My bench is 2 3/4” or 3” thick and i have never needed or wanted it to be any thicker. on thing though, i don’t use benchdogs, and i do know that the thickness of the bench will affect the performance of those – hopefully a hand tool user will chime in on that.. Just three thick slabs of wood, two for legs and one long one (about 60 inches he said). he hasn't decided on a wood. i recommended hardwood, but in retrospect given the thickness of the slabs, i think it might actually be worth trying in pine.. The thick wood/thin wood argument brings up a topic for a future post. and, that is the discussion of drying thick wood or logs before they are milled into finished lumber. there is a point at which wood is just too thick..
At any rate, it's a great way to do woodworking. so many sell out when it comes to the work bench and never know how much better the work gets done and what a joy it is to have. hold-down clamps should work fine... imho, would be thick enough, etc. like fine woodworking's new fangled workbench... have fun! joe lyddon www.woodworkstuff.net. A thicker bench top will also let you plane and flatten it more times over its lifetime. all that said, your design tells me this isn't so much a workbench as it is a storage bench/support table for your miter saw.. A couple of additional thoughts: how you will be using the bench should be considered in your design. for example, if you plan on occasional mortise chopping, having a thicker bench top would be a big advantage, since thicker tops absorb striking force better, rather than "bouncing"..
