Wood for a bench - advice ?

[EdK]

Right I've been thinking about making a bench for ages and now my 'wood supplier' (brother) has put a deadline on the wood purchase so I really need to get on and buy the wood from him.

I get a good price from him so money is less of an issue - I just want to get something good for the job.

Any thoughts ?

I have the Schwartz book and the Landis book and although Schwartz likes southern yellow pine I was thinking that I could use a better wood.

As far as design goes it'll be a Roubo (maybe the next one will be a Shaker type one). At any rate it will be an improvement from working on the floor...

Thanks,
Ed

 

[Escudo]

Hello Ed,

I think Ash would be a good choice. I have a quantity of Ash ready for a Roubo bench, my next project.

Have a look at this super bench - something to aim for.

http://www.talkfestool.com/vb/woodw...chcrafted-split-top-roubo-bench-build-21.html

I like the grain of Ash and it scores quite well as a choice in Schwartz book.

Cheers, Tony.

 

[mtr1]

I think I would use Maple or Ash, definitely not beech, it moves to much.

 

[big soft moose]

mine is surplus white wood - largely out of skips , with a three layer MDF top - i know they look perty but i've always thought its a waste of good timber to make it into a bench

btw if your brother has a lot of good timber going cheap i suggest you buy it all , and store it for projects - or tell him to advertise it on here :lol:

 

[EdK]

Thanks, I was thinking ash or maple but didn't want to influence answers.

Might get a price on both and then decide.

I've bought quite alot of ash before (built staircase/window cills etc) and like it to work with but this is probably ignorance - I need to use other wood !

Yeah my brother has a good price for wood - but shipping costs would be high to the mainland unfortunately. In fact the prices are probably high compared to the UK but as there is not much choice over here it is relatively good!

But yeah, you are right maybe I should buy more and stack it up in my front room. I bought some cherry a few weeks back just cos I was buying some more ash for around the top of the stairs.

What would a cherry bench be like ?
I mean functionally - does it move more than ash/maple?

I'm planning on having it delivered sawn and then taking up to a mate who has a full commercial workshop... he doesn't know yet
Then back home and work on it evenings an weekends til it's done.

Sort of thinking about using it as an island in the kitchen - I don't have a workshop... bad idea I guess but at the moment the whole house is a workshop/shed! Must work harder and get the house finished and stop living in a shack.... plus heating might be an idea this winter...
Ed

 

[mtr1]

Why don't you use ash for the base and maple for the top 8) . Never used cherry for this application so can't advise, its quite soft though.

 

[LuptonM]

In the UK White Oak would make a good bench.

 

[eoinsgaff]

Would I be right in saying that oak is not a great option because of the reaction of its tannins with steel?

 

[Orcamesh]

Hi Ed

I used Ash for mine and it was made mostly by hand (even the deep mortises!). You can see it here on my website...

http://www.orcamesh.com/Orcamesh/My_Woodwork_Albums/Pages/Inside_The_Workshop.html#10

It is still work in progess after many years and it is evolving over time. But the main bench function is all there and works well. It has a 25mm sapele veneered (both sides) top which has stood up well so far and can be replace in future with same or something more exotic (tbd)...

The construction is 3 x M&T'd side frames which are linked together with 4 long rails using coach screws. So the whole thing is knockdownable. The walls and floors are just screwed in to close the framework off, but could be left open.

I also have a router table incorporated on the LHS using a phenolic router insert plate. Various metric threaded inserts are scattered about for fixing fences and clamps etc into the surface of the bench.

Hope this helps?

cheers
Steve

 

[woodbloke]

Any reasonable timber is suitable provided it's available in big chunky sizes and is preferably close grained (if you want to have a solid timber top) It needs to be fairly dry as well (again, important for the top) If you can tolerate working with it, iroko would make a good bench (I believe this is what MrC advocates for his benches but I could me mistooken) The traditional material is of course beech which meets all these criteria - Rob

 

[sasq]

I will probably get laughed out the forums, but i just used a kitchen worksurfaces from Ikea with sacrificial 18mm MDF on top.

I didnt see the point of spending money on something that will have more holes than swizz cheese after a few months.