cost at least twice as much as the D Fir, that would make the leg vise hardware less affordable (meaning I would definitely go over my project allowance). I also had the idea to get enough maple to make a leg and the chop for the vise. It may clash some with the D Fir, but I figured it would provide extra strength for installing the vise--do anyone think this is necessary or would the D Fir be enough?

    If anyone has any advice or knows of pitfalls to watch out for then I am all ears. If I go with the D Fir then I will give another 10 days to acclimate and then I'll get started and try to post some pics.

    Thanks for any input.

  2. #2
    My bench is also from some kind of fir. It's now I guess some 9 years old and peforms very well. No regrets.

    Of course it is not heavy but standing against a wall and that's no problem

    I made the leg of my legvise from ash. I think fir would need to be much thicker to resist the forces.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Austin Texas
    Posts
    1,957
    Softer woods for a workbench are OK. I believe if you do a search of this forum, at least one or two other folks have written up about using Doug Fir for their workbench (seems like somewhat recently) and you could ask them if they regret it but I have not heard any regrets that I can remember. I used #2 SYP for my bench as it is commonly used here in my area for framing lumber. I also believe I have read a blog by CS where he takes a bench building class group to the Borg to pick up some Doug Fir for their bench builds that he will supervise, but it could have been some other softer framing lumber. The two issues I encountered with using framing lumber were the need to rip off the radius edges and not being able to use a table saw for ripping the 2x12's due the wood pinching the blade (after drying in my shop for 6 or 7 months).
    David

  4. #4
    Ian,

    Wood selection is one of the things first time builders obsess over that in reality makes no never mind. Almost any wood will work. Pick wood that is cheap and available then remember the work bench mantra: Build it heavy, strong, simple, and fast, then go to work making things. After working on your first build for awhile you will find things that you would like to change or add. Once those reach some critical mass, it is time to build another bench, this time you will know enough about the way you work or want to work to build a bench that better fits your needs. That cycle may repeat several times before you build the "perfect" bench.

    Just remember for most the bench is a shop fixture, a tool to be used, not furniture or a show piece and as such it is disposable.

    In my shop I have three benches, two made with SYP, and the last made with Beech. The benches were made over a span of 40 some years with each bench getting simpler than the one preceding it. I've found, for the most part, must have "stuff" just gets in the way of working. A face vise is very useful, tail, wagon, and end vises not so much. Most work holding can be done easier and quicker with holdfasts and battens.

    Long answer but bottom line: Your DF will work with no problem (several years ago I built a DF bench for a friend and he loves it), for the Chop I would use something like Ash or Oak and remember to KISS :-). Of course as always with anything wood YMMV.

    ken

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Marietta, GA
    Posts
    389
    Just build it!

    All simplicity aside, I understand the over-analyzing. I did it too. It's going to be a lot of time and work and you want it done right so you dont have to do it again anytime soon. I Wound up going with 2x12 #2 SYP. Cost me about $100. No regrets. Yes it dents a bit sometimes, but I have no regrets. Those dings and dents mean it's being used for what it was built for.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Essex, MD
    Posts
    420
    My doug fir bench was made with Home Depot 4x4's (our local stores didn't carry 2x DF lumber at the time). I have used the bench for several years, and I think it's great. It is lighter than others, but that hasn't been a problem for me (there was a discussion here on SMC about lighter benches a month or two ago). One thing to watch for with DF is that you get the tightest rings possible (20 per inch rather than 5) so there is less pithy wood to deal with, and also orient the rigs as vertical as possible so the edges of the hard rings provide impact resistance. That my not be possible if you've got 2x lumber.

    My opinion is that if you think you'll be upset by dings, gouges, and bruises in your benchtop, then switch to a hardwood; if you want it useful, inexpensive, and manageable weight-wise - and don't mind using bench hooks, chopping blocks, and other bench accessories to spare your top- then go with the DF.

    You've got the wood, maybe just build the best you can now and start using it. Even if you're very rough with it, you probably won't completely wear it out for at least a few years, at which point you'll have more experienced opinions of your own regarding what works best for you.
    have fun,
    Karl

  7. #7
    It should be absolutely fine. The Bench crafted classic leg vise is wonderful, you will not regret that part at all. Use whatever tools you feel like using to build it, and then enjoy using it to make things.

    I have the similar bench with the bench crafted classic vise in Maple/Beech and it works very well.

  8. #8
    Also, my other bench has a Doug fir base, it has been solid as a rock for about 7 or 8 years....

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    1,209
    I think you are getting good advice from Ken. Benches have a lot of personal preference built into them, and it is hard to know what you actually prefer without working on one for a while.

    My present bench was not perfectly stable, because the floor is a "little irregular" (either that or every part of the base was not perfectly square, but of course since I built it I think the latter explanation is highly unlikely). Truth is that it is hard to build a bench without a bench. Simple solution for me was a couple of strategically placed shims. Really amazing how much they stabilized it.

    Weight is important of course, but at a certain point it is overkill, and as you work you will get better at planing, and need less in terms of resistance. If you watch that video Mike Seimsen has on youtube with his Nicholson Bench, you will see what I mean.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Stone Mountain, GA
    Posts
    751
    My bench is Doug fir and I have no complaints so far. The top will dent and look ratty quicker than a harder wood, if that's important to you.

    My bench is a roubo, 6.5' long 26" wide, 3" thick top. It has plenty of weight; I haven't seen a reason yet to build it any heavier. It's still just light enough that I can move it around the shop (pivoting one side at a time) if I need to.

    My advice would be to be picky about the DF boards you buy. If you are patient you can find pretty nice 2x12s with few or no knots and reasonably tight growth rings. Boards like these are a pleasure to work and look attractive, but the typical board you'll find will have wide growth rings and many knots. These are not much fun to dimension by hand.
    Last edited by Robert Hazelwood; 02-03-2017 at 9:30 AM.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Los Angeles
    Posts
    1,356
    I used kiln dried doug fir 2x4s from Lowes for my bench top and I like it a lot. I spent a chunk of time in Lowes selecting sticks with tight grain and no knots on at least one edge.

    However - even though most of the 2x4s were in my shop for several months in a dry climate before the build, the top has shrunk a little in the 18 months since I built it. I could feel a slight ridge at each glue line and I just sanded it off.

    I used beech on the long edges of the top because DF has a tendency to splinter, as you know, and I had a lot of beech. Color tones look good together too. I made the leg vise chop from beech, but of course a lot of different woods would do.

    I also had a bunch of 4x6s for years at the back of the shop, old, dirty looking wood that made a base that cost only my time. And the bench is more than heavy enough.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Kingston, ON, Canada
    Posts
    223
    Look, this is your first bench... and if you're anything like the rest of us, it certainly won't be your last. Just as others have already said, don't sweat it; build it!

    I would recommend, again as others already have, that you use hardwood for and vises' wooden components.
    Marty Schlosser
    Kingston, ON, Canada
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apexwoodworks/
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  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    105
    My whole bench is BORG 2x6 construction lumber, knots and all ... My only regret is that I used this BORG construction lumber wood on the FRONT section of my split top Roubo. This section takes the most abuse and needs to hold up to the stresses from workholding and clamping, dog holes, etc... the construction lumber doesn't really do that.

    So my advice, go ahead and make the whole bench with the wood you have BUT the first 6 inches (of front section if you do a split top) from some kind of cheap hardwood (around here is Ash and maple). Also make any vice chops or faces with hardwood (another place I regret using construction lumber)

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Marty Schlosser View Post
    Look, this is your first bench... and if you're anything like the rest of us, it certainly won't be your last. Just as others have already said, don't sweat it; build it!

    I would recommend, again as others already have, that you use hardwood for and vises' wooden components.

    I will second vises built out of Hardwood.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Gibney View Post
    I used kiln dried doug fir 2x4s from Lowes for my bench top and I like it a lot. I spent a chunk of time in Lowes selecting sticks with tight grain and no knots on at least one edge.

    However - even though most of the 2x4s were in my shop for several months in a dry climate before the build, the top has shrunk a little in the 18 months since I built it. I could feel a slight ridge at each glue line and I just sanded it off.

    I used beech on the long edges of the top because DF has a tendency to splinter, as you know, and I had a lot of beech. Color tones look good together too. I made the leg vise chop from beech, but of course a lot of different woods would do.

    I also had a bunch of 4x6s for years at the back of the shop, old, dirty looking wood that made a base that cost only my time. And the bench is more than heavy enough.

    This actually sounds like a wonderful bench. It does not need to be hard maple and sanded to 320 grit to be a good usable bench!

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