workbench wood

[thetyreman]

Hi there, I am about to embark on the task of making myself my first proper workbench, it is the paul sellers design, traditional.

he says that 2x4 pine is fine for it, but I was thinking of using Cedar or Spruce, it doesn't seem to cost much more, what do you think? should I go with pine? I am slightly concerned it would have too many knots and it would be too soft, I am just waying up my options before going ahead and buying it, it will be a week yet before I get the wood at least.

regards,

Ben.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Cedar is quite soft, and I'd have thought most pine was harder than spruce. Look for something as clean and straight as you can find otherwise by saving a few quid you'll buy yourself a whole load of work.

 

[Argus]

You can, in theory, make a bench of 2 inch pine.... currently in the UK, the,main disadvantage is the poor quality of 2 inch pine that you buy retail.

(Off Topic.......The Paul Sellers bench is a basic affair, good for a start and it can be used to build a beter one later. To see what's available, try to find a copy of "The Workbench Book" by Scott Landis. Fulll of great ideas of all sorts of benches).

If you can find decent pine stuff, without live, sappy knots that is also dried to a stable condition, snap it up. Alternatively, you may consider reclaimed stuff, preferably from an older building built in the days when there was decent pine to be had, but beware of nails etc.

An alternative worth pursuing (admittedly a bit more expensive) is Beech. Generally available here in larger dimensions, properly season, it will outlast you.

Good luck and let us know what you find

 

[thetyreman]

You can, in theory, make a bench of 2 inch pine.... currently in the UK, the,main disadvantage is the poor quality of 2 inch pine that you buy retail.

(Off Topic.......The Paul Sellers bench is a basic affair, good for a start and it can be used to build a beter one later. To see what's available, try to find a copy of "The Workbench Book" by Scott Landis. Fulll of great ideas of all sorts of benches).

If you can find decent pine stuff, without live, sappy knots that is also dried to a stable condition, snap it up. Alternatively, you may consider reclaimed stuff, preferably from an older building built in the days when there was decent pine to be had, but beware of nails etc.

An alternative worth pursuing (admittedly a bit more expensive) is Beech. Generally available here in larger dimensions, properly season, it will outlast you.

Good luck and let us know what you find

the thing is though, I can easily get hold of high quality pine from my local wood supplier, but I may consider beech, it depends how much more it would cost me, I want a very simple bench which is why the sellers one appeals to me that I could modify later on, I may add dogs and drawers e.t.c but that's it, even having the basic bench would be 10 x better than my current setup which is causing me problems.

My current setup is basically some old (chipboard) drawers with a piece of plywood on top that rocks a lot, it drives me crazy :lol:

 

[Benchwayze]

If you look around for a decent supplier, you could use ash; at least what's left of the ash, before it's all gone. It's reasonably stable, it takes a hammering, and it's not too difficult to work with.

http://www.sykestimber.co.uk/timber/european-ash.html

I'm not suggesting you use Sykes, as the distance for you would be a problem. However, they do supply excellent timber, and they know their stuff. Ash would not be much more expensive than Cedar which I think is too soft for a workbench. You can sometimes be allergic to the smell of pencils when you're working the stuff! The other alternative I'd consider is Southern Yellow Pine. You'll find details of that on Sykes website too.

John

 

[AJB Temple]

I second the above advice to use beech or ash. My main bench is beech, and has suffered 20 years of use and is still in top shape. It is worth the modest additional cost.

 

[Argus]

Well, whatever timber you use, most of us would suggest mass as you best friend..... a solid bench is a definite advantage.
As well, personally, I'd consider 2 inch thickness as a minimum.

All best

 

[ED65]

I want a very simple bench which is why the sellers one appeals to me that I could modify later on,

There are many simpler bench designs out there, not a few of them quite a bit more straightforward to build.

Along the lines of the traditional English bench Charles Hayward's book on toolmaking that has been linked to often of late has one at the beginning (download it here) and there's a similar one at the back of "Carpentry for Beginners", one of the old Evans handbooks.

I don't believe you need a hardwood top but if you want to go with beech or ash it's not the hardness that should really concern you it's their stability, assuming you're hoping to go with your basic board top and not a lamination. This will sound like a joke but if you wanted to go with beech I'd give serious thought to getting a piece of that worktop material Ikea sell, glued up from all the small lengths. It's likely to be more stable than most wide boards you'd buy today, and a might cheaper.

But if stability is the major concern then it's MDF, plywood, OSB or chipboard for the top of course And naturally any of these materials would greatly simplify and speed the making of a bench since you could be done making your top less than 15 minutes after bringing the stuff through the door.

 

[Benchwayze]

I would think the amount of work needed to make the Sellers bench is worth the effort for what you end up with. I don't like aprons on my workbench, and I prefer a laminated, thicker top. However, the Sellers bench, properly made, would last any hobbyist a lifetime. Another plus is, if ever you might need to replace the top, the design makes it a fairly straightforward operation. Provided you plan for that possibility when you start the build. (And you could make the boards from MDF too! One 6 x 4 sheet of 25mm thickness would do it, Make a quick frame jig to keep the parts in place when you glue up.)

My advice on the Sellers bench? Much as I prefer a 'Roubo' style, go for it.

 

[custard]

Planing it by hand? Then get timber, any timber, that's 100% knot free. Everything else is just details.

Good luck!

 

[MarkDennehy]

Planing it by hand? Don't.
He typed, from the floor, using the one finger he still had strength to move, desperately in need of blood sugar, while staring at a laminated top that's finally flat on both sides but still has twist

 

[thetyreman]

Planing it by hand? Then get timber, any timber, that's 100% knot free. Everything else is just details.

Good luck!

thanks, I am planing it by hand yes, I will definitely bear that in mind.

 

[BearTricks]

I'd avoid ash simply because it's going extinct and it seems a waste to use it on a workbench.

Pine's probably your best bet for cost effectiveness. It wont hurt too much if your bench takes a few blows here and there.

 

[bugbear]

I'd make a simple, cheap bench out of pine.

It will either be good enough for your woodwork, or teach you what bench you really want, and be good enough to use to build that bench.

Never try to build your dream bench first.

BugBear

 

[Tetsuaiga]

I agree if its your first and also if you're relatively new to woodworking try and use a softwood. One of the harder softwoods is probably best, i'm sure good quality pine would be fine but you could also look at yellow pine, douglas fir, whatever other hard softwoods there are.

When I made mine it took me a while to decide how to attach the top but I went with big lag screws in the end. My bench has a thick piece that sits on and travels between the two legs (cross ways) and then I used six lag screws which was probably more than i needed.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

+1 for BB. Whatever you make first you will look back and wonder why you did some things and didn't do others. It's par for the course.

 

[MarkDennehy]

Some things you won't even need to finish the bench to be sitting around scratching your head wondering what in the name of bhudda you were thinking....

 

[Bigbud78]

you can see my Paul sellers bench in here first-bench-suggestions-please-t97997.html

FWIW I'm really glad I didn't make my bench out of expensive hardwood, I made plenty of mistakes, dropped bits, didnt know what I really wanted but ended up with a rock solid pine bench that's more than enough for me.

Hand planing it was really hard work and to be honest I Almost gave up a few times (I have access to a jointer and thicknesser) but it was more of a learning exercise for me in hand planes/chiesels and setting out.

Would I make another bench out of hardwood now ? nar, I dont cry when I drop something/mark/damage my bench and its just pine


Edit: Just to note my bench last year when I finished was flat ! really flat but now it has slight twists now. Wood moves, maybe pine moves a little more bit it doesnt bother me or my no.6 plane