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bench wood species? - mound - 04-17-2017

Is your bench made of softwood or hardwood?
Which species did you choose and why?


RE: bench wood species? - JimReed@Tallahassee - 04-17-2017

European beech because the Germans (at Ulmia factory) said so.


RE: bench wood species? - SteveS - 04-17-2017

My Ulmia is Euro beech and my home made bench is made from Eastern maple and yellow birch. I wouldn't use soft wood as it's too easily damaged.


RE: bench wood species? - Adnick - 04-17-2017

Long leaf pine heartwood, reclaimed from an late 1800's farm house. It's beautiful and I had a lot of it in very long and thick pieces....

Classified as a "soft" wood but the tools would argue that.....


RE: bench wood species? - EdL - 04-17-2017

Honey Locust.....DON'T GO THERE!

Yup, it's hard & strong, that's where the good points end.

Unpredcitable grain changes and it moves....like a hooker in church.

Got the logs dirt cheap, milled them myself just for the workbench. If I would've taken the money I spent on beer while making it, Hard Maple would've been free.

Ed


RE: bench wood species? - new cab guy - 04-17-2017

SYP.

Don't use reject oak like I did, it made things way harder then they needed to be.


RE: bench wood species? - Herb G - 04-18-2017

One of my benches is made from Rock Maple butcher block. About 3" thick, 5' long, and 2' wide.
It weighs about 250 lbs or so. I made another one for my garage from 2 layers of 3/4" exterior plywood.
My butcher block bench is over 60 years old. It has it's share of dents & dings, but nothing wrong with it.


RE: bench wood species? - Tynyyn - 04-18-2017

I used maple for the top, about 4" thick and then ran out of wood, so I had to make the legs out of 16/4 walnut. I was very happy at first when I pegged it all together, but six months later I've noticed the maple is not flat having dived 1/2" at the ends where it overhangs the legs.

Make sure your wood is very dry, lest you are ready to suffer the pain of warp.


RE: bench wood species? - Laid-Back - 04-18-2017

Top, one piece 17"w-58"l-3 1/4"th pine. Why? cause thats what I had. Only got it built a few months ago and I'd like for it to been longer, other than that I'm satisfied with the results.


RE: bench wood species? - cwarner - 04-18-2017

Top is Ash because I had a good cheap supply of it.  Legs are cherry with walnut stretchers.  Cherry I already had so was "free".  Walnut came from the old bench that this bench replaced so was also free.