Pop Woodworking 21st Century Bench

[John Schreiber]

Thickness is a trade off between appearance, stability, convenience and drying time. Two big slabs would look very nice and it would certainly save on gluing and stock preparation time. Wood movement would be less predictable for big pieces like that though. I haven't worked with elm, so I'm not sure how big a concern that would be. Drying time does increase with thickness so that could be a problem. Except for appearance, I don't think there would be any benefit to milling the wood any larger than 3 1/2" square.

Quarter sawn wood is more stable and may present a harder surface for your work surface, but if you have the lumber for the top sawn square, you can pick whatever face you like. Be sure to seal the ends as soon as possible and cut plenty of extra in case of problems.

[Scott Loven]

I just read an article on drying wood in American woodworker (DEC 06) and the guy said that elm needed to be heavily weighted when drying to keep it from warping like crazy. I know I could buy dried elm local so I know that it can be done.
Scott

[Rob Bois]

It's been a while since I've chimed in since I've been traveling. But last week I did make it to my lumber store to get the ball rolling on this project. After taking Bob's advice, I did decide to go with ash. Wood in general is really expensive right now in the Northeast (everyone is heating their homes with wood apparently). But both ash and SYP were almost the exact same price at $4.50/BF. I figure the ash will look nicer, and certainly be more stable. But due to the cost, and the limitations to my vehicle's carrying capacity, I just bought the wood for the top (which arguably needs longer to acclimate to my shop anyway). So $220 later, I now have all the wood for the top stickered in my shop. Due to selection, I really couldn't optimize too well on lumber. To make sure I get good 3" thick pieces, I ignored any board that was less than 7 1/2" (so I can get two 3" boards from each). I also had to buy 8' lenghts, while I'm planning on possibly revising my bench to be a bit shorter given my shop size. So there is a bit of waste on the ends too.

I figure I'll buy all the components in 3 phases to spread it over a few credit card statements. Next month I'll buy the lumber for the legs and stretchers, and then I'll buy the vices last (my local Woodcraft has the Veritas twin-screw in stock fortunately).

But I'd be curious what other people have found in terms of their own local lumber pricing. I shopped around, and $4.50/BF was pretty much the going rate for ash in the Boston area.

[Scott Loven]

I paid $1.50 BF for ash earlier this year here in Iowa where I live.
Scott

[Jim Becker]

Rob, since you had to buy longer lumber than you prefer, the "waste" could, in fact, be laminated into material you can use to construct your base.

[Rob Bois]

Thickness is a trade off between appearance, stability, convenience and drying time. Two big slabs would look very nice and it would certainly save on gluing and stock preparation time. Wood movement would be less predictable for big pieces like that though. I haven't worked with elm, so I'm not sure how big a concern that would be. Drying time does increase with thickness so that could be a problem. Except for appearance, I don't think there would be any benefit to milling the wood any larger than 3 1/2" square.

Quarter sawn wood is more stable and may present a harder surface for your work surface, but if you have the lumber for the top sawn square, you can pick whatever face you like. Be sure to seal the ends as soon as possible and cut plenty of extra in case of problems.

Also wanted to comment on the question about QS wood for the top. You have to keep in mind that you are basically milling the 8/4 lumber to 3" or so and turning it on it's side, essentially making the exposed tops quartersawn. If you use QS wood in the first place, the final laminated top is flat sawn, and less stable.