Workbench Top Material?

[ErVikingo]

I went with solid core door and added stainless plates where the vise and other things are attached. Used a leg kit from amazon (StackOn brand).

[Icemaster]

Originally Posted by masraum

Looks like furniture to me.

[911 Rod]

Originally Posted by Icemaster

Looks like furniture to me.

Looks like art to me.

[GH85Carrera]

My workbench is just wood, and has served well since the early 1980s. I don't weld much at all. One of my buddies is a professional welder that owns his own shop. He can weld, well like a pro, and do it in seconds, an I just take him to dinner on occasion as "payment" as he refuses cash.

My woodworking skills are very limited as well. Mostly I use my workbench for my car projects. I replace the rubber bushing on my 911, two clutch jobs on my 914, the full AC upgrade for the 911, and every project ever on my El Camino over 31 years. I have my stuff in the drawers and on the shelf, and I know were the stuff is.

[VINMAN]

I have 3 benches on my garage. One of them is one of those wooden wood working ones. Other is just a general purpose within 8'×2ft 3inch thick butcher block top.

My auto bench is an 8x2 white formica top. To protect it when I'm working on heavy stuff, I use rubber semi-truck mud flaps. They fit perfect on it and work great. I pick them up at truck stops ( Flying J, Loves...) only cost 20-30 bucks for plain basic ones.

.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by VINMAN

To protect it when I'm working on heavy stuff, I use rubber semi-truck mud flaps. They fit perfect on it and work great. I pick them up at truck stops ( Flying J, Loves...) only cost 20-30 bucks for plain basic ones.

But think how much more awesome it would be with the chrome naked lady silhouettes!

[Jim Bremner]

Butcher Block,. It got some burn marks from a son making lighter rockets. And battery charging burns.

The cooky sheet under the vise is sandwiched between the vise and the top. It makes cleaning up easier.

I will do the same to my drill press some day

[Pazuzu]

One is 3/4 plywood, a full 4x8 because I have a row of bins along the back of it, so it's not as deep as that seems. Then, I put a 1/4 inch fiberboard or something like that down, to be smooth. Soon after, I had some spare vinyl click together flooring pieces and covered it with them, they're easy to clean oil and grease off, and have proved to be pretty indestructible.

A few years ago, I bought three old chemistry lab type tables, the massive black top things with 4 inch wooden legs. Taken from a local high school, $75 each. Two went in the garage with 5 inch casters put on, and one is in my telescope workshop for optical testing. Pretty much indestructible, immune to anything, and they weight about 200 pounds each, so they don't move much even on those casters. I have the lathe, drill press, miter saw and grinder mounted on one that I can wheel out into the open part of the garage when needed.

[Pazuzu]

I've also seen some large bamboo type butcher block slabs for CHEAP at the local Habitat for Humanity store, we have one that specializes in building supplies taken from teardowns and such. Like, 2x6 2 or 3 inch thick for under $100.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Jim Bremner

The cooky sheet under the vise is sandwiched between the vise and the top. It makes cleaning up easier.

I will do the same to my drill press some day

Genius!

[Bill Douglas]

My workbench is heavy duty plywood. I like to keep it clean and tidy so I use a bit of scrap wallboard to mix paints on or when doing welding.

[lindbhr]

I built this work bench 28 years ago. It was my first real woodworking project with my new table saw. I bought the 24x60 hard maple top and built the base from poplar. Everything is glued, screwed or bolted together. It has a sliding stop and a Record vise too. Originally it was a stationary bench, but I soon added wheels so I'd get more use and save space too. Recently, I removed the top to clean it up a bit. It's been used for a lot more than woodworking over the years and needed a refresh. I put two coats of linseed oil on the top and it's much nicer now. Used tung oil on the poplar base years ago. I just wiped it down with a Murphy oil and water mixture.

The original plan had a tool well, but didn't include that. I thought it might be too cumbersome to work around. Now, after all these years, I added a removable tool caddy at one end make from wood scraps. Super functional and a fun little project in itself.