Nice Looking Workbench Top

[MikeinLA]

Hi all, new guy checking in. Needless to say, I'm trying to upgrade my garage and found this great site. In my search for different components, I've come across this countertop from Ikea which looks great to refurbish my old workbench. 25 5/8" X 96 7/8", 1 1/8" thick solid wood all for 59 bucks! Looks like a deal to me, so I just thought I'd share.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80145749

Mike

 

[e-tek]

7 feet x 1" thick beech - seems like a good deal to me!

 

[harrycaul]

8 feet, that's a heck of a deal.

 

[ImportTuner]

Really good buy ..

 

[porschedude996TT]

Hi all, new guy checking in. Needless to say, I'm trying to upgrade my garage and found this great site. In my search for different components, I've come across this countertop from Ikea which looks great to refurbish my old workbench. 25 5/8" X 96 7/8", 1 1/8" thick solid wood all for 59 bucks! Looks like a deal to me, so I just thought I'd share.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80145749

Mike

I plain to do the same. I checked out the 1-1/2" thick one and they are in stock where my son moved to. I taking some of his personnel belongings up early next month in my truck and a rented U-Haul and coming back with some tops. I'm buying 5 of the long ones and one of the medium length ones. my wife works in a cabinet shop and the best she could find was $100 more for basically the same top. i checked work bench makers and industrial suppliers and they too were higher.

 

[metal1313]

i plan to do the same, i've been going there to buy the glass tops for some projects ive done for years. i gotta go and buy some college appt furniture soon and i'll be pickin up some tops for the garage

 

[hmc610]

Seems to good to be true. I am wondering if this is a mistake like Best Buys t.v. for $9.99? Has anyone got the top yet?

 

[MikeinLA]

Cool! I'm gratified that my first post on the forum was so well received considering all the great ideas I'm getting from you guys.

Mike

 

[Kevin54]

Not a bad price, but 1 1/8" thick is not real thick for a benchtop IF you are going to be doing a lot of pounding and working off of it with heavier items like heads off of your car, transmissions, etc. I would back it up with at least a 3/4" piece of MDF and then face off the front with some type of trim. This would give you almost 2" thick of sturdy worksurface.
With that being said, I may have to head to the IKEA store myself and pick up two. I need to put a small worksurface / shelf in the other part of my garage and those would fit the bill nicely.

 

[global72]

Price seems to good. I would buy a couple of them if I had an IKEA near me.

 

[SportFury59]

You can also make your own tops by joining 1"x8"s - 1x10 - 1x6 - 1x12's, (your choice,) together. For example 3 - 1x8's will make a 24 3/4" surface and at virtually any length you want. Quick and easy way to join these boards together is to use a Kreg Jig (pocket hole screws). Much quicker and easier than dowels or biscuits. Sand the top surface and you'll have a nice smooth surface. Apply a couple coats of sealer, then at least 3 coats of urethane/lacquer.
This top is only 3/4" thick but you can lay it on top of a 3/4" piece of MDF, etc and you'll have an 1 1/2" thickness. On the edges (front or all) leave space to attach a 3/4" trim piece (same material as top piece) underneath your finished top edge to give it that 1 1/2" thick appearance.

I used pine boards to make a bench top for a shelving unit. Maple/oak would probably be better but cost more $$$.

You could probably use 2" stock but the 1" worked better in this project. Next one I make I'm going to try 2x4's. Got a stack of them setting around.

 

[krehmkej]

Our local lumberyard has "reject" (cosmetic flawed) 3/4" thick cabinet grade oak plywood for <$30 for a 4x8. I split these and glue/screw them together for nice stable tops. Then I cover the top with outdoor carpet runner from Lowe's. Carpet gets messed up-just rip mit off and stick a new piece on.

 

[Walter]

You can also make your own tops by joining 1"x8"s - 1x10 - 1x6 - 1x12's, (your choice,) together. For example 3 - 1x8's will make a 24 3/4" surface and at virtually any length you want. Quick and easy way to join these boards together is to use a Kreg Jig (pocket hole screws). Much quicker and easier than dowels or biscuits. Sand the top surface and you'll have a nice smooth surface. Apply a couple coats of sealer, then at least 3 coats of urethane/lacquer.
This top is only 3/4" thick but you can lay it on top of a 3/4" piece of MDF, etc and you'll have an 1 1/2" thickness. On the edges (front or all) leave space to attach a 3/4" trim piece (same material as top piece) underneath your finished top edge to give it that 1 1/2" thick appearance.

I used pine boards to make a bench top for a shelving unit. Maple/oak would probably be better but cost more $$$.

You could probably use 2" stock but the 1" worked better in this project. Next one I make I'm going to try 2x4's. Got a stack of them setting around.

Hey, I like this Kreg-Jig! I've been planning to make some cabinets and a workbench for the new garage.

I see you are from Wausaw. Do you remember that commercial a few years ago? "That's, W-A-U-S-A-U. War-Soar."

 

[StealthM8]

Was going to go the "glue boards together" route but ended up using granite laminate countertop supported by a 2x4 structure.

Countertops

 

[henrys103]

j - u - n - k

buy it, you'll see, over time

 

[porschedude996TT]

j - u - n - k

buy it, you'll see, over time

Henrys103, why would you say they are junk? I have never bought Ikea products, but my brothers stuff looked ok. Do you have any experience? Please share...

 

[metal1313]

most of it is mdf with a foil veneer, but if you take care of it it lasts forever tho. the bench tops, ive never used or really gone over but thats something pretty hard to f up

 

[porschedude996TT]

most of it is mdf with a foil veneer, but if you take care of it it lasts forever tho. the bench tops, ive never used or really gone over but thats something pretty hard to f up

The discription says solid wood???

 

[metal1313]

yea..im buying one or two, i was refering to the reasons people knock ikea. most of their furniture is fiber boards. that said i like ikea, in fact my whole bedroom is from ikea. and i have alot of their housewares. and something like 54 shot glasses

 

[Jack Olsen]

I'm not a fan of their particle-board stuff, but I have a solid oak kitchen table of theirs that's lasted for over a decade now and is seriously overbuilt.

With all the discussion here, hasn't anyone gone to take a look at one of these? It seems like it'll be pretty easy to see if it's a pass or a fail.

 

[ddawg16]

If it is in fact 'solid' beech wood, then you can't beat the price.....

As a wood worker, I know how hard it is to glue boards together like that....something like that would take a couple of days to make....and unless you had a really large planer, you will never get it as smooth and straight as that piece is.....

For the money, it's a very good deal....

As for the pocket hole jig....I have one...love it...beats the hell out of dowls....what is best about it is that I can make a cabinet face frame....assemble everything together to verify proper fit....remove the screws and then glue....comes out perfect....

But for laminating boards together...I would suggest using biscuts....once you use a biscut cutter....you will wonder how you got by without it....

 

[JazzyJoe]

I have trouble trusting anything you can buy at IKEA as a quality piece of wood.

I would be interested to see how it turns out, for the price it is worth trying. I would be worried about it holding up to general wear and tear.

 

[idoine in toronto]

IKEA furniture is hit or miss on quality. The particle board pieces don't last too long if they have moving parts like drawers and often the hardware like drawer glides are under built, but some of their stuff is very solid. You just need to inspect the assembled items in the showroom and you'll be able to tell what will hold up and what won't.

The Beech counter top looked good to me at a quick glance but I wasn't paying a great deal of attention at the time.

I could use something like that for a workbench top, but I checked the price and its double here in Canada.

 

[ni[x]it]

I used this to replace my laminate kitchen island top.
I cut it in half or so, and sanded and stuff. Then oil finished it.
I used the rest to make kitchen cutting boards for the family.

I hope you have a friend or two, because it's far from light.

(I may have bought an oak version of this top tho,... however I cant find oak on their website).

*very* good stuff.

 

[Nuckin Futs]

I worked for a Caterpillar Dealership for 14 years. Cat started a cleanliness program for their dealerships. They had to put plastic on all of the work benches. I got the left over scraps. I built my workbenches out of rough cut 2x4's with 3/4 plywood and counter sunk screws into the 3/8 plastic. Easy cleanup, oils and water dosen't soak in, and if damaged to bad easy to replace. I also put a backsplash and sealed the seam with black silicone, also routered the edges.

 

[-B-]

It does look nice and I am going to check it out this week I need to make a nice long bench I have some old metal legs so this is perfect.

 

[nonhog]

Ikeas stuff is very inconsistant. They go for the low bider on the items they stock. Thats why some of there stuff is good and some is ****.

That counter might follow me home

 

[Jack Olsen]

None available in Southern California.

 

[SportFury59]

Hey, I like this Kreg-Jig! I've been planning to make some cabinets and a workbench for the new garage.

I see you are from Wausaw. Do you remember that commercial a few years ago? "That's, W-A-U-S-A-U. War-Soar."

Kreg-Jig is the ticket. Some of my buddies say its too expensive ($99.00) but if you use it it's well worth it. I've made circular table tops, picture frames, shelves, etc. with it and everything is holding up good.

Wausau - That was probably a Wausau Insurance ad shown nationwide. They kind of put Wausau on the map. Although you old timers on list might remember Crazy Legs (Elroy Hirsch) of the LA Rams and Jim Otto, Oakland Raiders, and Dave Krieg, QB - Seattle Sea Hawks, Jerry Wunsch (forgot who he played for, maybe Tampa), Scott Wimmer (Nascar) he's still hangin in there. They're all from Wausau (Pop. about 39,000). And then there's me - SportFury

Back to bench tops - Sam's Club has a 6' long by 25" depth work bench with a 1 3/4" solid maple top - cost $198. A lot more $ than the top OP mentioned but this one is held up by 2"x3" powder coated steel legs and its built so you can roll 2 of their 30" cabinets underneath it. Problem is it's so damm pretty you won't want to do any dirty work on it

 

[rlme36]

I purchased the 1 1/8 version to make a suitable top for my woodworking bench as a winter project last year. It is really a deal, I used biscuit joiner and glue to put two of them together then applied a 4 inch rock maple edge all around. You can't beat the price and its held up great for my projects.

Plan to use it for my next top too.

rob