Looking for advice: slabs for a Rubio style bench

[Von]

I have dreams of building a Rubio-style bench this year or next. I'm exploring the option of making the top out of a couple of slabs. I reached out to a local sawmill. They offered can cut me a couple 4 1/2" x 12" x 8' slabs out of green oak for a couple hundred bucks (total I think, might be each). I asked over the phone about other woods and they said they might have some hickory. The person on the phone wasn't very confident, so I plan to go visit.

I'm seeking thoughts on any of the following:

* I've worked with oak plenty and I worry it's too porous for a workbench top?

* I don't have experience with hickory but understand its very hard?

* I'm shooting for a 7' top and assuming I'll lose some of the slab ends to checking - is 8' long enough?

* What sort of overage should I be thinking on the width and thickness? Is 1" enough?

* I'm guessing there are particular ways to mill the slabs out of the tree that are preferable and not so preferable?

* Any thoughts on how long I'm going to need to air dry a "green" slab? If I go the slab route, I doubt I'll find anyone with the right slab already dried. Maybe I try to arrange a kiln dry?

* Am I just nuts going the slab route?

* What am I not thinking of?

Thanks in advance.

 

[legenddc]

Matt Cremona sells workbench kits out of slabs so you're not the first person to have this idea. They're a lot more expensive but they are dry. 

[wtnhighlander]

1. Air-drying a slab so thick will take a loooong time.

2. Slabs cut from either side of the pith will have quarterd grain, about as stable as it gets.

3. 1" over may not be enough from a truly green slab.

4. Before selecting the lumber, watch these:

 

I have met Jay in person, and I asked about these benches. He told me the pine is his favorite, by far. The hickory is so hard / rigid that it causes rebound when whacking a chisel.

Red oak is probably too porous and splintery, white oak might be ok. For hardwoods, maple and cherry are two good options, being not too hard, and uniform in grain.

My choice was to use spruce, and consider it a wear item. I often find it convenient to screw a workpiece or fixture to the bench, and the screw holes disappear from the soft spruce. It is also easy to resurface with a hand plane. My use is not heavy, and my bench is perfectly servicable after a decade, but I'm about ready to make a new one with different features.

There is my $0.02 worth.

[Von]

On 3/28/2024 at 8:18 PM, wtnhighlander said:

There is my $0.02 worth.

Thank you!

[Von]

On 3/28/2024 at 5:49 PM, legenddc said:

Matt Cremona sells workbench kits out of slabs so you're not the first person to have this idea. They're a lot more expensive but they are dry. 

Yes indeed, Matt inspired me in this direction and ordering from him is an option I'm keeping in mind since it is seeming likely I'm not going to find anything the right size and dried locally. I admit the logistics of receiving a freight shipment seem a little daunting but there is a first time for everything.

[Von]

On 3/28/2024 at 8:18 PM, wtnhighlander said:

4. Before selecting the lumber, watch these:

Thanks again, those were very useful videos. I like Jay Bates work in general and these lived up. Has me leaning towards Southern Yellow Pine or Douglas Fir, both of which are easy to get at Lowes/Menards in the form of 8' 2x10s for <$200.

I'll also found a slab-top bench video from Cremona that was good watching. A slab top would be sexy, but I'm figuring out how hard it is to source locally and expensive to order. I'd like to support Matt, but ~$2k for something I'd possibly screw up is tough. Maybe for my third bench in another 20 years...

And of course Marc has the Hybrid Workbench video in the TWW Guild for which Bell Forest sells a lumber kit.