How much did wood cost for your bench?

[Tony Wilkins]

I'm hoping to be able to build a workbench for myself after we move next month. I'm going to start budgeting for the wood for it. For those who built their own bench, how much did you spend on the wood for it? Guess it would also be helpful to know what kind of wood you used and what type of bench you built.

TIA,
Tony

[Prashun Patel]

Soft maple. Probably about $100 or less. The trick is to ask your dealer for any specials or extras, or stuff he can't move. You can make a bench with wood that has some defects. I'd be comfortable with a bench made in (not limited to) hard or soft maple, ash, oak.

[Zach Dillinger]

My Roubo top cost $50, I made it out of birch scraps from a cabinet shop. I believe they were miscut drawer sides. 4" x 3/4" x 16". It took me the better part of a summer and over a full gallon of TiteBond. I don't recommend it. But, dang, its a pretty good bench. The legs are pine 6 x 6, I think it was $30 for all of them. So less than $100.

My Continental bench is maple. Cost me about $200, but I had the main plank already (my Dad bought it at a yardsale a long, long time ago). The $200 includes the cost of the threading kit that I used to make the vise screws for the tail vise and the shoulder vise. I don't have pics of this one, but you can see pics of the Roubo on my website. Its been modified a bit since Day 1.

[steven c newman]

Old Barn beams, recycled. Bench is an English planing Bench..245673even the bench hook is recycled wood. Two hard wood scraps for cleats, particle board for the main slab. 6 x6 legs, cut from the barn beams make up the legs. Total cost? $00.00. I think I can live with that...

[Chris Griggs]

I'd say less than $50. Mine is made almost entirely out of SYP, though some might be some other type of pine or fir. The bulk of the wood for the frame came from a place that sold recycled construction lumber. The wood for the top was given to me by a good friend - it was a piece of a huge 100+ year old pine beam that fell of of an old church when someone crashed their truck into it. I bought one new 8/4 maple board to make the vise chops out of and two new SYP 2X12s to make the aprons.

Point is, you can use just about any wood. Find what is cheap and preferably already fairly thick and wide to minimize the amount of work you need to put into gluing up.

[RickT Harding]

Guess I'm the sucker of the group. I spend $175 ish on 12/4 ash since it's pretty cheap these days due to the ash borer. 12/4 was nice because I just did 3 glued up boards for the top and didn't require glue up for the legs and such.

[Paul Cahill]

I wasn't quite as indulgent as Rick, but I was on the big spender end of the range at about $130 for SYP. I got a mix of 2 x 10 and 2 x 12 in several trips to both the blue and orange stores. The first board I tried to rip on the TS was a disaster (binding), but fine after that with no waste. 30" x 77" and 4" thick.

Paul
245676

[Adam Neat]

I was about to go the 2x12 SYP route and found some maple that had got a little wormy for free. Im still in the process so I may have to buy a little to finish everything

[Carl Beckett]

I made mine from a pile of Elm that was cut by a friend of a friend and stored in a barn for a few years.

Onery stuff to work with.

Free.

My thought is a workbench can be made from many different wood types, so go with what you can get cheap.

[Victor Robinson]

I'm positive there are many folks who spend more than what has been mentioned so far, but they're 'fraid to post. :D So far it has been guys that have made lucky finds, but I've heard discussed on other forums where the wood totals several hundreds of dollars, up to $500, for something even as "unexotic" as soft maple.

Depending on your bench design, top thickness, etc. you'll need to procure anywhere from 100-200 bdft. You can do the math from there. The cheapest reasonable 8/4 lumber for a bench currently at my hardwood dealer would be either Euro beech or soft maple, both just under $4/bdft. So like others have intimated, you're going to be paying a lot unless you either substitute decent construction lumber for the base/legs or find/salvage less-than-perfect wood. I haven't gone through the process yet, but it's a calculation I've frequently been making and researching.

SYP is a great, relatively inexpensive construction wood, but unfortunately for those of us West of the Rockies, it's not an option.

[Kevin Bourque]

I'm collecting ash logs from around the farm right now. It'll cost me whatever the mobile sawmill guy wants for his machine & labor.

The biggest cost for me is for bench vises , dogs, and assorted hold downs.

[Jim Neeley]

You guys are so very lucky, for up here wood is expensive. I made my current (first) bench from cut down 2x12's with a maple skirt (1 side, 1 end) and the top only for a 36"x84" bench cost me about $300 for wood.

If I were to make it all out of hard maple and assumed 200bf of 8/4, it's run $1700. It's run about $2700 if someone went crazy and used something like bubinga. Even 200bf of poplar would be >$700. Rural Alaska, double it again, at least.


In Alaska, woodworking isn't just a hobby... it's a fricking EXPENSIVE hobby. That doesn't make it any less gratifying! :D
Jim

[Derek Cohen]

So Zach, you spent $50 on the wood and $500 on glue! :)

The Jarrah base for mine was a zero expense as the timber came from roof trusses taken from a remodelling we completed a few years ago. The European Oak top, however, would have run about $300. Wood is generally very expensive in Australia. This import was, in fact, cheaper than the local Tasmanian Oak (which is actually a Eucalypt).

Lucky you if you have free or cheap wood. I try and recycle whatever I can anyway.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/TooltrayWithaDifference_html_m5de0b7e3.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[george wilson]

I can't remember. I bought a beechwood log back years ago and had it sawn into 4" x6" planks. Then I let them dry several years. I found a huge piece of beech about 2' x 6" x 8" in a sawmill's yard and bought it. Sure enough,there was a piece of barbed wire in it which I drilled out. I let it dry for a long time inside the shop. Finally,I planed it to 4" thick and plugged the barbed wire hole with a boat shaped plug. The 4x6"s became legs and stretchers.

[Tony Wilkins]

I'm positive there are many folks who spend more than what has been mentioned so far, but they're 'fraid to post. :D So far it has been guys that have made lucky finds, but I've heard discussed on other forums where the wood totals several hundreds of dollars, up to $500, for something even as "unexotic" as soft maple.

Depending on your bench design, top thickness, etc. you'll need to procure anywhere from 100-200 bdft. You can do the math from there. The cheapest reasonable 8/4 lumber for a bench currently at my hardwood dealer would be either Euro beech or soft maple, both just under $4/bdft. So like others have intimated, you're going to be paying a lot unless you either substitute decent construction lumber for the base/legs or find/salvage less-than-perfect wood. I haven't gone through the process yet, but it's a calculation I've frequently been making and researching.

SYP is a great, relatively inexpensive construction wood, but unfortunately for those of us West of the Rockies, it's not an option.

That total was what I was afeared of. Not sure I'll be lucky as some folks have been. Also not sure what is available here in Manhattan, Kansas where we're moving to. (I'm already in Manhattan but just seen the road the hospital I'm staying in for the next several days).

[Christopher Charles]

I'm also one of the lucky ones, though at the rough mill stage. Base will be elm from a local tree I helped a friend mill and the top will be hard maple given to me by anohter friend. I was just about ready to spend ~$300 on soft maple for the top or would have started high grading doug fir from the local lumber yard.

Good luck and don't be discouraged!

C

[Steve Thomas]

recycled doug. fir. $50.
:)

[Jim Matthews]

My bench top was reclaimed from a welding shop.

It required a demolition blade to cut down to a usable size (steel fasteners in the laminations, embedded filings in the surface).
Flipped over, the back side was dead flat and clean.

Are there any countertop fabricators near you? I would be all in for something already laminated -
that's a tedious process, on a good day. The joinery of the base and fitting of vices might
be more interesting than building a top...

[David Keller NC]

I suppose I'm the odd man out in this group, but I spent about $450 for the wood in my latest bench, and about $225 for the vises (a quick-release jorgensen for the face vise, and a non-name end-vise "kit" consisting of a screw, top, bottom and side plate). The wood was defect-free soft maple purchased from a lumber yard, which is relatively inexpensive in NC (about $3-$4 a b.f., depending on thickness).

My logic was relatively simple - I was going to spend about 50 hours in labor on the bench, and spending an extra $200 on wood that I didn't have to process to remove inconveniently-placed knots, nails and rot was going to be a big time-saver. And since woodworking benches are the single most important tool in a hand-tool shop, blowing about the same amount as a couple of L-N or LV handplanes on the materials made a lot of sense to me.

[Tony Wilkins]

I guess even the high end of lumber costs is less than buying a good commercial bench. The only ones I know of that I'd want to have are the Lie Nielson ones. $3500 is just a bit too much (ok, a bunch too much).

[Jim Ritter]

Hi Tony, you won't think $3500 is too much if you keep track of your time and relate it to what you might earn at a part time job. That said building your own bench just the way you want is really priceless. I enjoyed my bench build a couple of years ago. It is small just over 5' long and has made working much more fun. I'm now planning to build another bench in the Shaker style. The Ash wood for the first bench had been given to me about 10 years prior, I just needed to buy some thicker wood for the vise chops. The Shaker bench I'm buying Hard Maple and will probably have about $600 in wood. The build will take me a while do to a heavy work load this winter. I'm buying the wood sections at a time. I have the wood for the top (bought last spring) ripped and waiting to be glued. The wood for the case work was bought in August. As I get the pieces assembled I'll be buying the wood for the drawers. It's not such a shock if the wood for the different components is bought in stages. It also doesn't take up a lot of space in a small shop. Just buy it in enough time to have it acclimate. The first thing to buy and have on hand is the vise hardware, as some of the build decisions are dictated by the vises.
Jim

[jason thigpen]

I used 8/4 soft maple for mine. Based it off of the Essential Workbench from FWW. The bench is 76" long and 26" wide. Used right at 126bf. Cost me $500. And it's a damn fine bench.

[Trevor Walsh]

Radiata pine, $60 for a 20" by 56" top 31 off the floor.

[Erik Manchester]

I looked at the design I wanted with a 4" thick maple top and the cost of vices and decided to purchase a LN Improved Workbench as it would have taken a long time to prepare the top using handtools only and I want to spend my time doing other projects. I will drive to Warren in Dec and pick it up.

I may build my own bench at a future date, but only when I have access to a large jointer and planer to prepare the large top pieces.

[David Myers]

My Roubo lumber cost was probably around $400. I spread out the purchase over about 6 months and I didn't keep a strict tally.

I used ash and bought more than I needed so i've got a plentiful supply of off cuts for miscellaneous shop projects.

I would also submit that large capacity tailed jointers are nice, but handling long laminations is tricky (and potentially injurious) business. Classes and professional shops are good options as there will be others around to help.

I didn't have a functional tailed jointer so I used handplanes. after finishing the bench I came to the age old realization: the fewer glueups the better. If you can get two or three 3" thick boards to make your top do that. Its still plenty thick.

[Tony Wilkins]

Have a problem. I watched Schwarz's video on building a Roubo and realized I don't have the strength to wrangle those big legs and that huge top around. With my disability I can't lift a full gallon of milk most days so those huge chunks of wood are out.

So it looks like either a Nicholson or a commercial bought bench. I like the look of the Lie Nielson Roubo and (sorry Rob) am not fond of the look of the Lee Valley benches. Are there any other good traditional style commercial benches out there?

BTW, Beautiful work as always Derek.

[Rodney Walker]

My first "temporary" bench was free other than $20 for a Craftsman bench vise bought at a garage sale. This bench has lasted me close to 20 years and is showing its age in a not so good way. I'm hoping to get started on a new one this winter.
My next bench will be in the Roubo style and made of construction grade fir.
Rodney

[Mike Brady]

Flawless 8/4 ash was 4.25 bf when I bought mine about two years ago. Spent just over $400. Soft maple was my other choice, but they had none at the time. Just for comparison, a well-known Chicago teacher is charging $1100 for the ash in his bench-building class, plus the cost of the class. My bench came in at over a thousand dollars with the Lie-Nielsen vises and assorted accessories. Worth every penny.

[Chuck Nickerson]

I built my bench from 2x12 Douglas Fir. In Los Angeles this ran about $1/bdft.
Since I didn't want knots in my bench (preference only), I had about 40% waste.

[Andrae Covington]

Have a problem. I watched Schwarz's video on building a Roubo and realized I don't have the strength to wrangle those big legs and that huge top around. With my disability I can't lift a full gallon of milk most days so those huge chunks of wood are out.

So it looks like either a Nicholson or a commercial bought bench. I like the look of the Lie Nielson Roubo and (sorry Rob) am not fond of the look of the Lee Valley benches. Are there any other good traditional style commercial benches out there?

BTW, Beautiful work as always Derek.

Well, that really increases the challenge, doesn't it. A gallon of milk weighs about 8.6 lbs, and even one 8-foot 2x4 weighs about 10 pounds. However, the milk jug weight is concentrated in a small area, whereas the effective weight of the 2x4 can be reduced by lifting one end at a time.

So, let's compare the weights of the basic components of the French (Roubo) vs the English (Nicholson) benches in Chris Schwarz's Workbenches book. I'll assume the use of southern yellow pine. SYP can weigh 55 lbs/cf green, down to as little as 25 lbs/cf kiln dried. Large construction lumber like 2x12's aren't typically kiln dried, so I'll go with a median 40 lbs/cf.

Leg
English: 8.4 lbs
French: 18 lbs

End Rail(s) / Stretcher(s)
English: 6 lbs + 3 lbs = 9 lbs
French: 2.8 lbs

Assembly of Front Leg, Back Leg, End Stretcher(s)
English: 25.6 lbs
French: 39 lbs

Long Stretcher / Shelf Support
English: 11.3 lbs
French: 11.2 lbs

Wide Apron
English: 29.8 lbs

Top
English: 73.2 lbs (does not include two aprons)
French: 208 lbs


As to your original question, I bought reclaimed 2x4's and 2x6's that were old-growth douglas-fir, quartersawn and riftsawn sold as "vertical grain fir". I'm not sure how much I bought, it was more than I ended up using, but altogether was about $240. I paid $35 for some 9/4 oregon white oak for the vise chops.

[Mike Gillispie]

Take hwy 24 east out of manhattan; about 30 miles out, there WAS a guy that ran a band mill and dehumidifier setup and sold various hardwood. East of Wamego I believe. Don't know if he is still around as I left in early 2005. The arts and crafts center on Riley is nice; it used to be by the PX on Custer hill.

[Adam Cruea]

I'm somewhere up to $600 for my hickory workbench, I believe.

The lumber for the top was most expensive, as I had my sawyer get 5/4 12' long pieces that were at least 7" wide.

I really, *really* hate waste, so I wanted the pieces to be as usable as possible. I could have just had him pick up anything over 3.5" wide and 6 feet long, and it probably would have been much, much cheaper, but where's the fun in that? :D

[Jim Foster]

I used 2x12x28' fir boards cut and finished to 9' x 24" wide and 5" thick for the top and fir 4"x4"x8' machined and glued up to finish 6"x6" for the legs. Total cost around $200 or less. Lots of machine work and glue-ups though.

The extra long fir was nice because each board broke down to six rough pieces 9'x1.25",6" to glue up and finish at 5"thick, so not much waste making the top as long as you don't count all the bags of chips I created.

[Jim Fay]

I built my Holtzapfel (Chris Schwarz) design out of DFir that I purchased from the borg. I think the whole bench (not including twin screws front wood vise and Veritas Surface Vise) cost less than 200 bucks. It is quite sturdy and serves me very well. This was my first attempt at building my own bench but it was quite fulfilling to complete. Good luck with yours

[Mike Holbrook]

I paid around $400, for very nice German European Beech (boards around 9" x 8/4") for my top. I plan to use Hickory or Ash, shorter pieces available from my supplier at around half price, for the frame. I have my new Laguna band saw in place and the 230 outlet run for power. The saw was missing a vital piece (dropped somewhere in the store by those loading the saw I think) that had to be ordered through Laguna.

I am working on a modified plan made by Bob Lang, "Build the 21st Century Worknbench. Bob used a Veritas double screw vise on the long, front side. I will be using a Leg vise on the side with Benchcrafted Glide Leg hardware. The end of the bench will have the new Veritas Quick Release Tail Vise. I will be using a little different sizes for the two piece top. Bob actually posted a few years after making the original that he would change the sizes of the two surfaces a little. I have most of the parts together. Working with the Band Saw a little to make sure I know what I am doing before I start cutting up those big Beech boards. There are a couple older posts when I was making original plans. Even a poster or two by Bob on the subject. I am also working on some hand tools I am making and or refurbishing for the project, trying to sharpen a few skills before I tackle the big project. Go for it!

[Rob Luter]

Pretty much $0.00 (I'm really cheap. I'd rather spend my money on tools) I scrounged for a few weeks prior to building this.

I used glued up offcuts from 2X6 framing lumber for the base and salvaged a couple maple butcher block table tops for the top. The butcher block was in tough shape. It had gotten wet and the glue was letting go so it was getting pitched. I glued it back together, flattened it, and laminated it double thick. Solid as a rock! The maple apron was salvaged as was the big chunk I used for the vice.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2583/4103275307_f30a5080da_b.jpg

[Greg Portland]

I built a torsion box design (3 boxes for the base, connected via long threaded rod) and a large torsion box top. The dog holes were a sandwich of 2x6, 1x6 pieces, and another 2x6 (this gets lag bolted to the side of the torsion box top). I left (slightly angled) gaps between the 1x6s to make the dog holes (no cutting/drilling!). Total wood cost was ~$50. I decided to make the end vise out of 2" maple so that increased the cost another $20 or so. The trick with the base is to make the plywood faces on the center rail (box) slightly proud; in this manner the plywood contacts the end boxes (and not the 2x4 sandwiched in the middle) making the structure much stronger.

The bench design was out of an old American Woodworker magazine. I've really abused this bench and will just build another top when this one wears out. Here's the (updated) plans: http://americanwoodworker.com/blogs/projects/archive/2009/03/04/tom-s-torsion-box-workbench.aspx