Finally got started on building the new bench a couple months ago. Life has been pretty crazy since (even before the coronavirus) so progress was slow, but steady. Tried to remember and take a few pictures along the way. the base is yellow pine framing lumber. Top is a red oak slab. I bought the slab intending to put it on as-is, but it was pretty rough and warped, and final thickness would have been only about 2", so I decided to cut it into strips and laminate. Now the top is almost 4" thick
I had to remake one of the 4 corner leg pieces after gluing it on backwards. Luckily I was able to cut it off with saw and chisel and salvage the tennons on the cross pieces, so those could be reused. Flattening the top sure made a mess...