I read way too much. One of my recent perusals is "Workbenches: from Design & Theory to Construction and Use" by Christopher Schwarz. It's a great book. I highly recommend it. Just beware the big ideas it's likely to inspire.
I was inspired to build the French workbench featured in the book. I don't have a real workbench and I've never built one before. Yet, I was drawn to this bench. While the "Continental" benches I see most these days are amazing and incredibly beautiful, they're just not what I wanted. Perhaps it's my French DNA, but this classic example just seemed right for me. (If you've got a problem with the French, just consider it a "Freedom Bench".)
I'm going to try documenting here the process of building this bench. I hope to include many pictures. Hopefully, others can learn from my mistakes and perhaps I can be helped along as well. I will certainly need it.
1. Wood Selection: Christopher Schwarz recommends using Southern Yellow Pine for his workbenches. He quite literally buys 2"x12"x12' floor joists from Lowe's. This may seem a bit strange, but that stuff is apparently quite stiff, quite durable and quite inexpensive. Christopher claims he can easily find straight, clear examples by picking through the stack. Unfortunately, SYP not readily available in Colorado. I could order it, but by the time it's trucked across the country, I might as well buy hard maple. I'm trying to keep the cost down on this project, but you know how that often goes.
I visited my local Lowe's and found plenty of kiln dried Douglas Fir. According to the charts in the Workbenches book, Douglas Fir is only slightly less hard than Southern Yellow Pine and a little more stiff. As you would expect, this Douglas Fir stock was pretty awful. Strike that idea.
I dropped by two local hardwood suppliers I frequent. One proprieter suggested Ash or Hickory and had some very nice examples. His wood is very high grade, but also pretty expensive. I thanked him and told him I'd think about it.
The other supplier had 8/4 Ash and Hickory for $5.00 BF. There wasn't much Ash, but there was a good supply of very long and very straight hickory sticks. I picked up three, each over 12' long, and trucked them home.
After looking over the workbench plans again, it became apparent building the entire bench from Hickory would be way more expensive than I wanted. (The legs alone are massive.) I thought I might reserve the Hickory for a very big and very hard top and find something cheap for the base. And, if the workbench top turned out lousy, I could always set fire to it and make an amazing roast pork.
I drove my truck South to one of the too many Home Depot stores in my town. HD also had a lot of kiln dried Douglas fir. Most of it was of the proverbial awful variety, but by golly there was a fresh batch of 2"x12"x10' boards. I combed through these and managed to pull out six nice examples; and all for $50. Sweet.
Two of the HD boards were a little damp, but the others were reasonably dry. Surprisingly, Christopher Schwarz writes in his book this really isn't a problem for his bench. I guess we'll see.
2. Cutting Up: I cut and squared just a few Hickory boards. I've heard that stuff is difficult work with, but I like it. Of course, my tools' edges may be screaming in pain and require sharpening and replacement after this project. Also, cutting Hickory makes my shop smell downright delicious.
I then ripped the Douglas Fir boards in half lengthwise and jointed one edge. I'm still working on surface planing one side. These boards are pleasantly and surprisingly straight. There are a few knots here and there, but overall, the surface is workable. And if I need more, it should be easy and cheap.
I'll try to get some pics posted pronto. To be continued...
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