Postulations on benchtop materials

Evening all.

Have been fiddling about with ideas for a bench. Have settled on a roubo style as per Chris Schwarz. Am considering using radiata pine 4x4s glued together to make a large thick slab of a top.

Have read that pine is fine but can be a bit soft. This is ok but one concern was that dog holes could get quite banged up if the timber is too soft. This made me think about harder wood inserts for the dog holes. Do you think it would too much fiddling about over nothing if I set in some harder "plugs" where the dog holes were to go? I was thinking of something like a 2" square by 1" thick of hard wood set in to the soft wood with the dog hole then bored through the lot. I am thinking that this may make the dog holes just that bit more durable.

I've been thinking about a similar idea for the front edge of the bench, perhaps the first plank/strip being hardwood to make that vulnerable leading edge just a little less vulnerable.

Am I making things to hard for myself? Am I worrying about nothing?

Cheers,
Virg.

in answer to your questions -- YES and YES

I'll be less definite and say "Probably".....:U

I wouldn't use anything but hardwood for a benchtop, myself - for a little more work, you get a lot more durability. However, pine would probably do the job almost as well if you got the right stuff. I find some studs in any batch are twice the weight & much harder than the rest - if you could manage to find enough pine like that you'd do well....

Cheers,

Virgil:
Greetings from 53N in the Rocky Mountains.

For what it's worth, I took a different approach. I did not want to build a bench which was a thing of beauty, I wanted to spend my money on really good tools. All that mattered were good-looking and useful products which came off that bench to be used elsewhere.

Step One: draw a grid of lines with a black felt marker on the lid of the deep freeze. At least I wouldn't have to grovel on the concrete for assembly.
Step Two: spruce/pine/fir is dirt cheap here. Bench top is 6 lengths of 2x6 x 8'. Frame is 2x4 and 2x6 legs. al fresco design. The Law of Gravity keeps the top from floating off the frame. Blinding streak of inspiration to drill bolt hole patterns for tools on the new bench.
Step Three: after a week of bolting/unbolting power tools, the island bench 40" x 45" got built. 10" Delta miter saw on one edge, band saw on another and drill press on the third. Fourth edge for junk. Those tools have not been moved in 10 years.
Step Four: after 5 years, the tops were so dry that sawdust was falling through onto the shelf below. Vacuum everything and fill all cracks with silicone caulk. Done.

Note added in proof: when I sharpen my wood carving tools, I need a place to assess my efforts. What could be better that a few ultra fine shavings off the edge of the bench?

I can bust a knot in western red cedar, a 30oz carver's mallet, as hard as I can swing it into a 9/15 Pfeil gouge and that bench does not even wiggle.

I reckon you'll be ok

in any event if they do get banged up you could decide it's time for a new bench or ream them out and insert some pipe to the correct internal measurements

Virg,

I'll let you know in a few weeks because I'm doing a Roubo in pine right now. Happy to give you the tour of it when finished if you bring the beer :p

I will say the dog holes I put in my sawbench don't seen to be suffering at all after a month of heavy use, though they are getting sawn into rather than planned at all the time.

Cheers
Andrew

Thanks mate. Let me know when and I'll bring a few with me. Any preferences?

Cheers,
Virg.

Virgil
Having just made a bench with a pine top I would say that there is nothing wrong with using pine for the dog holes provided the bench is thick enough to support longish dogs (i.e. mine is 80mm thick) and the grain is oriented along the bench in line with the compression applied via the end vice/wagon vice. Even on pine it is quite difficult to compress end grain and even more so if the dogs are a snug fit and pressing against a longish length inside the dog hole (less compressive force exerted against the bench right at the top of the dog). If you were using them regularly to press against the long grain fibers rather than end grain (for example opposing clamping pressure from a face or leg vice on the bench or using metal holdfasts) then over time the holes might get a bit bent out of shape. How long this would take though I have no idea. It would depend on your frequency of use and how brutally you clamp things down.
I agree with IanW's sentiments re pine density though. I think the two benchtops I scavenged are pretty dense as they are quite old (>30years I am guessing) and heavy. If you wanted a more durable front edge where clamping pressure is applied it might be worth adding a hardwood surround such as endcaps and a front strip (as you envisaged).
Were you using pine because it's inexpensive or more to do with it's workability and the fact that it is able to be purchased with a machined surface and ready to use? If only the former reason then I am a strong advocate of sourcing old building timber from demolitions/rennovations which comes free and well seasoned. Choice of materials is more often dictated by what is available and how long you want the resulting construction to last than what is the "ideal" material to use. If you see yourself moving house in the next ten years and not wanting to move the bench then maybe pine is an ideal material as it may only need to last that long!