Worktop - Nice or Cheap

[Barnabas]

I found an old mahogany dining room table at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It's 3' x 7' and thick mahogany. It was without legs, so I got it for $16.

I made legs from 4x4 posts and made a frame of 2x6 rails that sit just behind the dining room table rails.

It looks like a tall dining room table, but feels real solid when I pound on it. My other work bench is a solid-core exterior door that is not as solid as this new one.

 

[Shootinok]

My top is a chemistry lab table top. 1" thick epoxy resin left over from a school remodel job.
I know they aren't exactly easy to come by, but if you get a chance to get one they are pretty awesome. Heavy ! An 80" piece by 24" took two guys to put in and out of truck.

 

[61scout80]

I'm a bit sloppy on my workbench, so my top is just plywood and completely sacrificial. I don't think twice about clamping or screwing something down, drilling into it, spills, overspray, etc.

I start w/ a 2'-0"x8'-0" single layer of 3/4" ply over a 2x4 frame with deck supports 16" oc. When my plywood gets too beat up I put a new sheet on it.

Since i move a lot I haven't gotten to more than 2 sheets before the bench gets sold off and re-built in a new state.

1/4" steel plate. I hate wood top benches.

I wish I could, but the sound of a metal spoon scraping a metal pot or metal tools on a metal table is debilitatingly irritating to me. Makes my teeth ache just thinking about it.

 

[ilovevocs]

I like 16 gauge galvanized sheet metal over wood.

Cheap, durable, and a nice aesthetic

 

[rick carpenter]

The last bench I made I put a top on it that was made out of two 3/4" thick particle board sheets with 1/2" of mdf sheet on top of it. The intent was the mdf was sacrificial. I occasionally screwed stuff into it, wrote on it, sanded it off when it got dirty. In about 8 years of use, I didn't have to replace it; it was a lot more durable than I expected.

A workbench is made to be used. I'd put whatever top on it that you'd feel comfortable pounding on, nailing on, maybe even putting hot things on. I wouldn't put a top on it that you'd be mad if your young son broke a jawbreaker on it and made a dent. (see this thread for how worked up some guys can get over a workbench being used as intended)
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=359967

If you want to make a piece of artwork, do that and hang it on a wall somewhere.

+1 on the sacrificial mdf top. I soaked mine with several coats of an equal boiled linseed oil/turpentine/varnish mix thinking I'd have to replace it in 2-3 years. It's lasted very nicely for maybe 6(?) years now.

 

[Lelandwelds]

Mdf is ok for patterns or jigs you dont need to keep.

I think everyone builds assorted benches from available material. Mine have been 16" x 48" to 48 x 96. My favorites have been 2ft x 4ft with three legs. ( no rocking) I have had steel for welding, anti static for electronics, and plywood tables for everything else. They get modified and moved or gifted and scrapped. I view them as about as permanent as a saw horse or an ice chest.

When the plywood get nasty, just add another layer of pretty much anything. If the other benches don't need refacing, just stick drop of the same material under all legs. (FASTER than carriage bolts and tnuts.) Same height is nice for outfeed and long jobs.

Try putting vises on their own heavy mini workbench. (Think of a bench suitable for an anvil and place in a similar position in the shop.)

I dont invite people over to ooh and aah over my work benches.

 

[tonyciambrone]

I bought a couple of steel workbench tops made by Edsal off craigslist awhile back. They had a folded over edge on the front and back, the way almost all warehouse packing tables do, so one can mount rails, drawers and the legs to the table. What I did was glue and screw two 3/4 pieces of osb (more like 12 pieces because they were cut-offs) together, and mount that to the bench via countersunk screws. Then I slid the metal top over the OSB base.

Voila. Sturdy, easy to clean, can use a hammer on, etc. If I could have bough a couple more I would have.