On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 22:17:16 GMT, patriarch
wrote:

Andy, I noticed you built the top from oak.

Would you do yours in oak again? Or Euro beech, or similar?

I'd think about changing the shoulder vice, but I've no complaints
about the benchtop material.

I used oak because I was offered it basically for free. I didn't
really _need_ a new bench right that minute, but clearly these couple
of 2" boards had "new bench" written on them. The only timber I
actually bought was the 3x4 thick stuff for the ends.

With a year's wear on the top I've put a couple of saw nicks into it
but it's holding up pretty well. No impact or surface damage or
staining. I don't often use it for assembly, but when I do so I pad
the assembly table with a blanket of quilted cheap fleece (printed
with little snowmen and teddy bears, which is why it was so cheap !).
I don't hold with this idea of "soft benchtops" to avoid damage.

I could have had beech. There's a fair bit of 2" beech around, and
it's a little cheaper than the oak. If I was paying for it, it's
£25/cube foot vs. £35/cube foot for 2" boards..

Maple is unheard of round here. I have a little of it, but it's
skinny, lumpy boards. Anything big enough to build a bench would be
imported, and the imported timber shop is twice the price of the local
guys.

--
Smert' spamionam