Thread: Work Bench - choices

Since housing construction in Australia tends to use treated pine, I think we have to ditch Schwarz's SYP or whatever is used as construction lumber where you live idea. Australian hardwood is great but the bench will be a beast in terms of moving it. I know we want mass so the bench doesn't walk as we plane, but even using Tas Oak will likely be overkill, especially in terms of price.

What you want is cheap and flat. Species is irrelevant IMHO.

If you don't mind the look, LVL can be used for the legs quite easily (or even for the top) and that might be the cheapest and quickest solution. It is also dead flat and won't move. If you don't like the look, I suppose you could always put a layer of 12mm hardwood over the top and edges to make it look better. But it is a workbench after all, and there are no style points available.

As for the top, another alternative would be to go around to the recycled building goods places and pick out the heaviest and tightest grained Oregon 4 x 2s and use them. You will have to denail them, but the wood is often much firmer than current Oregon, because the trees were the older ones with tighter growth rings and they seemed to have more resin in them which has set over time.

Another thought is to look on Gumtree and Facebook marketplace. There are often some people who are just trying to clean up their place (often deceased estates) and you might find some suitable timber that way (e.g. this one).

I've been thinking about a better bench myself but I don't have the gear to deal with rough sawn timber.

I'm tempted to try the Cosman idea of using multiple layers of mdf for the top surface.

Good luck with yours!

Recycled sleepers can be a bit of a lottery. Some have small chips blue metal embedded in them which cannot be detected with a metal detector and can make a real mess of your wood working gear. Others can be soaked in varieties of creosote, or excrement and then the added lime to attempt to neutralise it. These really stink when they are machined.

OTOH It's surprising what you can do with crappy looking wood.
Over about a 10 year period I have been milling urban trees for a local tree lopper, mainly to supply park furniture timber,s but I get to pick a few slabs out of the stash every now and then.
The supply/demand varies greatly so we have heaps of second and third grade stuff left over.

These are typical slab packs of Spotted gum and WA Red Gum milled about 12 years ago.
slabs33.jpg

The bench below was made out of timber extracted from the slabs in the above pack.
We (mate and I) had to cut up 4 slabs to get decent enough lumber (ie reasonably straight and crack free) for the frame which also generated about 4 barrows of firewood.
Fortunately we were lucky to find a decent single slab of 45mm thick spotted gum for the top.

FinishedBench1.jpg

Originally Posted by jmk89

Since housing construction in Australia tends to use treated pine, I think we have to ditch Schwarz's SYP or whatever is used as construction lumber where you live

Still using plain radiata predominantly in Vic

Because this is your first bench,an going from own experience,also considering the timber shortage in Australia at present.
I would put something together using framing pine, be it 90/35 or 90/45 with either a plywood top chip board top Or my favourite MDF.
You can build a fantastic strong workable bench that way.
You will be light years ahead of a old table.
Once your up an running you can build the “dream” bench from this bench.
I’m currently using bench number 3 and have aspirations for bench number 4 [emoji6].


Cheers Matt.

Pine makes an ok benchtop dispite what some say. My pine top is still fine after 8 years. In fact most carpenters benches were pine before the days of the pinup poster benches. I laminated the top out of wall studs that someone was throwing out. The LVL idea is good and would save lots of time on the build.
Mine could be described as a basterdised rubo too. Split top so I could put the 2 halves through the thicknesser and save some work. I kind of aimed to keep the build as simple as I could and still be nice and rigid. Also knock down so it comes apart for moving. The pics are of it almost finished and then the top 8 years on.
Regards
John

Thanks everyone. Lots to think about. I'm not sure about LVL, but thick MDF (like rob cosman uses) would definitely be heavy and flat enough...... it's just my inner perfectionist (or maybe just pride) that wants a proper wooden benchtop.
I'm leaning towards Pine for this build (give me some experience putting together) then move onto something grander once I get a feel for things. From what I can gather it's pine's "wettness" that can be an issue (and i don't want to wait for it to dry for months / year), so I'll keep looking
But I have a timber mill near me that i think I'll try and "search" for some recycled lumber (I like Jeremy's idea of the oregon)... never know your luck..

Joe

Hi JG. All framing pine sold is kiln dried. You won't have any trouble drying

Get the bench height right, somewhat adjustable or make another....
if you haven't done lots of the same work that you plan to do more of, for me that's hand planing which takes most preference.
I made that mistake (not accounting for any leeway concerning adjustment)
It was only when I was tight for space and threw this lab countertop down that I knew what I wanted.
Just as well I didn't make the top without having chanced doing so, turns out its perfect.
Would have liked to have a timber bench top, maybe someday if I need the height.
Inevitable that I'd make a second bench anyway, so no bothers.

I'd go with the pine or whatever I could get my hands on for the same price, and even consider being able to flip it over if going thin, for metalwork or even for in future.
Better than something which will warp over time, unless you fancy using shims like I do, when you need to plane long stock, or do some mortising, which might be a load of faff for some, as they get in the way sometimes and need seasonal adjustment.

Good luck
Tom

If I may suggest, Joe - just make something "good enough for now". Your needs, and preferences, will be shaped by your experience. Better to spend your time making things for money, not agonising about what type of bench to build. As long as it's sturdy, flat, and has a way of holding your work - that's good enough for now. Make it in a weekend, Revisit in a year.

Here is my cheap workbench build, I repurposed timber storage by adding a top and some vises. At the rear there is a long panel that prevents the bench from racking.

It was made from 90x45 construction timber using pocket hole joinery; the top was made from 3m lengths of 200x50 treated pine sleepers (it lives outdoors after all!)

It is bench number 3; hopefully bench 4 will be the last....

IMG_0183.jpg

I did my bench top out of new redgum "sleepers". They did move s bit after i first glued it up, so i cross drilled and bolted then (sort of) relevelled. Hasn't moved since. (and its almost impossible to move single handed.)
Hardly fine woodworking though.

I'm a bit late to this party but I'll jump on the 'make it out of pine and don't overthink it' bus. If you need a tutorial, this one is free and comprehensive: https://woodworkingmasterclasses.com...-introduction/

Mine is made from 70x35 and 90x35 untreated MGP10. Legs are two pieces laminated together and top is laminated on the longer faces. The large aprons add a lot of rigidity to the bench. Not being a showpiece, I use it for many terrible things without (much) guilt. Nothing wrong with classy benches and I think eventually I'll make one - but for the first bench, don't overthink it, avoid the analysis paralysis and just make it.

Ignore the mess on top of the bench , it's the only photo I have of most of the bench showing!
IMG_20200511_001838.jpg

I'm gonna go against the grain here....

The fact that you've heard about Roubo benches and have read Chris Schwarz's "The Anarchist's Workbench" tells me that you are not simply after a functional tool. If you are, then go ahead and build your bench out of pine/LVL/plywood/MDF/etc. But if my assumption about you is correct and you want something "more", then I would recommend using well-seasoned hardwood. It'll probably be more expensive but you can cut costs by choosing reclaimed HW. I'm on the downhill section of my bench build and I opted to use reclaimed (20yr old ex-pergola) Spotted Gum for the top and Grey Ironbark + BlackButt for the carcass. Reclaimed timber is more work (denailing, filling nail holes, etc) but it has the added advantage of being very stable. I have absolutely no regrets building my bench out of hardwood. My only regret is I didn't have the confidence (I'm still a noob) to go all out and use American Rock Maple for the top and a more uniformly dark-coloured hardwood for the base (the ends resemble a licorice all sorts). I approached the whole process as a learning experience and have tried various techniques and the build has improved my skills. For me, the journey is as important as the destination.

So, to summarise, if you want something more than a basic and functional tool, if you want to push yourself and build a bench that you can be proud of which will inspire and give you joy everytime you see or use it, if you want to build a bench that you can be passed down from generation to generation, then don't let others scare you from building what you want. Build your dream bench and use materials and hardware that will last for generations. Cheers and good luck with your build.