Plywood Bench Worktop

[Bigus]

Hi All

I am looking to build a workbench for my newly constructed shed. For the top I was initially going to use 2 sheets of 40mm thick solid beech kitchen worktop glued together. I only have room to make the bench 1.5M long so one 3M sheet cut in half was the plan, however that's still about £130 and from some internet-only firm.

It then occured to me plywood might do the trick. I can get 2 sheets of 1.2 x 2.4M full hardwood ply at 25mm thick from the local builders merchant for about £80. That's enough to make a 4-layer worktop 100mm thick (which should be nice and solid to fit my No 53 vice too).

Has anyone made their worktop with ply and if so what kind of glue did you use to bind them together? Also, I presume 25mm thick ply is likely to give a reasonably level surface?

Thanks
Bigus

 

[Bluekingfisher]

The hardwood laminated would be the better long term deal.

However if you go the plywood route the danger and liklihood is that, through time the top will get damaged and difficult then to repair.

I would (if going the ply route) use the two shseet then apply a top layer of 9/12mm MDF which can be tossed when damaged. Make sure and put a hard or softwood protection in the form of edgebanding to protect the edge of the ply. That way the MDF top layer can be laid without permanently fixing to the ply. Just give the MDF a lick of varnish or poly then a couple of coats of wipe on wax to prevent glue and crude sticking to it.

I would go the laminated hardwood route myself but I can see why the ply is an option too.

Good luck

Edit - Any PVA glue will suffice for laminating the boards unless you intend to submerse it in water on a regular basis. Then something like Titebond II would work great.

David

 

[KevM]

Hi Bigus,

I made my bench top from a single sheet of 18mm ply. I ripped the 2400 x 1200 sheet into 4 600 x 1200 sheets, I used 3 for the bench top and the 4th as a back piece. The size of the ply sheet dictated my 'design'. I know some people aren't fans of having a back to their bench, and that makes perfect sense if you've got the room to access it from all sides, but as mine backs up against the garage wall it serves as a useful guard against things rolling into the spider sanctuary between the bench and the wall. When it came to the top I considered gluing it, but ended up just using a recessed coach bolt (not coach screw) in each corner and bolting the thing together - it went together as flat as my 1000mm spirit level across its whole surface and has stayed that way. My thinking was that if the ply didn't stand up well to hard use then I'd have a total of 6 sacrificial surfaces that I could use to refresh it every year or so. So far it's been standing up well, so I've not had to dismantle/reassemble it. I did add a length of timber to make a lipping for the front, and gave the top a wipe with some dregs of Danish oil to protect it from glue etc - don't overdo this you don't want to make it smooth and slippery, one scant coat seems to have done a nice job of sealing the ply while keeping its slightly grippy texture. It wouldn't win any prizes for aesthetics, but it allowed me to put a perfectly usable bench together in a Saturday morning at a very reasonable price. I fitted an old Record 52 1/2 vice to it, there's a useful thread somewhere on how to do it. Not wishing to steal the punch line, but it involves using a baulk of timber clamped in the vice as a 'leg' to take the weight while you fit it.

Cheers, Kev.

 

[JSW]

You'll see Fire Doors go up on Gumtree regularly, £20-30 seems to be the norm, ideal as bench tops.

 

[mseries]

You'll see Fire Doors go up on Gumtree regularly, £20-30 seems to be the norm, ideal as bench tops.

£5 each in a second hand shop near me. If only I'd had a car

 

[blackrodd]

A member mentioned Worktop express for timber worktops, perhaps a phonecall and see if they have any seconds for you're purpose?
A quick look shows a 3m Beech is £70.00
Regards Rodders

 

[Bigus]

Thanks for all the replies. I am coming round to the idea of using 2 x 27mm layers of beech but with delivery and oil it still adds up to over a ton. B&Q do a pre-oiled sheet of it for £87 but typically not in any nearby store and then I'd have to cut it in the carpark to fit it in the car. I think I will ring round as suggested and see if any local merchants have any seconds.

Kev, sounds like your ply bench worked out really well. I found that vice fitting guide you mentioned:

vices-fitting-a-record-bench-vice-t25365.html

That's an ingeniously simple solution there to support the vice, given how much these big vices weigh.

Whether I go for the beech or ply top there is a great little workbench construction guide here that uses ply for the base with some nifty laminating to create tenons:

http://www.startwoodworking.com/sites/d ... h-plan.pdf

He uses an MDF top like David suggested.

Bigus

 

[DiscoStu]

My tops are 2 X 18mm MDF and seems very stable. I went for MDF as its cheap and replaceable but also stable and solid.