Rock maple? Ipe? Finally may start building a decent workbench. want advice

[Matt Lau]

Dear Creekers,

The shutdown allowed me to sorta get my workshop shop in order.
I plan to build in some fast organization over the remainder of the year (probably just simple pocket holed storage).

In the meantime, I'd like to finally build that workbench that I bought wood for in 2017.
A few questions:

1. I have rock maple. Should I use Ipe instead?
2. How think? 3 inches? 4 inches?
3. It'll be 7 feet long (the longest board that actually fits in my car).
4. Hardware? Bolts? I'd like it to be disassemblable. Wheels and casters too, since my workshop is pretty small.
5. Split top? Solid? Stan hated the split top, and recommended a solid top. Meanwhile my friend Russ, recommended a split top for clamps.
FWIW, I'm using the Veritas surface screw down clamps.
6. Any other add ons? Not sure if I should add a bench hook?
7. Additional tips?

As for vice, I'm thinking of finally getting a Benchcrafted vice....it's been on my list for quite a while.

FWIW, I have a Blum workhorse folding workbench and some saw horses.
I've also finally gotten an electric jointer, makita lunchbox planer, and a tiny sawstop.

[Michael Cuthriell]

I made two benches based on this idea. I used larger section legs and stretchers to get some extra weight. I put wheels on one. It is labeled as $175 Workbench but will probably cost more now. I used leg vises versus the recommended because I had them. This plan makes it easy to build as long or wide as you want. Really a guideline.
https://www.popularwoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/175Workbench2.pdf

[Jim Ritter]

A lot of your questions only you can answer based on the way you work, and experience in being able to build something without bolts, etc. I would not recommend Ipe as the wood. Splinters easily and fester almost immediately at least in me. I built a small deck from that evil wood, you have to drill everything, I broke tools just drilling holes and before the job was over I was allergic to the dust from working it. I can handle it (watch out for splinters) but I can no longer cut or sand it or I will have a rash on my hands within an hour.
Jim

[Phil Gaudio]

I installed a large quantity of ipe for a deck build: based on that experience, I'd advise that you go with the hard maple for the bench. Hard maple is a classic in terms of bench construction: I don't think you will be disappointed.
https://i.postimg.cc/3r90P44w/IMG-3022-zps97252e83.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Mel Fulks]

Hard maple costs more than soft, mainly because it's whiter. I would use soft maple,which is harder than the traditional
beech tops.

[Jim Koepke]

I'd like to finally build that workbench that I bought wood for in 2017.
A few questions:

1. I have rock maple. Should I use Ipe instead?

Use what you already have.


2. How think? 3 inches? 4 inches?

That is up to you. If you chop a lot of mortises, thicker might be better.


4. Hardware? Bolts? I'd like it to be disassemblable. Wheels and casters too, since my workshop is pretty small.

You might want to search > moravian bench site:sawmillcreek.org < Ken Hatch has posted a lot about his easy to disassemble benches.


5. Split top? Solid? Stan hated the split top, and recommended a solid top. Meanwhile my friend Russ, recommended a split top for clamps.

Are you building this for yourself or someone else? My bench plan has a split top with a tool tray down the middle. My cuppa tea, maybe not yours.


6. Any other add ons? Not sure if I should add a bench hook?

This has me stumped. In my world a bench hook is not part of the bench. They are accessories:

456722

Shown are two pairs and one that is over 20 years old. They are very helpful for many tasks.

jtk

[Prashun Patel]

U don’t need a 7 foot bench to support 7 foot lumber.

I’d go with a cheaper wood that planes easier than ipe or maple. Use your maple for a project.

[Phil Gaudio]

If you have the room for a 7 foot bench: make it a 7 foot bench. My bench is 6 feet and if I had the room, I'd have gone 7'.

[David Bassett]

... In the meantime, I'd like to finally build that workbench that I bought wood for in 2017. A few questions....

As he often does, Jim beat me to it and said it better than I could have.

There have been several recent threads, over the last couple months, that have been about workbenches. You should search the forums for them because they wander, as threads usually do, and contain info relevant in general even if not strictly on topic. Lots of resources have been linked. Off the top of my head Christopher Schwarz has a new workbench book, the Anarchists Work Bench, about building a cheap Roubo with the PDF available for free. He has a couple from earlier too: the PopWood-era ones, his survey of workbench history, and LAP has brought Scott Landis's The Workbench Book back into print. Also, Megan Fitzpatrick has a blog post, someone linked to, listing the benches PopWood had covered while she was there. (Probably at PopWood or LAP blogs.)

Lastly, you list many machines. The benches you'll get recommended in this forum will tend to be traditional handtool benches. (Roubo, Nicholson, Scandinavian / European, Moravian, etc.) If working primarily with machines there are other options which might fit better for you. The Festool MFT springing to mind as the more extreme example.



... You might want to search > moravian bench site:sawmillcreek.org < Ken Hatch has posted a lot about his easy to disassemble benches. ...

+1, just doesn't seem adequate given you're wanting something that'll breakdown. Ken's documented several variations and, at least once, linked to the original article on Will Myers' blog.

Also the Benchcrafted Split-Top Rubio will (they say) breakdown, though it doesn't seemed designed to do so regularly like the Moravian. (Sounds more like move it once a decade.) Anyway, they sell plans, a kit, and assembled versions.





6. Any other add ons? Not sure if I should add a bench hook?


This has me stumped. In my world a bench hook is not part of the bench. They are accessories,

Matt, do you mean a crochet? It's not normally needed or used on a bench with a face vise, but your bench.

Also a planing stop would be traditional on a handtool bench, but isn't necessary with a tail vise. (And there are several versions, traditional and less so.)

[Jim Matthews]

I had a split top in my last bench. The most useful aspect was the removable center batten.

It wasn't as practical as having a solid top.

As it turns out, clamping things from the center line of the bench was less common than dropping something into the unlit plane cubby underneath.

[ken hatch]

Use what you already have.



That is up to you. If you chop a lot of mortises, thicker might be better.



You might want to search > moravian bench site:sawmillcreek.org < Ken Hatch has posted a lot about his easy to disassemble benches.



Are you building this for yourself or someone else? My bench plan has a split top with a tool tray down the middle. My cuppa tea, maybe not yours.



This has me stumped. In my world a bench hook is not part of the bench. They are accessories:

456722

Shown are two pairs and one that is over 20 years old. They are very helpful for many tasks.

jtk

Thanks Jim,

I do not want to sound like a broken record but if someone needs a stable bench that can be moved easily and is easy and reasonably cheap to build it is hard to beat a Moravian style bench.

ken

[ken hatch]

U don’t need a 7 foot bench to support 7 foot lumber.

I’d go with a cheaper wood that planes easier than ipe or maple. Use your maple for a project.

Prashun,

I couldn't agree more. I've used a lot of Beech to build benches, mostly because it was about the same price as Poplar but truth is my old DF and SYP benches are as functional as the ones made of Beech.

ken

[William Fretwell]

Matt, after collecting wood for a while you will have some very clear ideas what you want in a bench. I would urge you to think about what you like to make or will have to make. Functionality is king.
Elaborate vises are not necessarily as functional. Most face vises will not hold a plank vertically so you can work on the end.
You can have the front of the bench thicker than the rest of the top and create a clamping surface underneath that is out of the way and the clamps stay out of the way of the work.

Mobility is an issue for you. Any decent top will be too heavy to move on your own. You can have stretchers and ends that detach, so moving is simpler.

Think about dog holes, round or rectangular? Rectangular is more work but built in when the front is assembled not horrible. The clamping area is far larger and can be angled in at 4 degrees. Better holding....forever!

A heavy but detachable bench works for me. Top 220lbs, bottom 165lbs. Each stretcher is 40lbs. I had wood for a top 7’ minus one inch so I made the tail vise open 13” when needed.

Draw it on paper, think about using it.

[Curt Putnam]

You might wish to peruse a copy of Scott Landis' boook which I believe is entitled The Workbench Book. It covers a huge variety of benches for all manner of woodworking.

[Jim Ritter]

There is a free download of Chris Schwarz latest workbench book here https://blog.lostartpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/AWB_Consumer_June-2020_v5.1-1.pdf

i see you on other forums Matt and know you have an interest in musical instruments so keep that in mind while you are working out the details.
Jim

[Mark Gibney]

Definitely stay away from ipe. Awful stuff to work with.

I just posted the below in answer to a similar question on the General Woodworking page.

Ipe is not dried when you get it from the lumber yard. It's milled in the tropics and shipped wet, and will be very unstable when you buy it.

One mature ipe tree grows in 7 - 20 acres of forest, and to get to that tree there is a huge amount of wasted nature. Yes it's a super hard very durable wood, but we have plenty of good woods here in the USA and in my opinion we should use local materials instead of contributing directly to the depletion on the rain forests.

Plus it's awful to work with. I made a couple of table tops from reclaimed ipe fencing. Won't work with it again.

[Jim Koepke]

Off the top of my head Christopher Schwarz has a new workbench book, the Anarchists Work Bench, about building a cheap Roubo with the PDF available for free.

Here is a link to the free download:

https://blog.lostartpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/AWB_Consumer_June-2020_v5.pdf

How a person works should influence how their bench is designed. Putting a tool away immediately after use, then getting up to get it 15 minutes later when it is needed again isn't my style. That is my main reason for wanting a tool well. Putting tools away at the beginning or end of the day works for me.

My work in progress tends to also stay on my bench. Even when it is a dozen parts or more. That is also the reason for splitting the top. The project's pieces can be kept on the other side of the well.

One odd feature wanted is a face vise with a left handed orientation. On some occasions this has been advantageous.

That explains some of my design reasoning.

It may be none of the features planned for my bench fit in to your work methods or interest.

It may help to make a list of what functions you desire and how you want to accomplish them. Then design your bench to accmplish them efficiently.

jtk

[Prashun Patel]

"How a person works should influence how their bench is designed. "

I so much agree with this. You can read the Landis book or Schwarz, and you can follow some theoretical ideal for a bench. Or you can build them cheap and keep making new ones until you get to your perfect bench. Whether you work with hand tools or power tools, or do a lot of joinery or planing or carving, or chair making or tables will all affect what works best for you regarding vises and stops and thickness and size.

I don't mean to be a snob, but having worked on a couple bench styles over the past 15 years, I trust my own experience above anyone elses. It's like asking "what should I look for in a spouse?". You'll learn what you need if you date around a little.

I'd make it according to your instincts, but don't sink so much $$ into it that you'll regret modifying or scrapping it in a few years when or if your taste and wisdom changes.

[David Bassett]

"How a person works should influence how their bench is designed. "

I so much agree with this. ...

This is true, but I think with thought, planning, and good advice (e.g. the workbench books) you can anticipate many, if not most, of your needs. E.g. I just measured my wife's classical guitar at about 17" wide. I'd bet good money they didn't use a symmetrical split top bench to work on it, because you'd want at least 18" deep to support the thin top & back while you worked on them. (Also remember a classical guitar is on the small side for an acoustic guitar.

Schwarz talks about what you need to work the face & edges of furniture pieces in his book(s). He seems to use the same benches but with extensive workholding additions when working on chairs, see his blog posts. He says nothing about what a carver, luthier, or other specialist might want or need, but his basic questions would allow you to evaluate features for what you really want given what you want to build.

[Rick Dettinger]

Paul Sellers has an extensive set of videos on building a bench from quality 18mm plywood. He rips the plywood with his band saw into strips and laminates the strips into the various components of the bench. The top is made from what look like 10 cm strips laminated together so that the top is edge grain.
It looks to work well when he is building projects.
The only vice is a large record type that seems to serve him nicely.
He has a tray and an extension behind. Also, an under the top drawer.

Best,
Rick

[Jerome Andrieux]

Definitely stay away from ipe.

I could not agree more, not only is it never sustainably harvested but it’s a pita to work with. Silicates, twisted grain, doesn’t glue well ...
Moreover, a very dense hard wood can be quite bouncy and noisy. It prefer "softer" hardwoods, such as beech. European maple is too soft though.

[Tom Bender]

Contrarian view here

I think the bench shapes the method of work to a large extent. A small shop shapes a disciplined worker (put tools away often). A lame little face vise teaches clamping to the bench. A lightweight bench discourages chopping mortises. Site work teaches a whole bunch of other skills.

Actually site work is something I'm glad to have left behind. Now I can hardly open a can of soup without taking it to the shop.