I know that Maple is the "gold standard" for Workbench tops. Locally, I can get Maple, Red Oak and Poplar without any trouble.

I think that Red Oak - while it looks nice and I've worked with it before - would certainly be a strong, solid top - It's got a "splintery" quality about it that makes me think it's not an ideal choice. It's about the same price as Maple.

Poplar, on the other hand (Yellow Poplar - which is actually in the magnolia family) is abundant and about 1/2 the cost of Maple or Oak. I've made a few things out of Poplar and it works easily and seems quite strong. I also understand that 100 years ago - Poplar was "THE" wood. Used for cabinets, furniture, framing - you name it. It only fell out of favor because SYP and other softwoods became cheaper. It's similar to Japanese Ho wood - which is used in making the scabard (or saya) for samurai swords.

Anyone have any thoughts on using Poplar for a workbench?

bd