I was just reading Mr. Hutchinson's great thread on his SYP bench project and it got me thinking. I happened to be on CL earlier and found someone selling red oak at what I can only assume is a good price. Is a softwood workbench just as good as a hardwood workbench? Does it even matter?
My current bench is the first thing I built before even really having the necessary tools for doing it properly. It is made of cheap-o white pine. I find it too easy to push around when planing, and doesn't provide enough stiff resistance when sawing (too much give in the legs).
SYP is a lot cheaper than oak... by my very rough calculation based on the price in the CL ad I would be paying $400-$600 dollars for enough wood to build a similar-sized bench to what I have (slightly longer). That is a lot of money to sink on a work bench...