Workbench Build: BORG Doug Fir

[Noah Starksen]

Getting bored being cooped up so decided I want to finally build a bench top to replace the kitchen countertop I currently have. Went to the BORG today and bought some Doug Fir 2x12s that I plan to rip down to 3.5 and face glue them. Well I’m new to this and didn’t think about the fact that my BORG only sells green Doug Fir.

So now I’m trying to figure out what to do. Do I sticker them and let them dry? Do I rip them and let them dry? What would happen if I just build it? Would the glue still hold? I’m wondering if the fact that it’s glued on edge would keep the wood from moving too much because it’s so thick.

Help a newbie out...

[Robert Hazelwood]

We'll it's not exactly green, just only partially dried.

I made a bench with the same material, 2x12s ripped down and face glued. I ripped the boards and then stacked and stickers for a month, then got sidetracked and they sat around for a couple of years before I actually built the bench.

Rip them first and then stack and sticker as long as you can up to a month or so. But if you just wanted to get it done, I'd bet it would work if you only waited a couple of days.

[Jim Andrew]

I would be tempted to wait a while, possible the lumber is air dried down to about 12%. Do you have a tester so you can get an accurate idea of the MC?

[Doug Dawson]

Getting bored being cooped up so decided I want to finally build a bench top to replace the kitchen countertop I currently have. Went to the BORG today and bought some Doug Fir 2x12s that I plan to rip down to 3.5 and face glue them. Well I’m new to this and didn’t think about the fact that my BORG only sells green Doug Fir.

So now I’m trying to figure out what to do. Do I sticker them and let them dry? Do I rip them and let them dry? What would happen if I just build it? Would the glue still hold? I’m wondering if the fact that it’s glued on edge would keep the wood from moving too much because it’s so thick.

Help a newbie out...

My planing bench was made out of Doug Fir 2x6's lightly planed and face-glued, that were probably about as "green" as that, and it's held up fine over 30 years. I did use epoxy, though.

I should add that I used lots of pipe clamps, this is quite a load to press. I left it in the clamps for a week or so, as I recall. (I was very afraid. I don't know if that was warranted or not.)

It needs surfacing every now and then, but all benches do.

[Don Stephan]

Perhaps 25 years ago I wanted to replace my 2x4x8's on edge workbench top with something longer and with harder wood, but on a minimal budget. Not knowing better, I bought a number of 2x8x12's from Home Depot. 2x4's and 2x6's are spruce-pine-fir (SPF) and starting with 2x8's the wood is southern yellow pine, heavier and harder than SPF. Proceeded to rip them in half on the table saw. If memory serves, about 20% of the rips were so cupped and bowed and twisted they were firewood, so I had to buy extras. And when I finally made them flat and straight they were narrower and thinner than the 2x4's in the original top. At that time, I hadn't learned that framing lumber is only about 18% moisture so I glued them together in batches.

On a side note, when I am gluing boards together in groups I worry about building in a warp accidentally. If edge gluing the first 3 of 6 boards in a tabletop I will clamp all six together even though only the first 3 have glued edges, hoping I won't have to try to joint a group of 3 boards. When I was face gluing the ripped 2x8's, I probably used one on its side on each side of each group as straight edges. Cant remember if I continued gluing separate groups, or simply face glued the next six to the first group.

[Frederick Skelly]

My planing bench was made out of Doug Fir 2x6's lightly planed and face-glued, that were probably about as "green" as that, and it's held up fine over 30 years. I did use epoxy, though.

It needs surfacing every now and then, but all benches do.

I did something similar when I built my bench, except that I used Titebond. It's held up just fine.

I was pretty choosy and went through the entire pallet of 2x4's to get the straightest. (The lumber desk didn't complain.)

[Noah Starksen]

I would be tempted to wait a while, possible the lumber is air dried down to about 12%. Do you have a tester so you can get an accurate idea of the MC?

Unfortunately I don't have a moisture meter. But one of them even feels slightly damp to the touch.


I did something similar when I built my bench, except that I used Titebond. It's held up just fine.

I was pretty choosy and went through the entire pallet of 2x4's to get the straightest. (The lumber desk didn't complain.)

Did the exact same thing when I went today. They had 65 in stock. I went through about 55 until I felt I had 9 good ones.

I'm planning to use titebond as well. Did you just build them right away when they were still green?

[Robert Hazelwood]

I'll add that if you want the finished bench to be 3-1/2" thick, you need to rip the laminations a bit thicker, at least 3-3/4. They will bow/twist a bit once ripped.

[Frederick Skelly]

Did you just build them right away when they were still green?

None of mine were obviously damp to the touch. I unloaded them, ran them through the jointer and planer, let them sit overnight, and then glued up 2 sections - each just less than the width of my delta benchtop planer. I let each section dry, scraped off the excess glue, and ran the two sections back through the planer (on both sides). I cant swear that the top and bottom surfaces were perfectly parallel doing it this way, but there wasnt much flex in each 3 1/3" thick section. So I felt pretty confident they'd be close enough. The resulting top was smooth and flat when I glued the two sections together. A few years later, I did staight edge check and decided it was time to flatten the top surface again. I did that with a #7 hand plane. It was work, but has held up well. YMMV.

[Andrew Hughes]

Snap crackle pop is the sound Douglas fir construction lumber makes in my shop. If you can get them all glued together before the weather changes you will get some really loud pops when it does.
We have 60s today next week it’s forecasted mid 80s or higher.
Good Luck sounds fun

[Doug Dawson]

Snap crackle pop is the sound Douglas fir construction lumber makes in my shop. If you can get them all glued together before the weather changes you will get some really loud pops when it does.
We have 60s today next week it’s forecasted mid 80s or higher.
Good Luck sounds fun

Just one word, Benjamin, just one word: epoxy.

I don't remember the exact reasoning I had for it at the time, but it turned out to be sound.

[Andrew Hughes]

Why would epoxy be better then Regular yellow glue.
Douglas fir accepts glue very well.

[Doug Dawson]

Why would epoxy be better then Regular yellow glue.
Douglas fir accepts glue very well.

So your point is?

[Mike Kees]

Doug why do you feel epoxy is necessary ?

[Doug Dawson]

Doug why do you feel epoxy is necessary ?

You're asking me to reproduce my analysis of the issue from 30 years ago, and I'm sorry, I can't do so "on a dime", I don't have notes going back that far. I just know what worked. I'm old, please don't beat me.

[Mike Kees]

I was just curious Doug. Meant no offense,glad it has stood the test of time.

[Bill Dufour]

Location, location, location and climate. Is the weather damp or dry now for your part of the world. I would air dry them for at least one month. Better yet I would return them and buy 2x4"s instead. Buy extras and return the ones that move too much in drying.
I do not know if they will take returns for the duration. I am sure they will in six months or so.
One of three Home Depots near me is restricting the number of customers allowed in at any time.
Bil lD

[Jim Becker]

The material will likely settle down if you give it enough time to do so. Ripping exposes more interior surfaces which will help moisture wick off. Rip them, stack and sticker them flat and level, put a box fan on them to keep air moving and wait awhile. If you chose decent boards, the odds are in your favor that you can get things together. If you haven't already bought your material, see if you have any independent lumber yards that cater more to the bigh-end builder...I find that the "construction" lumber there is SO much better than stuff from the 'borg.

[Bill Dufour]

How about tie rods made from all thread. Easy enough to drill the holes before glue up.
Bill D

[Noah Starksen]

I would be tempted to wait a while, possible the lumber is air dried down to about 12%. Do you have a tester so you can get an accurate idea of the MC?

Ok, went and got a tester today to check. Just check the top boards of the stack. They were at 20 and 25!

[Jim Becker]

Ok, went and got a tester today to check. Just check the top boards of the stack. They were at 20 and 25!

That's typical of construction lumber...rip it, stack and sticker it as I described above for a bit and you should see it come down to a more reasonable MC level in a week or three as long as there is good air flow.

[Noah Starksen]

That's typical of construction lumber...rip it, stack and sticker it as I described above for a bit and you should see it come down to a more reasonable MC level in a week or three as long as there is good air flow.

Should I expect much cup/twist/bow after I do this?

[Jim Becker]

That depends upon the material. Fortunately, the orientation you use the boards for a typical workbench top (vertical) helps mitigate some issues as you glue things up. It's one of the reasons that this kind of material can be used for a thick benchtop successfully. You may need to take to final assembly dimensions in multiple steps, too, like I had to with that "really nice" pine I recently used for the equestrian locker door project for a client. Even that material was at a higher MC than I wanted "inside", so multiple iterations of milling, stack and stickering, milling, stack and stickering...

Of course, the bottom line is that until you cut into a board, you're not going to know for sure how it's going to react to release of tension potentially in there...

[Noah Starksen]

That depends upon the material. Fortunately, the orientation you use the boards for a typical workbench top (vertical) helps mitigate some issues as you glue things up. It's one of the reasons that this kind of material can be used for a thick benchtop successfully. You may need to take to final assembly dimensions in multiple steps, too, like I had to with that "really nice" pine I recently used for the equestrian locker door project for a client. Even that material was at a higher MC than I wanted "inside", so multiple iterations of milling, stack and stickering, milling, stack and stickering...

Of course, the bottom line is that until you cut into a board, you're not going to know for sure how it's going to react to release of tension potentially in there...

Your statement about this type of glue up mitigating these issues begs the question: do I even need to let it dry out? If I just glue it up at it's current MC, would the thickness of the glue up keep it from warping anymore?

[Bill Dufour]

Again it depends on your location.. is summer humidity higher then 20% or so? Does it even rain in your climate or are you maybe in the Aatcama desert?
My climate here in summer humdity is seldom over 35% so wood needs to be drier to start with or it will move a lot as it air dries. I understand much of the USA has higher humidity in summer and is drier in winter time. This is the complete reverse of most of California's climate.
Bil lD

[Noah Starksen]

Again it depends on your location.. is summer humidity higher then 20% or so? Does it even rain in your climate or are you maybe in the Aatcama desert?
My climate here in summer humdity is seldom over 35% so wood needs to be drier to start with or it will move a lot as it air dries. I understand much of the USA has higher humidity in summer and is drier in winter time. This is the complete reverse of most of California's climate.
Bil lD

I’m in Redding, Ca. So humidity goes from 60s in feb/March to 30s in summer.

[Jim Andrew]

My experience gluing up wood less than dry, is it will dry out curved, and completely unusable.

[Bill Dufour]

In that climate you need to let it dry. Sticker it so no rain hits it but no direct sunlight or it will dry too fast. In summer I would say one month in the shop. Be aware that many responders are not familiar with our low humidity's and their air dried is a good bit higher moisture. Also at their humidities and lower summer temperatures air drying takes longer.
Bil lD

[Noah Starksen]

In that climate you need to let it dry. Sticker it so no rain hits it but no direct sunlight or it will dry too fast. In summer I would say one month in the shop. Be aware that many responders are not familiar with our low humidity's and their air dried is a good bit higher moisture. Also at their humidities and lower summer temperatures air drying takes longer.
Bil lD

What MC am I looking for before gluing together?

[Jim Andrew]

For me in Kansas, between 6 and 8%. Any idea what your wood air dries to in your location? Mine dries to 11 or 12% in Kansas. My shop dries it on down, as it is heated. Won't say cooled, as I only run the AC if I have to.

[Jim Dwight]

I am done with a chest of drawers built mostly out of 5 eight foot 1x12s from BORG except for the knobs - which I just ordered. It is in a room with a bed made of construction lumber from BORG. I think it is SYP. The legs are glued up into 3x3s. It is based upon a Matthias Wandel design. It is about a year old. Nothing bad has happened with it. It isn't used often but my kids like it when they visit. No cracking. No visible warping.

I worry less for about things for my shop than I do furniture my kids use. I would not hesitate to use construction lumber for a workbench - without waiting. I would not use badly warped pieces but a little warping will be eliminated when it is glued to other pieces. I would at least put it through the planner. Ideally a jointer first. To get a good flat surface to glue up.

Jay Bates made himself a workbench of pine and the same bench in hickory. He liked the pine one better. If you want inspiration you might want to watch his youtubes.