I’d like to build the workbench from FWW ¤167, but not quite sure if I want to use maple.
I can get the most common American hardwoods here, and in addition there is european oak and silver birch, which is very similiar to your yellow.
I have looked up the physical properties of some woods on woodfinder.com, but I am not sure of what parameter is most important (specific weight, tangential/radial movement, density, etc.)
Any advice is very welcome,
Geir Smolan
Aas, Norway
Replies
European beech should be available and rather inexpensive. I have a workbench I made of beech about 15 years ago.
David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e
Geir,
I suppose there are a lot of considerations to ponder in making your bench. Available budget, time, skill, etc, etc,etc. Personally wood movement wouldn't be my primary concern. My primary concerns would be; available space in the workshop, what features do I want in my workbench. There are several Great books dedicated to woodworking benches. One is "The Workbench Book" by Scott Landis, Pub; The Taunton Press. I'd read this book before building anything. It will certainly enlighten you and give you a better perspective when building the perfect bench. However that's simply my humble opinion!!!!!!!!!!!!
In light of the fact that a lot of hand planes have been made from beech, I think that would be a very good choice. I also like the way it looks but where I am (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), the place I buy from said they get almost no call for it. I don't understand that at all.
I would want a dense, fairly hard, tight-grained wood. My bench is maple and I just bought some 6/4 maple for a new top.
Stability will be up to grain orientation, in large part and hopefully, you'll have access to enough lumber with the grain you want/need for this bench.
I'm also planning on building a workbench. I haven't found beech available thicker than 6/4 at any of the several large Michigan hardwood suppliers I've checked. Any suggestions where to look.
For the top I'm going to use a maple butcher block from Johnson's. It looks like it will be less expensive than buying the wood and making it myself.
Buy the 6/4, but make sure it is more than twice as wide as you want your bench to be thick. If you want a 3" thick bench, get 6/4 (or even 4/4) boards that are 6 to 7 inches wide. Then rip them lengthwise in half.
Alan - planesaw
Gier, I'm not sure which bench is in FWW 167, but I'd look at these instructions on building a Frank Klausz style bench. I used them to build mine out of cheap, local fir, and it's served me quite well. The instructions are easy to follow, with measured drawings, tips, and labor saving advice. The big dovetails on the tail vise are a real attention getter when friends come over for a look!
My only reservation about this bench is that I don't use the shoulder vise as much as I thought I would. The idea of a vise with no guide bars in the way of holding stock, and direct pressure from behind the screw was attractive, but has turned out not to be that important for me. I could have substituted a face mounted vise and saved 7-8" of width.
Good luck!
Rob
I wanted my first bench to be cheap since it was a learning project. I used left over douglas fir from scaffolding. I ripped them to 4" and edge laminated them for a very stable and heavy 28"x80" top nearly 4 inches thick after leveling. Legs and strechers are all 2 ply douglas fire with mortise/tenon construction. Overall I'm quite pleased. I wondered if the top would be too soft, but it's been over a year and there are no noticeable dings. It will also be quite easy to resurface when the time comes. The top is protected by several coats of shellac and then with butcher's wax. So...this is a very cheap way to experiment with bench style, and I'll save the hardwoods for my future dream bench. Good luck.
Geir,
You didn't say why you are inclined not to use maple, but density would seem to be the most important characteristic in a benchtop that would be subjected to pounding.
I think that Tage Frid said that he used maple for his benches because it was readily available in his "backyard."
Monte
I made a great workbench several years ago. I bought a big thick slab of beech butcher block and cut it for the main portion of the work surface. I added a tool holder and trough plus hold down slots. It works out well and saved me a lot of gluing time. The surface has stayed flat.
My first bench was ash. It fell apart after 8 or so years, since I didn't build it right. My new one is maple with mahogany legs. I would have preferred ipe, since it's heavy as well as stable--a bench should have lots of weight and mass. But I didn't want to have to lift all that superheavy wood.
Geir,I am building a bench for myself now, using a few different plans. Here in California, hard maple (also called Sugar Maple) is more expensive the softer Western Maple. So I had the hardwood store laminate 50 mm thick (4/8) Nordic Beech from Europe.It is hard and very heavy. I am using hard Maple for the ends, the front apron and the vise faces. The Nordic Beech costs about $2.40 for 144 square inches (1 board foot). The Maple costs about $7.00.Gary Curtis
North of San Francisco
I'm also in the planning stages of bench construction. I was going to use Western Maple. Is it going to be hard enough and will it stand up to use? Is Eastern Maple worth the extra money?
jeremy
You have me thinking. I just built a 600 sf deck and covered it with Ipe. It is quite heavy. I have enough leftover to get a good start on a bench top. Would there be any drawbacks to using Ipe for a bench?
I've heard that Ian Kirby did not like Frank Klausz's latest iteration of his workbench, since it was dark colored. So if you think that a workbench should be light, for whatever reason, then I guess ipe is not a good wood. Also, you will be sharpening your tools a lot. But I still would have liked the mass.
I also got that article on the Klausz bench after seeing a reference to it here on Knots. I din't see in the article anywhere what wood species he used this time around. Are you sure it was Ipe? I thought it looked quite red. Anyone know for sure?
I am about to start one myself, and I plan on hard Maple, though I expect to have to order it from afar.
It wasn't ipe. I saw the bench. I only said I wanted to make my benchtop out of ipe. Because it's massive and stable. FWIW, my bench was based more on Ian's design. It's not only far easier to build (you can see it on my gallery at http://www.liwoodworkers.org ),but more suited for the type of work I do. I also used a patternmakers vise, which I always wanted. If I had to do it again, here are my dos and don'ts:1. Use a Tucker or old Emmert Vise. My Taiwanese knockoff is OK, but I saved money the wrong place here.2. Fewer dog holes, I didn't need as many as I thought. BTW use a plunge router for the holes, not a drill. More accurate. 3. Don't go with the Lee Valley twin screw vise. I never ever use it, and frankly, it doesn't work all that well.4. Don't scrimp on the top thickness. 3" is better than 2 1'4", and I saved money the wrong place here too.My first bench had a tool tray, this one doesn't, and it's better without. I really like the Lee Valley bench widgets, the dogs, the pups, etc.
Thanks for the reply. Ilike your bench, but I am going to try the Klausz version. Hope to order wood within a week or so.
Also really liked that music stand you made!
There is good reason to make a bench top from a softer wood (according to my wookworking instructor) and that is that when you hit or drop your piece against it accidentally, you dent the bench and not the piece.Phoebe
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