Plywood or a board

[Mitchell Ristine]

Hey Creekers. I'm working on a work bench. The top will be two sections of laminated ash that are 12 x 2.5 x 66.
407019

I am wondering what to use for the bottom of the tool tray. Cross section looks like this:
407020

I am either going to use plywood or a maple board. Which would you do? Note that it does not need to be structural and I will have sliding dovetail dividers in between the slabs and 3 threaded rods in the top.

[Joe. Rivera]

with such a purty top, I'd go with a maple board.

[Andrew Seemann]

Whichever you have handy should be fine. One advantage to plywood is that it won't crack. If you go with a solid board, make allowances for movement.

[Brian Tymchak]

Whichever you have handy should be fine. One advantage to plywood is that it won't crack. If you go with a solid board, make allowances for movement.

At 12" wide tops, you will get noticeable seasonal expansion. Mine (Ash: 12"w x 84"l x 3.5"h) grow up to 3/32" every summer. So, make sure the outer anchor of your table tops allow for movement.

At some point you might find you want to clamp between the split tops. That has come in very handy for me over the years. I made tool trays (boxes) that lift out. I can also flip the boxes over and have a solid surface which comes in handy on occasion too. If you go with the center boxes, size them to fit your gap in the summer. IOW, they should be pretty loose in the winter. I learned that the hard way and ended up shaving the sides of my tool trays with several passes over the jointer.

[Mitchell Ristine]

shaving the sides of my tool trays with several passes over the jointer.

That'd give me a reason to buy a jointer :)

[Peter Rawlings]

The drop in trays sound like a great idea. That or some kind of perf bottom so tray doesn't become a chip collector.

[johnny means]

a tool tray down the middle of my bench would drive me mad.

[Tom Bender]

My bench is 67" long. I have a 16" long tray and leave the rest open for clamping etc. The tray is just a piece of plywood for a bottom and no sides or ends. Pretty handy.

[Jack Frederick]

You might want to watch this. Some great ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6-ytBntzgM&app=desktop