woork bench wood?

[Eric R. Smith]

A good friend just fell a huge hickory and asked if I wanted it? I am very fortunate to have access to a sawmill close by. would hickory be good for a bench top and vice faces and legs? I don't have much expierience with hickory so any advice would be appreciated
Thanks Eric

[Ted Wong]

I think it depends on which way the grain is oriented. I built a staircase out of Hickory and it looked beautiful when it was completed but after a year of seasonal movement I did notice the treads that were laminated had a bit of swelling at the joint lines. leading me to believe the wood is a bit hydroscopic. I think if you lay up the boards so the straight (quartersawn) face is the top (and bottom) surface your bench top will be a lot more stable.

[Ruhi Arslan]

I've asked the same question to Frank Klausz when he was hosting a Lie Nelsen workshop few month ago. He dissed the "hard" wood very quickly for the top. His reasoning was that wood like hickory is too slippery.

[Ted Wong]

I've asked the same question to Frank Klausz when he was hosting a Lie Nelsen workshop few month ago. He dissed the "hard" wood very quickly for the top. His reasoning was that wood like hickory is too slippery.

Hmmm, I find that hard to fathom and can't see how Hickory is any more "slippery" than hard Maple or Beech which are mainstays of benchtops.

[Joe A Faulkner]

I'm reading Christopher Schwarz's latest book on workbenches. He advocates using the lumber you have on hand to build a bench. His book, "The Workbench Design Book" features nine different benches made from an assortment of materials - cherry, maple, southern yellow pine, laminated veneer lumber. Schwarz has thing for Roubo benches with big beefy 4-5" slabs for the top. If you are going to have the hickory cut for a bench, you might do some research as to what you want to build. If you are going to have it cut to 8/4 thickness, you'd probably need to let it air dry for a year before using it. If the sawmill also has a kiln, they could probably dry it for you in less than two weeks. If like Schwarz you want a 4 or 5 inch slab, you probably want to let that air drive for several years.

Hickory is hard to work - very dense, and prone to tear out when planing on a power planer. Hard to sand too. On the plus side, it has beautiful variation in the grain colors and tones. I think it would make a great looking, very durable, heavy stout bench. If you don't take the log for your bench, take it for inventory. You won't be sorry.

[Frank Drew]

Eric,

Any wood you choose should be dry, and acclimated to your indoor (shop) environment. I don't have much experience with hickory, and I'm reluctant to disagree with Franz Klaus about anything he says, but I'm not sure about the slippery critique of hickory; as Ted says, you could say the same thing about maple, certainly, and probably beech, too. I don't rely on the bench top surface alone to keep something I'm working on from slipping, that's what bench dogs and clamps, or even router pads, are for.