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Why is maple used in woodworking benches? Can ash be substituted?

Posted: July 30th, 2008 | Author: Crusher | Filed under: Woodworking | Tags: , , , |
woodworking
tyghor asked:

Getting ready to build my own and price differential between the two hardwoods begs the question. Any thoughts?

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3 Comments on “Why is maple used in woodworking benches? Can ash be substituted?”

  1. #1 Rob G said at 4:44 pm on July 30th, 2008:

    It is a very hard, dense wood and tradition. Ash should be fine, who knows you may start your own tradition,” the new economical classic”.

  2. #2 thewmas said at 11:28 pm on August 2nd, 2008:

    All wood is good..Maple is not used all the time,Ash would be a very good choice,or oak.Any good hard wood would work. just make it strong with good fasteners/glue,dowels,screws,etc.And joints are tight. good luck..

  3. #3 Docar said at 5:31 pm on August 5th, 2008:

    Maple is a very hard, dense wood. The surface hardness is about 20% greater than ash. Maple is a closer grained hard wood than ash. The grain is not as easy to see as it is with ash. The straightness of the grain does not matter as it does with ash. Maple will not splinter. The grain will not separate. The hardness of maple makes a bench with less flex.

    Ash on the other hand does flex. With an ash bench there is a trampoline affect. Clamping compresses the wood, This spring board affect is one of ash’s greatest strengths and weaknesses. The spring board and compression traits of an ash bench will in time cause the grains to separate over time. The grain of an ash bench will delaminate over many uses.