benchtop

[Dan Barr]

dont worry. stuff will accumulate during a project and you WILL use both of those benches. then you'll put your first good ding in the nice one.

you'll just have to take a breath and let it be.

ciao,

dan

[Alex Yeilding]

Can someone give some feedback on using construction grade stuff? I would imagine moisture would be my biggest concern? What else?

I built my second bench a couple of years ago of SYP, and have been very pleased with it. Wood movement has affected me only in the trestle base with knockdown joints on the stretchers. A couple of times I have had to give the wedges a hit with a mallet, as they had loosened due to seasonal movement.

You've correctly identified moisture as a key concern. As a couple of others have said here, give it plenty of time to aclimate to your shop environment.

Some of this stuff has lots of internal tensions that can be released as you cut it. I felt safer ripping on a bandsaw. I also left pieces somewhat oversized so that any warping that happened as they are cut or when the former center dries further can be dressed away. leaving boards of desired size.

Take the time to solve the puzzle of laying out your boards with the grain on the top all going one direction -- I have not found SYP to take planing against the grain very gracefully, unless you are taking such small shavings that you will never get it done. I also like to alternate ring direction Inside of tree facing forward every other board, backwards on the others. But this is not as important IMHO as grain direction.

If you have tailed apprentices and don't mind using them, I'd suggest glue-up in stages, with each slab as wide as your jointer will take (6" for me). Then treat that slab as a single board, flattening and squaring relative to each other two faces on the jointer, and use a thickness planer to make other faces parallel. (This is "do as I say, not as I do" I didn't do this with my bench, but did on a subsequent laminated piece, and it saves a lot of work at the final flattening stage.)

I don't know what you plan on for finish, but I'd suggest that you do use something, Even just a drying oil like linseed or tung will prevent a lot of splinters, which can be another negative of this wood.

P.S., I have been extremely pleased with how flat my bench has stayed. Flattening it with a #8, I easily got it to within 0.001" to 0.002" per foot, which I told myself was a fun but useless exercise, since it would quickly move, and I would just reflatten periodically. But it hasn't! I'm about at the stage where I want to take off 1/64" or so for aesthetics to remove nicks, but I don't need to for flatness.

[Stan Suther]

I would use southern yellow pine as well. Extremely hard and will take a beating. And it's readily available at places like Lowes and HD.

I see you are in Columbia, SC. I'm up the road near Charlotte and have been looking for southern yellow pine at Lowe's and HD. Funny thing. They rarely stock it in this area. I found some at an independent lumber yard. Seems like the big boxes are all about "white wood" which could be white pine, spruce, or fir, none of which is very stout. I think it's odd that they make it hard to find southern yellow pine in the south

[Don C Peterson]

Same here in the Kansas City area. I can get Douglas Fir, but the only Yellow Pine is treated. Douglass Fir it is then...

[Mike Steinhilper]

I see you are in Columbia, SC. I'm up the road near Charlotte and have been looking for southern yellow pine at Lowe's and HD. Funny thing. They rarely stock it in this area. I found some at an independent lumber yard. Seems like the big boxes are all about "white wood" which could be white pine, spruce, or fir, none of which is very stout. I think it's odd that they make it hard to find southern yellow pine in the south

Yes, I was in Lowe's yesterday, and most of the 2x4 stuff was fir I think. However there was all kinds of SYP in the larger dimensions... 2x12x16, etc. Personally I don't know how I would even get at it to pick my boards, let alone transport it. I'm leaning toward a couple 3/4 plywood laminated together with a nice edge all the way around.

[Dan Barr]

Hey Alex,

As for the using of the SYP bench; do you find it any different than a hardwood bench? does it seem softer when chopping out a mortise or during any other "mallet" type operation?

ciao,

dan

[Alex Yeilding]

As for the using of the SYP bench; do you find it any different than a hardwood bench? does it seem softer when chopping out a mortise or during any other "mallet" type operation?

Unfortunately, I don't have the basis for comparison. My first bench (still my portable power tool and assembly bench) is a solid core door on framing lumber base.

Subjectively, I don't think it is as hard as many common furniture hardwoods, but it is much harder than the wood normally sold as "SPF" at the Borg. I get no bounce or give when chopping on it.

[James Mittlefehldt]

While doing my Saturday morning meditation, fresh coffee in hand sunk deep in my favourite armchair something occurred to me regarding bench tops. That is, that in many traditional tops the front section was thick and the back 2/3's or half was not so much.

Garret Hack's bench is that way, as is Mike Dunbar, the Dominy benches and the Shaker benches. Now correct me if I am wrong, I did not recall seeing that aspect discussed in Schwarz's boook unless it is buried in the text as I have only skimmed it so far. That was also something that was mentioned to me when I built my bench eight years ago, that only the front portion needed to be real heavy and thick, the rest not so much.

The Hancock Shaker village bench has a strip of hard pine for the rear section, oak or chestnut for the centre, both about 1 3/4 inches thick then a 16 ich section in the front made from beech or maple and 4 inches thick.

If noting else that adds more possibilites if you happen to have a a limited selection of hardwood that could make a part of a top you would be in good company should you decide to build that way.

I can hear you all now, oh great more choices to consider. I am going back now to Schwarz's book to see if he mentions that anywhere.

[harry strasil]

My demo bench top is Basswood, real soft but light so it can be moved around easily. What a thick bench does is work like a blacksmiths anvil, its used as a solid surface to work on. The solidity of the top is what makes it work well for chopping and such. It more or less has no spring to it due to its thickness. Most neander work is done on only the front quarter of the bench and/or at the vise.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ighlight=bench

[James Mittlefehldt]

I recall seeing that thread when you first put it up, but had forgotten, good one Harry.

I am thinking of making a secind bench that would be for planing and mortising that sort of stuff, and I am thinking maybe 29 inches high. I have some really dry and thick white ash and while reading the various workbench studies that thick front occurred to me. I am nnot sure why the Schwarz book does not discuss it , but I think it is worth a look.

Once again thanks for the reference Harry.

[Matt Martyn]

Matt,

If you haven't already, check out Workbenches: From Design and Theory to Construction and Use By Christopher Schwarz. In my opinion, it's really the workbench book and it has lots of great advice for building workbenches, especially wood.

It may help you out. If not, get it anyways...it's a pretty good book even without needing it

Hi Thomas

Thanks for the book recomendation. I have seen it mentioned here a few times now, and it sounds like a good one. Will deffinetely look into getting a copy!

[Matt Martyn]

White or Black Spruce, actually the stuff has I believe a fairly high strength to weight ratio, and the better mills usually take the =tiwisted stuff from the kilns after drying amd make pulp for paper out of it. It has been used for years and is the material of choice, or should I say availability hereabouts.

MAtt;
If you are in a part of Ontario that has sawmills and such nearby, you might be able to get red pine which is harder and better suited for a workbench than Spruce construction lumber, you might even be able to get it in 16/4 size, I am thinking particularily of North Bay and environs.

James,

I never really thought to use red pine, good idea! I'm not really near any saw mills, but do visit some occasonally, so I will deffinately keep an eye out for some of that. Thanks.

[Mike Steinhilper]

what about a layer or two of 3/4" birch plywood on top of my door benchtop? Then edge banded. That would be 3+ inches, and give me better material for drilling my dog holes right? Any issues come to mind with that kind of bench top?

[Dan Barr]

one layer on top and one on bottom.

ciao,

dan

[Mike Steinhilper]

7 years ago I built my bench top out of 3 layers of MDF and the top and sides are covered in 1/4" tempered hardboard. Works fantastic! The size of mine is 32" x 72" and did a 6" grid of 3/4" bench dog holes covering the whole top. Sounds excessive but with some bench cleats made to fit anywhere I see fit it works great for squaring up projects.

Only problem I had was I designed it to sit on an open frame and I misjudged the allowable distances for the material and it sagged a little bit after a year, but I changed the base and it straightened itself right back out.

MDF is a great product but it has its limitations too.

Matt.

Matt, what did you reinforce with?