laminate countertop for workbench top?

[Tyler Davis]

I'm looking for a cheap solution to a workbench top for a mix of power tools and handwork. I will mount a face vice and one row of dog holes for clamping, with future expansion possible.

The cheapest thing I could find is ash @ $2.41/BF (no Southern Yellow Pine out here in the desert). What do you think about using a laminate-covered section of particle board countertop? How would the dog holes hold up? Any concerns about flatness? (of course I couldn't plane it flat like a hardwood top). Will it accept the bolt holes for attaching the vise?

[Larry Fox]

I would think that it would not stand up to the abuse and I would have big concerns about the flatness. I just put a new one in my kitchen about a year ago and it was not flat the day they put it in. It looks flat....but it isn't at all. My bench top is 3-layers of 3/4" MDF laminated together and it has stood up to an insane amount of abuse and it still going strong. Total cost for MDF - $30. I did put oak skirting around it and that was more but you get the point.

[Paul Steiner]

I like laminate. Easy to care for and remove glue from. I would recommend you find a countertop someone is throwing out, preferably an island. You may want to build up the underside, glue a few pieces of mdf on the bottom and mount it on a good frame. This will make the bench more solid and will make better dog holes.
Go to a countertop installer, they take old laminate countertops to the dump everyday.

[Quinn McCarthy]

Tyler,

That will work fine.

What I do is take 2 sheets of melamine and screw then together and round the edges. Way cheaper and easier than plastic laminate. I abuse mine so bad I would hate to have something nice. You can use just high density particle board too.

Just a thought.

Quinn

[Paul Ryan]

Thats what I use. I got a large chunk about 12 feet long that had the back slash damage in the middle from Menards. I think I paid $10 for it. If I need something really 100% flat I use the grainte on my table saw. The counter top is durable, cheap, and easy to clean. I Just wish I could find a 36" wide piece.

[Dell Moore]

You could also use a solid door core. I did that once with really good results and you can pick those up fairly cheap at a salvage place. I have been considering butcherblock since I found a source for a large piece.

[Steve Mellott]

Solid Core doors work great for workbench tops. You can buy a new one for about $60 or a used one at a salvage yard for as little as $10.

Steve

[Larry Edgerton]

Too slippery.............

[Dan Henry]

I made my work table/work bench using 2 layers 3/4 inch particle board for the top with a 1/4 inch MDF top. When the MDF is all beat up, stained, holes in it, I just replace it using air mails to hold MDF in place, make it over sizes and run the router around the top with a flush trimer bit and you have a new top

I put a lot cross support under the top that has help to ensure the top has remained flat.

Dan

[Dan Forman]

If you are building for hand tool use I would recommend taking a look at Christopher Schwartz's new book "Workbenches: From Design and Theory, to Construction and Use". There is a lot of info on work holding design options. A bench for hand tool use has different design requirements than one for power tools. I would have done things very differently had I seen this book before I made my current bench, and I'll be making a new one soon. He has detailed instructions on building two different benches, one with a thick top, and one with a thinner (cheaper), but well supported top. Both work well for a blended shop (hand and power tool tool use).

If you can afford it, I would also go with the ash top. Not because other options wouldn't work, but they probably wouldn't work as well or for as long. My current bench has a top made of a solid core door, with 1/2" mdf on top. I drilled dog holes in it, and they are holding up ok to bench dogs, but I don't think they would like to have hold downs banged into them. I can't use hold downs on mine because I have drawers under the top, my dog holes don't go all the way through the top. My top is fairly flat, but sags badly at the overhang under the end vise, and needed an additional couple of legs under that end to brace the vise. A 4" ash lam won't sag, period. It can also be planed flat if need be.

One problem with a replaceable top layer with dog holes such as mine (MDF over door), is that when you do replace it, it will be nearly impossible to drill new dog holes in the top layer which will line up correctly. This is not a factor so much for power tool usage, but with hand tools, they come in pretty handy.

Dan (the other Dan)

[keith ouellette]

FORMICA! very tough stuff. My work table is covered with it. The table top is made out of a layer 0f 3/4" plywood and then a layer of 3/4" mdf and then the formica top. the table is then banded in maple.

I know most woodworkers prefer a table with a wood top but you can't beat formica for its durability. I could probably even get the stain off of it. I know it looks messy.
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[Paul Demetropoulos]

I use 3 layers of 3/4 ply glued and screwed together, covered with a replaceable hardboard top. The top is attached with brass screws to protect an errant blade. My bench measures 3x6 feet, I made it three feet wide to accomodate back to back clamps, very handy for glue ups and just positioning things.

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