They were a great guide in my decision making. Haven’t made anything too large, but for what I’m doing, it’s fine. Getting rid of it for $40 per timber!So, I have around bench made from seven fine cedar timbers. Both are great for a workbench, but both could be designed out.I feel that softwood gets a bad wrap, and is underestimated these days for workbenches.I love the grippy work surface it creates, and how easily you can stick things in to it. Too soft you say for a bench? If I was ever to build a second bench it would be the English bench from Richard and Helen’s series, that looks fun to build.Richard… What a fantastic blog post. How sad we can get wood from all over the world yet have a harder time finding wood that grows in our own back yard?Legs: 3×3″ green sweet chestnut legs from a local 1-man saw mill (bundled in a job lot of green wood), dried/seasoned in my workshop, where the bench now sits.
2x16mm, cut from one sheet of 16mm ply). Richard’s point is spot on.And if I had stumbled on huge planks of good cherry for cheap (ha!) Here in NZ these days radiata pine,,that grows better here than anywhere else… is the standard for house framing and basic building.
Birch top and pine legs, scandinavian design with shoulder vise and face vise. wide.
That is what I was thinking, too. Choosing a decent softwood will speed up your build no end, by hand.If you want to go hardwood then certain timbers should be avoided if they’re kiln dried.Ash for example, is a sod. There’s no laminating, minimal prep, and the pine is perfect for this traditional nailed construction. Anyone know what kind of wood that is? Hence why every commercial bench building company over here opts for beech.Joinery grade redwood (pine). Dehumidifier in the shop.
It had wide boards used for the top and aprons, which were nailed on to the base.That nailed construction is a great suggestion for softwood, as going through very hard woods with nails is much less satisfying. The cedar is super stable.
And to be quite frank can be a bit of a sod.Plus, who fixes cherry down with a galvanised nail?The completed English workbench (after a good year of abusive use). The poplar bench sounds nice- I’ve had the pleasure of working a little bit of poplar, and I don’t understand why it’s considered a secondary wood.Back two summers ago I finally got off my duff to make a “proper” bench, figuring on an english style split top, but for financial and space reasons, decided I’d start with just “half” at first, doing up a single 10-12″ deep x 6-7 foot slab, setting that on something else with a bit of heft, and then doing the rest later.
ah ha – that still makes me laugh and scratch my head over the terms!?
Made from block laminated beech wood, these robust benches offer a solid, heavy duty work surface, two full-featured wood/iron vises and craftsman-quality construction. I reminds me a bit of David Barron’s bench after it had been to the gym for a year.I’ve got what was 3 14’+ 6×4 softwood beams (species unknown) that I chopped to 6′ lengths and have been drying in the garage ever since.
I appreciate the responses, and if there are more responses, would like to hear those, as well.I've never worked either variety of beech, but I came across this article a while back.It sounds like you may want to figure for more waste when using American beech in a large project, but still good stuff.Listen to these guys. So for work holding, I actually find it the most practical.Hardwoods on the other hand can burnish easily, so your top gets slippery and can be like having to work on plastic. It makes sense to choose a timber species which has good working properties for the build. This is where the action happens, so if you’re worried about durability, this is the area that counts.Of course this could be a combination of softwood and hardwood, or just cheap softwood, alongside denser softwood, as I did.And if you’re choosing with budget first, be sure you don’t end up spending more than necessary by buying a timber that’s rare where you live…I’m referring a lot to redwood, as that’s available over here. But there were a few that stood out.