Workshop bench advice, please

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againstthegrain

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Location
South Wales
Many years ago I unherited my father's pretty solid workshop bench. My workshop is a general purpose space - I make and mend. But the bench top is in a rather sorry state as the photo shows. Would you recover it - and if so with what. Ply, MDF, or something else?

20211208_090408.jpg
 
If you wouldn't mind the extra height, just bolt down a solid core door on top and cut it to size. They are flat and sometimes either veneered or has melamine face. All durable surfaces. And once they get trashed in a few years, just replace them.

Or you can go down the same route with good sheet material.

Shame you are far away, or you could have had my spare workbench top (2 layers of finished MDF with solid wood edges) that I had saved from the skip from my last place of work.
 
Thank you all for your helpful replies. Very much appreciated. I will post a picture when I have decided what to do and have done it!
 
The only sheet material you'd need is a few pieces of ply or MDF for chopping on.
Still looks in good enough nick to me for general purpose kinda bench.
 
I'd refresh it with a toothing plane and carry on using it.
 
I like being able to clean my bench off with the work, leaving only one swipe necessary to sweep my irritable tropical shavings and dust into a bin with minimal contact of the waste.
Smooth planed, flat and polished for me. as I treat mine as a surface planer bed...
cuz I don't have one;)

If it slips, then it's more apparent what is wrong with the work holding.
But, I don't do site work or anything on the fly as it were.
Rough stuff like welding gets a few sheets on top which get clamped.
 

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