# Cherry for a workbench top?



## KodaBear (Mar 25, 2013)

So, I'm moving and getting a tremendous shop upgrade (from a 12×20 shared basement space to a 20×30 dedicated garage shop!). I don't want to bring my current bench with me (too tall, awkward to work with, I just hate it) but I will be bringing about 100bd ft of cherry.

Does anyone have any experience with a work bench/top made out of cherry?

I've seen several on here with maple/cherry tops, but none entirely of cherry.

It would fit Chris schwartz's rules of dry and cheap, but it would all end up at about 4/4 thick after milling.

My wife thinks I'm crazy for even thinking about using up the cherry on "just a workbench". She doesn't get it yet.

Thanks in advance!


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## Tedstor (Mar 12, 2011)

I'm actually with the wife on this one. I've never personally subscribed to the notion of using expensive hardwoods on a workbench. Douglas Fir works fine. You can buy all you need at Lowes for under $100. 
But if you already have the wood, and a cherry workbench will put a smile on your face…...then you should go for it. It sure will look nice when its done.


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## lightcs1776 (Nov 14, 2013)

I personally love cherry, and had our kitchen cabinets made out of cherry. I agree with both Tedstor and your wife, save the cherry for a project and make the workbench out of something else, such as douglas fir. You could even sell a bit of the cherry to pay for the new bench (although I would personally keep it).


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## SirTonka (Jul 27, 2013)

will you only have enough lumber for a 1" benchtop? If you are limited by using power tools you could always go the hand tools route to build bigger. vote to use whatever wood you want, personally my plan is to spend a good bit of time designing and then use woods I like in building a custom bench, thinking dogwood at the moment.


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## paratrooper34 (Apr 27, 2010)

I built a benchtop bench from Cherry. Obviously not the same magnitude. But it has seen a lot of work and I really like it. Just remember, it will darken with age, and like me, others will tell you that dark wood is not ideal for a benchtop. For my little bench and what I do with it, no problem. But I wouldn't care for it on my everyday bench.


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## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

Is there enough in your stash for a full workbench top, especially in a large shop? With wastage? About half that 100 BF would go to the top, with a ton of laminations at 4/4 rough.

Personally, I would save most of the cherry for something nice and maybe use a few boards as an accent in the workbench top. But an all cherry top would sure look pretty.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

It's good if you have the wood. My main bench top
is half cherry offcuts, half a maple restaurant cutting
board.


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## KodaBear (Mar 25, 2013)

Thanks guys!

what's the philosphy behind dark wood *not* being good for a bench top? is it a visual (seeing parts) thing?


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Yes. It hasn't been a problem with the cherry in my bench
but the light bench trend could predate large windows and 
electric lighting. A lot of antique benches are dark but
I don't know if they were sold stained originally.


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## KodaBear (Mar 25, 2013)

Anyone use birch for a top?


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I'm sitting on 535 BF of cherry that I have had drying for a little over a year now, but would go out and buy something else to build a new bench from. Just would not want to use cherry for a bench. It's beautiful, easy to work, strong, great wood, but I just wouldn't want to beat it up on a bench. For the same reason I wouldn't drive a '57 Chevy or a '69 Boss 302 Mustang to work every day.


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## KodaBear (Mar 25, 2013)

wiser words have never been said. I'm not going to make my bench out of cherry. thanks everyone.


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## adaughhetee (Jan 20, 2011)

I've seen a lot of articles on people using IKEA counter tops for workbenches. Here's a link and it is birch. If you have an Ikea close this may be an option but, there shipping is expensive.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50086416/

Lumber liquidators also has options in walnut, cherry, maple, and oak 
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/s/countertops

It shows 2 hrs to Ikea and 56 mins to Lumber liquidators. For the price I wouldn't mess with the milling and glue-up.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

look through the benches on Work bench smack down and ask what the guys in the middle of building a bench think. I don't think 4/4 is thick enough, especially if you'll be using hand tools, and I would love a cherry bench, but unless I had an endless supply of cherry, I doubt I'd us it.

That said, it would make a very nice bench.


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## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

adaughhetee: for the Lumber Liquidators butcher blocks, 1.5"x25"x8' is 25 board feet. At $200 (the cheapest maple), that's $8/BF.

The Ikea is actually a lot more expensive. 0.625"x25×6' is 8 board feet. At $125, that's over $16/BF. And you would need to buy a couple and laminate them horizontally, which isn't easy to do and keep it flat.

You can get rough birch or oak or even maple for a lot less than $8/BF. Doug fir or southern yellow pine or spruce are even cheaper in construction grade 2X. Laminating takes time, sure, but even with the overhead you'll end up with a thicker, better top.


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## adaughhetee (Jan 20, 2011)

Yeah I agree it's high and also admit that I didn't do the bf math first  . The Ikea top is actually 1.5 thick making it 19 bf and $6.50 a BF but, still high. Cost wise I agree with the rough oak it would last a life time and be cheap to build. I don't know if i'm a fan of the durability of a F/P/S top but, I'm a little rough on things.


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## rockindavan (Mar 8, 2011)

I don't buy into the "you should only use pine" crowd of workbench folks, but that is a lot of laminations to do with the thickness of the stock. If someone was dead set on making a bench out of ebony, I wouldn't stop them, although that would be a pretty dark bench, plus a bit pricey. You will use it forever so don't sell yourself short because you will kick yourself if you do.


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## realcowtown_eric (Feb 4, 2013)

When I graduated from ply tops on 2×4, I found some rough spruce 3×12's which were used for shoring of excavations. Ya, they shrunk a bit as they dried in the house, , and the bolts needed a few periodic tightening, but after 15 years, I don't cry when the get the odd hole and chip in them. Hard to find these days I hear, but maybe you get lucky!

Eric in Cowtown


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## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

The argument for a softer wood for the workbench top is that it won't ding up your workpieces. Better to dent the workbench than the waterfall bubinga coffee table.

But I'm making my bench out of red oak with cherry accents, so….


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## simmo (Nov 23, 2008)

My bench has an mdf top, the frame is steel it has a hardwood face and is fitted with a 104 year old Steelrack cam operated vice and a homemade wagon vice whose main components are fron a car scissor jack , the top is cheap , stable and flat, varnished with some cheap water based varnish, as I suspect most modern woodworkers don't pound out massive mortices by hand stability for planing and flatness for assembly is the main criteria, so build your bench from cheap stable material , replace it when beyond use, save your cherry for a worthwhile project.Unless of course you want the bragging rights of a big hardwood bench, it's one way to lose your cherry ,
Chris


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## gargey (Apr 11, 2016)

Doug fir is pretty splintery. I don't like the alternating hardness/softness.

Maple, poplar, birch, oak could be good in-betweeners in terms of price and soundness.

I agree I wouldn't want a dark bench.

Cherry's gotta be one of the least tear-out prone woods, so that would be nice for flattening…


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

Curious about your current bench. If it is just too tall can you cut it down to a better height?

I built my bench out of 8/4 hard maple for the frame and top. I didn't have a planer or jointer at the time and had to get the rough stock dimensioned by the supplier. The guy who did the work asked what I was making with all of that expensive wood. When I told him it was just for a workbench his jaw hit the floor. The bench was a thing of beauty when brand new, but it now has more than thirty years of dings in it. Still solid as a rock and a very stable work surface. I made a small "bench on bench" to go on it, also out of hard maple. I don't regret either decision. I think a cherry topped bench would look sweet! Go for it!


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## bonesbr549 (Jan 1, 2010)

Me I love cherry, and use it a lot! However, for this use, I'd not use cherry. It would look cool as hell, but a waste of lumber. If you have it I understand the desire to use it for that. However cost is cost, and cherry (depending on region), will probably be twice if not more expensive as maple. I'd want a hard wood for that purpose. Hard maple or soft maple (that is not soft), would be better.

My sone made a hell of a bench out of yellow pine that I've been impressed with. 1st choice maple.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

You guys do realize this thread is over four years old, right? The OP is probably done with his bench.


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## Bill_Steele (Aug 29, 2013)

I wouldn't use Cherry for the workbench top. I love Cherry, but for me it's too expensive for this use and there are other less expensive materials that will work just as well.

My bench top is made up of 4 layers of 3/4" MDF with a wide wood edge band. I like it because it's heavy, flat, dimensionally stable, and inexpensive. I put several layers of polyurethane on it and it has held up very well. I do not find that the dark color causes any issues. I do try to cover it when I use it for glue-ups or applying finish. I just lay a piece of cardboard over it and then work on top of that.


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## gargey (Apr 11, 2016)

Yeah everyone stop posting. Lumberjocks is near its daily limit of 12 posts already.



> You guys do realize this thread is over four years old, right? The OP is probably done with his bench.
> 
> - JayT


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## KodaBear (Mar 25, 2013)

Update- I ended up buying a bench from grizzley. I also brought up an old bench from the basement…. and I built another bench with the same top as the old house (a super-heavy solid core door)
The grizzley is my go-to. Old bench is mainly for storage. Repurposed bench is carpeted and higher, getting used for some detail work.


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## pontic (Sep 25, 2016)

If I took any of my cherry stash out to build a work bench (I have 600plus bft.) my wife and a few regular customers would kill me.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

In about a month or so I'm ordering a boat load of 8/4 Red Beech. Where I live it's around $3 a board foot. In the last few years I've learned to appreciate beech. It's not very pretty but it sure machines nicely and is a very tight grained wood. As far as a Roubo bench, Andre Roubo recommended beech for the top. Me I'm just cheap and even though I live where Doug fir is common, I'm gonna step it up a notch. To my want of thinking Doug fir is construction grade, rough carpentry. My bench is intended to take my woodworking to a higher level. So I'm opting for a higher quality wood.


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