| Author | Message | ||
     Xl1200r |
New house with a garage big enough to put a workbench in. What should I make the work surface out of? I've always been a fan of stainless, but likely won't have the budget to do it right (though I could be surprised). We also always had benches at the shop just made of regular steel, but I don't think this one would get enough use to keep it from rusting. Who's got what and how do they like it? | ||
| Borrowedbike |
I'd suggest running to the Home Depot or similar and buying a 10' section of pre-fabed kitchen countertop in white. The backsplash and lip will keep parts from rolling off the bench and the white will help things stand out. It will scratch with heavy use but at about $40 a pop it's pretty cheap to replace too. Just one opinion... | ||
| Xl1200r |
Good idea. I was going to use parts of the kitchen counter when I redid the kitchen, but for $40 that may be a good solution. I worry about wood getting chewed up and bits of it finding it's way into places it shouldn't go. | ||
| Jramsey |
The top on my welding table is a 4'x8'x 1/2" steel plate,in 26 years of use it has never rusted. For my sheetmetal working and other general purpose work benches I use Formica. There is a local counter top manufacturer that I can buy blems and leftovers from cheap. Roll a round shop carts I use Steel tubing for the frames and Stainless Steel for the tops an shelves. | ||
| Slaughter |
Build a wood workbench, screw galvanized sheet to it. INCREDIBLY tough. Doesn't look as "pretty" as finished cabinetry or stainless but unless you're working with Martha Stewart in your shop, galvanized sheet will do you fine. If you mount equipment to it (bench vise, drill press, etc) - you can drill right through and anchor with lag bolts into your wood frame. 4x4 legs, 2x6 table top, 2x6 back, 2x4 frame, galvanized surface and back rail - hell for stout. You might have a local shop brake the back rail up 4 or 6 inches - helps keep small stuff from rolling off the back side. I've used roofing or sheet metal shops for the stuff in the past. You can go with Stainless but face it - it's pretty pricey, a pain to drill and debur and unless you live on the ocean or underwater, galvanized will never rust. | ||
| Slaughter |
What kind of work you going to do? I also have a welded steel bench that I use as a groundable table for welding - but that is all welded steel legs and table top. The wood-frame/galvanized workbench is just for all the normal stuff... NOT welding!!! | ||
| Xl1200r |
There won't be much welding. I can do it, but don't have my own and know more than a few guys who are much better than me at it. This will be used for general mechnicals. Eventually the Sportster engine will be in peices on it. | ||
| Brinnutz |
I don't have the space to build a full setup...but this is what I built for the tear down of my M2's motor...  | ||
| Thumper74 |
All wood, with 2xwhatever top with a peice of sheet metal on the top. Have a metal fab place roll a bead around the edge to keep small things and fluid from ending up on the ground | ||
| Strokizator |
I bought a 6ft long maple butcher-block counter top out off the 'net. The price was reasonable enough and the 2" thick maple is very durable. Get some 1.5" floor flanges for the 1.5" sch40 pipe legs and you're good to go. | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
I have an old kitchen formica counter top. It works good for what I use it for. Like the backspash on it. And if it gets thrashed I have my leftover plywood from the new counter under it. | ||
| Rockstarblast1 |
i built a sturdy as hell tool bench/table and the top is 2x8.... i went to vocational school a while back for carpentry and its where i got the plans... its good for 2 reason when the top gets crappy you just pop the 2x8s off and replace. and when stuff goes to roll off it gets stopped in the groves of the 2x8's butted up against eachother. and again you can mount stuff like vices etc. right to it easy! when i need a smooth surface i have my piece of "counter top" that i also made, but not everyone knows how to do formica.. | ||
| Tank_bueller |
+1 for laminate/formica. Cheap at Lowes/Home Depot. Pre-fab slab for $40-$80 depending on length. Totally CHEMICAL PROOF, and pretty tough too!(we clean new product with acetone or lacquer thinner, in folks kitchens) Did I mention cheap? | ||
| Just_ziptab |
My beater bench is 2x12 top,stained with brown shoe polish when I built it.Big harry assed belt driven bench grinder and a Lady Kenmore vise. 4x4 legs bolted to the floor,back plate screwed to the wall and 5 drawers made out of 1x8s .Plenty of scars that give it character and all have been "blended in" with old engine oil. I wipe it down with WD-40 once in a while and it's been just a great bench for 30 years. The good bench has an old car hoist H-beam frame,topped with 8' of 10 gauge steel and a 4' section of "soft top" 2x8s. Monster vice with 14" jaw opening.....it's too nice to beat up so it see's more storage of crap than actual use.........but man, when I need a ball shrinking vice,it's there for me............ | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Oh yah, nothing quite as handy as a 135 pound anvil on an cushion plank,mounted on a large old gas pump base. A 2x12 jig,slathered with graphite and a hole in it "just" big enuf for that harry assed grinder stone to poke up thru .... was just the ticket to resurface the the anvil by sliding it back and forth across the stone....... (Message edited by just_ziptab on May 04, 2009) | ||
| Bhillberg |
+1 on the butcher block. I had that on my roll around tool box at work which was basically a rolling workbench. I worked on it 40 hrs a week for 5 years and it held up great. You will get some nicks in it but it adds to the character. If it really gets torn up I knew guys who just sanded theirs down and reapplied some poly to it | ||
| Bo_sox |
1/4" masonite | ||
| Firebolt32 |
http://www.globalindustrial.com/gcs/group/2290/pro ductsPerPicGroups.web#gridAnchor One of my old employers donated to me something similar to this. Very nice... | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
I would use high density fiber board. It is cheap by the sheet, and when you accidentally drill/cut into your surface you can replace it for cheap. | ||
| Jerseyguy |
Take a look here: http://www.mcmaster.com/#butcher-block-workbench-t ops/=1r7evh Iv'e got one table in butcher block & one in wood covered with galvanized 18 gauge sheet metal. |
