SPF for bench top?

[Dustin Keys]

I do not have a table saw, so I can't really rip 2x12s down either. I have a circular saw, but I see little chance of a beginner like myself rippping such large boards down accurately enough for a benchtop without creating a nightmare of a planing job.

I should have made it clearer in the OP, but I'm very much a newb with meager means to start things out. I've been buying up tools as I can, and I have enough to build a simple bench and some basic projects now. This isn't my handtool bench for life, it's a beginner bench to get me started. While it is a first bench, I want to put enough thought into the design and materials so that it lasts for a reasonable period of time and functions adequately.

Going to a Dallas store is a possibility if I can talk my brother into it. It probably wouldn't be a problem, but it will be at least a few more weeks before we could do it which would be a bit frustrating for me as I really wanted to get started.

Laminating sheet goods sounds much easier than what I've been planning, but is that really a good workbench top for handtool work? I was under the impression that it wasn't.

Dustin

[Curt Harms]

I'm not a neander so take this for what it's worth. If it were me, I'd build the base out of SYP or clear SPF, whatever you can find. I think it was WoodSmith had a simple & stout bench very much like you're talking about. The legs were 3 laminated 2X6's with the middle one being short and forming a bridle joint top & bottom. Then build a replaceable top out of multiple layers of plywood and/or MDF. When you have the time, money & inclination, you could build a top out of syp, maple or whatever and mount it on your existing base. I did a top with 2 layers of 3/4" ply topped with sacrificial 1/4" plywood surrounded by a hardwood skirt. I used winding sticks and a straight edge to get it as straight & level as I could. It's now covered with clutter.

[Pat Barry]

Dustin, In the case of what you said, then I would go with a laminated top using 3/4 flooring plywood (2 layers stuck together with a little glue) and with a replaceable hardboard top piece like suggested in some of the other threads I've seen around here. Just pick a few of the straightest 2x4's you can find for the structure to support it and then screw it together. This doesn't have to be elaborate to be functional. If you are going to use it as a reference surface for assembly then you willl need to take precautions for flatness overall but for GP work I think you want something solid and something you can clamp to.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I sorted through bins of SPF at a local Lowes and found enough fir for a bench top. Top was 84" long and I had bought 2" X 10" X 14' & 16' pcs. to get enough (I ripped them lengthwise to try to get near riftsawn lumber). Cut down to rough lengths and let it acclimate in my basement shop for several months before gluing up and none of it was worth the effort, as the top has more moves than Lady Gaga. That was 3 years ago, and I have to flatten it every season change.

This summer, I will either make or buy another top to replace this one.

[Brett Bobo]

as the top has more moves than Lady Gaga. .

Now, that's funny!

[Rob Fisher]

I do not have a table saw, so I can't really rip 2x12s down either. I have a circular saw, but I see little chance of a beginner like myself rippping such large boards down accurately enough for a benchtop without creating a nightmare of a planing job.

A very simple straightedge/rip guide can be made from a 4x8 sheet of MDF. This is what I use to break down sheet goods. I will use the same guide to rip down 2x12's for a bench top, hopefully sometime next year.

Rob

[Jason Chestnut]

I want to add my voice to the chorus. SYP makes a great bench top, if that's what you can get. Being in Texas, I would assume it's available. I'm currently in the middle of a roubo-style bench build with a laminated top. I'm using nominal 3.5" boards ripped from 2x10's and 2x12's from the blue BORG's framing lumber. I have no power tools. Yes, it's work, but it's fun and rewarding work.

[Jason Chestnut]

If you really don't want to build the laminated top, you could do the Nicholson-style bench. See Bob R's blog at logancabinetshoppe.com and Chris Schwarz's book for more info on it.

[Ron Williams]

The SPF is to soft for the top. Buy the 2X12's and rip them to size you will get better wood

[Dave MacArthur]

With no tools, and just looking for a good flat bench that you can use for assembly and hand tools, I would go and buy a solid-core door at HD and slap it on a base. Instant torsion-box style bench and heavy, will be cheaper than anything else you do and likely flatter/better. This will allow you to get started working without going through the heinous process of trying to build a bench from lumber with no tools. Tons of folks have simple benches made this way.

[michael osadchuk]

Here's a link to a thread about the hand tool made laminated softwood "Bob and Dave's Good, Fast and Cheap Bench", including the plans and construction narrative...

http://forum.canadianwoodworking.com...ch+with+spruce

if you are really interested in learning some woodworking skills, go with something along the lines of the above

on the other hand, if you stumble across a 200 pound super flat cast off hospital door for $50, seize the opportunity for an almost instant benchtop...

hmmm......and it's not impossible and even not all that time consuming to use a rip panel handsaw to cut uniform strips off 2 x ? softwood construction timbers.....

good luck

michael

[Sam Takeuchi]

I built my first bench from SPF and top can be very temperamental. When I needed flat reference surface, I flattened it as needed basis, normally only takes a few minutes as I only flattened the part I needed.

In the end, it can total work. It doesn't really matter if it's soft or not. I mean it'll dent or scratched easily, but it's by no means like marshmallow. It'll withstand banging from a hammer, will hold heavy stuff fine and can be made to look alright. But if you could go for a better choice, I think you should. For legs, maybe SPF is fine, but for top, it's too unstable for a long lasting use.

[Bruce Haugen]

My first (and only) bench is made of SPF 2 X 4's, laminated face to face, which is what I could afford when I built it. It's probably softer than other choices, but then, it doesn't dent whatever I'm building on it. I'd much rather that the bench take the abuse than the furniture being made on it. With 3 X 4" legs, 2 X 6 stretchers and a bit of a drawer unit in there, it's heavy enough to stand up to whatever it needs to handle. It's easy to flatten, and I don't mind if it gets oil on it, or grease, or stain or whatever. I've rebuilt motorcycle engines, stained projects, glued up stuff and banged the living daylights out of things on it. I don't get bent out of shape if I drop a spinning router on it. It's a bench, designed to work, not a showpiece. How long it'll last, I have no idea. It's only been 25 years so far. So maybe it won't last for the long haul, but it'll make it for my life span I'm quite sure.

[Erik France]

I want to add my voice to the chorus. SYP makes a great bench top, if that's what you can get. Being in Texas, I would assume it's available. I'm currently in the middle of a roubo-style bench build with a laminated top. I'm using nominal 3.5" boards ripped from 2x10's and 2x12's from the blue BORG's framing lumber. I have no power tools. Yes, it's work, but it's fun and rewarding work.

When I was doing mine HD had lots of SYP everything, but Lowes only had some 2x4s. I figured both would have plenty, but it wasn't the case at the moment.

[Matt Radtke]

I seem to recall Chris Schwarz linking to someone that was in a similar situation as you: In want of a laminated Roubo top and no table saw. His solution was to use 2x6s. Ripping not required, jut a fair amount of planing to get the thing flat, but no worse than using 2x4s. 2x6s should also be a little better quality than 2x4s as well.