Workbench Top Advise Please

[Keith Christopher]

Or you could do I like I did

http://cgi.ebay.com/Wood-Bowling-Lan...2%7C240%3A1318

[hank dekeyser]

My 2 cents

You didnt say WHAT you use the bench for. Since you said "laminate" top 2' x 8' I would grab a sheet of 3/4" MDF cut it in half glue and staple it together (Yes that is how cabinet shops do it) Laminate the bottom first , then the edges (all 4) and finally the top. That way all edges and sides (mainly top and bottom) will expand /contract similar. If you laminate just the top, the surface tension will want to make it warp.

My personal work top for everyday junk is 3/4" plywood w/ (replacable) 1/8" hardboard on top of it. My floating bench (30" x 8') is "GASP" regular everyday 2 x 6 stock planed to 1-1/4" thick and cut down to 2-5/8" wide. Glued up face to face (2-5/8" thick top) and fastened to a 2 x 6 frame w/ 4 x 4 post legs. Been beating on it for over 10 years now. Guess what ? It's still flat, hasnt split / warped cracked etc. so I say bahoooey to anyone that claims 2x4 is junk for benches. I don't understand why you would wan tto put the time effort , money into a maple / oak / ash top just to put a laminate over it ??

This is more than just a hobby for me, I live it.
my 2 cents - probly only worth 1 cent to some

[Frank Drew]

Hank, I might have misunderstood Jim, but I took him to mean that he wanted to laminate boards together to achieve his desired width (as in a glue-lam), not that he wanted a plastic laminate covered work surface.

[Rick Hubbard]

if I build any more work surfaces in the future, I'll likely go with several layers of MDF layered and a replaceable hardboard "topper". Dense. Heavy. FLAT. Inexpensive.

Hi Jim-

I think I mentioned this before, but I have used just such a solution for a couple of years HOWEVER a few weeks ago I had cleaned some brushes and then tossed them in a plastic bucket with filled water,soap and ammonia. The next morning I discovered that the bucket had a leak. Guess what happned to all that MDF?

Rick

[Jim Eller]

Keith,

I really like that idea.

I see the seller is in Michigan. I was there in December and would have picked up a couple of maple sections if I had known.

Jim

[Keith Christopher]

Did you see he had 23' sections ? That's almost 3 8' workbench tops for 270$ !!!

[Peter Gregory]

Was in Goby's Walnut in Portland yesterday. They have started making walnut glue-ups. Didn't check the prices, but they look very nice. If you are in Portland, the quality of the walnut on the floor is amazing and expensive.

I built my first bench out of Southern Yellow Pine. I realize that some people don't like it, but I have a few 2X10's stickered in my shop, drying, right now. You can never how to much SYP dry and ready for shop furniture.

[Mike Null]

I've been using a commercial solid core door for years. It's flat, heavy enough that it took two of us to lift it and durable enough for my purposes. It is a workbench, not a piece of furniture.

[Keith Christopher]

Jim,

Since you were asking I thought I'd share some pics of the newest workbench in progress. I pretty much am using up old stock I had for the legs and feet. but you'll see the top is a section of bowling alley I got from a guy renovating an old bowling lane. Three of the legs are made from hard maple, one is made from lyptus, the feet of the bench are made from lyptus. It was some old stock I had lying around. I'll of course post when it's finished.

Keith

[Peter M. Spirito]

I have always loved the look of the traditional workbench but find them not practical for my work. I have thought of making a scaled down version for a coffee table. Just a thought to satisfy my desire to have one.

http://www.peterspirito.com/workbench.htm

[Tom Cross]

I just finished a 24" x 96" Holtzapel work bench with a hard maple top. Hard maple and ash are great selections. But as noted, southern yellow pine is often used as a budget selection.

I highly recommend the Workbench book by Chris Schwarz. It discusses all the wood selections including some great tables on wood hardness and impact resistance. Also, go to the Woodworking Magazine site:

http://popularwoodworking.com/wwmhomepage

You can buy two issues of the magazine on-line that contain complete plans for the Roubo and Holtzapel work benches. Chris Schwarz is as close to a work bench expert as one can get. Check out the Weblog on the site as well as it has many postings on work bench wood, design and vises. After 25 years of working on a Tage Frid design bench, the Holtzapel bench is marvelous.

[Steve LeLaurin]

Hi Jim-

I think I mentioned this before, but I have used just such a solution for a couple of years HOWEVER a few weeks ago I had cleaned some brushes and then tossed them in a plastic bucket with filled water,soap and ammonia. The next morning I discovered that the bucket had a leak. Guess what happned to all that MDF?

Rick

=====================================
Rick ... Just what did happen to the MDF? I'm thinking of using MDF as the top layer of my bench, but hadn't though of what a spill would do to it. Now you have me worried. I guess shellac wouldn't have helped ... maybe BLO would have?

Steve