Thanks: 0
Needs Pictures: 0
Results 1 to 15 of 19
Thread: Workbench top
-
19th May 2019, 06:14 PM #1Intermediate Member
- Join Date
- May 2019
- Location
- Brisbane
- Posts
- 46
Workbench top
Hi all
Planning to build a very basic first workbench and was thinking of using a plywood top. Is there a particular playsuit that anyone would recommend? Alternatively is there another material that you'd recommend?
Cheers
Dan
-
19th May 2019 06:14 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
- Join Date
- Always
- Location
- Advertising world
- Posts
- Many
-
19th May 2019, 06:30 PM #2SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Jan 2010
- Location
- Auckland New Zealand
- Posts
- 312
My first workbench was 2 pieces of normal bunnings18mm ply with a piece of hardboard as the top layer. Worked sweet.
-
19th May 2019, 06:34 PM #3Member
- Join Date
- Oct 2018
- Location
- tasmania
- Posts
- 70
Plywood"s fine as a workbench top.It"s only drawback I have found is it doesn't really supply a laser straight top but hey does that matter
-
19th May 2019, 06:43 PM #4SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Jan 2010
- Location
- Auckland New Zealand
- Posts
- 312
-
19th May 2019, 07:04 PM #5Taking a break
- Join Date
- Aug 2008
- Location
- Melbourne
- Age
- 34
- Posts
- 6,127
I'd go for 32mm MDF (or 2x 16/18mm) over ply, it's flatter and smoother
-
19th May 2019, 07:26 PM #6
Formply or melamine will also work
-
19th May 2019, 09:34 PM #7
Solid core door.....Bunnings.
Heavy, flat, hardwearing. Used these on my first benches, and 15 years later still going strong.
-
20th May 2019, 11:38 AM #8
All the above will do as will particle board flooring. 2 x 18mm and a hardboard top layer that you change out when It gets all chewed up. The bunnings ply these days is unlikely to be flat.
Regards
John
-
20th May 2019, 12:00 PM #9Intermediate Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2019
- Location
- Albany
- Age
- 47
- Posts
- 41
Great thread. I am planning my first "workbench" while waiting to get a shed sorted. I plan on something basic for my first one with the future endevour of a laminated top a LONG way away.
Couple of ideas here better than my first thoughts I am kind of mucking around with an old pallet wood bench my father in law put together years ago. I am modifying it piecemeal as I figure out what I want. Hopefully then I can apply those to future benches etc etc.
-
20th May 2019, 03:54 PM #10Intermediate Member
- Join Date
- May 2019
- Location
- Brisbane
- Posts
- 46
Thanks botesmj1. That's pretty much along the lines of what I'm going for. Out of interest, what is the vice you have there and how does it mount?
Also, did you use wood screws for your base or joints?
I was thinking of just going wood screws with 2 x 4s and 4 x 4s (for legs)
-
20th May 2019, 04:32 PM #11SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Jan 2010
- Location
- Auckland New Zealand
- Posts
- 312
That was a record 52 or 53. It's their standard bottom mount woodworking vice. You should be able to still buy them new or heaps of 2nd hand ones around.
The frame was screwed together with pocket holes using the Kreg pocket hole jig. No issues with just a few screws as long as you have the middle or bottom shelve screwed in to make the whole structure nice and sturdy.
-
20th May 2019, 04:35 PM #12SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Jan 2010
- Location
- Auckland New Zealand
- Posts
- 312
-
21st May 2019, 11:16 PM #13Senior Member
- Join Date
- Aug 2014
- Location
- Geelong, Victoria
- Posts
- 284
Lots of opinions here - but the key issue is what you want to do on the bench. If you are just starting out, this will probably be the first of a series of benches as you work out what works best for you.
I started off with plywood bench tops, but once I got into hand tool joinery, I found I needed more mass. The second bench I built had thicker top laminated from construction grade pine. It was better, but not big enough. I am very happy with the third attempt. Bench one lasted a year, bench two 18 months and bench three is rising five.
I have had a little bit of experience with form ply as a top (my Men's Shed has two benches with form ply). I find it far too slippery for almost everything I want to do. I think it would be great for many purposes, but not to my taste at all.
Bruce
-
22nd May 2019, 10:29 AM #14Novice
- Join Date
- Nov 2017
- Location
- Sydney
- Posts
- 13
For a cheap solid surface, 4 half sheets of 18 mm mdf laminated together is hard to beat. It isn't pretty (or tidy) but it's flat and heavy. A few coats of linseed oil and turps stop water going in and the rounded off top edges don't crumble like square mdf.
Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
-
22nd May 2019, 10:55 AM #15GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Aug 2005
- Location
- Queensland
- Posts
- 2,947
+ for form ply or yellow tongue flooring finished with an appropriate varnish or floor seal product.
For those who find form ply too slippery, a rubber sheet from Clark rubber solves this as well a protecting the surface and provides a good surface which avoids damage to your project.Regards,
Bob
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Similar Threads
-
Workbench build (yes, another workbench thread)
By ajw in forum FURNITURE, JOINERY, CABINETMAKING - formerly BIG STUFFReplies: 7Last Post: 15th March 2018, 01:39 PM -
A temporary workbench to build a workbench on
By doug3030 in forum THE WORK BENCHReplies: 5Last Post: 23rd October 2016, 07:46 AM -
a workbench to make a workbench
By mic-d in forum THE WORK BENCHReplies: 21Last Post: 2nd November 2008, 03:32 PM -
Catch-22 - building a workbench without a workbench
By brianhay in forum THE WORK BENCHReplies: 11Last Post: 18th January 2005, 04:56 PM -
Catch-22 - building a workbench without a workbench
By brianhay in forum WOODWORK - GENERALReplies: 11Last Post: 18th January 2005, 04:56 PM