Bowling alley Douglas Fir for benchtop?

[Barry Rowland]

Local guy has some 6'x42" 2 5/8 thick Douglas Fir sections for sale @
60.00 each. Pulled them during a bowling alley refurb. Multiple strips laminated
together.

Question is, will Douglas Fir be hard enough to a woodworking benchtop?
I must be kinda hard, as they can take bowling balls banging on them.

I know hard maple would be, but not sure about this wood.

Thanks.

[Wilbur Pan]

Douglas fir better be good enough to make a workbench out of, since I'm using Douglas fir to make my workbench right now. ;)

You can see the gory details of my progress here, over in the Neanderthal forum (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=102141).

As far as the hardness thing goes, I'm of the opinion that a softer wood is better for a workbench surface. If you happen to drop a Claro walnut dovetailed box that you've finished smoothing on your workbench, it's better that the workbench gets a dent than your workpiece.

Bottom line, Southern yellow pine is a very popular wood for workbenches, and in terms of physical properties, Douglas fir is almost identical. You'll be fine with Douglas fir. For the bowling alley sections, a bigger issue would be how many nails are embedded in those sections.

[Chris Padilla]

Barry,

For that price, you can pick up a couple of slabs and be set for life with workbench tops! Go for it!

[Scott Wigginton]

Barry,

For that price, you can pick up a couple of slabs and be set for life with workbench tops! Go for it!

Hey, don't encourage him! (I'm eyeing 2-3 this weekend myself ;))

Barry, assuming this is the same CL ad in Hampton Roads, I'm on the fence about making the plunge (too many tools/projects, too little time/money, story of my life). If I do you can come check 'em out (got an oil & grease soaked mdf top on an old craftsman workbench screaming for one of these)

[Ben Martin]

I have two bowling alley slabs in my garage right now, a 6 footer that LOML wants to use for a shuffle board table. And the other is a 4' maple piece, has the triangle from where the pins would sit, I am planning on ripping it in half and having a 8' long 21" wide workbench.

[Barry Rowland]

I won't be able to get by there until tomorrow night. He has plenty of these,
I think he said he had 8. If I like them, I'll get 2, if I can haul them at the same time.

I'll let you know how they look, if there good and flat and such....

Get some pics maybe.

[Rob Russell]

... I am planning on ripping it in half and having a 8' long 21" wide workbench.

Be careful when you do that. I remember reading about the number of nails or staples buried inside this stuff. I could be wrong, but it could be a quick way to trash a blade.

[Scott Wigginton]

Be careful when you do that. I remember reading about the number of nails or staples buried inside this stuff. I could be wrong, but it could be a quick way to trash a blade.

Good point. I would want to rip them for two foot wide tops and I can't afford to trash a blade.

[Chris Padilla]

Metal detector (http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=3820&refcode=05INFROO)

[Bob Rufener]

I'd say go for it as well. Can't beat the price. My bench top is a bowling alley section but mine is hard maple. I did rip the length as it was too wide for my needs. Buy yourself an inexpensive carbide blade and use your circle saw if you need to rip it. Clamp a guide board and go at it. There are a ton of fasteners holding the laminated pieces together. The sparks will be flying. When I finished ripping with the blade it went in the garbage.

[Brad Wood]

There was a guy listing slabs like that here in the Portland area a while back. He was asking about double what your guy is asking. I'd go for it.

I use fir for my current top. I don't consider a workbench a piece of art worthy of lumber that costs too much money. haven't had any problems yet.

[Jonathan Spool]

I have a couple of bowling aley workbenches. Maple is used for the front section of the allies where the ball hits, and they use fir further on down the lane.
The wood used in the allies is not glued, and so can flex. Be real careful to keep it nice and flat when transporting it. I laminated my fir top to a piece of 3/4" MDF, so I know it will stay nice and flat. Tougher job to do that then I thought!
My maple to had th chance to flex some prior to my catching the problem. Where it overhangs my bench supports was the biggest problem.
I drilled into it with an 18" x 1/2" dril bit and glued dowels into it every couple feet.
I cuts fairly easy with a cheap carbide blade. Nails and all.
If one or both of the long edges is rough, rather than rip the top, carefully remove one board to get a fresh flat edge, especially if you plan to put an apron on.
Installers usually would nail these together with the nails in a row, so if you plan to drill for benchdog holes, look for the nails in the edge, and line up the holes betwen the nail rows.
I have had zero issues with the fir being soft.
$60 is a great price. I paid $100 for one of my 8 footers, and $150 for the other.

[Bill White]

My bench is also made from maple BA. It is nailed with hardened spiral nails that were impossible to saw so I pulled the lams apart at the closest joint to the dimension I wanted, scored the fasteners with a die grinder, broke 'em off, and ground the nubs flush. Has made a GREAT bench.
Bill

[Howard Acheson]

Two points. Bowling alleys are made with two differnt woods. The "walk up" and first 15-20 feet are hard mape. Softwood like fir is used for the balance of the alley.

Second, the strips of wood used in bowling alleys are not glued together. Instead, hundreds of nails are driven in to hold them together. If you saw them, you will have to use a carpenter's demolition saw blade that can saw through the nails. In addition, trying to drill holes can be problematic and will mess up your drill bits.

[Ben Martin]

Buy yourself an inexpensive carbide blade and use your circle saw if you need to rip it. Clamp a guide board and go at it. There are a ton of fasteners holding the laminated pieces together. The sparks will be flying. When I finished ripping with the blade it went in the garbage.

This is what I was planning on doing, picking up the 3 for $9.99 blades from the BORG. Or there is a company (the name escapes) that makes a circular blade specifically to cut through nails in sub-flooring.

[Bob Luciano]

I have used those dewalt demo blades to cut completely through tar and gravel roofs. They work well I have to admit I was amazed by how well. I don't recommend cutting up tar and gravel roofs unless you have a few hours to clean the saw after. Client looked at the saw and surprised me with a replacement.

[Ben Martin]

I have a couple of bowling aley workbenches. Maple is used for the front section of the allies where the ball hits, and they use fir further on down the lane.
The wood used in the allies is not glued, and so can flex. Be real careful to keep it nice and flat when transporting it. I laminated my fir top to a piece of 3/4" MDF, so I know it will stay nice and flat. Tougher job to do that then I thought!
My maple to had th chance to flex some prior to my catching the problem. Where it overhangs my bench supports was the biggest problem.
I drilled into it with an 18" x 1/2" dril bit and glued dowels into it every couple feet.
I cuts fairly easy with a cheap carbide blade. Nails and all.
If one or both of the long edges is rough, rather than rip the top, carefully remove one board to get a fresh flat edge, especially if you plan to put an apron on.
Installers usually would nail these together with the nails in a row, so if you plan to drill for benchdog holes, look for the nails in the edge, and line up the holes betwen the nail rows.
I have had zero issues with the fir being soft.
$60 is a great price. I paid $100 for one of my 8 footers, and $150 for the other.

My sections have glue spewing out the back side so they are definitely glued together, on top of the nails. Also, not only is the beginning part of the lane maple, but also the end section where the pins are placed.

Also, I guess that I got lucky, I paid $70 for my 6' and 4' section combined.

[Jim O'Dell]

I just looked at CL locally and someone is selling 20 foot sections for 500.00. That seems steep. Seems like nothing is ever cheap on CL here. Jim.