Opinions on this for a benchtop?

[Joe Shinall]

Want to build a new workbench and I want it to look nice but I have no lumber mill near me, so a trip to get enough is pretty expensive. A friend of mine works for Ikea warehouse near my house and can get me these out of there. All I have to do is pay for it online and pick it up there. How would this be for a benchtop on top of a few sheets of MDF? Then maybe an oak or beech skirting.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10146525


It's solid beech, finger jointed, 1 5/8" thick. I don't pound the hell out of my bench as it is, so I don't think I need the hardest thickest top in the world anyways. But maybe I'm missing something you guys can help me out with.

[Keith Westfall]

Can't see why it wouldn't. As long as it is flat enough for you it should be pretty solid.

It all comes down to what works for you. It won't please everybody...

[Robert Chapman]

I think that this would make a great top over a few sheets of 3/4" mdf. You would have a stable, heavy and flat bench surface.

[Victor Robinson]

There was a thread on another forum that talked about these - let me see if I can dig it up. Unfortunately many people have had experiences with them warping, but for others they have worked out great. I think as long as you're putting MDF underneath and not expecting a dead-flat surface, you can't go wrong.

[glenn bradley]

I was going to ask since when was beech considered stable? It does well here in SoCal but regions where the humidity swing; not so much. IIRC, Ikea had some maple tops (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00086414) but not near as heavy duty as those available from Grizzly (http://www.grizzly.com/products/Solid-Maple-Workbench-Top-72-Wide-x-30-Deep-x-1-3-4-Thick/G9915) and others. Of course by the time you get the shipped to your house, you could just go to Sam's and grab one of these (http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=329601).

[Tony Bilello]

... . How would this be for a benchtop on top of a few sheets of MDF? http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10146525
It's solid beech, finger jointed, 1 5/8" thick. I don't pound the hell out of my bench as it is, so I don't think I need the hardest thickest top in the world anyways....

I wouldn't put a solid slab on top of MDF or plywood unless it was set-up for expansion/contraction because the beech top will move more than the MDF with the changes in temp and humidity. The link you have is for 1 1/8" thick not the 1 5/8" thick. The 1 5/8 is pretty stout. I have cut some down to size for customers. The only concern I would have is that the finger jointed sections are at random and some are small. This could potentially be a problem with hammering even though you dont think you will do much of that. If you do put it on a substrate like MDF, then the pounding wont hurt it at all.

Here is a link to a pretty stout workbench that can be made relatively inexpensively and quickly http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/members/tony-b-5040/albums/workbench/.

[Joe Shinall]

I was going to ask since when was beech considered stable?

Since it's harder than pine and cheaper than a trip 4 hours away to the closest lumber mill ;)

Sorry, I meant to link the 1 5/8" thick top, not the 1 1/8". Basically it's the first bench I will build too. Should have thrown that in there. I have one now I bought. It's identical to the Grizzly with the drawers underneath. It's nice and sturdy but I'd like a little more options for vises. I may just take the top off of it and replace with one of these tops on MDF to make it a little larger.

I do like that other Ikea link you sent me Glenn. Didnt see maple but saw birch and oak. Probably a lot better than the Beech.