and I am on a budget for this project.


1. Has anyone had failures

Define failure. 2-by's are soft, but you're no going to get a hardwood top
at your price point. They will be more likely to twist and move than
cabinet-grade hardwood. But that's just matter of degree; all wood moves.
It's not going to break of that's what you mean. I'm confident that you will
find a "Tuba-bench" nearly as useful as a 150 kg euro-beast at many times
the cost.

using construction grade type two-by stock

Does anyone else find that to be redunadant? Perhaps Economy vs. KD?

to make a workbench, and what type?

I think you will be fine with whatever you can get. KD is better as it is
dryer but it will cost a little more. I would consider ripping larger stock
(2x8,10,12) because it is usually clearer than the smaller stock.

2. If I get the "Green Douglas Fir" and just let it sit around for a
while, how long can I expect it to take to dry/acclimate to my
basement?

I would immagine a few months, but I think that would create more problems
than it would solve. If you laminate/assemble right away each peice will
tend to hold the other in place. If you buy stock and wait a couple months
for it to dry, you may end up trying to laminate pretzels.

Even a euro-beech behemoth runs the risk of moving a bit. Just get it as
flat as you can. If is is problematically unflat in a year, relevel to top
with a hand plane.

More reasons not to sweat this too much:

There is no perfect bench. Either you have a compromise or several
special-purpose benches. The optimal bench is also a moving target. Built it
and enjoy!

-Steve



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