IKEA wood countertops for benchtop?

[Chris Yarish]

I have been toying with the idea of buying one of the Ikea natural wood kitchen countertops to use as the surface of a workbench.
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/categories/range/10379/10479/

All you need to do is add some supports, legs, vice and bench dog holes.
Anyone done this, or considered it?

[Michael Schwartz]

Yes and no, They are not very thick so you would want a substantial structure beneath them to support them and add weight, which brings the question since they are solid wood of how to attach them and allow for wood movement, but keep the whole top solid.

Seems like they would work out nicely for a more general purpose bench but at that point I would build a torsion box out of plywood and a stand out of 1x or 2x construction lumber.

[Jesse Cloud]

Buying a prefab countertop will save you a lot of time and maybe even money, depending on the price of lumber in your area. You will probably want to wrap a wider apron around it for mounting vises, etc. If you do that, make the apron my laminating two pieces of maple, with matching dadoes 1/2 the size of the dog holes on each piece.

You might be able to find a better price, though...

[jude samson]

Hey Chris

Also go to the returns area. In NY area they always seem to be putting countertops they've taken off of displays, in the return section. For the pric of one you might find 2 and be able to double up your bench top.

Jude

[David DeCristoforo]

"You might be able to find a better price, though..."

I don't know... those prices look pretty cheap to me compared to what you would pay for a good quality maple block. The copy says "solid wood" but does not mention what the wood is. Also, some of the tops are 3.8 cm thick which is just under 1.5 inches and others are 2.8 cm which is a little over 1 inch. In either case, a bit light for a really solid workbench but, as mentioned, probably OK for a work "table". My big concern would be the species. These may be made of fairly soft wood (alder?) which is not the best for workbench tops.

YM

[Dennis Meek]

Chris
About a year ago I bought 2 of the counter tops (one birch and one oak) from IKEA and within 6 months they delaminated. What I found inside was surprising. Most was laminated with very loose finger joints, and very poor glue-up. The tops was 1/4" laminated to substrate.
Both of mine were made in an eastern block country and they must have used very poor glue.
It would've been cheaper to buy an already made shop table.
Soured me on IKEA.

Dennis

[David DeCristoforo]

"...and within 6 months they delaminated..."

Maybe time for a good axiom? "You get what you pay for" comes to mind....

YM

[Leo Montreuil]

The Numerar solid wood countertop are solid wood. There is no lamination. I have used them, cut them and sanded them. I used the birch solid wood countertop. The countertop is made of strips of 1.5"x1.5" of various length. The strip end grain to end grain are glued using a finger joints.

The link below is for the solid wood countertop
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/40091673

[Brian Patterson]

here is a link to a guy how made a bench out of 1 1/8" birch countertop for IKEA.... looks like he laminated 2 together

http://workbenchdesign.yuku.com/topic/401/t/Bench-in-progress.html

[Rob Bodenschatz]

I used the numerar for the mudroom bench shown here:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=46294

While it hasn't been beat on with a mallet, it has held up very well to three boys sitting/standing/jumping/climbing/falling/spilling on it. I would say it's worth a shot.

[Katherine Bercaw]

I've been looking at the maple workbench tops sold by McMaster Carr
http://www.mcmaster.com/
they're on page 1622 of the catalogue (Storage - workbenches - workbench tops is the search pattern if you can't pull the page #)

They're sold in 1 3/4' and 2 1/4" thick pieces in various sizes. (They also sell oak tops.)

Since they sell to industrial applications they might be sturdier than the Ikea version

[Chris Holder]

I've been looking at the maple workbench tops sold by McMaster Carr
http://www.mcmaster.com/
they're on page 1622 of the catalogue (Storage - workbenches - workbench tops is the search pattern if you can't pull the page #)

They're sold in 1 3/4' and 2 1/4" thick pieces in various sizes. (They also sell oak tops.)

Since they sell to industrial applications they might be sturdier than the Ikea version

Has anyone bought one of the tops from McMaster? Seems like they would be pretty stout.

[Greg Cole]

For the McMaster offering, a 30"W x 72" L and 2 1/4" thick is just about $320.00 not including delivery. There's no spec for flatness, only for weight capacity. Guessing they're flat when they leave the drum sanders, whether they are flat when they arrive at your door step is another issue.
Granted the lamination part is the biggest chore, but for over $400 bucks if you figure in delivery... I've got machines and time and can get a pretty big pile of sticks for $400.00.
Maybe it's just me but the idea of laminating 2 tops (of unknown glue etc etc) would be an awful risk, given the delamination possibility (or reality as posted above).
Just my $0.02.

Greg - who's current bench is 2 sheets of 1" ply laminated together & far from flat.:rolleyes:

[Joel Earl]

Hello all - newbie to forum but been a wood playing for long time.

Find the comments by owners/previous owners who've used IKEA's countertops with poor results interesting. I've made and/or helped make 7 full sized WB's using them that have been in use for quite some time now - at least 9 years in one case. Not one has had any problems despite daily use. Makes me wonder and curious as to why our experiences have varied so widely?

The first one I ever picked up had me asking many questions - at the folks working at return area, on the floor and a couple customers who I over heard talking of using in their kitchens (imagine that:)). I did not hear a negative nor that one had been returned for any reason so I took a chance.

Extremely pleased here. Must be a reason we have such different experiences but I am at a loss as to what it would be.

[vincent nobel]

I built my bench this way. The wood IKEA uses in the UK for their counter tops is beech, birch and walnut. I choose a beech top. I built the base by attaching four small chests of drawers to each other ( http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/75305709 )
On top of that I screwed two 2" x 3" pine beams on which the top rests (to get the required height). It's a very heavy construction and works very well. I haven't mounted a vise yet. It's certainly the quickest way to get a cheap bench that is heavy enough to withstand serious handplaning and that has a hardwood top. You do need to support the top properly.

You can also buy worktops that are 5cm or 7cm thick (not from IKEA) but you'll pay dearly for it.