Reply by dbray45

It all depends (in my book).

If I can use a single board that is stable versus gluing up a bunch of boards, the one board has it. If the one board cups, I rip it into narrower boards and glue it up keeping it looking very consistent.

Right now, I have a few boards of mahogany that are 13” to 15” wide and about 6’ long. Ripping those into smaller pieces is not likely to happen – they are dead flat.

My work bench is a solid piece of QS 20” wide black oak, about 2” thick. It is definitely not your normal bench.

-- David in Damascus, MD