Laminated Workbench top question

[Chad Holland]

Heyo, new here so hopefully I am posting this in the right place. I am working on a design for a small workbench for my place. For the top I was going to use Poplar laminated 2x6 ripped to 2.5" thick. Then I was going to add a Walnut trim around the outside. That being said, the materials cost of a 3' x 2' top of solid poplar was a bit more than I expected (~$200).

Now to the question, and mind you I realize that this would not be best practice, but more wanting to know what the cons would be. Would is be a good idea to cut my Poplar to 1.5" then laminate to the bottom of that an inch of basic plywood for my thickness? My thought is that I don;t really care what the bottom looks like, and it can be a softer wood, as long as the surface is hard wood. The walnut trim will hide the plywood from the sides. My concern is warping, would the plywood lamination potentially cause warping to the 1.5" laminated surface?

Note, I plan on hollowing out a ~1.5' x 2' well that is 1" deep for inserting different surfaces for different types of projects. Since space is a concern, I want to make the top a bit modular so if I am working on leather I can have my leather working insert in, and if I am working on wood, I can have that insert in.

Thanks in advance.

Chad

[John TenEyck]

Gluing plywood to the bottom of a laminated top of solid wood would be a bad idea, as you suspected. The wood is going to move with seasonal changes in humidity. The plywood won't. See where this is going?

For the same reason, it would a bad idea to wrap the perimeter of a solid wood top with a wooden "frame" unless you do it a way that allows the laminated top to move. Think bread board ends.

If the price of a laminated solid wood top is too high to justify, why not just use 3 or 4 layers of MDF, particle board, or plywood? And with that construction you could wrap the perimeter with walnut w/o concern of failure.

[Justin Rapp]

You can get a laminated butcher block at most big-box hard ware stores (home depot/lowes). Lowes has Baltic birch 4' x 2' laminated top 1.75" thick for $119.00. I just used a larger one for my workbench that I completed a few weeks ago. Poplar is also very soft on the Janka chart (only 540), depending on what you plan to do with your workbench.

[bill epstein]

You don't have a hardwood lumber yard within a reasonable drive? Figuring in waste, $200 would buy enough board feet of 8/4 maple, S4S, for a 3x2 glue up. At least around here, N. Carolina. Might even stretch to enough 4/4 Walnut for the skirt.

[Chad Holland]

Ah, thanks for the ideas. In my area, Poplar is like $5.25/ft for a 2x6 while maple is like $9.60, and that was at the hardwood dealer that has way cheaper prices than the normal lumber yards. I was afraid that the Hardwood would warp, but you gave me a good idea. I actually like the idea of laminating the Plywood. Since a ~2' x 1.5' section of the middle of the bench will be interchangeable, and will be the main work surface, I am not too concerned about the plywood looking bad. For reference, this is what I was going for.
427171

[Jerry Bruette]

You could go to your local ReStore and buy a solid core door for cheap and add what you want to the top to make the interchangeable inserts that you want. I made a work bench at my cabin from a solid core door and I think I paid about $20 for the door, then added 2x4 legs and have a nice sturdy bench for under $50.

[Mark Daily]

How about something like this maple top from Grizzly:

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-Solid-Maple-Workbench-Top-36-Wide-x-24-Deep-x-1-3-4-Thick/G9912

[glenn bradley]

I have made my last to bench bases out of poplar. It is much more reasonably priced on the left coast apparently. For a base it has worked great and if I made another bench I would probably use poplar again. My surface is two 3/4" plywood sheets laminated to two 3/4" MDF sheets for a ~3" top. This has been very satisfactory for my hand tool work, small assembly and the usual pounding that a bench takes. Certainly at your poplar prices a maple top from Grizzly or else where would be more cost effective if you want something pre-made.

[fritz eng]

Look into maple butcher block benchtops. Happy with my purchase

www.globalindustrial.com (http://www.globalindustrial.com/)