wood choice for workbench top

[Tom Adger]

Getting ready to build a workbench. I want it to have a nice top. Have a jointer and planer. What is the best wood to use? Hardwood or softwood? If hardwood, what is the best to use?

[Lon Schleining]

My first choice would be hard maple.

[Dave Lehnert]

Chris S. From Popular Woodworking says to use Southern Yellow Pine. I did and it holds up very well and cheap too. Look a rule #3

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniquearticle?id=14875

The bench you see is made of SYP.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/upload/contents/332/3-3510-opener.jpg

[Eric Larsen]

That was an outstanding article. Although I think the "24 inches is plenty deep" rule is a bit small for what I'll be making over the next few years.

It also confirmed my choice of douglas fir. I'm buying the wood this week! I'll need to reduce the depth of the table -- I can't see any reason why I'd want a 42"-deep bench. I think 36" will work better for me. I'll also need to swap the positions of the vices (lefty), make the top four feet longer and replace the center cabinet with more drawers.


http://www.shopnotes.com/images/issues/084/classic-cabinet-base-workbench-toc.jpg

[John Thompson]

Hard maple is great if you want to spend the bucks but as Len stated.. Sothern Yellow Pine is very sufficient. The last 5 I have build I used it and it holds up fine. I just replaced the top on my personal work-bench about 4 months ago with it. $27 as SYP is super cheap in Georgia.

Good luck with whatever you chose...

Sarge..

[Peter Quinn]

Let cheap, strong and relatively stable be your guide. The Chris S. book is great for tips. I like to look at benches that look like furniture but rarely see them in professional shops. Is the bench your work, or is it a tool to help in your work? I don't find the benches made from vast arrays of exotic hardwoods to be particularly practical. SYP, Fir, spruce, maple, oak, ash, MDF, etc. Take your pick.

Maple comes up as a favorite of many because it is heavy and impact resistant. I don't think it is necessary unless you find some cheap. Are you really going to smash the bench top with a hammer? If so use Liginum Vitea for the top.

[Mike Cornelsen]

Been said by many, many people before me. Check out the Christopher Schwarz book "Workbenches." He likes SYP. I think my copy is more than worth the $20 I spent. And if you order it from Amazon through the Creek link, everyone here wins (shameless plug).

[Tommy Emmons]

I built mine using 1/2 inch thick phenolic board. It works great. The surface is white and works as my design board for sketches and calculations. If you get glue on the workbench, no problem. Take a putty knife or an old chisle and scrap it off. Your top is as good as new. If you spill stain or varnish on it. It can easily be cleaned. It is dead flat so it works great as an assembly table. Just my two cents.

[Ron Dunn]

Tommy, how slippery is it? Do things skid around when you're using the chisel or plane?

[Vince Shriver]

European Beech is another option - a bit less exepnsive than maple, very stable, very hard straight grain wood.

[Tony Bilello]

You can build extremely sturdy benches with plywood tops. I have used one of my benches for almost 20 years and never had to replace the top. I wonder where it is now. Hurricane Katrina claimed it. I went from memory and built another one just like it. It it fairly heavy. It could easily support the weight of a car.
Your bench design should be based on anticipated usage. I used my bench hand planing, heavy belt sanding, hammering, tool repair and just about everything else except for assembly.
Keep in mind that if the old ways were better, we would still all be doing it that way.

Tony B

[Robert Chapman]

I used 3/4 inche medium density particle board - three pieces thick - and topped it with 1/4 inche hard masonite. It is dead flat and weighs a ton. Been using it for about 10 years and it shows no sign of wear or warping.

[Alex Shanku]

I made my top out of maple. (Base out of SYP) Its 4" thick and does what I need it to do, ie take a beating and not move.

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/Bench1.jpg

[Jim Cunningham]

I built my base from SYP and the top from Ash and it has stood up extremely well

[Tom Adger]

Thanks for all your comments. Dave, I found the article by Chris S very helpful. I am leaning toward maple if I can find it reasonably priced, if not I will probably go with SYP.

[John Schreiber]

SYP is a bargain and reasonably clear if you buy the wide widths and pick through the piles, but I have found it to be difficult to work with. Some parts are hard as a tropical wood and others are soft as basswood. Grain direction is very unpredictable too.

If I were doing it again, I'd probably do the same. But if I could afford clear hardwood, I would go that way next time, at least for the top.

[Dave Lehnert]

I just wanted to point out. If what you want is a Hard Maple top then go for it. It is a very good choice. SYP is just a cheaper option you may have not know about.

[Tommy Emmons]

Ron

Just like any other workbench top, you need to secure the workpiece to the top with dogs or clamps. It is not much slicker than a hard maple top. When I route items on the bench, I lay down a rubber mat like they sell at Woodcraft or at Wal-Mart. It keeps the item stationary. I have had mine for two years and being too slick has never been a problem. As I said earlier, cleanup is soooooo much easier and the top remains dead flat.

[Lon LeBlanc]

I built my benchtop out of a used, solid core door ($19.95) with a 1/4 hardboard topper ($14). This baby is solid, very heavy, and doesn't move. Base is scrap wood from some of the homes being built around here. Legs are 2x6 and OSB panels. There are 2x4 cross braces under the OSB shelf. Vices are from Harbor Freight, bought on sale. Belkin surge protector is from BORG. I have exactly $148 invested in the bench.


Lon

[Charles Cannon]

I used a scrap piece of "Advantec" T&G flooring for the insert on this bench. The outside of the top is 3x4 ash and walnut.
Cannon

[Chris Stolicky]

Hum, I would of thought SYP wouldn't be hard enough. Interesting.

Well, I used Ash because I wanted something heavy and solid, and it was half the price of maple. I used poplar for the legs, mainly because I never worked with it before and wanted to give it a shot.

Its held up well.

[Ryan Lee]

Mine is made out of 2 layers of particle board topped with laminate. Cleans up great with a scraper or lacquer thinner. I use C-clamps or quick clamps to secure my work.

[John Browne]

Maple is a great choice. However, as Chris Swartz points out, sooner or later you will need to reflatten your bench top. Planing a hard maple top flat will be a lot of hard work compared to SYP or Doug Fir.

[Alan Schaffter]

Another choice is American Beech. It is not as hard as Maple, its European cousin, or White Oak for that matter, but it is a clear, straight and tight grained wood.

[John Keeton]

I used a scrap piece of "Advantec" T&G flooring for the insert on this bench. The outside of the top is 3x4 ash and walnut.
Cannon
Charles, noticed that you have dog holes in your top. What are you using under the Advantec plywood for support. Does the Advantec do OK with the dogs?

[Jim Becker]

Lots of great ideas. If I were building a bench surface today, it would likely be built from three layers of 3/4" MDF, edged with "available" hardwood and covered with a replaceable 1/4" hard-board sacrificial top. Hardwood inserted into the layers where vice hardware bolts on for better holding power. Lot's of mass, and very stable with proper support.

[Thomas Pender]

I recently picked up some birch at NFP and used it for a bench top I was doing for someone and for drawer fronts. Very closely grained, machines really well and it is not a whole lot more expensive than spending hours sorting through SYP. It also, IMHO, finishes much better than maple.

While I have a maple top, the next top I make will be from birch. I typically seal birch with dewaxed shellac and put that hard coat stuff on top of it (or a water based poly) and it looks pretty to boot. Also, I tell anyone who asks that I do not intend to build any more bench support stands, tables, etc., but will use Noden Adjust a Bench because the ability to move the bench up and down is wonderful when changing from routing, to planning, assembling, etc. It is still a job to install the vises, but they work fine. (Folks do sell workbench tops - including Grizzly and other folks even sell thicker ones.)

Re smooting a bench top flat - I cheat:). There is a mill with a nice 37" sander nearby and a guy with a 50" sander. Other than a minimal charge, the most expensive thing about that is the gas back and forth. I agree that pushing a jointer plane across a birch or maple top is not something you really want to do if you have a choice.

One thing about a SYP top I did not notice mentioned is that you really do not feel so bad about dinging it.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Lots of great ideas. If I were building a bench surface today, it would likely be built from three layers of 3/4" MDF, edged with "available" hardwood and covered with a replaceable 1/4" hard-board sacrificial top. Hardwood inserted into the layers where vice hardware bolts on for better holding power. Lot's of mass, and very stable with proper support.

Jim...I think you hit the nail on the head.

My workbench is 20 years old. Very similar in construction. It uses particle board in lieu of MDF because MDF was not available to me back then. It's banded with soft fir because I wanted the edge to dent instead of my project when I'm clumsy.

When the top layer gets tired and beat, I either flip it over or drop a new sheet inplace. I don't care if I spill paint, or if I fasten jigs directly to the top, or route grooves in it. It's disposable, and stable.

-Jeff :)

[Jeffrey Makiel]

In addition to the suggestion about a disposable top. I recommend a workbench that has dust free storage too. Also, consider that you may be using it for other things like hobbies, fixing appliance, etc. The last thing I would want is a piece of furniture instead of a workbench.

The following CAD pictures show my workbench that was made from decent douglas fir 2x4s (ripped and planed to 1 1/2" x 3") with half lapped joinery. The center panels are 1/4" luan plywood rabbeted into the 2x4s. It's extremely solid and has lots of storage for hand tools and portable tools.

The radial arm saw table in the background was made the same way. I'm using CAD pictures because my shop is still in shambles from a recent bath renovation project.

Something more to think about.

-Jeff

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/Inside-1800x640.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/Inside-2800x640.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/WS-010800x459.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/Woodshopmaster800x640.jpg