Over the break I am finally building myself a proper workbench. I have been working off a $100 Harbor Freight "workbench" with stick legs and 2 folding tables. Try using a #7 plane on those... This is the first step towards getting my shop setup now that I know I will be in my current residence for the foreseeable future.
I have read about 4 books about workbenches with my favorite being "The Workbench Design Book - The Art & Philosophy of Building Better Benches" by Christopher Schwarz. He goes pretty in depth on ancient designs as well as some modernization for modern tools. I really like his philosophy: they have been using the same workbench designs for thousands of years for a good reason - don't reinvent the wheel unless you have a very good reason or specific usage. He is also very practical with his advice on the actual construction which mostly agrees with my experience with benches.
Anyway, I am building a Roubo bench out of Southern Yellow Pine. No, it's not hardwood and yes, it will be fine. Without getting too deep into the debate, SYP is very cheap and plentiful around here, is decently hard, has a good weight, and all the books recommend it. I can always put a hardwood layer on top later if I want.
I picked through the construction grade stuff at Home Depot and brought home 18 2"x10"x8' and 3 2"x10"x12' for $130. The good thing about the 10" (and 12") boards is that they are mostly flat sawn boards which you can rip in half for nice quarter sawn boards. Watch out for pith. I would later learn I was not picky enough (or just unlucky) and had to replace 3 of the 8 footers ($18) due to them having too much internal stress. Some of the boards are also wet with an upwards of 17%MC according to my cheap $40 moisture sensor. One of the boards was soaked at over 35%MC! I passed on that one too. They can also be pretty out-of-square. Combine that with internal stress and expect to mill off 1-2" if you need the full length. It's construction grade, you get what you pay for.
Still in the process of milling it all down.