Wood for workbench base?

[Jeff Cord]

What is the recommended wood for a workbench base?
I'm planning on making a bench similar to the one in the FWW Shops issue and they used maple (regular? hard? didn't say).
What wood would you recommend?
thanks,
Jeff

[Brian Kent]

Jeff, in my area (Riverside CA) ash was the least expensive. I chose maple and purpleheart for the top because of tighter grain, hardness, and looks. But the ash works very well for the base. I figure if it good enough for baseball bats, it can handle the shock of pounding.

Brian

[Fred Gross]

Brian,
Sounds like a beautiful bench! Have you posted photos of it?

[Tom Sontag]

While certain woods may be a better choice after 50-100 years or so, for your lifetime I think you could use almost any. Cheap is a top criteria for many and if your joinery is up to snuff, you could get by with almost anything short of cardboard. Hard is better. Heavy is better. So oak, ash, hard maple all are top choices.

But really, sweat a different detail, because this one is not critical.

[Ken Pywell]

I chose birch. At the time it was much cheaper than maple. I haven't priced it lately so...
Ken

[glenn bradley]

I made a bench at a previous home using KD fir from the BORG for the legs and supports. Although a little lean on appearance, there was never any sign of shake, rattle or roll. I am making a bench as we speak and although I went back and forth on materials, I have decided to go with KD Fir again. It doesn't look half bad if machined down and assembled well.

Like another post stated, ash is quite reasonable in my area (SoCal). As this is yet another "interim" bench, I will save the maple and ash for my "last" bench sometime in the future. I'm still not rock-solid on my shop layout and that will effect my size, wheels / no wheels, etc. type decisions.

Hope this helps.

[Brian Kent]

Fred, I haven't posted any pictures yet, so here it is. The only photos I have with me include the boxes I made for my extended family at Christmas time.

This is Maple and Purpleheart with Ash legs. I started with the Frank Klaus plan in the workbench book, shortened it by a foot because of the size of the shop, and went for round holes instead of square.

I really would have liked to make a tail-vise, but I had only been woodworking for a few months (last spring) and wasn't confident enough. I also couldn't figure out how to hold a piece of wood to use a Japanese saw if I went for the tail-vise, so I mounted a metal vise instead.

Brian

[Dave Ray]

Brian.... only woodworking since last spring??? WOW! Great looking bench, and the boxes look super too. Not to worry about anything Brian, you have a talent for woodworking. Would like to see more pic's of your work.

[James Carmichael]

What Dave said...

Brian,

What dimensions are the timbers for your base, the feet, legs, stretchers, trestles?

[Steve Mellott]

Jeff: I used maple for the top and poplar for the base. Easy to work and very stable.

[mark page]

Hey Brian,
A little cold rolled steel for a simple axle, tires, wheels, tongue, and a few lights and we could tow her over to my garage.

[Brian Dormer]

What is the recommended wood for a workbench base?
I'm planning on making a bench similar to the one in the FWW Shops issue and they used maple (regular? hard? didn't say).
What wood would you recommend?
thanks,
Jeff

Jeff - for the top - you want something hard and stable, although people make perfectly usable benches out of softer woods like pine and fir with excellent results. For the legs, rails and stretchers, the hardness of the wood isn't critical. Pine, fir, poplar, maple, oak.... it's ALL good. Use whatever fits your budget.

Historically, benches have been made out of whatever was available and cheap. In Europe, that was (usually) beech. In North America, it varies by region.

The single most important advice is to buy your vises first. You need to know where all the vise hardware is going and what the clearances are.

[Jim Becker]

Honestly, there are so many choices that will work well for this if you are using stout material. Locally grown hardwoods such are usually what folks aim for, but you should go with what you can source for the price you are willing to pay. Oak, ash, birch and maple are all popular for this task, but even "hard" softwoods, such as Douglas fir work nicely in the dimensions you'll likely use for your project if you chose strong joinery.

[glenn bradley]

The single most important advice is to buy your vises first. You need to know where all the vise hardware is going and what the clearances are.

You're right Brian, DAMHIKT. I actually remembered to choose the vises first this time around.