Workbench Top Material?

[look 171]

Ask a simple question about a work bench and you get people with plans to built a submarine. Guys, its a work bench, it get banged on with hammers, holes drilled and heavy and dirty things sitting on it. Double up two pieces of cheap 3/4 sheet good type materials and a sheet of something cheap on top for easy changed out when worn within 15 min and get it dirty again. Its work bench not a piece o furniture.

[URY914]

This is the type of bench they use at our local Caterpillar dealer. They have about 12 of these in the in the service bays.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by look 171

Ask a simple question about a work bench and you get people with plans to built a submarine. Guys, its a work bench, it get banged on with hammers, holes drilled and heavy and dirty things sitting on it. Double up two pieces of cheap 3/4 sheet good type materials and a sheet of something cheap on top for easy changed out when worn within 15 min and get it dirty again. Its work bench not a piece o furniture.

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by masraum

Fantastic bench (we need pics) and even better story and provenance!

This is the only picture I have of it at the moment.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by fred cook

This is the only picture I have of it at the moment.

That's great, thank you.

I remember that my grandfather had a workbench. It had a utility bench vise, not a wood working vise. He'd also added a belt driven grinder. And I think farther down but rarely used he had a router underneath. It was basic, but I don't remember details of construction or anything. I'm sure that he'd built it, and it was sturdy, but definitely not fancy. I'd love to have it now. I need to build my own. I had one from my dad, but it was just a cheap thing made of 2x6 that he'd bought from a Scotty's after he retired.

[p911dad]

I've got a solid oak dining room table (craigslist $50.) covered with 3/4" good one side plywood. Next to it a steel welders table heavier than a dead preacher with a vise mounted.

[Zeke]

Workbench matts

[gduke2010]

Brought some white oak home from work and plan on using it for my workbench top. I was going to have metal bent for the top. But, since I scored the white oak, that’s what I’ll be using. Will also be using the white oak to cover my toolboxes. That’s another one of my spring projects.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by fred cook

This is the only picture I have of it at the moment.

I like that the drill press is showing his little brother how things get done.

What do you use the media tumbler for? Brass?

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

I like that the drill press is showing his little brother how things get done.

What do you use the media tumbler for? Brass?

It is mostly used to clean pistol brass such as 9mm, 45acp, 38/357 and 44 special/mag. A little support for another hobby! Just to the right and a little out of the picture is a steel stand with a 600 lb vertical milling machine. I tend to use it more than the little drill presses on the bench.

[gduke2010]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Workbench matts

And also, a mat to stand on while working on the bench. Helps big time for someone with bad knees or plantar facitis.

[hcoles]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Workbench matts

Good find.

[hcoles]

Originally Posted by pksystems

Hardwood flooring bonded to a piece of mdf counter top, with some angle iron welded up to make an edge. I think I used rocker guard on the angle iron. It's holding up quite well.

I use a piece of sacrificial polyethylene plastic (1/4"?) if I plan on beating on the top.

Everything (including the rockerguard) was free.

It's amazing what people give away on FB Marketplace/kijiji

I have a drill press on one corner, and a bench vise on the opposite.

It's mounted on some ikea base cabinets with extra feet, and it's also attached to the wall.

I'm liking this idea. MDF (3'x 6') and then cover with waterproof or solid wood flooring. Then I just need to figure out covering the edges. Thanks.

[NY65912]

I used a solid core laminated doors that were being thrown away from a job we were on. I've been pounding etc for 20 years plus on them and the clean up great.

[porsche930dude]

Iv got 5 different work benches in my garage but the best is a section of bowling alley I found at the curb. I think its like 7' long. Its cinched together with steel T bar on the bottom and i made legs that lock in to that. On the side that i mostly work on I have a 1/2" steel plate on top. Mostly because I had nowhere else to put it but the wood was getting a little more beat up than I liked. Its also a bit low so its good for working on bigger stuff. minibikes and engines and I can sit on a chair and work there. This is the best pic i could find.

[David]

I'm a fan of store bought kitchen countertop material. It has a built in short backsplash to keep little parts from falling behind the bench and it's easy to clean (not that I clean it much):

[GH85Carrera]

This is my workbench. It is made of 2 - 2x12 boards so just 24 inches wide but almost 10 feet long, and I built a continuation on the end for my drill press. The cabinets are full of my "stuff". This workbench was built into the very small single car garage at my first house by a previous owner. That vice is rather small, and I wish I had a bigger one, but it is the only tool my maternal grandfather had that was worth me keeping. I have lots of tools from my paternal grandfather, and father, but just that vice from him, so it will stay.

I bought that house in 1982, so I have owned this workbench for 40 years now. I need to get into the garage and clean up the mess from the last project.

It is very stout. Back at that original house the driveway was a t a 90 degree angle to the street, and pretty steep. In snowy or icy weather I could not get up the driveway in my 914. I bought a boat winch for pulling boats onto trailers, and mounted it to the workbench. I had an anchor point in the concrete floor to put a pulley, and I could winch my 914 up the driveway and into the garage have a thawed out car in the morning to go to work in. It was my only car so yea, it was a daily driver.



This shows some of the workspace in the garage. I was using my lift and a "lowerer" in this photo to work on some electrical issues in the trunk and make it more comfortable for my back.

[911 Rod]

10' bench that was a test bench for the military. 2 pcs. of 3/4" ply

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

10' bench that was a test bench for the military. 2 pcs. of 3/4" ply

Very nice!

[911 Rod]

Originally Posted by masraum

Very nice!

I bought 2 of them from a surplus yard for $350 each. They were crated and the guy I bought them from said the military was charged that much for the crating and then paid the surplus guy to take them away. Tax dollars at work!