Ideas for workbench top

[Chipper]

Just welded up some 2x2 tube for legs and a piece of angle to attach the legs to the top. I need some ideas for top material. Can't believe the cost of maple work tops from Grainger. $300 for a 72 x30 I remember paying $100 for the same just awhile ago. Looked at Lumber Liq for the butcher block counter top stock and that is still about $200. I need a cheap solution to a good top that will accept pin style dogs and thick enough to mount a vise etc.

 

[Tar Heel]

A cheap alternative would be a solid core door. I bought two new ones for $10/each a couple of months ago. They are solid and heavy.

 

[gator]

At 2" thick that is 30 bdft. Current Hardwood Store of NC pricing for 8/4 hard maple is5.35/bdft = $165.00 for wood (plus some percentage for waste). Laminate it together and drill 3/4" holes for dogs.

Some here have shown beautiful benches with laminated 2x4 tops so you might want to go that way for cost.

George

 

[NCPete]

Grizzly has tops, too. do not recall the price, tho!

 

[Chipper]

I might be up for building one. Do I need to watch out for anything in order to keep everything flat.

 

[Glennbear]

At 2" thick that is 30 bdft. Current Hardwood Store of NC pricing for 8/4 hard maple is5.35/bdft = $165.00 for wood (plus some percentage for waste). Laminate it together and drill 3/4" holes for dogs.

Some here have shown beautiful benches with laminated 2x4 tops so you might want to go that way for cost.

George

Personally, like Tar Heel I grabbed some of the CL $10 doors. Bas has built benches using the lamination route :

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showphoto.php?photo=19755

 

[ScottM]

Steve, Bas made a great bench out of quality 2X lumber. Here is a link to that thread. Will the 2X bench last a long as the hard maple bench ? Probably not but it will provide many many years of service.


http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/f81/72-hour-workbench-11726/

 

[scsmith42]

What about laminating one out of 4/4 x 2" wide maple flooring strips? You could use some inexpensive flooring, and laminate it so the 2" flooring width becomes the depth of the bench top.

Out to be strong as an ox...

Scott

 

[Gofor]

One of the problems using pin dogs in a pine top is that the soft wood "wallows" out and the pins won't stay tight. This can be solved by drilling a 1" hole, gluing in a section of 1" hardwood dowel, and trimming it flat. Re-drill for the bench dog size.
You can also use a larger size (ie 1 1/4 or 1 3/8 ) and use a piece of hardwood mop handle which will work better.
If using a Borg or local builder supply 2 x lumber, I would go with SYP instead of SPF. This means you will probably have to go with 2 x 8s minimum and rip to the thickness. The SYP may harden enough (if it has enough resin in it) so you never need the inserts. The SPF will probably split or wallow out if you put much force on the bench dogs.
If using the plastic "pins" or dogs, the pine will probably work, or you can double layer some 3/4 cabinet ply. I have an old Workmate that has a single layer 3/4 Baltic Birch top (28 1/2" x 35 1/2") that has lasted me for over 15 years using the plastic dogs that came with it.

Go

 

[Chipper]

Thanks for all the ideas. Here is a view of the legs. The photo makes them look bent but it's just the camera. I don't have any span support for the top so it needs to be thick so the glue up designs are probably the best for this app.

 

[Bas]

Steve,

I don't have any span support for the top so it needs to be thick so the glue up designs are probably the best for this app.

I made a top out of Southern Yellow Pine, 6'x2'x3". That's not going to sag unless you stack a couple of table saws on it.

I might be up for building one. Do I need to watch out for anything in order to keep everything flat.

Not really, just be careful with positioning the clamps. Parallel clamps are best, but cheap Harbor Freight bar clamps work just fine, that's what I used. I glued up the top in stages, re-jointing and planing along the way, until the final glueup. You can rip the boards wide enough out of a 2x8 to give you enough material for this strategy. A biscuit joiner might help, but I didn't have one at the time.

Home Depot sells SYP, but not all the stores have it. Also, buy your lumber during the week, not on the weekend. That's the stuff left by the contractors during the week! (Don't ask me how I know this.....)

 

[SRhody]

Here's how I did it, split top: . A couple more shots in my gallery. :crossedlips:

Basic info: 2" tube legs and bottom, 4x layers of MDF covered with reclaimed 100 yr old piano, other wood is WO, 24 x 60 x ~36 tall, center trough has removable bottom. T-track rails on each side. The MDF gives the weight, the hardwood top can be replaced if needed eventually. Mainly used 'bed bolts' to tie all the components together.

This doubles as a long outfeed table for my TS/RT combo.

Why go into all this, just another perspective on what can be done, maybe a point of departure. :eusa_thin

 

[JimD]

My bench has a top of 1 layer of 3/4 plywood plus one replaceable layer of 1/4 inch plywood. The next top will be 1/4 MDF. It has an inch edging of oak. I mounted a vise but had to make it thicker at that location. It is supported by a torsion box. The 3/4 plywood is the top layer of the torsion box. Norm of New Yankee Workshop did the same sort of thing on one of his shows. Norm's was a worktable instead of a bench but the construction was like what I did. I have bench dog holes 3/4 inch diameter for the plastic dogs Rockler sells.

Jim

 

[gator]

I laminated mine from maple. When finished, I took it to a local cabinet shop with a wide belt sander and paid them $25 to flatten it perfectly. I put retractable wheels on it from Norm's assembly table and when it is flat on the floor (wheels retracted) it is the same height as my table saw.

www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/198/100_0287.JPG

www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/198/100_0288.JPG

And speaking of dogs, I did not drill my dog holes all the way through and use 3/4" dowels for dogs. I bought a 3' length of dowel rod and cut it to the lengths I wanted for dogs. I also occasionally use the little plastic dogs that came with my WorkMate.

George

 

[meika123]

I went to a local hardwood supplier in my area, (Clemmons Hardwoods) and had them to glue up an edge grain Maple top-2 1/2" thick. It wasn't that overly expensive-I didn't think. Been a few years ago, though.

 

[ebarr]

Mine is 3 layers of 3/4 inch MDF framed with oak banding. It is pretty heavy.

Mark, thanks for the idea with the 1 inch dowels I hadn't thought of that. I might give that a try.

 

[Threejs]

Next weekend, I am starting to build my workbench out of SYP. I have had the wood in my shop for 3 weeks now, and the plan for 4 months. I based it off the Schwarz benches in his book.

Hopefully, I can get it all together with just a gallon of tite bond.