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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

What material for work bench top?

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T.C. in Tx

01-17-2007 18:31:36




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I am building a new workbench for the shop. This is a general purpose farm shop. Will do mostly mechanical, some metal work and general repairs.

I built the workbench with a 2x6 solid top. But I would like a slick surface, preferably plastic. What would be a good and relatively inexpensive solution? I have looked at tempered hardboard (brown) and the white plastic material with knobby surface for bathrooms--might use back side. Not really impressed so far. Unless I put plywood on top it isn't smooth enough for laminated plastic.

Any recommendations?

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buckaroo

01-22-2007 20:13:00




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
Our Benches have a bowling ally top and they have been holding up fine for the last 40 years.



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MarkB_MI

01-19-2007 19:26:36




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
My workbench top is 3/4" medium density fiberboard (MDF), screwed down to 3/8" plywood. If it gets too nasty, I can replace it in a few minutes. The MDF by itself is fairly floppy, so it needs to have some kind of backing under it to stiffen it up. I didn't finish it because I wanted a surface that stuff won't slide around on. I wish I had put a coat of varnish on it, because any amount of water on it will cause it to expand.

If you want a cheap, slick top, consider Melamine. It is particle board covered on both sides with a Formica-like finish. You can get MDF or Melamine at a plywood store, lumberyard, or even Home Depot.

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JerryU

01-19-2007 08:00:28




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
Got to a contractor that installs industrial or commercial countertops. When we built a new elementary school each room had a sink. The cutouts were about 2"X 1 1/2" with formica on 1" particle board. I scarfed them out of the dumpster, squared them up on a table saw and glued them together. That is in my garage shop.

In the basement which is primarily wood, I laminated two 1/2" layers of HDF high density fiberboard together and coated it with water based urethane. Nice and smooth and seems to be holding up well.

Both pretty inexpensive and replaceable.

JU

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big fred

01-18-2007 20:26:46




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
Mine are 2 thicknesses of 3/4 particle board with Formica on top. Sits on top of homebuilt cabinets made outa 3/4 plywood. Plenty of drawers, made the bench "my" height instead of someone else's idea of what's right. For welding I have a separate small 24 x 36 steel table. But the "bench" I use most is one I threw together in a day when building my house. Made entirely of 3/4 particle board, doesn't look real skookum, but does the job. It's 34 x 44 to fit thru doorways, mounted on casters, but when I need it to stand still I can slide chunks of 4x6 under each corner and the casters are 1/4 inch off the floor. Use it for danged near everything.

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john d

01-18-2007 13:38:25




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
1/4" steel! After that, galvanized sheet metal over wood. Left-over, and end-of-stock harwood flooring can sometimes be picked up for nearly no cost; it will work well, and be almost as good as those maple-top tables you had in your HS shop class.



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Louis Fuller

01-18-2007 13:10:20




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
bowling alley lanes out of a old bowling ally will last forever



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KIP in MX

01-18-2007 09:11:20




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
We use a thin plasitc sheet from Kydex. Lasts for years.



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Chuck (VA)

01-18-2007 09:07:33




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
Had some laminate wood flooring leftover from my kitchen remodel. Made a great hard bench top that is not too slick and most liquids bead up on it. Ran a piece of angle iron around edge to hold down.



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Mike M

01-18-2007 06:43:56




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
I use a bench that has masonite top and then lay cardboard over that to soak up the oil etc. I should change over to a galvanized steel top as it would be safer for when welding around and using the torch around it.



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Jim in N M

01-18-2007 08:56:22




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to Mike M, 01-18-2007 06:43:56  
Another good top is useing solid core 1-3/4 doors,any hard wood will work, get them from a door Co. (Damaged) also another good covering is this new laminate flooring,it is really tuff stuff,and you only need to fasten it down around the perimiter. Jim in N M



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fixerupper

01-18-2007 06:36:57




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
The used countertops and the hard plastic sound like a neat idea and they should clean up easily. In my woodworking shop the benches are all old ugly used, battered 2x6's covered with masonite. It's slick enough to allow me to slide stuff easily and it cleans up easy. The downfall is it's too dark and soaks up light. In the big shop it's the same old 2x6's for the permanent bench but it's covered with diamond plate turned upside down so the smooth side is up. I covered it with some JD green acrylic urethane, just because I had the paint handy and it happens to be green. A lighter color would be nice because ultra small parts laying on it would be more visible. Speaking of color, one consistent color might be a little better than a multi-colored or speckled surface because of the ability to find the really small stuff laying there, but sometimes beggars can't be choosy! The other benches are steel and on wheels. They are the ones that get the beating and welding jobs.

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Shovelman

01-18-2007 05:04:08




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
T.C.,

Applying several coats of Zip Guard or other non-water based polyurethane to tempered hardboard will give you a pretty durable top. The poly soaks in and when it cures it becomes very hard, tough and liquid-proof. Screw it down every 8 inches or so around the perimeter and countersink the holes.

We built our benches this way back in 1984 and they are still in good shape today.

Good luck,
Scott

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Nolan

01-18-2007 03:11:11




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
Used or returned countertops can be had for free, or nearly free. Kitchen stores have them out back, and they are beside the road on trash day quite routinely.



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John A.

01-17-2007 21:38:06




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
T.C., In my group of Hunters there is one fellow who works for a Company in Bryan/College Station that, utilizes hard, somewat flexable sheet plastic. ie 1/4 thick X 4x8 ft. It is used in Monkey/Gorillia cages. They use a sheet of this stuff for their food prep table at Deer Camp, it will scar to some extent but a good strong solution of Chlorox w/ H2O w/ Dawn soap and you are good to go. OBTW this table lives outside 24/7/365.
I do not know what cost would be in todays dallars but I can find out if need be, or hook you up with him or sometime.
Later,
John A.

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RP3

01-17-2007 21:21:35




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
I've used that rubber (vinyl) floor mat stuff that comes on a 3 foot wide roll at the hardware store. It has little grooves on one side that keep screws from rolling off on the floor.



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Stan in Oly, WA

01-17-2007 20:28:03




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
Hi T C,

The opposite approach from trying to put down an indestructible suface is to put down a cheap, destructible one and plan on changing it when it gets bad enough. You already mentioned tempered hardboard. Put a layer of that down and varnish it. You don't even have to take it up when it needs replacement---the next top goes right over it.

All the best, Stan



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msb

01-17-2007 20:25:41




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 On the Cheap in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
Use 2x6s screwed down.Then cover it with cardboard tacked down in a few places with roofing nails.Rip the old cardboard off and recover it when it gets oil soaked or dirty.



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37 WC

01-17-2007 20:12:24




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
I purchased a 4ft x 10ft piece of 26ga. galvanized steel for $36.00 plus tax at a local steel fabricating shop. I bent it to fit the top of my bench. Good luck.



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j-tex

01-17-2007 20:12:02




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
1/4 steel plate is what is used on mine. works as a welding table or whatever you need. expnsive at the get go but it will be there forever.



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jhill52

01-17-2007 19:57:37




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
High density Polyethelyne. Used to line truck beds. In 1/8 x 32" size it costs $4.32/ ft. Really tough stuff. Should last forever.



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rgvtx

01-17-2007 19:42:31




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
I used tempered masonite on mine and have been quite pleased with it. To hold it in place I drilled a few holes and countersunk them and used wood screws. I have gotten it wet a few times and it tries to lift so I added a few more screws. After it dried it laid back down anyway. I figured if I tore it up I would take it off and put down another piece, but after 3 years it's still in pretty good shape and still pretty slick so heavy stuff slides on and off easily. I almost went with formica but I would think it should be glued down and I wanted to be able to remove and replace it with no issues. On the negative side, the masonite is pretty dark color. I would like something a little lighter, easier to find the little stuff laying on it.

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mph

01-17-2007 19:35:08




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
I built my work benches in a L shape,one is 16ft. long the other 10 ft. Each is made of 3,12 wide by 3 inch thick lodgepole pine,and yes it is over kill but it will hold any weight I want. On the 10 ft. I used thick rubber, like you used to get for your pickup box floor and will have a smoth on one side rough on the other, works for me.



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perry in mi

01-17-2007 19:32:02




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
i have 12" vinyl tile on one bench and a nice formica counter top on the other. i work in commercial floor covering so i get left over partial boxes of tile for free. it works out nice. easy clean up and when the tile gets all beat up i just retile right over the old stuff. right now i have a red and black checker board patten on it. looks pretty nice. i use the commercial glue down vinyl tile. you can get this at home depot or lowes. the counter top i got out of the constuction dumpster. you wouldnt believe what theese guys throw out.

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Gary from Muleshoe

01-17-2007 19:22:25




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
Unless you get plastic that fairly thick it will break if you drop something on it. Some glass dealer will carry a product called Lexan which is a really hard plastic. It comes in different thickness, kind of expensive but it will hold up for as long as you will be around to use it. When I was a maintenance director for a juvenile detention center we used this for our windows. It was about 1/4 inch thick. As destructible as those kids were they couldn't break that stuff even with a chair. Believe me they tried.

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Gary from Muleshoe

01-17-2007 19:19:20




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
Unless you get plastic that fairly thick it will break if you drop something on it. Some glass dealer will carry a product called Lexan which is a really hard plastic. It comes in different thickness, kind of expensive but it will hold up for as long as you will be around to use it. When I was a maintenance director for a juvenile detention center we used this for our windows. It was about 1/4 inch thick. As destructible as those kids were they couldn't break that stuff even with a chair. Believe me they tried.

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bo

01-17-2007 18:57:26




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
Other than steel....formica...I have it...about 6 years now...indestructible.



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NC Wayne

01-17-2007 18:52:43




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 Re: What material for work bench top? in reply to T.C. in Tx, 01-17-2007 18:31:36  
If you've got a building materials salvage yard local to you why not check on some of the kitchen counter tops that are already coated with formica or whatever. The ones I'm thinking about are usually made out of 3/4 or 1" partical board and have a rounded nose and a built in splash guard on the back. Their are probably other types but these are the ones I've looked at in the past when I was thinking about redoing my kitchen. I know a neighbor, years ago, had something similar in his shop in a room he did nothing but build race engines in and it really made for a nice work surface that was easy to keep clean. Even new, from somewhere like Home Depot, their not all that expensive for a 14 foot piece and you can even get the corners, and end pieces to really finish things off nice if you want to, not to mention being backed like they are it's not gonna matter what you put under them for support. Personally I lucked out and found some old stainless steel restaurant counters that I put against the wall. One even had a nice deep sink made into it that I turned into a partswasher. If it hadn't have been for knowing the guy at the scrap yard I could have never afforded anything like this but some times you just luck out. Good luck with your project.

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