Would a formica counter top make a decent workbench surface?

[balane]

My two work bench surfaces in the garage are bare Poplar laminate, 3/4" thick. They looked nice at first and have held up well physically but they're getting pretty cruddy looking. I just put some grey speckled formica on a big corner desk inside the house for the computer room and it turned out very well. I was thinking of using the leftover on one of my work benches.

Is that a bad idea? It seems pretty rugged to me. I put down a test piece on a chunk of wood and it withstood some pretty good hammer bashes as a test.

If this is a bad idea please let me know. Thanks.

Bart

Edit: not that it matters but the 3/4" Poplar is screwed down to 1.5" thick wood planks which is part of the underlying bench construction , overall the bench top is 2 1/4" thick and pretty darn sturdy.

 

[Killer95Stang]

My two work bench surfaces in the garage are bare Poplar laminate, 3/4" thick. They looked nice at first and have held up well physically but they're getting pretty cruddy looking. I just put some grey speckled formica on a big corner desk inside the house for the computer room and it turned out very well. I was thinking of using the leftover on one of my work benches.

Is that a bad idea? It seems pretty rugged to me. I put down a test piece on a chunk of wood and it withstood some pretty good hammer bashes as a test.

If this is a bad idea please let me know. Thanks.

Bart

I used commercial grade formica office counter tops for my workbench... Price was right at "FREE" for new tops, so I liked that part. Plus it has held up pretty well. I only use it for parts assemblies.. like cleaning guns, putting things together.. ect. If something heavy is being done, I put a piece of cardboard, just to soak up oil and cut down on scratches.. So far so good for 3 years of service.

 

[colt zantop]

yeah....I worked at menards and they got a shipment of 27 10 foot pieces all the same color so they clearenced them out at about 4 bucks each so I bought 2 and my dad and I put in a workbench at his house. its still looks good after about 5 years!

 

[balane]

Cool, thanks for that. I think this is pretty solid stuff. I'm no formica expert but it seems like a thick surface. One of my favorite draws of the idea was how easy it is to wipe down and remain looking good from things like spills and coffee rings, etc. I don't need my work corner to look like a museum but the easier to clean over time the better is my thought.

 

[iajonesy]

I found a counter top at Menards 10 years ago when I needed a 60" piece. They had a 12' piece for $5. The reason; it was Raspberry colored. I didn't care. It's held up fine,in fact the left over pieces have been behind my garage and still look great.(a little gay,maybe, but great.....)

Mike

 

[Wingnut65]

Yes. I've been using a 5' piece of removed counter top that I clamp in my shop mate as a workbench. I cut, write, sand on it and don't care what happens to it. There are scratches I can't sand out, but I've been using it at a fill-in until I build my full workbench. On the wall, I have an 10' re-used counter top. Ospho spilled and the color was removed from the laminate, but It works for me as a place to store things. Isn't that what a workbench really ends up being?

 

[Oldtymeflyr]

Yes! They work surprisingly well.

Rick

 

[73 Mustang Bill]

I[ve used one for about 20 years. It has a couple chunks out of it from some heavy work, but it cleans up nicely. I highly recommend it.

 

[brownbagg]

it would last about seven minute in my shop. with welding, beating, heating metal. not a good choice

 

[marty_p]

And it's a hulluva lot less $$$ than stainless steel!

 

[back2class]

I would destroy a formica bench top in a few hours. can't imagine any real use other than about the duty a kitchen counter would see where it would last. But everybody uses their bench in different ways, but if you are going to be harder on it then a kitchen counter it will be trashed.

 

[CollinLeon]

And it's a hulluva lot less $$$ than stainless steel!

You don't *have* to have stainless steel... Go to a steel supply yard and just buy some 1/8" or so regular steel... Either oil it or put some phosphoric acid on it if you are concerned about oxidation... If you can't weld on it, it's not a real workbench...

 

[kartracer23]

I've got Formica in my shop. It's used mostly for cleaning / assembly / disassembly of my kart engines. If I've got to bang on something, I've got a piece 12" x 18" steel that's screwed to a piece of particle board that I can sit stuff on and bang away.
It's got a few scratches in it after 3 years, but nothing major. And it cleans up easy with WD-40.

 

[Granite Guy]

I prefer granite .....but formica can sure take a beating. Good work surface in the garage.

But not in the kitchen!!! )

 

[Kevin54]

Formica, although looking good, it easily scratches if you have anything sharp that you are going to drag across it. And it can break if hammered on if not clued down properly. On th e plus side, it looks good, cleans up easy, is nice and flat, and comes in a multitude of colors. If you are putting down sheet formica, put it over at least a 3/4" sheet of MDF for the best surface. Use Contact cement and a paint stir stick to spread it out. Spread the Contact Cement evenly to both surfaces and let both surfaces tack up till almost dry. Very carefully place the laminate onto the board MAKING SURE that you have it straight. Start at one end and work your way to the other and slowly pressing down on it as you go. Once it is down, it is down. Some prefer to put dowel rods underneath and pull one out at a time to insure alignment. Leave an overlap at the ends and either trim with a file, or use a router with a formica trim bit to trim flush to surface edge. All in all it really is a piece of cake to do.

 

[robin1731]

I have plastic laminate on my main bench, 12' long. I have assemble motorcycle engine on it. But I do use a pan under the engine. It will scratch as others have said. It will dent if you hit with a hammer or anything else big, heavy, and hard. But if you take a little care it will hold up pretty well.

As stated too make sure you glue it down good. If your top has oil on it now it probably won't stick very well.

A trick I use to glue big pieces. I use a paint tray and roller to apply the glue. Use a short nap roller. Very easy to get the glue on evenly that way. Any left over glue you then just pour back in to the can.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

As others have said, Yes! Many decades ago, I used to help a friend who was a Sportsman and Pro Stock drag racer out in his garage. His workbenches were 3/4" plywood covered with black formica. It worked great. Very strong, and resilient, and cleaned up nicely from ALL messes. We used the steel welding table or concrete floor for welding, but we'd modify and build heads, transmissions, clutches, etc. on those benches and they held up nicely. So nicely, in fact, I got some nice old-school boomerang-pattern gray formica for my shop workbenches.

Installation was, er, fun, with some tense moments during glue-up using contact cement, but as others have said, get a stack of wooden dowels to put under the formica so you can locate it properly over your top, and start from the middle moving out. Then clean up the edges with a router. Do the sides, if you're doing the sides, first, then the top.

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

 

[BlindViper]

I have 2 30"x76" fire rated doors that are solid gypsum and are formica covered it has some scratches but are holding up just fine.

 

[Falcon67]

You don't *have* to have stainless steel... Go to a steel supply yard and just buy some 1/8" or so regular steel... Either oil it or put some phosphoric acid on it if you are concerned about oxidation... If you can't weld on it, it's not a real workbench...

The welding bench I used at the old shop was a 4' x 2' chunk of 1" thick store display shelf covered with white Formica. Yes, it got pretty discolored and scarred, but it held up fine. The price - free - was right. I intended to plop some metal on it but never got around to it.

 

[CollinLeon]

I prefer granite .....but formica can sure take a beating. Good work surface in the garage.

But not in the kitchen!!! )

Depends upon the type of granite... I did my kitchen countertop with a granite that was somewhat multicolored (beiges, browns, and blacks) -- Santa Cecelia.

http://www.granitestock.com/eis-cgi...anta Cecelia&templ=granite_csearch_color.html

I was rekeying the lock cylinder near the breakfast area door one day and working on it on the kitchen counter. The cylinder pins were basically impossible to find if you dropped one on the countertop. Maybe a pure white granite would make a better work surface for small parts.

http://www.granitestock.com/eis-cgi...e From China&templ=granite_csearch_color.html

 

[CollinLeon]

Another option would be to use real linoleum floor tiles. The color goes all the way through linoleum and as such, scratches can be scrubbed out if you are so inclined. There are some vinyl tiles that have the color going all the way through them also and they are a bit cheaper.

On the other hand, you can get granite floor tiles for less than $2 per sq-ft at Floor & Decor Outlets and it's really easy to install, especially if your countertop surface is a multiple of 1 ft in all dimensions.

http://www.flooranddecoroutlets.com/s23102667.html

Depends upon what you are going to use the workbench for... If you are going to be doing some major hammering on it, I would go with something more hammer-proof than granite... Linoleum will dent and get dings in it, but it doesn't break that easily -- it's flexible. Granite or ceramic tile is strong, but if you hit it right, you could crack it. Then again, any hit hard enough to crack the granite would also crack the formica, but with the granite, you would only be replacing a single 12" square of it.

 

[Gregg33]

As others indicated, it's easy to keep clean and fairly durable for light duty work like assembly, hobbies and crafts etc., but if you do any hammering, welding or work with heavy and/ or sharp objects, I'd go preferably with metal or even plywood, which can be periodically repainted.

 

[MarkCDP]

Kartracer 23, I'm thinking of building a workbench similar to yours with a formica countertop on top of Gorilla Racks. Your racks look different than most I've seen...the shelf fronts are smooth and the shelves appear gray instead of typical raw particle board. Did you do anything special to them? Also, how did you attach the countertop to the racks?

 

[curtrnev]

I have white Formica on my router / table saw extension table , it's where I make notes and do my guzindas for whatever I am working on at the time. Doesn't get torn like paper and when I am done a little 409 and its all cleared. I have Formica on my corner desk / workbench no heavy work on it holds up really well.

 

[coljar]

I guess I'll find out, but like others have said, I plan to use them for light assembly work with plastic sheet or cardboard on them. I'm building a large island work bench trimmed around the edge with 3/8 steel angle iron and a thick wood top for the heavy stuff.

 

[great white tj]

This is just an old counter top, and it has worked for 15 years. You don't like the looks of it....... just hit with a little sander... and you have a New Bench...

 

[58Yeoman]

I bought 3 six foot countertops at Menards a couple years ago for around $5 each, and put them on three of my work benches. I like 'em.

 

[_Stang_]

If you have an ikea near you they have killer deals in their clearance section a lot of times on nice solid wood kitchen counters. 8 or 10 foot lengths.

 

[Gogo300]

I work with Formica, wilsonart, nevamar, pionite and acrovyn every day. They are all pretty tough except the acrovyn. The acrovyn is soft but the color is all the way through and it takes a special adhesive. I would glue the laminate to a smooth plywood and not mdf or particle board. If the mdf or particle board get wet they will expand and the laminate will come off. All the work tables are laminate covered. They get screwed into, nailed into, parts drug across them all day. Sure they get scratched but are still functional. If you use your table to work on don't worry about it. If you're a tool polisher maybe look into corian or other type solid surface that can be sanded when it gets scratched.

 

[ford33]

I have formica on my bench top and it doesn't look good after a few years. It chips and cracks easily and heat will cause it to discolor. There is no good way to repair it either so once it gets worn or chipped there is no repair that looks good. With wood you can refinish it.

 

[SweetD]

This is just an old counter top, and it has worked for 15 years. You don't like the looks of it....... just hit with a little sander... and you have a New Bench...

I dig your setup - reminds me of mine!



Dave

 

[coljar]

As a side note to my post above, I just got done putting black Formica as a back splash on the new work bench I'm building around the wall. It looks good and it wasn't hard to cut and glue up with contact cement and a 2" brush.

 

[andersen24]

I had used formica in the past and had excellent luck with it. I am going to try something different this time. IKEA has these "laminate" countertops. They are 1 1/2" thick with 9/64" laminate all the way around. They also have others that are cheaper as well......
[URL=http://s432.photobucket.com/user/andersen24/media/Via%20Promesa/Via%20Promesa%20Shop/Screen%20Shot%202015-10-13%20at%207.55.26%20AM_zpsocwljkgb.png.html] [/URL]

 

[rayra]

Unless you are rebuilding motors on them, they work just fine. And yoru big box hardware stores have them in all sorts of styles for kitchen remodeling, including built-in backsplashes and bullnose front edges.

I've used melamine-coated particle board for bench tops for years, for firearms and carpentry work. Easy cleanup, relatively solvent / oil resistant AND it's easy to write on with pencil or dry-erase markers.

 

[overkill 19]

I finished this last night, just have to urethane the nose. Turned out good. It's nailed and PL premium to a 3/4" base.

Picked up 4 boxes of pre finished maple 3/4" for $45
The nose was $90 and the plywood I had lying around. Plus a big tube of PL

So $200 all in maybe! I had steel bench before I didn't like it as it's hard on tools. But I might still mount a plate in middle for the hard stuff.