I have recently completed building a new work bench for my shop. I wanted a maple top for the bench. After comparing the difference in price between making a top myself and buying one that was already made, I found a supplier on-line with the an excellent price for pre-made tops with several sizes and materials types available. Their price was substantially better than Woodworker Supply or Woodcrafters.
If anyone is interested, the name of the company is Equipco. They are based in Pennsylvania. I ordered a 72″ x30″square edge maple top that was 1-1/2″ thick. After tax and shipping from Pa. to northeast Fl. , the price was under $300.00 I received the top by common carrier about 3 days after it was ordered. The same day I received it , I sealed it with some polyurethane and it looked very nice. Humidity is an issue in this area and I did not want it to start moving.
I understand in some areas , it may be more cost effective to build your own. However, in an area where we have lots of pine trees, and any hardwood you buy is at a premium price, it worked to my benefit to order a prefabricated top. It was flat when I got it and appears to be well made also
About Equipco; when you go to their front page, it only shows forklifts. Scroll down to the bottom and you can get into their other items that they sale. Their on-line catalogue is a little hard to navigate, but if you will type in stock number YA-2151 at their search thing, it should take you directly to the work bench tops that are available.
It is best to order by phone according to the sales person that I talked to. She commented that the on-line ordering has a few bugs in it. She also said that it would take about 2 weeks to get my order, in reality , I received it in 3 days.
FYI, Screename 56
Edited 10/20/2008 12:18 pm ET by screename56
Edited 10/20/2008 12:19 pm ET by screename56
Edited 10/20/2008 12:21 pm ET by screename56
Replies
If you go to the lumber liquidators site and look under accesories; you will find unfinshed butcher block counters for even less. $189.99 for 8'
>MABB8 - Natural 1 1/2" x 25"x 8LFT Williamsburg Butcher Block Co. Unfinished Maple >Butcher Block Countertop
>Form meets function in kitchens that have butcher block countertops by Williamsburg >Butcher Block Company. The close grain provides a smooth surface, easily cleaned and >cared for. Williamsburg Butcher Blocks are sold unfinished.
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1472&parentCategoryId=19&categoryId=416&subCategoryId=21&nonFlooring=1
You didn't say how wide yours was, so its tough to make a direct comparison.
Looks like 30" & 36" widths, comes in 1 1/2", 1 3/4", and 2 1/4" thicknesses
Also comes in oak and birch, in addition to the maple. Doesn't look like too bad of a deal.
Lee
This does look like a good deal. I want to build my own workbench and the price of rough cut kiln dried maple lumber for an 8" bench isn't much cheaper than buying two of the 1 1/2" maple countertops from lumber liquidators. I would like a 3" thick top so my question is whether it is advisable to laminate two 1 1/2" tops together and if so, how to do it?
- Lyptus
Lyptus,
I would not recommend creating a double-thick top in such a way. If you must, I wish you lots of luck!Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
I remember grizzly had some decent prices on those but cant remember exactly what it was. Might be worth looking into. Chris
WoodworkingWoodworkingWoodworking
C'mon fellas, you're missing the opportunity to select and mill your stock; joint and glue it up; make it flat and make it yours.
Call me a woodworker, but: If you're gonna build a bench, build it. If it's metal buy it, if it's wood, make it.
WoodworkingWoodworkingWoodworking
I dont know Frank, i love wood working as well, but time is in such short supply I got to side with the others.
I am guilty of looking at all kinds of butcher block and work bench tops to replace my current MDF top but have not pulled the trigger because i am not sure how flat they are , unlike the mdf.
I , like most, and perhaps you Frank, are so far behind in projects that building a bench is merrily just a dream for now, and something I will get to in my retirement years (long time from now, 46 yrs old).
so how about it folks?, how flat are these tops?, is it worth the expense?
Schmitz,
I respect your position.
But I put forth that if you do put a weekend aside to glue up and flatten your own top there will be more pride in your bench than if you simply install a store bought top.
What is the worth of working on a bench for the next 20 or more years that you made yourself? Is it worth 1.5 shop days?
I am estimating that it would be about a half day messing around with and installing the store bought top, vs. two days gluing up, flattening and installing the shop made top.
I guess it's a matter of personal opinion.
Hmm maybe I'm just too intimately involved with my bench!
Frank
I am sure that you are probably a nice person, and that you didn't want to imply that the OP was less of a woodworker than you because he purchased the top instead of making it, but it came across that way to me.
I believe that there are many great reasons that a craftsman may choose to purchase certain parts for certain projects. Cost certainly could be very legitimate reason to do so. Purchasing a finished high-quality top for less than you could purchase the materials could be a great value.
Frank,
You are absolutely correct. I am very nice person :-)
I really did not want to imply that the OP, or anyone, was a lesser woodworker because he or she decides to buy rather than build a benchtop. I purposely addressed my post to ALL because I didn't't want it to come across that way. If anyone else also took it that way, please, accept my apology for poorly wording the post.
My intention was to bring some perspective to the discussion. We are woodworkers. This is what we do - we create, design, and fabricate with wood.
I'm encouraging those considering the purchase of a benchtop to consider making their own. The added value of knowing you made it will be with you and the bench for years and years.
As for saving $, you say:
Purchasing a finished high-quality top for less than you could purchase the materials could be a great value.
A 72x30 top would require approximately 36bf of 8/4 material at around $5-$6/bf. or $180 - $216. How much will one save? A few bucks? How do you put a price on the the fact that you made it yourself, with your hands, and use it in your shop?
It's a personal decision. I don't think it's about cost. I think it's about whether the time and effort to build the top is worth the benefit of having a top you know you made yourself.
If the woodworker feels there is no value in building the thing him/herself, buy it. If the woodworker feels there is value in building it, build it. Peoples passions live in different areas; it's not about the skill or ability of the woodworker.
Frank
As for saving $, you say:
Purchasing a finished high-quality top for less than you could purchase the materials could be a great value.
A 72x30 top would require approximately 36bf of 8/4 material at around $5-$6/bf. or $180 - $216. How much will one save? A few bucks? How do you put a price on the the fact that you made it yourself, with your hands, and use it in your shop?
For many of us that do this for a living the material cost is nothing... it is the labor. I could invoice for those two days and be money ahead.
I recently did just this.
I was in need of a decent bench, I have done without for far too long and just made do, I figure it has cost me in lost time far more than the cost of even a very expensive bench ( think Lie Neilson ) and this is just in the course of two or so years.
Now I am not a furnature maker but a general contractor.. I have found myself spending more and more time in my shop making up doors, buit-ins, windows, cabinets , etc due to project lead times and customers who need somethign to "fit" in their 1900 - 1920's San Francisco homes. I have got to the point where I spend around 4 - 5 months a year in the shop making this stuff and the other time is spent on site or in the shop doing restoration / remodel work on/for these homes....
what dose this have to do with making a bench you ask... well as busy as I have been with work and trying to have some symblance of a home life I found if I purchased a comple bench I would be far ahead.
the bench top is just the tip of the iceberg... then there is the tail vice ( twin screw is nice ) the side vice, top and leg material... I added it all up and slated it against the cost of a complete Veritas bench and I would only save .... maybe 500$ Then I looked at the time to build it, 500$ don't go far in billable hours... that and to be honest building a bench just didn't seem like satisifying work to me, I would rather put the time I would have spent building it into something for my wife or making up a nice roll-away toolbox for my handtools, but lets be honest... I will likely just keep working and put the money I made by buying a bench in the bank.
dose that make me any less of a woodworker? Maybe in some folks eyes... but I do think it makes me a much better buisness man being able to recognize that for me making a bench was a loosing propisiton because my main motive for having a bench was to improve my production time... I can always go out and make more money but I would be hard pressed to make more hours in the day.
james
edited to make the "quote" clear
Edited 11/11/2008 8:43 pm ET by james
I spent a week in early September at Kelly Mehler's school with Chris Schwartz building the Holtzappfel bench he described in Woodworking. Even though Kelly did the initial prep work and planing prior to the week, it was the most tiring week I have spent since preparing for a marathon. Even so I was not able to completely finish it in the 6 days allotted. Just the physical effort during the top glue up of 2"X3"X6' maple to a 24X72" top was incredible as we reached the final full form. Each top involved almost all 8 in the class working together to be able to clamp it in time and to flip it as necessary. That does not even deal with the issue of feeding it through the planer and the table saw for trimming. Many of us said that we would buy a top if we did it again.
Gotta disagree with you on that. I believe in building as much of one’s own stuff as possible, but when it comes to bench tops why deal with all those planer shavings? And you get a much better glue up than you can ever do yourself for less money than the cost of the lumber with the hair still on it. I’ll save the time and put it towards a new tool cabinet.<!----><!----><!---->
Hi Napie.
I respect your position. It's logical.
But I live for those shavings!
And I suspect your glue ups are every bit as good or better than the factory ones.
Frank
Lots of them at http://www.mapleblock.com/main/butcher-block-industrial-bench-tops-13/
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