On Fri, Jul 31, 2015 at 9:20 PM, Mark Pfeifer 
wrote:

> After a year of debate (slab? laminate? buy lottery tickets and pray?) I
> decided to do the Paul Sellers bench. If you’ve not seen the videos, it’s
> made of glued up 2x4s or 2x3’s, with mortises and dados. I’m better with
> chisels than thin fine saws, so away we go.
>

I glued up a bench top from air dried hackberry that was felled in my
yard.  It was the same problem.  There is no amount of mechanical force you
can apply that will prevent that wood from moving.

This is not a failure.  It is a great lesson.

1.  Even kiln dried construction lumber is sold "wet."  The moisture
content is higher than hardwoods because it doesn't have to be as dry to be
used in construction.  That's fine as long as you know what you are
getting.  Once you bring it home, cut it to rough length, stack it so each
board has about 3/4" of air all the way around it, and wait for it to dry
more.

2.  The wider the construction lumber, the better the quality.  Pass those
2x3s and go straight to the 2x10s and 2x12s.  If you don't want to rip them
by hand, then find a local woodworking club and look for somebody with a
band saw who can help you out.

If you haven't done so already, I recommend reading Christopher Schwarz's
workbench book.  He recommends laminated the top from ripped yellow pine
2x12s.  He also recommends cleaning the glue surface with acetone before
the glue up.  I did that and my top turned out great.

However, a laminated top bench is A LOT of work.  I helped a friend build a
Nicholson style bench.  The Nicholson bench was *much* easier, requires
much less material, and can be done with only hand tools.  It's actually
similar to Sellers' bench.  Get The Naked Woodworker DVD.  Our own Mike
Siemsen explains how to build a Nicholson bench from construction lumber
using only hand tools.  I find his advice very sound and reasonable.  The
two DVD set is only $22.

Mark