Workbench/table top from WoodCrafts laminated Maple?

[Don Morris]

My son has his own business and right now just doesn't have the time to build his own workbench like I did mine. He did a fair amount of woodworking with me several years ago and is handy with hand tools. He does need a super sturdy workbench for some hobby work when he gets the chance. I got a hold of an old 2" think Maple bench top, refinished it and added the legs. My son said that if he could get a reasonable ($200.00-400.00) bench top, he would like to do the same as I did. I was looking at the laminated Maple table tops in the WoodCraft on-line catalog, and they look about what he is looking for. Anyone have any experience with them: Quality, flatness, joints, etc. Other sources would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Phil Stone]

Hi Don,

I got one of these on sale earlier this year, and I'm pretty happy with it. It's good quality maple and is quite flat. My only problem with it is that it is not thick enough for the type of bench I'm building, so I had to build a "sub-top" out of doug fir for it. This hybrid approach works well for me, but it might have been simpler to laminate a thick top from scratch when all is said and done.

[Don Parker]

I bought my maple benchtop from Grizzly. They carry several sizes. I went with 30" X 60".

[Tom M King]

Not anything like an answer to your question, but I noticed you are in Rockville. I bought a piece of old bowling alley flooring from Community Forklift, in Hyattsville. It's not suitable for a workbench, because the top is synthetic bowling alley, but the piece I got is perfectly flat, and made a killer assembly table. The synthetic top is on top of laminated maple or pine, and that lagged to steel angle iron. A lot of what they had was pretty beat up from the lags getting drug across the tops of a lot of it, but I found one with a Maple base that was in good shape. I don't remember what I paid for it, but it was pretty cheap.

They also have all sorts of Marble and Granite slabs cheap. I found one that will make a perfect sharpening bench.

[Mark Arnold]

If you don't mind driving up to the middle of PA, Bally Block has some great prices and product as a cash and carry business on maple tops. The tops have a nice durable finish to them. I bought a 3" thick 24x60 to build a work bench - I think around $200 in early 2013. Here's a pick of the completed workbench:
<http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii245/croakermea/Workbench%20build%20Dec13/16Finishedcabinet3.jpg>

They have a variety of thicknesses and widths and lengths.

Contact them by e-mail - they're great people and are willing to work with you. They sometimes have seconds that are cheaper.

At some point. I'll post pictures of the just completed new workshop where I'm hoping to tinker away.

[Phil Stone]

If you don't mind driving up to the middle of PA, Bally Block has some great prices and product as a cash and carry business on maple tops. The tops have a nice durable finish to them. I bought a 3" thick 24x60 to build a work bench - I think around $200 in early 2013. Here's a pick of the completed workbench:
<http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii245/croakermea/Workbench%20build%20Dec13/16Finishedcabinet3.jpg>

They have a variety of thicknesses and widths and lengths.

Contact them by e-mail - they're great people and are willing to work with you. They sometimes have seconds that are cheaper.

At some point. I'll post pictures of the just completed new workshop where I'm hoping to tinker away.

The Woodcraft top I got was indeed a Bally Block top. So if you're not close to PA, you can still get them through a local Woodcraft.

[Charlie Kocourek]

FWIW, I have had feedback from several people who used laminated bench tops from Grizzly and they have all been satisfied with them.

[Clay Crocker]

I bought a laminated, maple top from Woodcraft 10+ years ago for my workbench. I noticed that I payed more in 2003 than what they are asking for a 24 X 60 bench top today. I did a little digging, and it appears that the bench top I bought is thicker (2-1/4") than the ones they sell today (1-3/4"). FWIW, I really like mine, but it no longer appears to be an apples to apples comparison.

[Tom M King]

Bally makes several different grades of the tops. Anything from all the same color, and long lengths, to piece up lower grades for industrial workbenches. I built a kitchen in 1982, and the people changed their minds in the middle of the job from Butcher Block to Corian. I still have a top grade Bally 25" x 96" x 2-1/4" thick piece left from that job. They told me to just keep it. It's still nice and flat. I have had all the other wood to build a bench for probably 30 years, but have never had time to work on my own stuff since.

I just looked, and Bally makes three thicknesses 1-3/4, 2-1/4, and 3". I think we paid about the same number of dollars in 1982 as they sell for now. Maybe they are outsourcing to China, but I really have no idea.

[Don Morris]

Thanks people for the info. With these resources, we'll be able to come up with a Workbench for his needs. And one that he can use for the years to come when he will have the time to build his own from scratch. Thanks All!

[Steve Peterson]

I bought maple workbench tops from Grizzly and they have worked great. There are many sizes available in 1.75" or 2.25" thicknesses. They are quite heavy. The top and sides have a nice smooth finish. The bottom is a bit rougher, but still useable.

Steve

[John Coloccia]

My son has his own business and right now just doesn't have the time to build his own workbench like I did mine. He did a fair amount of woodworking with me several years ago and is handy with hand tools. He does need a super sturdy workbench for some hobby work when he gets the chance. I got a hold of an old 2" think Maple bench top, refinished it and added the legs. My son said that if he could get a reasonable ($200.00-400.00) bench top, he would like to do the same as I did. I was looking at the laminated Maple table tops in the WoodCraft on-line catalog, and they look about what he is looking for. Anyone have any experience with them: Quality, flatness, joints, etc. Other sources would be appreciated. Thanks!

What type of hobby work is he doing? I've built a good number of these, back when I was building my airplane:

http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/worktabl/worktabl.htm

I also built a heavier and larger version, using a heavy, solid door as the top.

Anyhow, they're quite sturdy, and it will be reasonably flat...mostly determined by how flat you build it. It's great having smaller benches to link together in whatever configuration you want. If you use straightened lumber for the top, as opposed to simply 2X4s, and you make the entire top removable with nuts and bolts instead of using wood screws, you can periodically pop it off and take it to your local guy with a wide belt to reflatten it...and when the top surface gets beat up, just replace it, take it to your guy and reflatten it.