Can I use Pine for a Bench Top

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  • mashtun
    Forum Newbie
    • Sep 2007
    • 77

    Can I use Pine for a Bench Top

    Well my work ships our entire inventory from Denmark over here to Cleveland. The instruments are shipped in 3x3x2 crates. When they are shipping more than a few the put in a crate, and then put on two cut off 2x6s, and they are real 2x6s. So I have been collecting these up for a while now, and trying to think what to do with them. By the way they are pine and about 3 feet long.

    So the question is this, if I glued them into a giant 2 6 inch thick board would this work as a bench top, or is the pine to soft. If not are their any other suggestions as to what to do with these?

    John
  • dbhost
    Slow and steady
    • Apr 2008
    • 9209
    • League City, Texas
    • Ryobi BT3100

    #2
    My bench top is 2 layer 3/4" Southern Yellow Pine. It has worked fine for me for years... It does dent pretty easily, but unless you are going fancy with your workbench, who cares?
    Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

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    • cabinetman
      Gone but not Forgotten RIP
      • Jun 2006
      • 15218
      • So. Florida
      • Delta

      #3
      If its free why not. I've run across some pines (SYP), that are pretty darn hard. White pines are much softer. How hard should a work bench top be is a loaded question. A softer top may be more forgiving to your workpieces. A flat surface, and a sturdy bench might be more important than how hard the surface is. You can't beat the materials cost.
      .

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      • SARGE..g-47

        #4
        I've built 24 over the last 37 years... some for me.. for sale.. for friends at material cost. The last 6 have been the same using SYP as the top and Doug Fir base. The cost of my current top was around $27 (6 months ago) and 8 hours of build time. I will probably never build another out of anything else.
        Attached Files

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        • Mr__Bill
          Veteran Member
          • May 2007
          • 2096
          • Tacoma, WA
          • BT3000

          #5
          The only issue I can possibly see is if you attach an iron vice to the bench. The holding power of the attaching screws into the pine, if it is soft pine, may not be enough. This could be mitigated with bolts and toggle nuts rather than using wood screws.

          When I first read the post subject I assumed you were talking furniture and not a shop bench and a rather nice 3' bench came to mind. It was a trestle type with a 3 x 1 top and the legs and stretcher out of 2" too. Stained a nice golden-pink pine with an oil finishe. But then I am still asleep and perhaps dreaming all this.

          Bill, still in the Land of Nod

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          • LarryG
            The Full Monte
            • May 2004
            • 6693
            • Off The Back
            • Powermatic PM2000, BT3100-1

            #6
            The only possible answer is, "It depends" -- on a whole lot of things. Perhaps the most important would be the particular species of pine, and second would be the dimensions of the workbench's top.

            White pine is neither very hard nor very stiff, so if that's what these boards are, and you want to glue them up into a (say) 4" thick by 24" wide by 72" long top for a traditional woodworking bench on which you'll do a lot of beating and banging ... probably not a good choice. White pine would wear too quickly, dent too easily, and might not be stiff enough (i.e., a long top could sag, if supported only by the usual four legs). But the same benchtop made of longleaf Southern Yellow Pine would make a wonderful worksurface that will stand up well to punishment and will need flattening only occasionally. (Since this lumber came from Europe, is it likely it is SYP? I'd guess not, since SYP is more valuable as structural lumber than as packing material.)

            OTOH, if you just want a general-purpose work surface, and don't particularly care whether it stays truly smooth or flat, almost any material will do.
            Larry

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            • dbhost
              Slow and steady
              • Apr 2008
              • 9209
              • League City, Texas
              • Ryobi BT3100

              #7
              On the Vise issue. On mine anyway, I through bolted it with wing nuts. Been working great for years.
              Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

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              • mashtun
                Forum Newbie
                • Sep 2007
                • 77

                #8
                Can I use Pine for a Bench Top

                Originally posted by Mr__Bill

                When I first read the post subject I assumed you were talking furniture and not a shop bench and a rather nice 3' bench came to mind. It was a trestle type with a 3 x 1 top and the legs and stretcher out of 2" too. Stained a nice golden-pink pine with an oil finishe. But then I am still asleep and perhaps dreaming all this.

                Bill, still in the Land of Nod
                Actaully that is a good idea, and eventually I will have enough to do both. THe warehouse just called, and they have two peices that are almost ten feet long out there now. Big Shippment.

                John

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                • crokett
                  The Full Monte
                  • Jan 2003
                  • 10627
                  • Mebane, NC, USA.
                  • Ryobi BT3000

                  #9
                  If you are worried about the softness of the pine as a bench top you can cover the top with a removeable sheet of hardboard or 1/4" ply. That way as these get damaged over the years they can be replaced. It won't look as pretty as the laminated pine does though.
                  David

                  The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.

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