Slightly OT - Work Bench Top
 

So, I need to build a shop bench since the existing bench is too high. The PO of my place was very tall so the bench top is too tall (42”) for me at 5’ 10”. I’m still planning the overall construction but I’m obsessing over material for the top. I don’t want metal for various reasons and the leading option is hardwood flooring over plywood with a slight lip so bearings or fluid don’t spill onto the floor.

What do y’all have? Pros and cons? Yes, did a search and found a few good ideas but still in the planning stage.

Instead of a lip, use a router and cut a small groove all the way around. Like a little moat around your work space.

Mine main work bench is a wooden drafting table from the 1950s, in flat, not tilted, position. The top has gotten a bit beaten up over the years, but I am sure it won't offend anyone except the editors of "Good Garagekeeping." :) I hang most bicycle tools and smaller parts on pegboard along my garage walls, bikes, wheels, and tires from Bicycle Storage Hooks screwed into the rafters.

1/4" MDF is the way.

I built my work bench based on Fine Woodworking's torsion box assembly table (just the top part). It uses a 1/8-inch replaceable hardboard top. Pros: If/when it gets too grotty, I can just replace it. Cons: It's susceptible to warping due to spills and it doesn't take much for it to sit proud of its recess.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4b63028c3.jpeg

Laminated maple butcher block.

I ,have a 4'x4' bench with a laminated MDF board and plywood, with a plastic chair mat on top and cut to size. It can get slightly damaged by solvents like lacquer thinner, but I have a lexan sheet I use where the most solvents are used and it is disposable. Smiles, MH

A possible option is a solid core flat panel door. If you have a salvage yard or reuse center nearby, you could get a used one (might have a hole for the door knob) for pretty cheap. It will be a quick way to get a solid and relatively flat surface. You can trim it a little on the bottom, but not a lot, so make sure the size works for you.

Like others said, use a 1/4" MDF laid over your wood base. I replaced mine several times over forty years across three homes.
Any damage occurred along the edge from normal wear, although spilling harsh chemicals on it didn't help.
Funny that I dragged the 200-lb beast around with me. It always boiled down to saving time from making a new one.

I have an old wood desk top that simply sits on two folding horses. In the basement is an old ping pong table that is fitted with a vise, plenty sturdy for what I do. Both perfect for sit down work only. The old desk top is at least a full inch thick, the ping pong table is made of old school plywood, maybe 50+ years old.

3/4” melamine

This is defiantly what I would choose. The one I use now is oak butcher block and is fine except oak is an open pore wood and maple is closed. Stuff can get into the pores. To me a work bench is a major tool and paying a bit more for maple that doesn't sag and I can place steel tools or whatever without damaging them and looks good is well worth the money.

If you are using a machinist bench vise, the ideal height of the jaws is at elbow height.

Don't know if this is helpful, but when we had our kitchen redone, I saved the old cabinets with the formica tops and installed them in my workshop in the basement. The formica has been impervious to anything I have spilled on it or beat on and cleans up quite easily. Also provides storage.

Repurposed materials set-ups in the basement.

#1 - Old dresser with top drawers removed and 2x8 scrap boards attached on top.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...01e0e54492.jpg

#2 - Old kitchen cabinets with top made from old dining room table halves, upside down and rotated 90 degrees on top.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...903422dada.jpg

I'll cast another vote for hard-wood butcher block. I built one bench from scratch with that material as the top and it served me well. My primary bench now comes from a bathroom vanity topped with really thick (and heavy) butcher block. The sink opening eventually rotted out from water damage, but the other half of the unit was just right as a cabinet/top/workspace.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6a9de5b292.jpg

I bought a countertop from one of the big hardware stores ages ago. Lowes sells them from 4 to 10 feet with a price of $100 to $190 depending on length. The back splash comes in handy since things don’t drop off the back. I won’t provide a more modern picture because the top is a mess right now but here’s from nearly 20 years ago and its still going strong.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...88f85ec9e.jpeg

I had been using a small (5x3) butcher block table, I added about 7-9 ft of I think it’s called finish grade 3/4 plywood, screwed to the table which functions as the base. Pictures attached

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3c69de7b9.jpeg

3 layers of 3/4" mdf. Sturdy, flat, cheap.

I have a strict no liquids on it rule.

12” by 12” Vinyl Tiles
 

I’m agnostic on the underlying material. A lot of the above suggestions are really good. I have a long, thick plank of wood with a smooth top that is supported by heavy duty wooden saw horses so that I can break it down and move it if I want to work outside on a nice day.

One thing that has worked well is I used some left over self adhesive floor tiles from a closet project to make a work area on the plank that I can bang on and abuse. It protects tools and components from damage, oil and dirt clean up easily, and you just peel and replace when they get worn out. Two deep and three wide right in front of my chair has been plenty.

I like the above discussion of cutting a moat around the work area. A router bit slightly larger than the largest ball bearings we deal with would be ideal.

:foo:​​​​​​​:foo:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​:foo:​​​​​​​ How do you work on bikes with no beer/wine/whatever? :foo:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​:foo:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​:foo:​​​​​​​

Made my own cabinets (NOT exclusively bike related) in the workshop, plywood tops with white Formica glued on top. Beautiful -- for a few days. Purple Plumbing primer, for instance, stains it forever. But it was/is light-reflective.

Maybe, next time aluminum "diamond plate"?

This is what I did- sort of… It’s supported by 2x4’s bolted to the wall. Portland’s Rebuilding Center has lots of doors, but I ended up with an old countertop… I think. Workbench on the left:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7c665cf1b.jpeg

For all the reasons mentioned above butcher block is kinda preferred. merziac has stepped up with an inspiration. To be continued….

Bike shop (no work bench, just a work stand) is a different room than the wood shop which is a different room from the metal shop. There is some cross over, but that is never a good idea.

For me, two by six planks covered with 1/2" thick rubber conveyor belting does a great job. You can beat the heck out of it, use a box cutter to cut things on it and it is easy to clean. I covered only half of the bench for my own reasons but cannot remember why I did so. Doesn't matter, the top has the problem nicely covered...
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cdb0a92482.jpg

I went cheap with two layers of 1/2" OSB screwed together, painted white with aluminum angle screwed to the edge. White painted Masonite might have been preferred, but this works well.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...042f9f138c.jpg