Bench question, backsplash? Other trim method?

[TT_Vert]

So I'm using kitchen cabinets which are exactly 24" deep. I'm going to rip a 4x8 sheet but with the width of the blade I won't have a full 24 deep for either board. I considered some type of cosmetic trim or backsplash if you will. Anyone have any suggestions what may look and work best without breaking the bank? I thought of just using 2x4s but I'm a bit classier than that (Unless you ask my wife). It's going to be quite a large bench.


While I have you here I might as well ask another opinion. The bench is L shaped and is 14.5' x 7 3/4' long. I have a base cabinet on each end and am looking for a lazy suzan or other corner base cabinet for the corner for support. I will have an adjustable leg supporting the front span where the two pieces of the 14.5' side meet and a 1x4 or 2x4 supporting the back edge the entire length. I will probably also run a 1x4 along the entire seam where the long pieces meet to keep them level. This is quite the run for plywood and am going to go w/ 3/4" in hopes it helps w/ rigidity. This is not going to be a bench that holds a lot of weight, merely for my electronics projects. I have another heavy duty bench I build out of a warehouse rack, 2x6s and 3/4" plywood for that. That one could support a car easily.

Thanks much,

Dave

 

[BillK]

I am thinking about redoing the bench in my attached garage and using a preformed kitchen counter from Home Depot. Pretty inexpensive and looks decent. I dont do any serious work on that bench, mostly electronics type stuff so it should hold up pretty good. Even if it does get beat up it is cheap to just replace the whole thing.

 

[TT_Vert]

I thought the same thing but I was unsure of the cost. I can get two 3/4" 4x8 sheets of plywood for about 70 bucks.

Dave

 

[BillK]

I haven't priced them lately but I remember an 8ft section being in the $70 range. If you have a kitchen place in your area that makes them you might be able to get them even cheaper, especially if you are not real picky about color.

 

[TT_Vert]

I just want a dark color. If I'm going that route I figured I'd just get it made to my spec w/ radiused edge. I'm unsure how a seam between a few of these would look.

Dave

 

[BillK]

Dave,
Might want to rethink the dark color. I have a white bench top at my business and it makes all the difference in the world as far as light goes. It does get beat up but its worth it in my opinion. You can always put a couple of mats on the most used areas to keep it nicer.

 

[TT_Vert]

Dave,
Might want to rethink the dark color. I have a white bench top at my business and it makes all the difference in the world as far as light goes. It does get beat up but its worth it in my opinion. You can always put a couple of mats on the most used areas to keep it nicer.

Bill, I would but EVERYTHING in my garage is painted black. All cabinets are black, tool boxes black, etc. Perhaps it'd be a nice contrast? I also have 26 8' 5000 lumen LEDS in there. Plus 6 4' LED lights directly above the bench.

Dave

 

[BillK]

Bill, I would but EVERYTHING in my garage is painted black. All cabinets are black, tool boxes black, etc. Perhaps it'd be a nice contrast? I also have 26 8' 5000 lumen LEDS in there. Plus 6 4' LED lights directly above the bench.

Dave

Wow,

I was going to say it must be dark in there but with that much light maybe not

Just curious what type of electronic stuff are you in to ?

 

[pete379]

I am thinking about redoing the bench in my attached garage and using a preformed kitchen counter from Home Depot. Pretty inexpensive and looks decent. I dont do any serious work on that bench, mostly electronics type stuff so it should hold up pretty good. Even if it does get beat up it is cheap to just replace the whole thing.

this is what i used , 18ft long ,i built cabinets, topped with a 8ft&10 ft white preformed. i don't put real heavy stuff on it , white helps with visiblity
pete

 

[TT_Vert]

Wow,

I was going to say it must be dark in there but with that much light maybe not

Just curious what type of electronic stuff are you in to ?

Just basic circuits, arduinos, pi's, electronic kits. Nothing too complex yet. I'm learning as a go. I like to take apart things and repair them. I got hooked while trying to automate things w/ pis using node red and relay boards. I monitor and control an aquarium w/ one and built a setup that will monitor water level, water temp, air temp, humidity, etc and notify me via email or text when it's out of a specified range. Also control day/night lights with it.

It's definitely not dark in there that's for certain. I do get some shadowing though given the ceilings are 12' though.

Dave

 

[TT_Vert]

this is what i used , 18ft long ,i built cabinets, topped with a 8ft&10 ft white preformed. i don't put real heavy stuff on it , white helps with visiblity
pete

My problem is that I have a 14.5' span so I'd have a seam and not a great way to support it to keep it "seamless" looking. If I had cabinets across the entire span I'd be more apt to have a countertop I had to seam as they are much more supported. How are you guys able to miter these and have a night tight fit between the corners? Especially if the walls aren't 90deg? I'm not much of a wood guy so sorry for the potentially dumb questions.

Dave

 

[ItsNemo]

I just used 2x10's integrated into my bench structure as my backsplash...nothing fancy but nice and solid. Can actually use them for banging on things without worrying about damaging the wall.

 

[TT_Vert]

I just used 2x10's integrated into my bench structure as my backsplash...nothing fancy but nice and solid. Can actually use them for banging on things without worrying about damaging the wall.

Given that I am using base cabinets I cannot do that.

Dave

 

[sreeb]

I haven't priced them lately but I remember an 8ft section being in the $70 range. If you have a kitchen place in your area that makes them you might be able to get them even cheaper, especially if you are not real picky about color.

These are easy to chip so they often have marked down ones.

I like to set sections on top of my bench when working on messy stuff.

 

[Ray-CA]

I used the cut off section of the solid core door that I bought for the tool bench.

Ray

 

[Sawdustmaker]

My workbench is two pieces of 3/4" particle board glued (Titebond III) together, with 3/8" thick maple wood flooring glued (Titebond III) on top. The flooring was left over from another project. Trimmed the edges with one by maple cut to width. When the top get banged up I'll sand and refinish. Oh, the backsplash is 2 2x4's sandwiched together and attached to the back edge of the top. Have a 2" overhang in front for clamping when needed.
Not the best picture, but you can see a bit of the detail.
Bench is 8' long and 27" wide (counting the sandwiched 2x4's).

 

[rattle_snake]

OP I suggest an overhang on all sides especially the front. So for a 24" cabinet the top could be 28" or so.
Another option is to buy 16' 2x4/6/8 and glue them together, although they don't have to be 16'. Wont be as flat as MDF/ply.

 

[niget2002]

Honestly... I just used a 1x4 as a backsplash. I put my bench top down and then rested the 1x4 on top of that. brad nailed it to the wall so it's easy to remove if I ever decide I don't like it.

 

[ItsNemo]

Given that I am using base cabinets I cannot do that.

Dave

You could though, screw em' to the back lol

 

[PhysicsDude]

You could put some sort of bullnose type trim on the front. Tack it on with finishing nails or similar.

Especially on an electronics work bench its important to me to have a soft front edge. Evening a good routed edge on quality plywood would be too rough for my preference.

For the sections that you're concerned are unsupported, I would just put shelf brackets behind them. The heavy duty 18" or 20" shelf brackets support like 100-200lbs.

My 10' electronics work bench is held up entirely by heavy duty shelf brackets every 24". Holds up great

 

[TT_Vert]

You could put some sort of bullnose type trim on the front. Tack it on with finishing nails or similar.

Especially on an electronics work bench its important to me to have a soft front edge. Evening a good routed edge on quality plywood would be too rough for my preference.

For the sections that you're concerned are unsupported, I would just put shelf brackets behind them. The heavy duty 18" or 20" shelf brackets support like 100-200lbs.

My 10' electronics work bench is held up entirely by heavy duty shelf brackets every 24". Holds up great

That's a good idea, triangle supports. Just don't want to hit them with my legs. Where did you get your bench top? Can bullnose be flush mounted? Won't that look funny w/ that seam there?

 

[tarmy]

Make sure you have overhang enough to clamp too...

Some like steel...I like wood, that can be replaced...easier on items that you don’t want damaged...those preformed tops with formica are very slippery...items will move on you...



Plugs in the backsplash area too...

 

[TT_Vert]

Make sure you have overhang enough to clamp too...

Some like steel...I like wood, that can be replaced...easier on items that you don’t want damaged...those preformed tops with formica are very slippery...items will move on you...



Plugs in the backsplash area too...

I have another large bench that is for my vice and other wood/metal working tools. This is for light duty work and I have a small telescoping vice only for holding pcb and light weight items. I will have my bench power supply, soldering irons, hot air rework station, etc on it. So all merely lightweight items. Slippery is fine for me.

Dave

 

[35mm]

MDF and a few other sheet good at Home Depot are actually 49x97.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/MDF-Panel-Common-1-2-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Actual-1-2-in-x-49-in-x-97-in-M31240849097000000A/202332602

 

[fasteddie]

When I used to make kitchen countertops, I used a 6" strip of the same material as the surface , usually MDF. Screwed to the back, this gave me the 3/4" overhang in the front. Of course all the underside edges of the top were built up to 1.5" with a 3" strip all around. It was old school, suggest a formica top nowadays and you'll get laughed out the door.

 

[TT_Vert]

MDF and a few other sheet good at Home Depot are actually 49x97.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/MDF-Panel-Common-1-2-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Actual-1-2-in-x-49-in-x-97-in-M31240849097000000A/202332602

Odd what I found was 48" actual. Actual: 0.750 in. x 48 in. x 96 in.)

https://www.homedepot.com/p/MDF-Pan...x-48-in-x-96-in-M11161249097000000A/202332600

I think MDF may be a good fit here though. I wonder if I actually need 3/4" ? I was doing it more because of the long span it had to run unsupported.

Dave

 

[Marctrees]

Having a sufficient overhang on as many sides of a bench as possible sufficient for clamping is very important for most usages.

1" is absolute minimum, 1 1/2" pretty good, 2" best.

Marc

 

[TT_Vert]

Guys, I have overhand everywhere there are no cabinets below it. I don't need this for clamping anything EVER. if I do need to clamp something I have a vice bolted to this.

Dave

 

[Viper98912]

I think a nice real butcher block top would be nice, and it's pre-cut to exactly 25" depth for use with 24" base cabinets. Ends up being much more expensive, but would definitely look much nicer.

https://www.menards.com/main/kitche...326-c-3629.htm?tid=4508719732022997870&ipos=3

https://www.lumberliquidators.com/l...iamsburg-Butcher-Block-Co.-OAKBB8L-H/10037933

 

[Marctrees]

A light solid colored (NO color variations) top would be best .. like w super tiny machine screws, etc getting occasionally dropped.

IMO anyway.

My Dad got involved in the 50's Heathkit , etc boom... built a large a very nice electronics only bench..he did tempered hardboard over a sturdy substrate.

I got interested in tools and shop work around 5 years old, so, ..somehow his Xcelite nutdrivers, etc, ocassionally ended up in different places in the yard, and who knows where.

I still feel guilty about that.

I still can't figure out WTH a kid needed a 5/16 nutdriver plus similar others for in the back yard, but I guess I did



Marc

 

[coljar]

Here's mine. Black back splash and black countertop.

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[TT_Vert]

Thanks guys, going to try 1/2" MDF and see how it treats me. It wasn't that expensive so wish me luck. I may try to find a way to pretty up the unfinished edges though.

Dave

 

[35mm]

Thanks guys, going to try 1/2" MDF and see how it treats me. It wasn't that expensive so wish me luck. I may try to find a way to pretty up the unfinished edges though.

Dave

Applying 1x2 select pine to the edges will dress it up nice. Hit the top edge with a router if you want to get even fancier.

 

[Sawdustmaker]

Applying 1x2 select pine to the edges will dress it up nice. Hit the top edge with a router if you want to get even fancier.

This^^^

 

[PhysicsDude]

That's a good idea, triangle supports. Just don't want to hit them with my legs. Where did you get your bench top? Can bullnose be flush mounted? Won't that look funny w/ that seam there?

For a 24" deep desk, the triangle supports are far back enough you won't hit them with your legs. I have had zero issues. If you look at many large commercial desks (such as receptionist desks) they're often held up the same way.

My desk is painted MDF with a layer of clear epoxy on it, so the flushness of the bullnose trim wasn't an issue. If you have an MDF top, and you glue the bullnose/trim to the front of it, and sand it, I think you'd end up with a smooth and good looking end result. A layer of paint on it would help a lot in the aesthetics department as well.

 

[28HopUp]

I used 3/4" plywood underneath, screwed down the topper (should I ever need to replace it), and trimmed it all with 1x stock.

View media item 7919

 

[TT_Vert]

Thanks guys. Got it mostly done today and also got the pegboard up for my electronics stuff. I may take the lazy susan out as I think another one of those adjustable legs would do the job and look better doing it, that's why i've not painted it yet. I used 20" triangle braces upside down (Long leg under bench) and it supports it very nicely. Annoyingly when cutting a hole for the outlet one the right wall I was looking for the tan wall plate. Looking in I saw a tan piece of masking tape I used to mark the studs and thought it was the side of the wall plate. Oh well..

Dave

 

[PhysicsDude]

Looks nice!!

 

[jimreed2160]

Looks nice. If the edge is too rough, you can trim it. Just check in the mouldings section. I like the rectangular stuff they call "screen door trim". Add some glue and tack it into place.

 

[TT_Vert]

Looks nice. If the edge is too rough, you can trim it. Just check in the mouldings section. I like the rectangular stuff they call "screen door trim". Add some glue and tack it into place.

yeah that's not a bad idea. we'll see how this holds up. It doesn't seem very rough thus far.

Dave