Any good ideas for a workbench top? Grizzly sells an awesome maple top, but the price is triple what I could spend. Buying maple and glueing it up is still too much. I was thinking of using oak plywood. Has anyone used oak plywood? Does it hold up? I can spend around $150 for the top and leg assembly.
Thanks,
Fred
Replies
How about a solid wood door. That's what I used. Strong, cheap, flat,
doesn't look like maple. Just a whole lot cheaper.
GTF
Fred, don't go out and buy a high end bench unless you actually intend to use it. Think about it. A piece of plywood might be all you need right now.
Steve - in Northern California
I too am using a solid door as a bench top. I Made a good solid base and drilled holes in the bench for bench dogs. Works well and it was free.
Mitt
I'd try to glue up a solid top. You can buy 8/4 ash fairly cheaply and it makes fora big, heavy bench that you can put dogs in and a tailvise.I think it is worth a couple of weekends to do this correctly. Otherwise, you'll be frustrated everytime it wiggles or moves. If you can't clamp or fasten to it using a handplane will be a frustration.
Having said that, there are plans out there where the benchtop is plywood that seem workable.
Frank
glueing up lamintations for a top is a pain in the @$$. Just glue up several layers of plywood to create some weight. and find some legs that are sturdy.
I just glued up two pieces of 3/4 inch MDF and banded it with oak. It's heavy, flat and good for my purposes since I'm a newbie to woodworking.
When I get more comfortable, I'm going to build me a large maple workbench so I don't have to build another one. I'll just get maple a little at a time so it doesn't hurt the pocket too much.
Hello everyone, I enjoyed all you're responses....
How bout some pictures of these tabletops / benches?
Thanks.
George.
Dave, the wood core door solution is a good one. No matter what you use, you have to think about where you are with your wood working and where you want to go. Your point about chopping dovetails is what I'm getting at. If you're never going to do work like that then the door is a fantastic solution. However, if you intend to become a fine craftsmen then starting out with a big heavy duty bench designed for that purpose will help most of us bring our skill sets to fruition much quicker.
My benches are two layers of 3/4" ply on a 2x4 sub frame with doubled up 2x4 legs in the places that I thought needed the most support. We'll I was wrong. Even with added supports and cross members, I can still feel flex when I cut dovetails or clean up box joints. I can't really slam a hammer down because everything else on the bench bounces all over the place. If you were to look at it you would say "no way. The problem is that when I built it I didn't even own a chisle, now I'm starting to use them more often and I'm finding that the bench is just plain inadequate for this type of work.
Steve - in Northern California
My current bench has a trestle frame that I made out of old construction lumber that I salvaged from my barn. These were full sized 2x6's and 2x8's. I laminated them into thick, beefy legs and stretchers for a good solid support system. This could be done with Borg 2x material and get good results. I cheated on my mortises my cutting matching dadoes on 2 pieces of 2x that were then glued together.
To create the top, I glued and screwed (the screws acted as "clamps") two pieces of MDF together while they sat on top of the leg structure. After dry, I countersunk and screwed a piece of 1/4" hardboard to the top of the MDF for a nice replacable top layer that can take a lot of abuse. Then I glued a 3" wide strip of 4/4 maple or oak to the underside of the top flush with the edge and banded the whole thing with 4/4 maple.
It is flat and solid, and I don't mind spilling shellac, stain, oil, or varnish on it. I must confess, I am building a second bench with a laminated maple top and traditional face and tail vise setup for hand tool joinery. But I will continue to use the older bench for power tools, assembly, finishing, etc.
"If you keep doing what you've been doing, you'll keep getting what you've been getting." - Unknown
Brian, sounds like a nice bench. Pretty close to what I have but as you said you are now building the laminated maple bench and I suspect its because of the reasons I stated above.
And, by the way, your statement: "I cheated on my mortises my cutting matching dadoes on 2 pieces of 2x that were then glued together".
You'll have to do better than that to call it cheating... LOL... I do them that way everytime I get the chance.. Its smart in my opinion.Steve - in Northern California
black mountain lumber makes butcher block by the square foot,1 1/2" thick,maybe someone in your local area mills butcher block tops.I used a 30/70 solid oak veneered door,its really flat and solid feeling but you have to take care not to damage the veneer.
I will second (third or fourth?) the solid core door idea. My only wrinkle would be to add a replaceable masonite work surface flush with solid oak edge banding. When it gets too scarred up or covered with glue spots, rip it off and replace with new for short money. The door will stay flat forever, which almost any solid wood material will not. Check out the FWW article on flattening a benchtop with a router sled to find out what you never want to have to do. Other than pure aethetics, I can't see any advantage to a solid wood benchtop.
I agree with Steve, you have to know where you're going with your wood working before you decide to lay down the bucks for the high end workbenches. If the solid core door works then thats the way it should be, (with the HDF top of course).
I haven't actually built this bench yet, but I have been gathering materials. I plan to use plywood, ripped into 8 inch strips and glued face to face. It will have cutouts on the bottom to mount the vise(s) in. It will 2.5 x 12 feet, and I calculate that it will weigh about 700 pounds. I don't expect it to bounce when I pound on it.
How are you going to flatten it? Even really careful glueup will result in some tiny misalignments in the face. Won't any voids in the plywood core be exposed unless you apply a finish top surface? What is the benefit over simply face glueing several sheets face to face to build up the benchtop? I must be missing something, this sounds like a ton of work to no real advantage.
>> How are you going to flatten it?
The current plan is a router sled running on rails temporarily screwed to the sides. I've used this technique on a smaller scale and was quite pleased with the result. The alternative would be finding a cabinet shop with a big drum or belt sander, but then I'd have to figure out a way to get the bench top on and off the truck, twice.
>> Won't any voids in the plywood core be exposed unless
>> you apply a finish top surface?
Well, I can select the best edge on each piece as I glue up, or reject pieces that don't have a good edge. I don't have any problem with filling holes, either. I've had good success with epoxy and sanding dust as a filler.
>> What is the benefit over simply face glueing several
>> sheets face to face to build up the benchtop?
The biggest advantage is that I can use plywood out of dumpsters at construction sites.
UNCLEDUNC, you'r singing my kind of song. The best thing about 'Dumpster' brand lumber is the return policy. "If at any time you'r not completly satisfied with the material, you can always return it for a full money back refund". For a sturdy bench top, no one has yet mentioned 2x3's or 4's laminated face to face. Lengh can go forever. Added bonus, an opportunity to hone your planeing skills.
>> Added bonus, an opportunity to hone your planeing skills.
Well, that's another reason I'm using plywood. I don't have to plane it flat before gluing, I can clamp it flat.
I strongly recommend NOT using 2x4's glued together face to face. After squaring up the edges, made a bench top of them probably 15 years ago and have gotten excellent use out of it since. Not the prettiest but can't justify the cost of a "better" top. Don't repeat my mistake.
I'm not sure I understand why you recommend not using 2x4's face to face? It sounds like you had good luck and it has stood the test of time. Care to elaborate?
E.
Instead of using 2X4's and having to square the edges, I ripped 2X8's in half and put rounded edges down. No need to take off all that material. A little smoothing to remove saw marks and glue and nail together. I made it 8' long and 36" wide. Some old poly smeared on top keeps stain, glue and engine oil out of the wood and it takes a beating. I saw a similar table in a mag. and improvised. 4X4 legs and 2X8's for top rails and lower rails and a lower shelf. Its heavy but it doesn't wobble. I attached the top to the rails with some pieces of angle iron and lag screws. It works for me and my limited skills.Lefty - Lurker without an attitude or a clue
Poor attempt at levity. My apologies. If you aren't troubled by the appearance, I would recommend face glued 2x4's to anyone as a potential bench top.
Don-
Ahh, I see. I too have trouble getting my dry sense of humor across in emails/postings/etc. I was worried for a minute because I intend to make just such a bench top in the next few weeks/months and have been following this thread to see what people's opinions are.
Some web site's advice I read seemed to be very fitting: (paraphrased) make a cheap one first and use it for a while so you can see what you like/dislike, then go buy the nice hardwood to make your ultimate bench sometime down the road.
E.
I'll second that.. Buy or build what you need when you need it. Buy or build what you want when you need it. Steve - in Northern California
Hi,
I've done two benches this year -- one for my grinding station/metalwork and one for the lathe. Maybe these will give you some ideas.
The top of the grinding station was made of 2 x 4s glued on edge, banded in hard maple with a hardboard top (replaceable). This one was more work/time but it can be screwed into, etc. pretty solidly. Looked pretty nice even before the hardboard. I ran the 2 x 4s through planer first and flattened them in 12" wide groups after glueing. Final flattening with plane.
The top of the lathe bench was 3/4 ply sandwiched between (2) 3/4 sheets of MDF, banded in hard maple. Very flat but depends on the frame to support it from bending, etc.
I watched my lumber yard and got a great deal on hard maple that was milled to the wrong thickness (too thin for 4/4). I've got that piled up waiting to become my dream bench someday.
Brian
Frede,
I waited for someone else to suggest this, but I haven't seen it come up yet: a neighbor of mine back east made his bench out of a solid maple counter-top with a piece of 3/4 cabinet grade plywood glued and screwed to the bottom and then banded with solid maple. He said the counter top was 1 1/2" thick, so with the ply the bench top was 2 1/4" thick.
The banding was 4/4 X 4" around the sides and back and the front was 4/4 X 8". The banding was wider than the field for longitudinal strength. The front was wider still so he could drill holes for pegs and hold-fasts for use with the front shoulder vise.
The support was made of 2 X 6s inset from the edges a bit, with 4 X 4 legs at the corners only.
His finished bench was about 6' X 2'. It was pretty heavy and was very stable all along its length: you could use mortise chisels pretty much anywhere except dead center. Of course it was better to do any pounding close to the corners.
He claimed the counter-top/ply was by far the cheapest way to go for a bench with a thick solid-wood top. He used the ply under-layment for strength, depth for the pegs and holding power for the hold-fasts. I'm not too sure about the total cost as opposed to laminating your own top, though.
Alan
The prior owner of my house had a solid door workbench in the basement. Totally stable. He had drilled quite a few holes through it to bolt it down, and cut out some offending mortise and tenon corner. That pretty much ended its life as a door forever. The part I didn't like was that he had used the original front door of this 1841 house.
"Gluing up a bench top is a pain in the ass".
OK, so you want to make fine furniture, but you are not willing/ afraid to glue up a table top?
My first bench was made out of a college student's loft that I fished out of a dumpster. It was a 4x4 base lagged together with a plywood top. It had a skanky vise made out of a pipe clamp- misery.
Take the plunge and do it right. It doesn't have to be expensive.
Frank
I went down to my local sawyer and bought 4 12/4 x 12" wide slabs of maple green, and 60 bf of 8/4 white oak green and stickered it in the cellar for a year. Cost me $80. One of the maple slabs made the legs. The other three maple slabs made the top. I used the oak for the stretchers. Came out beautiful. I will post a picture as soon as I can borrow a digital camera. You have to be patient enough to let the lumber dry but the results were worth the wait. Especially considering the cost. The vises cost way more than the lumber.
Building the bench is also a good way to learn some skills. I moticed all of the stretchers into the legs. 16 mortices cut by hand. I cut the tenons on the band saw. This was also a first. I did not fasten the top to the base as the weight is suficient to hold it. I cut mortices into the bottom of the top and cut tenons on the legs. The top just sits on the tenons. the whole thing I would guess weighs 300 lbs.
TDF
Edited 5/6/2002 10:27:55 PM ET by Tom Ferreira
I got my solid door for free from the dumpster behind a store called "The House of Doors". I found the place after looking in the yellow pages. I later went back and got a 150 pound steel door that I laminated baltic birch plywood to. It was exceptionally strong.
Recently I saw glass doors in the dumpster but I passed on them, didn't think I could cut them smaller, probably tempered BUT they were free!
Cjeck out your yellow pages,
Don
Fred,
I recently built another large bench for my shop using a maple butcher block desk top. I bought it for $100 from a local office furniture liquidator. (At the time they had 12 of them.) The top was originally used in an office as a desk, spanning 2 small file cabinets. It measures 85" long x 36" wide x 2" thick. I'd try the used dealers first, you may end up with exactly what you're looking for.
- JC
Frede1962
I made mine out of 3/4 plywood and 2x4s. It doesn't bother me to spill stain or glue on it, gouge it with a chisel, or bang on it with a hammer. I'd be afraid to use it if it was maple or other nice wood. It's been plenty tough enough for me. I will be looking for a solid-core door, for my next bench. Habitat for Humanity Re-store frequently has some cheap ones.
Stan
This is my first post
I wouldn't use oak plywood. I have two 4x8 benches with 3/4 melamine glued to 2 layers of 3/4 mdf with a hardwood edging on a 2x4 frame with 4x4 legs, and a Acorn Designs maple workbench, you can buy the plans from Grizzly ( I probably made 200 when I worked for Acorn). Now I love my maple bench, but the melamine is great for gluing, staining, and whatever. It cleans easy, just scrape it off, and when it gets to old just put another layer on it. Make your base as rigid as you can, and make it so you can incorporate a vise in it later (I like the Record) and when you can afford more, make a real one, you will love it!
I made my bench top by laminating 2x4's together. I then ran the top through the wide belt sander and finished it with a gel stain and a poly top coat. It is a very strong, flat, and stable bench top. The advantage to using softwood is that you can nail into it. If I ever feel the need to change it, it's pretty cheap. I made the legs out of 4x4's. I would save the money on the bench and invest in a goog vise instead.
Good Luck!
Hi Fred- I don't know if this option is available where you live, but here in New York, there are a lot of restaurant equipment refurbishers. While looking to pick up a cheap stove, I ran across a maple butcher block top for $20.00 because the last foot of an eight foot long section had delaminated and there was a 1/4 crack in it. It was part of a food prep table, and originally laid on top of a stainless steel base. The refurbisher had sold the base, but due to the concerns of trapping food in the crack, the top was useless to him. He had a couple of different tops available all for one reason or another and I got to choose the one I wanted. Most of them were there due to cracks of one type or another, but nothing that would affect woodworking and all could be easily filled in, cut off, or even ignored. The slab is incredibly heavy, about 2 1/2 inches thick, two feet wide, by eight feet long. The crack isn't really enough to bother with, but since I only want a six or seven foot bench, and ithe crack is on the end, I'm going to just slice it off. Good luck finding something suitable.
Brian
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