Hard or Soft Maple Workbench

[David Wadstrup]

Hello,

I'm building myself my first workbench using Benchcrafted's Roubo plans. I'm trying to decide between using Hard or Soft Maple and can't make up my mind. I know that I'll see more dings and dents with the soft, but don't know how much more. Will there be a very big difference? I like the look of a used bench, but don't want it to look too beat up. Are there any considerations that would lead me to favor the soft? I'd love to hear your opinions. Particularly from people who have Soft Maple bench tops themselves.

Thanks for your advice,

David

ps if it makes a difference, I will only be using hand tools on this bench.

[Jamie Buxton]

Despite the name, soft maple is only slightly softer than hard maple. It'll be fine for your bench.

[Doug Sparks]

David,

I'm currently in the same process. My brother-in-law provided me with logs (hard maple) cut on his land last year. It looks like I will need them to dry out further before I can proceed. During my research I came across http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Hard_vs_soft_maple.html

That may help with how you determine which to use. I think in the end either would make a great bench given proper construction.

Doug

[Paul Symchych]

If you want numbers, here is the janca scale of wood hardness:
http://tinytimbers.com/janka.htm

How that translates into which to use for a benchtop is not answered. My guess, it wouldn't matter a lot in the lifetime of a hobbyist's shop. A bench is not an anvil.

[Prashun Patel]

Soft maple is usually cheaper than hard maple not because of its hardness, but because it can have uneven coloring. I think it's a fine application for a bench.

If price is an issue, then 2 great choices are also oak and ash. They are only marginally 'softer' than maple.

[Kevin M Brown]

I'm quite happy with my soft maple bench, after about a year of moderate hobbyist use. Yes, my 4-year old can ding it with a screwdriver, and eventually it will quit looking like furniture, and end up looking like a workbench. I'm fine with that - especially for the price difference between the two. Soft "brown" maple is cheaper than poplar around here.

You can see photos of my bench here:
http://lumberjocks.com/brownkm/blog/15428

I think choices about joinery and workholding on a bench are much more important than the type of wood you use.

[Paul Symchych]

If you want something closer in hardness to hard maple and if cost is a factor, consider birch. In the southwest anyway, birch is dirt cheap. I just got some for around half the price of maple. The east coast may be different for prices.

[Brent Ring]

I dont what what the price of beech is in your area, but I am build mine out of beech. I am building a version of Garrett Hacks bench from FWW last year.

[Wayne Morley]

The part of the bench that takes the most abuse is the front edge, so I would use hard maple for this part of the bench. For the rest of the top I would use a less expensive material. Soft maple is a good choice but so is: southern yellow pine, poplar, and douglas fir.

About 5 years ago I helped build a bench for the local woodworkers guild. We used southern yellow pine with a hard maple edge and after 5 years of hard use it is still in good shape. I don't have a photo of it today, but this is it under construction.

[Trent Shirley]

Not to hijack the thread but I am looking to make a bench soon as well and was pricing wood locally and have found some hard maple, soft maple and birch available. What thickness is reasonable for the bench top? Just wondering so that I can determine how much material I need which could alter the pricing I get.

[Kevin M Brown]

Depends somewhat on the "span" of your bench - longer spans need thicker tops - and how you design it.

Most people use 3-4" thick for a solid top with no undercarriage for support. Some guys will go all the way to 5" thick for a really long bench. Other bench designs with supports under the top allow for thin 1-2" tops - but I really like my bench without any supports to get in the way.

[David Wadstrup]

Wayne,

Thanks for the suggestion of using the hard maple on the front edge. I've considered using hard for the top and soft everywhere else. I'll be sawing and planing all this stuff by hand, though, and am a little daunted about working with that much Hard Maple. The front edge idea solves this problem. Thanks.

ps does anyone know of a good, inexpensive source for lumber in the New York, New Jersey, maybe Connecticut area?

[Prashun Patel]

Check out Boards N Beams. They're off of 287 in North Jersey. I really like Steve. Some people have had bad experiences with them, but mine have been positive. Great wood at a great price - especially for domestics, slabs, and thick stuff. Sounds like that's exactly what you want.

http://www.woodboardsandbeams.com/Price-List.html
- p

[Paul Symchych]

A "little daunted" might be a big understatement about gluing up and surfacing a large heavy top by hand. Certainly possible but...
The link above has some inexpensive lumber options -hickory is another good one- but the idea that caught my attention is their service of gluing up and finishing a slab top for you. That will cost a bit more but will save you a ton of hand labor and you can then proceed to making the legs etc. at home. Some yards have benchtops already finished in stock. Call 'em.

[Bill White]

I made mine from a section of bowling alley. Hard maple. It was free. WOO HOO.
Bill

[Greg Portland]

Hello,

I'm building myself my first workbench using Benchcrafted's Roubo plans. I'm trying to decide between using Hard or Soft Maple and can't make up my mind. I know that I'll see more dings and dents with the soft, but don't know how much more. Will there be a very big difference? I like the look of a used bench, but don't want it to look too beat up. Are there any considerations that would lead me to favor the soft? I'd love to hear your opinions. Particularly from people who have Soft Maple bench tops themselves.
David, are you looking to build an artistic bench (demonstration and/or practice of hand skills) or are you just trying to build something usable? IMO, there is no need to go with a solid bench, especially as your first bench. It is almost guaranteed that you will want to make modifications to your design after you use it for a few years. I would recommend building a torsion box design with plywood and 2x4s (4 boxes: top, legs, and stretcher). Use a sandwich of 2x6s or 2x4s for the rails & bench hole regions. This design will be very cheap and extremely sturdy. After you use it for a few years you won't feel bad about scrapping it and building version 2.

The guys in the Neanderthal area can provide additional feedback.

[Neil Brooks]

Just back from the BORG, buying 2x8x12' Doug Fir boards, for MY bench. I'll rip 'em and joint 'em, and glue 'em up at about 6' long (and a roughly 27" wide top).



I like what somebody else mentioned, once: do you want to ding the [i]furniture that you're building, or the top of your work bench ?

The notion of a softer species for the workbench MAY mean a slight hit to longevity, but it DOES give you a bit of cushion with respect to the projects likely to be built atop it.

And ... push comes to shove ... I can screw some MDF on the top of it.

At least ... that's the theory I'm going on, and ... since I just spent about $72 for the materials to make my top ... it's a theory I can afford :)

[Dave Lehnert]

Chris Swartz from Popular woodworking recommends in his work bench book. http://www.amazon.com/Workbenches-Design-Construction-Popular-Woodworking/dp/1558708405 to use Southern Yellow Pine. http://tinytimbers.com/specie_ypine.htm
It is just under Soft Maple on the Janca scale. Not sure in your area but here in Cincinnati Lowe's and Home Depot stock it in 2X. A LOT cheaper than the Soft Maple.
Soft Maple is also a good choice for your bench.

http://tinytimbers.com/specie_ypine.htm

[Gary Curtis]

I used Soft Maple for the entire under-carriage of my bench. And Red Beech from Europe for the top. All the dimensions are big, and so the bench is heavy and strong.

It seems to me that if you look at hardness scales only you might choose materials that are too difficult to work with. I eat every night at a dining table of laminated hard Maple. To my thinking it is a bit of overkill for a work surface. And I sure wouldn't want to have to plane or sand it.

[Prashun Patel]

I actually prefer a softer top too. It's gentler on yr workpieces too.

[David Wadstrup]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I guess I'd also consider Ash. I generally don't like its roughness, but you can't beat the price. Is there anyone out there that wants to talk me in to, or out of, going with Ash? ANy personal experiences? Thanks for all of your help!

[Wayne Morley]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I guess I'd also consider Ash. I generally don't like its roughness, but you can't beat the price. Is there anyone out there that wants to talk me in to, or out of, going with Ash? ANy personal experiences? Thanks for all of your help!

Ash has many of the properties that make a good bench top, and the price is less than most other hard woods. That being said, however, I feel that a ring porous wood like ash is not the best choice for the bench top. The open pores will tend to catch and hold dirt and if you do any metal working on your bench, such as in sharpening your tools or running a grinder, iron fillings can lodge in the open pores. This, in turn, can cause mysterious black stains to appear on wood that comes in contact with the bench. :eek:

[Prashun Patel]

Also, if you plan to do any writing on yr bench, the bumps can get annoying.

However, all this is easily fixed with a quick application of a pore filler.