My workbench has a very sturdy base, but the top is only a sheet of 3/4″ plywood which is worn. I just got a new cabinetmakers vice, and this seems like a good time to replace the top. I’ve thought of laminating 3 sheets of MDF, or plywood.
I would appreciate any comments or suggestions.
Thanks
Don
Replies
Whichever way you build it, I'd support it in a frame 2 1/2 to 3" deep, like a torsion box.
It's bettr to spend your time striking into the work than bouncing off a lightweight table.
If it were me I would use at least 3 sheets of MDF. It stays flatter than plywood. Plywood tends to curl with changes in humidity and temperature.
I made a bench about 15 years ago, 72"X42". The top is two thicknesses of 1 1/8" (or so) of MDF with a sacrificial layer of 1/4" temperboard over it. It has held up well and is still quite flat. I put red oak edging around it to protect the MDF>
I have a two ply MDF top on my bench, and drilled holed for bench dogs and the like. After four years, it's in great shape. Sealed it with some polyurethane to keep spills from soaking in. It's actually a 2x4 and 2x6 frame anchored to a block wall in a corner. Very solid, very sturdy.
Don,
I have 2 layers of MDF screwed together. Love it.
GRW
My bench top is a layer or tounge and groove 2x6, then 3/4" plywood,finally 1/4" tempered hardboard. It's plenty heavy, and yet on occasion, I have moved it inadvertantly.
Tom
My bench is a oak veneered door with a solid core that I scrounged from a jobsite just before it went to the dump. I have a bunch of wood and metal slab door benches, but that one is the heaviest and it was cheap.
-zen
Don, I have also used MDF in a bench top, works great. Just be sure to seal it top and bottom. Although an engineered product, it will absorb moisture (and release it) but quite slowly.
Don,
As far as a workbench top (MDF or Ply or solid wood) they all work fine. I would be a bit concerned however, that MDF alone would be able to support that cabinet makers vise...can you guess how heavy it is?. Perhaps a couple of sheet of ply with an MDF top wold do the trick...don't know.
Thanks for answering.
You may be right, the vice is quite heavy, (feels like 50 pounds).
The advice from everyone has been great.
I think I'll try 2 layers of plywood with MDF on the top surface
Don
Don,
I made a bench top out of two layers of mdf with a 1/4 tempered
masonite top layer. The layers were glued together with cauls to apply
pressure. The mistake I made was not to make the legs first so that I
would have a flat place to do the glue up ( I did it on 2x4s on a cement
floor) The top came out not flat enough for a bench. I ended up giving
it away to a family for a craft table (after the legs were made). I have heard of people putting on the tempered hardboard in such a way that it can be replaced when it gets too worn.
Rod
Don,
Just a couple of thoughts you might want to consider given the weight of that vise.
Mounting the vise you'll need to build up the bottom of the workbench top to achieve the correct depth ie. so that the top of the vise face is below the top of the workbench. You'll also need to decide if the legs for your workbench will go inside or outside of the vise. If you connect the legs with a slab of 8/4 stock and run the screws for the vise up through the slab and into the underside of the workbench top, that would help distribute the weight and not effect the top.
The torsion box suggested by Jackplane could also provide additional strength and flexibility of mounting the vise...good luck
Edited 1/29/2005 11:57 am ET by BG
Don,
I went to the local saw mill and got three 16/4 slabs of maple. They were green, cut from the log. I think I paid $70 for them. I had to let them dry. I joined them together with West epoxy anf flattened them by hand. It made a great top and cheap. I morticed the legs into the top and it is held on by its own weight.
TDF
All right........What's MDF please.Life may be short but it can be very wide!
MDF stands for 'Medium Density Fibreboard' and is a manufactured board. Because it is made of wood fibres 'felted' together in an epoxy medium there is no grain so the board is very stable in all directions. It will need sealing though as it can be affected by moisture.Hope that helpscheers
Jerry
.....Thank you!
Life may be short but it can be very wide!
My bench started 12 years ago with a formica counter top laminated to 3/4 MDF which was cut to the wrong size by a sub for a kitchen job and was going to be thrown out. I couldn't stand the slipperiness of the formica so I glued and screwed two sheets of 3/4" birch plywood on top of it. It hasn't moved an inch in 10 years. I also made a new base out of 4x4 cypress for a rock solid support. I am very happy with the whole setup.
Don,
I went with 3 layers of MDF. Yellow glue and screws between each layer. 1/4" tempered hardbaord top. I had the same concerns about the weight of the vise, so I drilled through, counter-sunk and bolted it. That's a nice thing about the hardboard - covers the bolt heads and is stiff enough that I don't get any depression over the bolts. I also used counter-sunk T-Nuts to bolt the legs to the top. Maybe overkill but I like the way it all holds together.
As you can see in the attached I did need to add a pretty big block to get the vise to the level I needed. I've included a few extra pics - maybe they will spark a few ideas.
Wayne
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