Now here's an idea...

As I put together the base of the workbench I was struck by how much it reminded me of some furniture we bought for the Bolt Hole back in the late '80s. That furniture came from a store called This End Up which I believe to have gone ...well, that end up. Suffice to say the stores are no longer in the malls where I used to see them.

Basically, the furniture was constructed of 3/4 inch thick southern yellow pine. All of the furniture, chairs, sofas, love seats, beds, etc. was solid as a rock yet easily made by gluing and pinning 4 and 6 inch wide boards together. We still have al the furniture,. Some of it is at the Bolt Hole but two pieces (a love seat and a recliner) are here at the Aerie. The only problem I've ever had with it has to do with the springs of the recliner. The metal mounts snapped some time back. (Probably when I was up there in the neighborhood of 255 pounds.)

The end of the love seat gives an idea of how
the furniture was made using 3/4 thick boards.

Compare that construction to the appearance of the workbench base.

Workbench base.

The two look a lot alike. The workbench uses posts for the legs while the entire side of the love seat (or chair or head/foot of the bed) formed the support with only the addition of gliders on the corners to prevent problems with uneven floors. That and the seat support of the chair and love seat is angled slightly downward toward the rear.

This could easily be done in Douglas Fir or any other dense wood. It could even be done using pressure treated lumber for outdoor use. (Most pressure treated is southern yellow pine.)

I'm getting some serious ideas here....