Timber choice for workbench

[Mikey R]

Hey all,

Im planning a workbench that I hope to start building this winter. The bench will be mainly for handtool work. If all goes to plan, I will be getting the timber from Ross K, if he has any left, round about December.

Ive been planning the design for the workbench for some time, since reading the Workbench Book by Chris Schwarz.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Workbenches-Des ... 505&sr=8-1

Ive also been doing some reading of old posts on this and other forums and other articles on the net.

Im going for a solid hardwood bench - I know engineered boards have many advantages but I just prefer the idea of natural timber. My choices from Ross are beech, sycamore or birch. Which would be best?

* Beech is traditional for a handtool - centric bench, so this was my first choice. But Ive since read that it isnt very stable. Id like the top to stay flat as much as possible.
* Sycamore is probably hard enough but may not strong enough. But I love working with it, its a really nice timber.
* Birch seems to have all of the strengths of beech but is much more stable.

So, Im considdering using birch for the whole construction. But, I thought I'd ask the more experienced people here before I commit to anything. Not that Im rushing - theres still three months before I get started!

Cheers!

 

[OPJ]

If you want to keep your top stable then, the best way would be to glue up a number of narrower boards to create the width. If you wanted a 3in. thick top, say, cut a load of 3"x2"s from through-and-through sawn timber and glue them face-to-face. This should also, in effect, give you a "quarter sawn" top. 8)

I'm not sure whether sycamore would be durable enough, even though it's in the same family as maple, which would've been a good choice...?

 

[Mikey R]

If you want to keep your top stable then, the best way would be to glue up a number of narrower boards to create the width. If you wanted a 3in. thick top, say, cut a load of 3"x2"s from through-and-through sawn timber and glue them face-to-face. This should also, in effect, give you a "quarter sawn" top. 8)

Thanks for the quick reply Olly!

Sorry, I should have said in my original post - this is what Im planning on doing. Ive done this on guitar necks, easy enough, but I have no idea how much harder it will be on the scale of a bench.

Im also going to laminate the legs to make the big mortice and tennon joinery easier. The Workbench book talks about easy ways to do this in the instructions for the Roubo bench.

I'm not sure whether sycamore would be durable enough, even though it's in the same family as maple, which would've been a good choice...?

Hard maple would be excelent - but its way more expensive.

 

[OPJ]

Laminating the components to form the mortise and tenon joints sounds like a smart idea. I think that's what Joel did when he made his 'bench, which came from the same book as yours.

I don't what birch is like but, if you decide to go with beech, it might be worth looking at the European offerings, which are cheaper still than the English offerings. You can generally find 'white' and 'steamed' beech - though, I'm not sure what the difference is between the two? :? I'm only wondering whether one is more stable than the other, because of steaming?

If you can, use "cascamite" (urea formaldehyde - polymite, etc.) to join the top. It won't 'creep' over time, unlike PVA, which should also help to keep your boards in perfect alignment.