Hello All….First of all thank you to all of you who helped me out in the search for a good dovetail book and or video. Second, after reading the article in the newest FWW on building a workbench, and reading some other discussions, could anyone out there tell me approximately how many board feet of 8/4 is in a bench similar to the one in the magazine? Thanks in advance for any information you all could share.
Don
Replies
Easist way is to multiply length of benchtop (in feet) by width of benchtop (again in feet) and multiply by 2 (thickness of top)
Although the author uses 8/4 lumber, the board footage is a little tricky to figure out because he lays them on edge to create a top that is 2-1/2" thick. To break it down, the top (not including the left and right end caps, the front apron, and the vise jaws) consists of 15 pieces of 8/4 lumber that are 75-1/2" long by 2-1/2" wide. This equals to approximately 40 board feet rounded up. The end caps, apron, and vise jaws total another 19 bf. The base is another 32 bf, giving you a grand total of 91 board feet. If you are trying to figure out an estimate of board footage to buy, then you need to factor in extra (at least 10% but probably more like 20% or maybe even more) for waste when dimensioning.
Thanks for the info Ricky.....at approximately 110 bf, one would be looking at about $1000.00 or so including vises...is that a fair estimate?...Thanks again...Don
dkf,
A thousand bucks would be a tad high...you could probably squeeze by with $750-$800. Also, if cost were a big concern, you could build the end results (less expensive base or top) in stages and shop for used vises.
Thanks BG...I am trying to decide if I want to build one, or spend my money on a good German bench. As well, did you post in the bandsaw upgrade? If so, I just ordered the new Minimax S16...It will be about three months and I feel after some research, it is a great saw for the money....Anyway, thanks again....Don
110 bf for a bench top costing about $1000 is just silly. That can't happen unless you build a bench top out of ebony or some other exotic species, and use twice as much material than you need. Let's do the simple arithmetic. Assume that your bench top, ignoring tool trays and other irrelevancies is to finish at a size of 80" long X 30" wide, X 3" thick.
For this you will need to purchase planks that are 85" long to allow for snipe during processing, and allow a bit for waste in the squaring up and thicknessing. Let's assume that in the thickness of the bench top you use boards that are multiples of 3" and a bit more to be safe-- so, okay 3.5", and that to make up the width of thirty inches you use 2" thick stuff to start with.
Obviously, the two inch thick stuff (or 8/4"to use the US parlance) needs to be got flat and both faces parallel, so let's assume that to make up your thirty inch width you need processed multiples of a finished size of 1.5", which equals 20 pieces, so being generous, let's allow 22 pieces.
The sum is, 22 pieces @ 2" X 85" X 3.5" = 6545 cubic inches. If you divide 6545 cubic inches by 1728-- the number of cubic inches in a cubic foot (derived from the sum 12"X 12" X 12") you get 3.789 cubic feet, which, seeing as a board foot is a twelth of a cubic foot results in the sum 3.789 X 12, which equals 45.45 board feet.
If you go out and buy 65 board feet of some typical timber for a bench top, such as maple, for an outrageous sum of US$10 a board foot, then you might just spend $650 for the raw materials for a bench top. As maple typically comes in at about US$4-- 5 a board foot, I'd expect you to spend no more than about $300 for a very generous bench top. True, you'll need to buy some timber for legs and framing underneath, but wood for a whole bench shouldn't run more than that $300. However, you might spend $800 or more on hardware such as vises, and dogs, and threaded rods, etc, from companies like Veritas.
On the other hand, if your knowledge of woodworking and pricing is a bit limited, and you have these kinds of sums available, it might be a good idea to just go out and buy a top of the line Diefenbach bench with drawers, doors, and storage already done for a couple of thousand dollars or more off the shelf, ha, ha.
I'll admit that I've never built a seriously important workbench that makes a statement like many woodworkers do. I just buy the things ready made, or knock them out quickly and cheaply as needed. They're not very important to me being just yet another tool in my armoury. Slainte.Website
I would love anything of that size made of ebony or other exotic, especially at $9 a board foot. However, when you say "22 pieces @ 2" X 85" X 3.5" = 6545 cubic inches," I am instead getting 13090 cu. in., or 90.90 board feet. At any rate, in my original posting, I calculated the board footage of the entire bench to be 91 bf (59 for the top and 32 for the base). The original poster then added another 20% for allowances to arrive at the 110 figure. I agree with you wholeheartedly that $1000 would be better spent on a quality ready-made European bench.
Darn it, Ricky. My turn for a red face. You’re quite correct, and I missed to multiply by 2. Two good things come out of that. First I wasn’t bidding on it so couldn’t get my backside kicked for real, although if it had been a bid I might have double or even triple checked my multiplication first, ha, ha. Secondly, fortunately you were around to put me straight. My error, and apologies extended all. Slainte.Website
Your estimate of course depends on the price of hard maple in your area. I calculated the vises and benchdogs mentioned in the article to total $350-$400, which leaves about $600-$650 for the lumber. At 110 board feet, you end up with $5.45-$5.90/bf for 8/4 hard maple. If that is the going rate where you buy, then I guess that is a fair estimate.
However, my estimate is just that, a rough ballpark. Even if the lumber was going for $6/bf, I agree with BG that you can tweak it down a couple of hundred dollars. Besides BG's suggestions of using less costly materials (especially with the base), see if you can buy in the rough. It's more work, but it costs a little less and you can better ensure boards that are flat and square, essential for a workbench as well as the multiple glue-ups you'll be facing.
Another way is to lower that 20% allowance to 10% or less. The cut list is managable enough that you can select for each component. For example, the top calls for 75-1/2" boards. An 8' board will give you that, but the remainder is good for nothing but the front vise jaw (and barely at that), plus you need only two of those. However, a 9' board will give you more options with the remainder. Another example is to buy widths that match your list. The top calls for 2-1/2" wide boards, but round that up to, say, 3" to allow for dimensioning. Then you can select stock with widths that are multiples of 3" to minimize waste.
I hope this helps in your decision-making process.
As far as workbench's go, I've been wanting to attempt making my own as well. I know that maple is the traditional top, but is there another substitute that would work as well? I live in northern Minnesota, and maple here is $8 a board foot for 8/4. Oak is considerably cheaper, and they also carry industrial oak that they sell for trailer planking that only runs about $2.50 a board foot. I could be wrong, but couldn't I use oak, or maybe even the industrial oak? I know it might not be as visually appealling as maple, or higher grade oak, but I would think it would hold up as well. Let me know if anyone has any thoughts on this.
Doc..Not that I am one of these guys that make the bench like furniture (I use solid core doors) the only thing about oak that I would warn is that the different levels of hardness between early and late wood may allow the softer wood to wear faster than the hard..resulting in a scarred divot prone bench top. I like that, people know that I actually work on it. When it is visible..mostly covered up with stuff...back to the oak..if you rip and orient a rift or quarter grain as the work surface you are in like Flynn. Save some $.
Doc
You can make a bench from any wood actually. Some woods just have more stability than others in that given situation. I had a bench made of re-covered oak flooring for about 6 years. It sits and is the main bench in my BIL's shop now after I just built another bench this summer.
If you use the oak, just be sure you have a moisture content that pretty much runs consistent throughout. The pieces for the top can vary some from the base pieces, but the more uniformity the better. I would be sure to face glue the oak stock for the top. Laminate the faces and let one of the exposed edges be the working surface. Less chance of early wood separating from late-wood as mentioned this way.
BTW, Frank Klaus used utility hardwood for his celebrated bench for the base. Why not? If it's good for the "goose" the "gander" might benefit from an econimic stand-point also. ha.. ha...
Regards...
sarge..jtProud member of the : "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Well, I opted for a workbench top made of two pieces of 1.25" MDF glued together with a piece of 1/4" tempered masonite as the sacrificial top coated with poly. All that mounted on a sturdy white oak frame and trim and with 2x6 cross supports every 12" under the MDF. Final dimensions were 86" x 32". The white oak was free (savaged from a bayou) and I already had the vises. Total cost was in the order of $100. In another couple of years I'll replace the sacrificial top. Had I bought the White Oak total cost probably would have been around $300. The vises (antiques) were bought a few years before for $40.00 each.
But, I wanted a cheap, sturdy, utilitarian workbench, not an heirloom.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled