Workbench outa Ash?

[Wayne Wheeling]

Picked up about 80 lb ft of nice clear ash. Saw only 2 knots in all the boards. It ranges from 5 to 8 inches in width. All boards are 76 inches long. Everything is 8/4 to 10/4. All is Kiln dried at $1.50 a ft. Was wondering if anyone had used ash in their bench top?

[John Schreiber]

If I had a score like that I would have loved to use ash instead of SYP. Ash makes a good bench top.

[David Keller NC]

The only issue you have is that you can only make a 6 foot long bench top. If that fits your space, then you're in "tall cotton". If not, I'd buy some southern yellow pine or some Douglas fir (depending on what part of the country you're in), make the workbench, then make your tool chest out of that nice ash.

[Wayne Wheeling]

Six feet will actually work well in my space. Need to figure out which style bench I would wanta make. What would be a good thickness for the bench? My bench now is 2 1/2" hard maple. Just will be using the ash for the top. So, I can really use it all on the top. Most narrow boards are 5". So I could go from 2 1/2 to 4" in thickness I wish I had wrote down the deminsions when I measured up the board feet. I'll go through each board again and see what would be the best utilization.
I am also a beginning woodworker. Know a little about woodworking from reading, boards, etc. But very little actual experience. Cutting boards, benches, boxes, etc.
The tools I have as far as tailed tools are a Jet Cabinet Saw with WWII blades and Bench Dog router extension with Pro-lift and PC 7518. A PM7882 8" jointer, a Powermatic 14" bandsaw, A PM 209 20" planer and a Jet 22-44 Pro Sander. Quite a selection of handtools also. Is this something a beginner can accomplish?

[whit richardson]

Bob Lang has a nice ash workbench in a PopWood article from last year. It's made so it can be broken down and moved too. I saw the bench last year and it's a nice design.

[RickT Harding]

I'm doing mine in Ash. I've actually got the boards for the top in the car to take over to a friend's shop with larger gear. Figure it'll be easier to joint/plane.

My only problem is I gave in and went from 6' to 8' for the benchtop and now I don't have enough left overs for the base. I'll have to glue up some maple or something instead.

So far the ash seems to plane really nice and I think it'll be awesome for you if you use it.

[Wayne Wheeling]

I have a very good supply of nice red oak, flat sawn and quarter sawn. I was figuring on doing the base in that. It is mostly 6/4, so I'll have to glue up the legs etc. If I use a skirt? on the top, I have some thick wide walnut for that. I think all I need is a plan!

[Richard Magbanua]

What a coincidence! C. Schwarz just posted about ash workbenches. It seems it's his favorite for workbenches along with maple and, of course, SYP.

http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/Need+Wood+For+A+Workbench+Woodworking+In+America.a spx

[Phillip Pattee]

I think ash is an excellent bench top choice. I find it easier to work than either red or white oak.

As far as it being a project that a beginner can accomplish that depends. :rolleyes: Each bench design has its differences in which joints are used. When you figure out what design you will use, then you should practice the joints you will use before you construct that portion of your bench. It's all a matter of executing each individual step correctly, sometimes over and over again. Experienced woodworkers can still be novices with different techniques or tools with which they are unfamiliar. For every new skill, you start out as a beginner. Just try to avoid letting your first attempt at a new joint be the "one that counts" on the bench. Figure it out on scrap, then execute your production joint and you should be fine.

[Martin Peek]

I'm making a 6.5' bench out of ash right now. I'll do a post when it's finished up. Ash borer beetle is a concern. I got a great deal on wood from a local tree removal. Good luck!

[Ken Werner]

The bench I've had for the past 25+ years is Ash. Every year or two, I clean it up and recoat it. It has been great.

[John Schreiber]

I just finished a bench and I could offer my advise, but the best thing I can suggest is that you borrow or buy Chris Schwarz's Workbenches (http://www.amazon.com/Workbenches-Design-Construction-Popular-Woodworking/dp/1558708405)book. It is easily the best book to read in order to think about how workbenches should be built.

I'd also read every one of his blog posts (http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/CategoryView,category,Workbenches.aspx)about workbenches. I thought a lot about my bench before I designed and built it. His thinking was very influential.

[Wayne Wheeling]

John, I have Shwarz's workbench book. That's what got me to thinking about building one. Just gotta decide which one...Now that I have some wood for the top, I need to finalize on the bench style.

[Eric Hartunian]

My top is ash, 8/4, flat sawn. I have had no issues at all with it. I used pretty heavy breadboard ends, and the base is DF. Use ash with confidence it will make a great bench.
Eric

[Dave Anderson NH]

I built my benchtop out of 8/4 ash last fall and it works just fine. Strong, stiff, light colored, and reatively cheap.. Somewhere here in this forum is the thread about my building it.

[RickT Harding]

Been putting in some work on the my ash bench this weekend. You can get some idea of what it looks like:
http://picasaweb.google.com/deuce868/Workbench

[Dave Cav]

I used ash for my bench top, and alder for the legs. It turned out very well. The top is about 3 1/2" thick. I glued it up in two sections each about 13" wide (so it would go through my thickness planer) then I glued the two sections together and flattened it with hand planes. It took an hour or two to get it flat. There are still some tool marks in the top, but it's a workbench, not a piece of furniture.

[RickT Harding]

Finished my bench of ash this weekend and posted it over in the projects section:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1218478

[Wayne Wheeling]

Rick, a very nice bench you can be proud of. I started milling my top this weekend. Have a long way to go!

[Mike Brady]

Ash is a spendid material for a bench. With all of the ash trees being sacrificed in my area due to the Emerald Ash Borer, you would think this timber would be cheap and plentiful. Not!
Bob Lange from Pop Wood has commented favorably on his ash bench despite the critics who say that open grain woods like oak and ash tend to catch debris and can become havens for metal shavings. One mistake I made with an oak top was doing some sharpening on it. The stray metal grit made it turn black overnight. I honestly don't know if ash has the same tannin content, but I would avoid it if it does for the top only.
I'm going a little unconventional by reusing a maple 6'x2' (real) butcher block for a bench I am completing, complete with gore residue (I'm using the reverse side of the block). This is not my primary bench, but gives me the option of a more rugged unit for assembly, finishing, etc.