Janka hardness chart

[Joe Cipriano]

I'm starting to plan out my first workbench, and got curious about wood hardness for the top. Christopher Schwarz's "Workbenches" book gives a partial Janka chart; this one is more complete:

http://www.sizes.com/units/janka.htm

I figured it might be useful to anyone in my position - or for someone who can't find Lignum Vitae for the sole of their wooden body plane, and wants the next-hardest stuff. Gives the Latin botanical name with the common name to avoid confusion - but I doubt you'll be able to walk into your local woodlot, ask for Quercus alba, and not get some real confused, blank stares...

It's not exhaustive or perfect [IE - Wenge (Janka 1630) is not listed, and Jatoba is listed as Courbaril from its Latin name - Hymenaea courbaril]. I can't guaranty the accuracy, but it seems a good place to start.

HTH

[Pam Niedermayer]

Thanks for the full chart. However, you don't necessarily want the hardest wood for a bench, for which part of the job is to grab wood. Very hard woods tend to make for slippery relationships.

Pam

[Joe Cipriano]

Thanks for the full chart. However, you don't necessarily want the hardest wood for a bench, for which part of the job is to grab wood. Very hard woods tend to make for slippery relationships.

Pam

Isn't that what bench dogs, plane stops, and holdfasts are for?

Seriously - I couldn't afford anything beyond maple or white oak, anyway. As Southern Yellow Pine is kind of scarce up here, the base will probably be Douglas Fir; I'd like the top to be just a little more dent-proof...

[Thom Sturgill]

Here's another chart that helps fill in a few blanks.
http://tinytimbers.com/janka.htm

Note that Southern Yellow Pine generally refers to Longleaf Pine with a hardness of 910, but can also refer to Loblolly Pine (690) placing it just a little above or below soft (bigleaf) Maple at 850. I doubt that the local lumber yard would be able to tell you which pine species their Southern Yellow Pine was (assuming they carried it) either.

This has come up several times in just the last few months that I have been on the board. Maybe we should research and create our own table and post it somewhere.

[Joe Cipriano]

...This has come up several times in just the last few months that I have been on the board. Maybe we should research and create our own table and post it somewhere.

Might not be a bad idea. The info is readily available on the web, but every table I've found is missing something that's listed on another...

I'll try to put something together this weekend. I'll build it in something common (probable MS Word or Excel) that we can all edit/update. I'll just leave the values I don't know/can't find blank [like the six varieties of Rock Maple (Acer glabrum)...]. If I find multiple values, I'll include all, and leave it to the wisest here to figure out which one is correct.

[Wilbur Pan]

As Southern Yellow Pine is kind of scarce up here, the base will probably be Douglas Fir; I'd like the top to be just a little more dent-proof...

Well, one thing to consider is that if your bench is super dent-proof, and you drop your workpiece on it, something's going to dent, and it won't be your bench. Whether you would be happy with your bench denting or your workpiece denting is up to you.

[Matt Lentzner]

I'm basically looking at doing the same thing - building Chris's "French" bench. There is no "yellow pine" in my area, just doug fir. I was just at my local lumber yard today and they had some really nice pieces of 2x12 and 2x10 doug fir - almost knot free with very straight and tight grain (not cheap either).

I was a little disappointed, but looking at the stiffness, density, and hardness, charts doug fir and yellow pine only really differ in density. So my bench will weigh 300 lbs. instead of 350 lbs. I'm okay with that.

Regards,

Matt

[David Bodkin]

If you want a harder top you could always attach a sheet of of some other wood to the top and possibly sides of the bench. You'll keep your thickness and weight from the 4" thick slab of SYP or Douglas Fir and have the hard top you desire.

[Joe Cipriano]

Well, one thing to consider is that if your bench is super dent-proof, and you drop your workpiece on it, something's going to dent, and it won't be your bench. Whether you would be happy with your bench denting or your workpiece denting is up to you.

Good point, and one I hadn't considered - although I wasn't planning on a top of Ipê...

On the other hand, European Beech (per Schwarz, the material most European benches were made of) has a Janka not too far south of white oak (1300 vs. 1360 for oak).

On the other, other hand - Per Schwarz, Europeans used Beech because it was plentiful, stiff, dense, and cheap. Kind of like SYP (everything except dense) or white oak (everything except cheap...).

Need more hands...

[david babcock]

which alder listed here is the common alder used for cabinetry and finish work?
why is alder so opular for cabinets if its so soft for its price?