re: New bench in the works...

Hi Monty.
First of all my bench is CHEAP. It is primarily made of a few sheets of 3/4" plywood. I believe it is as strong as and more rigid than a solid hardwood bench and a way easier and faster to build. The base is hammer veneered with Walnut veneer and the top is trimmed with local Arbutus but the bench is plywood …… that’s the best part.
Any of the woods you mention would sub for my Arbutus (you would call it Madrone) but I would strongly recommend looking at my inter-laid plywood construction.
Have you seen the Sketchup?
https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=eac92d1e533271b452d9fc61873164a1

I cut the beam joint on a bandsaw but you could do it with almost anything.