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/te...ticle?id=14875

The bench you see is made of SYP.

[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.

[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.

[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.