Beech is it hard enough...

[Chuck Hart]

I am building a mini bench to do close work with and will have a 7" steel vise connected to one end. Is the 8/4 beech going to be hard enouch to holdup the vise? I will have a spacer under the top so I can get the vise even with the top. I will also be putting in holes for bench dogs. Can the beech be stained easily? The legs and trim will be in cherry. I want the beech to be a little darker than it is now. Maybe I will just leave it alone and let the top be the contrast. Thanks! :D

Chuck

[Marc Seguin]

Beech is a very traditional wood to make workbenches out of. It must have been because it's good for the application.

I don't have access to much beech on the West coast, but the few pieces I've worked so far have been wonderful. If it was available here I'd make lots of things out of it.

[Rich Riddle]

I have a beech bench and it works as well as the maple bench. Technically, it's not quite as hard as maple, but it's close enough for most folks.

[Mike Holbrook]

Hammer makes very nice benches from German Kiln dried Beech. I have had a small one for 15+ years. The wood still looks as nice as the day I brought it into the shop. I like it so much I found German 8/4 kiln dried beech for sale in Metro Atlanta and bought it to make my larger bench from. Several people on SMC have used this same wood for benches. I had a surplus piece that was used to ship the bench I bought. I made a handle for an Adze with it and it has held up very well too.

[Stewie Simpson]

European Beech is harder than American Beech.

[ian maybury]

I've a stack of German beech about to become a bench too - I've been looking at it for several years. :rolleyes:

Beech is frequent usage for benches over here (Europe) as it's a very common species, and not expensive - seems like it's maybe a shade harder than the US variety. It moves quite a lot with changes in moisture content, so drying and correct conditioning are probably a bit more important than some hardwoods - but is nevertheless used for lots of volume produced kitchens and the like. It's as Marc/Mike very traditional for benches.

One issue to watch out for is that the naturally grown variety (unless it's a stand alone tree) tends to branch a lot, and while having lots of character is typically full of knots. The plantation variety (often German) is grown to be straight, and the branches are trimmed off so that it ends up almost perfectly clean. Very nice timber: http://www.johnboddytimber.co.uk/Pics/glossary_pages/primecrown_whitebeech_b.html

It's sometimes steamed to equalise the colour, but i'm not wild about the pinkish tinge it brings out..

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I envy all of you who can get beech. I have the beach, but no beech!

Just wanted to say don't stain it- the contrast will be nice, and also you want a light colored top to brighten things up. I have access to beautiful mahogany but am holding out for some lighter woods for a top. Beech would be my preference even over maple. It doesn't yellow as much as maple does, works well, has tight grain, and is close enough to as hard.

[Patrick Harper]

A friend just gave me about 200 BF of 10/4 beech. Most is square stock, but it's all rift/quarter sawn.

[glenn bradley]

I have beech vise jaws with dog holes. Years of use and no signs of wear.

[ken hatch]

Check with Woodworkers Source (http://www.woodworkerssource.com/) Lately they have had a good stock of 8/4 European Beech at very good prices, several dollars a BF cheaper than Soft Maple.

Here is a photo of a Beech bench I build several months ago. All Beech except one of the vise chops is Cherry (no reason, just because), and the lower shelf slats are Honey Locus also just because. Right at $1000 USD in the Beech and I've enough left over stock to keep me in Krenov plane blanks for the rest of my life:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/VTXAZ/benchApronFinished_zps7cf7fe0d.jpg

It's a great wood to work, much nicer than Ash or Maple but as someone else posted, give it time to settle down. It, Beech, can do some amazing stupid wood tricks when FOB and/or after the first cut.

ken

[Prashun Patel]

I suppose there is some variation in beech, but I milled a couple hundred bf from some trees in my back yard.

In my short experience, it stains horribly. But for a workbench, why would you want to stain it anyway?

It warped and cracked like crazy while drying, but once dried, I experience it to be very stable.

IMHO, it's perfect for a bench. You've given me a great idea. I'm going to make my 'joinery' bench out of my beech.

I've used a lot of my scraps for hacking around with, and I think it's plenty strong for a bench.

[Mike Schnorr]

Great to learn all about beech! I have a logger buddy who will be supplying me with beech for food safe products but now, with a new shop going up this summer, I may have to build some benches as well! Thanks everybody for chiming in!
Mike

[Prashun Patel]

Mike, I found drying beech to be a challenge. It liked to warp and twist and crack. Worst, a lot of it stained to an unsightly, uneven gray.

I'd take pains to try do things properly so you don't end up with a lot of waste as I did.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Check with Woodworkers Source (http://www.woodworkerssource.com/) Lately they have had a good stock of 8/4 European Beech at very good prices, several dollars a BF cheaper than Soft Maple.

Here is a photo of a Beech bench I build several months ago. All Beech except one of the vise chops is Cherry (no reason, just because), and the lower shelf slats are Honey Locus also just because. Right at $1000 USD in the Beech and I've enough left over stock to keep me in Krenov plane blanks for the rest of my life:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/VTXAZ/benchApronFinished_zps7cf7fe0d.jpg

It's a great wood to work, much nicer than Ash or Maple but as someone else posted, give it time to settle down. It, Beech, can do some amazing stupid wood tricks when FOB and/or after the first cut.

ken

WOW- love it. How wide is that skirt? Looks like it's only one board.

[Warren Mickley]

I think beech is the premier wood for benches. Beech absorbs shock much better than hard maple, because it is a deader wood. Lively woods like maple, hickory or osage will not absorb the shock so well so working on them is a little harder on your joints long term. Andre Roubo recommends elm or beech for a workbench and says beech is the common one.

The American beech, Fagus grandifolia,and the European beech, F. sylvatica,are different species, but the wood is similar. One difference is that the European species is quite vulnerable to borers and the American is not. We often see English moulding planes with little pinholes. There are a few other beeches in Asia.

[Chuck Hart]

Thanks for all the great notes. The piece I have is kiln dried and has been sitting in the shop for 2 months now so I think if there would be any problems I would have seen it. It is very flat and 1 3/4" thick. I am going to add a 7" steel vise to then end of the bench. Very much like the mini bench from FWW that Steve Latta did.

I will make sure I leave room for movement between the top and legs. Thanks guys

[Stewie Simpson]

kiln v air dried.

http://www.stonesriverhardwoods.com/air-dried-wood

[ken hatch]

WOW- love it. How wide is that skirt? Looks like it's only one board.

Thanks Malcolm,

Yep one board, took awhile to find it but was worth the time. I call this my Cross Chanel bench....it has French bones but English work holding. The skirt is 380mm (about 15").

ken

[Chuck Hart]

Stewie that is a good article thanks for sending me there.

[Patrick Harper]

I would love to test drive some air-dried lumber, but it seems to be fairly hard to find these days. When you can find it, the prices are astronomical.

[ken hatch]

Look around, you usually will not find air-dried lumber in the "wood store" but many places will have a local independent "wood guy" that handles and sells air dried lumber. I'm lucky, Tucson's wood guy lives just a few blocks from my house.