Workbench Top Material

[EdL]

Buy it, read, be enlightened...He covers everything and why somethings don't work and others do includes plans for 2 different benches.
My small roubo weighs 400 lbs give or take, even as a primary power tool guy, l don't regret building it one bit.

Ed

   

[adamcherubini]

I find this helpful every time these conversations come up.

I think when woodworkers say they like heavy benches, they mean stiff benches. Mass helps with vibration, but a heavy plywood bench wouldn’t be good.

Pretty sure Megan built a bench using an LVL. I think that would be a better choice than sheet plywood. Sheet plywood is roughly half as stiff as hard wood or Douglas fir (which is very stiff).

(Download the links)

[bandit571]

Hmmmm.. remember...Paul Sellers made a bench out of plywood.....except...he ripped the sheets into strips, stood those strips up on edge, and glued them up, face to face....

Even, maybe, just maybe.... some on here can get past their hate of all things Sellers...maybe even (HORRORS!) actually LOOK at the blog of that bench build....and find out there is more than one way to use plywood for a bench.

Well, there is one thing....I doubt IF you'd ever need that "toothing" iron on a bench built that way....

[TraditionalToolworks]

I am at some point going to make a workbench similar to the LN workbench and I was going to use European Beech but came across some one inch thick europly maple plywood and it got me thinking about using it instead.

I'm guessing you're in Europe or the U.K. [EDIT] I don't see a location and then noticed I don't have one either. But some people do. Odd...I can't even figure out where to change it in my User CP. Hmmm...

I wouldn't use any of that designer wood, even if I was living in the U.K. European Beach is ridiculously expensive as it is highly sought after.

I have a bench in my garage that was built by the previous owner of my house, and I had to rework the entire bench, I put 2 or 3 layers of MDF on the old plywood top, that put a cap over the top built of hickory and purple heart for some nice looking houndstooth dovetails, and layed a thin sheet of hardboard on top of the MDF.

If you bash the top up, you can just replace with a new hardboard. I used contact cement to attach it, and it sits flush with the front/sides.

When I was building my workbench I use most of the time nowadays, it's built entirely of hard maple. I bought a lot of shorts and narrows.

My philosophy on workbench material these days is just like a hunting rifle. The best is what you have, period. Even if you only had plywood, that would be the best choice unless you want to spend some $$$s. With that said, there are people that can dump all types of money in a bench, I could even be a person to do that, but not with a woodworking bench. I was planning to use some old pine logs for some benches, and there is something to be said for a using soft wood so it won't damage your projects. Most wood is harder than pine. I have some doug fir trees also, my plan is to cut a 5" slab to use for a 10' long bench. I find the work holding much more critical for a useful bench.