In rec.woodworking
"Guy LaRochelle" wrote:

I have been studying everyones work benches and noticed that most of them
are built out of maple. I understand that maple is very hard but I don't
think it is readily available where I live (Sask, Canada). Birch is very
common here but is it anywhere close to being as hard as maple? Does anyone
see anything wrong with using birch for a work bench?

You can make a suitable workbench from planed and glued-up pine 2x4s so I'm
sure birch would be quite suitable. Maple is awesome but VERY expensive
for a workbench and most of us can't afford it.