re: New bench in the works...

If I could find a hard wood cheaper than plywood then I would be all over it. Here in long island there are very few lumber yards left. The closest one to me doesn’t sell rough lumber. Everything is s4s and very expensive. I have to contact some tree cutting companiesto see how to get some rough lumber. I know a few of them mill some of the stuff theytake out of people’s yards but it’s green. Cheap but I don’t have much room to store drying lumber.

Monty if you can get ash at that price then God bless you. I was going to use Douglas fir until Paul started talking about plywood. Birch plywood here is about $55/sheet but I think cdx will work just fine. That would put it in line with the price of your ash but not the quality or beauty of it. Please post pics of your build. I will too when I actually get around to doing it. :)