Workbench advice please

[Chuck Nickerson]

My workbench top is 4" of Doug Fir. It's been in use (15+ hours a week) for five years without problem.
Mine came from 20' 2x12s but your beams should be even better.

[bhh]

Just off hand, fir seems too soft for a nice work bench.  But to answer your first question, 4" think bench should be enough.

I built my work bench with Southern Yellow Pine knowing it would not hold up.  Well that was 12 years ago and it is holding its own; much harder wood than expected.

I learned just how dense SYP gets over time when I tried to put nails in my basement shop's 20 year old ceiling joists.

[Wild Turkey]

 I plan to donate a set of planer knives to this project to remove the paint.

Belt sander with coarse belt to take off the paint and dirt accumulated.  Then plane for pretty.

Much cheaper


{DAMHHIKT} 

[iclark]

I am so jealous.
 

Based on the discussions that I have seen, anything much beyond 4' thick make holdfasts not grab unless you enlarge the holes from below so that the holdfasts only touch 4" or less. Other than that, 8" thick would mean that you might need longer clamps and it could definitely be interesting to install anything except a leg vise.

I would starting by cutting a bit off the end of each beam so that you can see the ring orientation. Then, pick the beams that would result in a quarter-sawn top. If the beams have the rings basically lined up wit the long direction of the beam, then you might want to cut the beam into 2 4x4 and glue them up in the quarter-sawn orientation.

[mike4244]

Hello -

I have some 4x8 Douglas Fir beams salvaged from a friends patio cover here in Southern California.  They are 16 feet long and straight.  They have been painted for the 25 years or so that they have been in place.
My thoughts are to make a woodworking workbench top from them.  I have enough beams to laminate a top that is either 8 inches thick or 4 inches thick.  I plan to donate a set of planer knives to this project to remove the paint.
So that leads me to 2 questions: 1)  What is your opinion on Douglas Fir as woodworking bench material?  I know the preferred wood is a hardwood  - but - free 16' beams....   2)  The pros and cons of 8 inches thick versus 4 inches thick?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

Don

Douglas fir makes a fine softwood bench. 4" thick is fine,8" thick and you will need a crane to turn it over. Don, I have made 200+ softwood benches in the past. Most were yellow pine which is available for reasonable costs. I have made a few benches from Douglas fir when I could get it. Saw the paint off instead of planning. Shave off enough so the planer knives are cutting only wood. If your table saw will not raise to 4"+ 
then remove about 2-1/2" , flip over and remove the rest. Saw blade can be a throwaway rip blade or be sharpened if the paint dulls it badly.
The paint may be leaded ,take precautions. In your bench I would also plan for all thread rods that go thru the width of the bench. 
Bore 5/8" holes 6" and centered from each end thru each piece. Then find center of the bench long dimension and bore same holes. Depending on the length of your bench I would divide the distance from the end holes to the center and bore two more sets of holes. 
The perimeter planks need a counterbore deep enough so that the nut and washer are not proud of the plank. Also the counter bore has to be large enough so a socket will fit in the hole. After glue up any excess all thread can be cut off with a Dremel Tool or a hacksaw. You can leave the perimeter like it is or cover the all threads and nuts with skirt board. Do not glue the skirt board. After about one year check the nuts for tightness. If loose, retighten the nuts and replace the skirt. Sometimes the lamination will shrink a bit and the all thread is loose. I forgot to add use 7/16" or 1/2" all thread. Will fit best in 5/8" hole.
Your beams being dried for years will probably not shrink at all.

mike

[tablesawtom]

Douglas fir makes a fine softwood bench. 4" thick is fine,8" thick and you will need a carne to turn it over. Don, I have made 200+ softwood benches in the past. Most were yellow pine which is available for reasonable costs. I have made a few benches from Douglas fir when I could get it. Saw the paint off instead of planning. Shave off enough so the planer knives are cutting only wood. If your table saw will not raise to 4"+ 
then remove about 2-1/2" , flip over and remove the rest. Saw blade can be a throwaway rip blade or be sharpened if the paint dulls it badly.
The paint may be leaded ,take precautions. In your bench I would also plan for all thread rods that go thru the width of the bench. 
Bore 5/8" holes 6" and centered from each end thru each piece. Then find center of the bench long dimension and bore same holes. Depending on the length of your bench I would divide the distance from the end holes to the center and bore two more sets of holes. 
The perimeter planks need a counterbore deep enough so that the nut and washer are not proud of the plank. Also the counter bore has to be large enough so a socket will fit in the hole. After glue up any excess all thread can be cut off with a Dremel Tool or a hacksaw. You can leave the perimeter like it is or cover the all threads and nuts with skirt board. Do not glue the skirt board. After about one year check the nuts for tightness. If loose, retighten the nuts and replace the skirt. Sometimes the lamination will shrink a bit and the all thread is loose. I forgot to  add use 7/16" or 1/2" all thread. Will fit best in 5/8" hole.
Your beams being dried for years will probably not shrink at all.

mike

I think Douglass fi would make a fine bench. Bench tops made out of hard maple, and Hickory and some other hard woods tend to bounce back where as ash and fir do not bounce but absorb mallett blows. An example is, traditionally baseball bats were mad out of ash. the shock of contact wasn't transmitted to the hands of the batter. 

I was talking to an old farmer the other day, and old is anyone several years older than me, and I am  74. said they liked to use hackberry for wagon tongues. It held up better under all the different stresses put on by the horses and harnesses and other variables. 

Given the variables and the fact that it is free and a good choice to begin with I say straight ahead and darn the torpedoes.
Tom

[rwe2156]

Soft vs. hardwood is a matter of taste.  Personally I prefer hardwood for the density and durability.

That said, there is nothing wrong with using what's available.

[sniper]

If the wood ends up a little too soft for your liking, you can always attach a sheet of 1/4" hardboard to the top.

As already said, go for it, have fun and post pics.

[Paul K. Murphy]

Heat and a putty knife to remove the paint. Fir will be fine. 4" thick, not 8".

[msweig]

With a beam that old it might be harder than you expect. I got some old fir lumber once that used to be flooring. By 100 years the stuff was harder to work than maple. Your beam isnt' that old, but it might already have a noticable change.

Also, depending on how you build the thing there is nothing that says you can't swap the top. My original bench had a pine top (that I didn't particularly care for, but that was due to my skills making the top as a beginner than the wood), and when someone gave me a maple top from an old school workbench I swapped the tops.

And I'd go for 4".