How to order a bench top from a sawmill

[Tim Monroe]

I've never used a planer or jointer and don't know anything about millwork so I'm trying to understand how to ask a sawmill to make a workbench top for me. Not sure what type of glue press they have, but they do make face glued butcher block or plank style tops.

I want to laminate two sections for a split top bench, that will be used in an unheated garage in Cleveland's humid summers and spring time condensation from cold nights and warm days. I'm thinking of asking them to rip 8/4 S2S lumber to 3.75" widths, that will be face glued to make the 2 sections. 8 boards will be glued to make a 14.5" wide section and 6 boards will make an 11" wide section. Finished length of sections to be 78".

Will the S2S surfacing on both sides be enough so these boards can be face glued without any further surfacing. After glue up, is planing the only final work required for final leveling of both sections.
What else should I ask them besides orienting all boards before gluing so grain is going in same direction to make any future leveling with a hand plane easier. And to use exterior grade glue.

Haven't yet decided on a hardwood or whether I need quartersawn lumber to make the top sections less likely to distort in unheated garage.

[Dwayne Watt]

A sawmill is not the place to get what you are asking. There are woodworking shops that happen to do rough mill work but it sounds like you might be better off going to someplace like Grizzly and simply ordering up a benchtop. That will be more cost effective overall. You can add the legs, drawers, etc yourself.

[Peter Mich]

Might you consider purchasing a kit from one of the various bench making companies such as Benchcrafted (https://www.benchcrafted.com/strs4skit) or Plate 11 (https://www.plate11.com/workbenches)?

[David M Peters]

I recently did some shopping around on "commercial" butcher block products. There were a few local places that were able to do custom counter tops but golly were they expensive. That's besides the point, however. They simply asked me the basic questions - length, width, thickness, and what edge treatments I wanted.

I feel that you're be better off letting them figure out what kinds of boards to use to built up the lamination rather than trying to dictate every last detail. Using 8/4 lumber will a lot more expensive than using what they happen to have on hand.

[Paul F Franklin]

Since you're in NE Ohio, I suggest you contact Baird Brothers (maybe that's who you are talking to?) One of their specialties is solid wood countertops and workbench tops. I'm pretty sure they will be able to answer your questions and provide recommendations for assemblies that will meet your needs. They can provide unfinished tops or finished to your requirements. Their quality is A+ and customer service A+ also. Of course that comes at a price.

I have no association with them other than as a very satisfied customer.

[Dave Mills]

Aside from the suggestions above, some commentary on your questions:

- I would give them the finished dimension requirements to meet. Your idea of ripping presumably 2x8 material in half to get two 3.75" widths is a start, but keep in mind that the final planing may take off a significant amount off both sides of the beams, like 1/4" off each, depending on how flat the wood is and how well they registered all the boards during glue-up.
- I don't know for sure what you mean by "S2S surfacing", but you want the edges that receive glue to be jointed and planed flat and parallel before gluing. You (they) are not going to just take boards that are milled S2S to sell, and glue them together without big gaps, no matter how hard they squeeze them. After glue-up, you want them to *joint* one side of each beam, then plane the other side to make both beams flat on both sides and equal thickness.
- Quartersawn would be awesome, but I don't think I've heard of many folks spending the coin to get it. You want the grain lines as seen from the end of the bench, to be as vertical as they can be, and not near the center of the tree. Most flat-sawn boards, placed on edge, will qualify. In my case I used rift sawn white oak because my lumberyard only has white oak in rift or quarter sawn.

[Tim Monroe]

Thanks guys. I looked at Grizzly but want to go thicker that the 2.25" tops that they offer. Benchcrafted and Plate 11 sure make some nice benches but I prefer something closer to Robert Lang's 21st century design. And while searching for hardwood a month ago, I did find Baird Brothers and they are the ones I want to go to. Just thought I'd check here first, before going to them. I like what I see about them on their website, so I'll ask with them what they recommend.

[Andrew Hughes]

Lie Neilson used to make and sell woodworking benches. It will be ready to go when you get it all you have to do is unbox
They might be back ordered due to the c———a virus keeping everyone home.
I have one and can testify it’s a great product.
Good Luck

[Tim Monroe]

Thanks Dave. So instead of me guessing that 8 boards face glued will be 14.5" (because S2S is suppose to be 1.81" thick) I'll ask them how many boards will make a 14 to 15" wide section. I'll state a finished length of 78" and a thickness of at least 3.5". Hopefully they will have some rift sawn lumber they can recommend that won't move too much.

[Tim Monroe]

I checked out LN's and other pre-fab benches Andrew, but want to make a knock down trestle base because there's a chance we'll be moving in a year or two. So once I know I can get the top laminated, I need to find someone to build the base. I know it would be a great learning project for me to build it, but with the tools and skills I have, I'll be looking for a shop that won't mind working from my plans and cutting M&T joints, drilling holdfast holes in top, and excavating underside of bench for vises, etc.

[Alan Gage]

Like some of the others mentioned a sawmill probably isn't the place to get this done. But some sawmill operations also have a wood shop and do custom work so it could work if you found the right place. Most of them will only want to sell you the lumber though.

Alan

[Alex Zeller]

Another option might to to find a local woodworker's club. It's possible there's one close to you that will have someone who can do the work for you for a reasonable price. If you are thinking about dabbling in woodworking it would get you a chance to talk to other already doing it. That'll come in useful down the road.

[David Bassett]

It occurs to me you might be able to custom order just a top from one of the bench makers since they are small companies and may have some flexibility to their production.

Also, I notice that one of the Benchcrafted benches and the L-N bench are knockdown designs. (I didn't check others, but would be surprised if they are the only ones.)

[Thomas Crawford]

Why can't you get this from a sawmill? It just needs to be a mill that also has a planer and a kiln. There is one near me, I'd think there would have to be something in the midwest.

The main thing you will run into is cost, down here you are competing with thick pieces that they sell for fireplace mantels and tables.

[Alan Gage]

Why can't you get this from a sawmill? It just needs to be a mill that also has a planer and a kiln. There is one near me, I'd think there would have to be something in the midwest.


It sounds to me like the OP wants the top assembled for him, which I wouldn't expect most sawmills to want to get involved with.

Many mills do have a planer and offer planing services but most mills don't have a large jointer for face/edge jointing, which will likely be required in this case.

Most certainly there are sawmill owners who also do custom milling and woodwork but they'll be harder to find. I'd think it would be easier to find a sawmill to provide the lumber and a woodworker to make the top from it.

Alan

[Paul F Franklin]

Just as an FYI, Baird Brothers is a full service lumber yard with extensive custom fabrication capabilities. I believe they have an associated sawmill operation as well.

[Jim Becker]

If you want something really hefty...Matt Cremona makes massive workbench kits and can provide them with the tops pre-dimensioned if you prefer. https://mattcremona.com/product-category/workbench-kits. You may need to wait a bit before he has more stock available, however.

[Tim Monroe]

I used the term sawmill based on the sign on their building. Maybe the first generation was more of a traditional sawmill, but they have grown. And now the third generation does a lot of different work, including custom milling.
https://www.bairdbrothers.com

When I searched for 8/4 hardwood, I found them to be about an hour away. I noticed they were advertising custom butcher blocks and thought there could be an advantage to their gluing process and equipment. Maybe I'm worrying too much about bench being kept in an unheated garage.

Anyway, the photos show a lot of stored lumber. And that's a good idea to see if I can find a local woodworkers club.

[William Hodge]

If you are working in marginal conditions, it would be good to get a marginal conditions work bench. It would be like buying a Tesla when you live on a long gravel road, like I do.

A show piece wooden bench subjected to temperature and moisture extremes is going to want to move. If that's Ok, go big.

Most sawmills around here don't have heat. Millwork shops make stuff like what you want. Someone that actually makes benches would be a good start. Shops often charge a lot more for something they don't normally do.

I used to work in a wood laminating factory. Just tell them what you want for a finished product, not how to do it. You can ask how they would do it. If you hear something off,you will know to look elsewhere.

[Alex Zeller]

Using 8/4 vs building up the thickness with thinner boards seems like an extra cost that's not really going to buy you anything of value. If anything I think I would be less likely to use it as a work bench if it was made out of a nice piece of wood. I think I would inquire at the location you've listed, tell then what you are looking for, and tell them how you will use it. Let them make a suggestion.

[Mike Wilkins]

First thing I would do is get a copy of the Workbench Book from Taunton Press or Chris Swartz' book on workbench building, and do some research. After reading some of this info you will be asking why not build your own bench. I got lucky and found a 3" thick maple top from an antique store glued from 1 7/8" face glued boards. I just had to build the base.
Custom woodworkers could also make what you want.

[Alan Lightstone]

I got mine from Baird Brothers (a very large one), and the quality is great and service was fantastic. So I would rate them very highly. After I ordered mine, I saw them on an episode of This Old House, which I thought was pretty funny.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Look for pricing and availability. Although they may not have precisely what you want, I ended up going to the local woodcraft and purchasing a Sjobergs kit. The top screws to the base and you can take it apart if you want to move it. Rockler also sells them. I purchased a top, a base, and a cabinet to go under it.

I lacked the skills and equipment to build it myself, and this gave me something usable for a few hours of assembly time.

[David Bassett]

First thing I would do is get a copy of the Workbench Book from Taunton Press or Chris Swartz' book on workbench building, and do some research. ...

Stuff has changed.

(I understand) Scott Landis's Workbench Book from Taunton is out of print. But it was recently republished (in HB) by Lost Art Press.

Christopher Schwarz has written another book on the subject: The Anarchist's Workbench. It's available free as a PDF and also as a (paid) HB at Lost Art Press. He also has written Ingenious Mechanicks which explores the history of the workbench and describes benches and work holding options not considered in more modern* texts. (*where modern starts with guys like Roubo and Nicholson. ;) )

Schwarz's earlier workbench books are owned by whoever bought the rights in the PopWood breakup. I assume they're still available from the new owner too.

[Tim Monroe]

Thanks guys. I've purchased or downloaded pdf version of all these books. Had a lot of fun over the fall and winter learning about workbenches, work holding, and workshop layouts. So now it's time to get bench built and begin moving from carpentry work to more woodworking with hand tools.

[Thomas Crawford]

I had my Roubo style workbench in my unconditioned garage in Texas for 8 years before I built my shop and had no issues. I really wouldn't worry that much about movement.

Do you have one of those community shops with big machines near you that you pay monthly to access? I would think if you could join something for a bit there would be other members willing to help you build it and run it through the machines.

[Tom Bender]

This bench will not be real big so the added complication of making it KD is unnecessary unless you have a basement shop with a tortured stairway. In that case you'd better stick to hand tools.