Bicycle Mechanics - Masonite on a bench?

We're building a new bench at the shop and I was thinking of using masonite as the work surface (on top of chipboard for strength) It's much cheaper than finished plywood, it wipes off easy and it's easy to replace if it gets too worn down is my line of thinking...

Anyone ever tried this? Does it hold up well?

Thanks for any input or alternate ideas!

I've done it. Worked fine for my purposes.

Maybe I should mention that I wasn't doing bike work on my bench. I used it for wood working and building models. I think a masonite surface would be fine for bike work, however.

My main bench is covered in 1/8" masonite, with a strip of oak banding the edges. I have two pieces of plywood, then the masonite, so I've got a solid hammering surface (and an anvil on it), plus a reliable clamping surface, and I can nail stop-blocks and such to the edge of the bench temporarily if needed.

Yeah, the masonite will just be the working surface, it'll be appropriately supported underneath. As far as actual work goes... the bench is pretty lightly used, mostly for setting tools/parts down and such, but I was concerned if the prolonged exposure to grease and oil might cause the masonite to go mushy.

I like to use a finished kitchen counter top from the local hardware store. They are very tough(At least as a bikeshop bench) I also like the slight lip in the front to keep stuff from rolling off and the backstop built in.
For a really tough bench top I like 1/4 sheet steel. Really durable and you can clamp your ground to it and just move the work piece around.

One more thing: my work bench was near a window...lots of sunlight. After a couple of weeks, the surface color faded from the exposure. I was left with a few dark rectangles & circles where I kept various boxes and cans. Didn't bother me, but something to be aware of if you're work bench is going to be exposed to daily sunlight...you might want to treat the surface with something.

I like to use a finished kitchen counter top from the local hardware store. They are very tough(At least as a bikeshop bench) I also like the slight lip in the front to keep stuff from rolling off and the backstop built in.
For a really tough bench top I like 1/4 sheet steel. Really durable and you can clamp your ground to it and just move the work piece around.

That's what I bought for my work bench. The laminate is easy to clean also. And, since it's white, I can see parts on it easier.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/Workbench.jpg

I think I paid about $40 for an 8 foot one at Lowes.

One more thing: my work bench was near a window...lots of sunlight. After a couple of weeks, the surface color faded from the exposure. I was left with a few dark rectangles & circles where I kept various boxes and cans. Didn't bother me, but something to be aware of if you're work bench is going to be exposed to daily sunlight...you might want to treat the surface with something.

Photochemical decomposition of the lignin in the masonite. Chemistry in action;)

That's what I bought for my work bench. The laminate is easy to clean also. And, since it's white, I can see parts on it easier.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/Workbench.jpg

I think I paid about $40 for an 8 foot one at Lowes.

Unbelievably tidy. AAhhhhhh... the shining!

They have regular and tempered Masonite, (darker color and harder).You can also get melamine coated masonite.

knotty

Unbelievably tidy. AAhhhhhh... the shining!

It was new. Doesn't look like that now;) The Second Law is catching up to me:eek:

Masonite works, drop a rubber pad on top to keep small parts from running off.

It was new. Doesn't look like that now;) The Second Law is catching up to me:eek:

Thermodynamics? Man, there's no escaping entropy; it just rolls and rolls forward, inexorably, entropizing everything in its path. Soon enough we'll all be just thermal radiation.


Of course, if you weren't talking about the 2nd law of thermodynamics... this makes little sense to you.

I glued a piece of masonite to an old steel boiler room door (heavy) for use as a workbench top around 40 years ago. I'm still using that work bench today. As soon as I can get a feel for how long it's going to last I'll let you know.

Formica will give you a nice relatively oil impervious surface, though formica stains
easily showing it has some porosity. An alternative would be a couple of coats of
polyurethane on tempered masonite, which would make it equally impervious to
water and oil stains (relatively, not absolute), compared to the untreated tempered
masonite. Light colored surfaces easier to track wayward small parts on. Hard rug
squares or rubber pads are good for keeping ball bearings from disappearing.

I glued masonite to the plywood of my bench and banded it with birch 1x2 then gave it 5 coats of urathane.
Looks sweet but I always hate to scratch it.

My benches are topped with 2 layers of 3/4" chip board and a layer of 1/4" Masonite. I've gotten almost 29 years out of the older one and see no reason I won't get another 29. OK, one reason, I'd be 92. No finish was applied but it's held up to plenty of hot brazing flux and spilled lubricants.

Cool, thanks for the input everyone! Looks like it's gonna hold up well.

I like the other ideas too, but I don't think anything is going to beat a 4 x 8 sheet for $16!

Don't care about stains, it's a workbench, not a dining table!

Unbelievably tidy. AAhhhhhh... the shining!

Good Lord, yes, neat and tidy. I really need to clean up my garage/workshop. The plywood top of my workbench has not been seen for months.

That reminds me! My workbench has a top! I wonder what it looks like?

(It's made of MDF, which works really well, by the way. Oil's soaked in in some places to no real deleterious effect, but you could go over it with resin if you're concerned.)

I used masonite to build the benches of the shop I wrench at. It's definitely tough stuff, and I like it better than Formica as things don't tend to bounce as far. Apply plenty of extra stickers for further dampening characteristics. If the stickers get looking shabby, clean and apply more stickers.

16mm MDF works well.

cheers
Pagey

Hard rug
squares or rubber pads are good for keeping ball bearings from disappearing.

I like the magnetic bowls

Cool idea for a work bench would be to have one of those magnetic bowls or a magnetic plane built into the bench itself

Is masonite similar to particle boards or what pegboards/hardboards are made out of?

Masonite comes in a light version that tends to break down and a harder version that lasts better.

Personally, I use an old telephone book for oily jobs on the workbench. Tear off the cover and you have a soft, oil absorbent surface that will not mar delicate parts. When the top pages are torn or dirty, tear them off and you have a fresh new surface. I wish I could say the idea was original with me. It came from Popular Science or Popular Mechanics magazine.

Is masonite similar to particle boards or what pegboards/hardboards are made out of?

Masonite is the old trade name for the dark brown hardboard. Pegboards are usually made of masonite. It was invented in 1927 by William Mason. Put wood chips in a reactor, heat with steam, release the contents explosively (steam exploded) and the chips are nicely shredded. Originally the fiber was just smashed back together and the board used as is. Tempered masonite has stuff added to harden and water proof it.

Particle board, on the other hand, is bits of sawdust that are glued together with urea/formaldehyde glue or phenol/formaldehyde glue. Urea/formaldehyde glue decomposes in the presence of water and gives off formaldehyde vapors...the stuff in the FEMA trailers. Most particle board is being moved away from the UF glue. Particle board is used to back formica or melamine counter tops (like mine). As long as you don't get it wet, it's okay.

Had enough yet? I could go on about strand board and MDF if you like;)

^^^ Got it! Thanks!

In a shop I worked at/owned for 15 years, we tried a bunch of things. The most successful was using nice plywood (no splinters). We poured a can of polyurethane on it, let it dry, and it resembled those thick clear coat covered bar tables which seem impervious to everything around them. I still have one of those benches and although it's sort of beat up, it's still going after 20 years.

We tried the masonite or whatever but they get fuzzy after a while. It's good for covering a beat up counter but if you're building from scratch, I like the plywood.

As a bonus we used plywood with dowels as a tool board. Put down a piece of plywood, figure out how your tools will hang on it, and drill/dowel appropriately (tip: "hang" the tools from your fingers so you realize that your wrench will actually hang tilted - then put the dowel appropriately so it'll hang straight). Paint or stain the whole thing, clear coat, and it looks very nice/pro. Lean it up and use a section of trim to keep its bottom edge in place (so it doesn't slide out and fall flat on its back). We'd slide the tool board back and forth and put papers etc behind the board - good place to keep manuals and other things ready but out of the way. We painted ours but if I were to do it again, I'd poly it to keep the wood look, let it darken naturally.

cdr