re: New bench in the works...

For the first, I’ve tried using pallets. They work well but it’s very time consuming and they don’t yield much. I work in construction and every once in a while something useful gets demoed but it’s very difficult to get that stuff home. I’m in long island, NY and work in NYC and take the train. Getting nice lumber at a decent price is tough here.

As to the second part, it would be a lot easier to assemble if you start with a plan that has dimensions and locations for the holes and cutouts. The tighter you can make the pieces fit together the stronger it will be as an assembly. I’m thinking about making the top out of 2×3s with a hardwood veneer. Or maybe I’ll just leave it as plain 2×3s. That’s what my current bench is and it’s heavy and tough as anything. It’s just not as pretty as hardwood.