Replies

1. 
   Truejoint | Jan 19, 2007 08:49pm | #1

   Black locust or honey locust?  Either is stable and hard, especially if you have heartwood.  The black is so hard it might be tough on blade edges, etc.  Either will pretty much last forever though they will be hard to joint, etc.  I don't know how well they'll hold glue.  It might be that the level of extractives in the locust will require something like Gorilla glue to work well.  I'm jealous of your wood supply.

1. 
   old_idahoan | Jan 19, 2007 09:12pm | #2

   if i can get a good glue up, is the possible damage to tools the main draw back?

1. 
   Truejoint | Jan 19, 2007 09:45pm | #3

   Yes, but I don't think that would be as much of a problem if you finish the bench with soemthing like a polyacrylic though I'd bet a lot of folks would blanch at using anything other than linseed oil on their bench.

   The biggest drawback is the difficulty in working with the wood.  If you can cut,joint and plane it ok with your tools then I'd think you'll end up with a bench that will last forever and will be beautifully heavy and stable.  A real heirloom.

1. 
   old_idahoan | Jan 20, 2007 04:11am | #4

   ok, another queston.  i have just located some 8/4 hrd maple.  4 boards about 7' 3" x 8'' x 8/4 rough sawn.  with a little work i should get 6/4 finished.  i suppose this would be better than 8/4 locust?  just looking for ideas.  the maple was $10.00  per each board,  the locust $2.50 a board foot.  thanks for the info.  id_man

    

    

   Edited 1/19/2007 8:14 pm ET by idman45

1. 
   Samson | Jan 20, 2007 04:20am | #5

   I don't beleive that's enough maple for a traditional benchtop - e.g., at least 2.5 inches thick and 20- 24" wide.   Your somewhere around 18" at best.

2. 
   old_idahoan | Jan 20, 2007 04:30am | #7

   i thought about cutting it and glueing it up, such as a bread board.  would this work or would the strips be to narrow?  for the mable it would be 1 1/2" width by what-ever depth it needed.  maybe it won"t work, i don't know.

3. 
   Samson | Jan 20, 2007 04:37am | #8

   It all depends on what you're going for.  Most of the time when folks are talking about making a bench top, they are aiming to make a massive top that is stable and flat and built to stay that way.  The typical method is to take 8/4 maple  and rip it into strips a bit wider than you hope the final top thickness will be; then after squaring those ripped stips of maple, one glues the faces to one another (this provides a quartersawn sort of grain orientation that makes the top stable across the seasons and different humidities).  The end result is a thick and robust top.  Here's a picture of my bench with a top I laminated in this manner for what it's worth as a pic can be worth 1000 words:

   http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2445101660032524639SUxbwd

4. 
   old_idahoan | Jan 20, 2007 04:59am | #9

   beautiful, very nice.  this will be my first try at a bench of this type.  currently i use plywood and stud 2x4's and 2x6's.  i'm basicly a farmer and trucker, so i weld alot and most of my table are solid, i am trying to build more with wood and trying to expand my skill's.  if i get half as nice of lable as yours look's i'll be on my way. thanks for the pic's.

    

5. 
   bugeye | Jan 20, 2007 04:22am | #6

   I'd definately use the locust. I use tons of the stuff in boats. Locust is hard, but I think that people like to exagerate on how hard it is to work with. I find it to be easier to work than white oak, but it is quite variable. Everything is variable, but locust seems especially so. Stuff with widely spaced growth rings really can be a bear, particularly with the wood's tendency to grow crooked, but wood from the older trees where the growth has slowed is quite soft and wonderful to work with, almost like walnut. I think that locust is terribly under-appreciated. It's stability numbers are about the same as cherry, strength and hardness about like white oak, and it's amazingly rot resistant, and quite pretty under varnish. Best of all its cheap.