I just moved in to a new basement layout/ workbench area with a house over it. I have figured out a good basic structure for my workbench but am unsure what type of surface the work area should be. I will have a cutting mat on a portion of it. What I am asking is, what type of material I should use for the overall top. Should I just have painted plywood? Masonite? Cork? (just kidding)
Addendum: After a few comments, I see I should have specified that this will be strictly for model building. I have a seperate workbench for carpentry and other heavy work.
I have had three different work benches in three different houses in the last fifty years. The hands down winner was plywood “good one side” with the good side up and then painted with marine enamel. I repainted it once in twenty years and that was for looks only. Any spills wipe up easily without staining. Good luck.[2c]
If it is for modeling I think I would make a wood absolutely flat surface and cover it with white (not speckled) formica. Lots of light, flat surface and parts can be seen easily if dropped.
Good question, and I’ve wrestled with this myself.
Assuming this is a modeling bench for MR projects - and not for woodworking and other heavier stuff, my first choice would be a laminate. Make sure you have a good, solid and smooth wood surface, pick up a piece of countertype laminate from a big box or flooring store, and glue/router it to fit.
I realize some folks are not up to that, and might prefer vinyl floor tile or linoleum or the like as they are easier to install. In any case, these products will give you a very smooth and relatively hard surface to work on, whereas a board or plywood surface could soon get “tore up” and in need of replacement.
All that being said, I have a large laminate surface to work on, BUT, I picked up a 2x3 ft pad of easel paper and use it as my work surface. After each model or when needed, I tear off a sheet and start out with a clean fresh surface.
The bottom line is, use what you are most comfortable or have on hand.
Hands down is should be a piece of plexiglass or polycarbonate. It’s like a hard flexible plastic that comes in diff thicknesses. Now I would place this over top of the wood.You can pick up a sheet 4x6 or maybe 4x8 at a hardware store for about $30.00. It can be as thick as 1/4" You can glue on it, cut on it, build on it, then just wipe it off. After a few years just cut another picec to replace it. It does make a good surface to work off of.
I use an old kitchen counter. It’s got an off-white formica top, works like a champ. You can go to Lowe’s and get a section of pre-formed counter top pretty economically. Or better yet, keep your eyes peeled for a neighbor who’s getting a remodel!
Hello I agree with Lee get a counter top. It depends on how big you want but you big box store may have something in the close out or return section if you cant find one on the road. If they are building any new house by you check around the trash bin you can find all kinds of stuff to make a top and bench from. Hope this helps Frank
I agree with the plastic laminate (Formica, etc). The disadvantage to the readily avail post formed tops from HD, Loew’s is the rounded front edge. Many times a square edge is beneficial to our needs for a work surface. Solid light colors.
If you don’t want to go the countertop, or laminate route, a good grade of 3/4" plywood would work quite well. I noticed today that HD has a sale on 3/4 cabinet birch ply. Hardwood ply,AC, BC sanded underlayment grade 3/4 or a marine grade should only be considered. Others have said that quality enamels work great. Any areas that will receive some hard use cxan be covered with Lexan or even sheet metal. If using plywood I would face/ cap the front and sides with 1x2 maple or other suitable hardwood. You could also use a metal edge cap.
There are a couple of sources to get kitchen counter tops and pay little to nothing. If you contact some remodelers in your area, ask them to save or you pick up discarded kitchen counter-tops and then cut it to fit your needs. Or go to your local hardware chain and see if they have a damaged pre-made counter tops.
I was fortunate enough to get interested in this hobby about the same time we were replacing our kitchen countertops, so I kept a 5-ft section, built 4x4 legs under it at desk height and voila - a nice solid workbench. It cleans up easily and if it does stain, I really don’t care. 'Course, I never spill anything to make a stain.[;)]
I laminated a sheet of 1/2" of particle board (I think that’s what it’s called–the brown stuff that’s made from sawdust and resin glue) to a sheet of 3/4" plywood then coated the particle board with 5 or 6 coats of Varathane varnish. When I had to shorten it to fit in this house, the Varathane chipped off around the saw blade like formica would so it’s a pretty hard coating. I also bought a commercial workbench from a hardware store that has a top about 2" thick of some dense black material. Don’t know what it is. It’s a nice workbench with a pegboard back and a shelf over top with 2 drawers and a shelf below. The place where I worked had their carpenter shop make workbenches and they laminated what looked like lineoleum to the top. It had a little bit of give to it but didn’t scratch or cut very easily. I do like the idea of a formica kitchen cabinet top as has been suggested. I seriously considered ditching my homemade workbench and buying a couple of base units and a counter top when we moved into this house. EDIT: Oops, that’s what I get for not proofreading my post. I meant to say the top on the commercial workbench is 1/2" thick not 2". Actually, it’s more like 3/4".
Seems like most folks are suggesting my favorite: white “formica” (laminate). You might consider putting it on an appropriately sized hollow core door. You’ll get a nice large rigid and light workbench–a model builder’s bench–not good for hammering, etc.
While you can put it together yourself, cutting and glueing the laminate is not the easiest thing to do if you’ve not done it before. It is, however, if you have; so I would recommend having someone with experience do it. It shouldn’t cost too much as it’s VERY straightforward for a professional.
Doors typically come with a thickness of 1 3/8" or 1 3/4". I’d choose the latter. The widths are varied between maybe 24" and 48", with 30" and 36" not uncommon. Heights are typically 80". I say all of this because you pretty much can’t cut a hollow core down much. You’ll just have to pick a size.
The budget approach would be to just do one surface. Spending more, you can have the edges done. It’ll look nicer, but it’s your $$.
I put mine on top of some inexpensive bookshelves that are 29" tall. I added some filler to make the top 33" above the floor, as I want to get close to my itty bitty little parts and stuff. There are also 2-drawer file cabinets that’ll do, too.
I favor solidity. My dad’s wobbly workbench used to drive me nuts. My worbench is a 2x6 frame with a 2x6 top. 2x6 framing lumber is actually very cheap. This is complete overkill for modelbuilding, but I use it mostly for carpentry and repairing stuff. I want to be able to pound on things without hurting the bench.
On top of that, I have 7/16 OSB laid in place, not even nailed down, smooth side up. It’s cheap, and it covers the cracks. Masonite might make a better surface for model building, but because this is a multipurpose bench, my model work is done on large cookie sheets. I use a scrap piece of plywood or pine in these as a cutting board, if I’m cutting stuff. This way, I can clear the projects from the bench without having to put everything away.
It’s all a little Rube Goldberg, but it seems to work. When I build a dedicated bench, it will be much smaller, with 2x4 framing, but the same 2x6 top, covered with Masonite or maybe linoleum (if you can still get smooth linoleum). I’ve considered building a watchmaker’s bench like Bill Schopp used to favor - it has two levels, one to rest your elbows on when sitting, and a higher level about where your hands end up, at eye level, when resting on the elbows. It seems like a very clever scheme.
i got lucky when the railroad was replacing a bunch of their old office furniture and bought some of it at a bargain. my work bench is an old Steelcase freight office desk with two pull outs and 5 drawers. i use a piece of masonite hardboard for a cutting surface and save pieces of white cardboard to work over since a white background makes things much easier to see. the drawers come in handy for tool storage and boxes of works in progress.
a little off the subject but if you are working on a fairly large layout, consider getting a utility cart. the kind with casters and an upper and lower shelf and a locking drawer is available for 30/60 bucks depending on where you buy it. it makes a great caddy for supplies, tools, dremel, soldering gun, etc etc and you can just roll it out of the way underneath the benchwork when you are done.
Whichever type of top you choose, invest in a nice, solid piece of thick glass that is large enough for an entire project to be built upon it. It is level, smooth, and nothing sticks to it. Glue and paint can be easily scraped off and it is movable depending on the project. One note of caution – make sure it has rounded edges or some type of edge protection to avoid getting cut. I love my glass top and have used it for over ten years now. Happy modeling!
Hi Maurice: Congrats on acquiring hobby space. You’ve received some good advice on different types of materials for your workbench. Here’s what I used for mine. I salvaged 2 office desks with attached metal drawers. The tops are 1" thick with a smooth finish. I made a frame and legs using 2x4’s. I have 2 cutting mats on mine. I’d recommend plenty of good lighting.
My modeling workbench is an oak roll top desk. I put a 2x4 piece of 1/2" birch plywood with felt glued to one side on the top for a work surface. It works well for me and I like working on wood, but I’m sure the other surfaces mentioned can work also.
May I make an addition to the primary topic of what material to use for the workbench. After chewing up the back of a drawing board with the cutting out of dozens of plastic model railroad kits, I decided to go with 3/4" plywood. I happen to have a garage loft layout with no room for a work bench. I often would like to have a moveable workbench for kit work, construction and repairs. I happen to have an old low end table that I plan to place casters on, and cut out knee space. I will build a vertically divided area in the rear of the cabinet for my collection of Model Railroader magazines, (divided by years). The top of the castered cabinet is more than four inches from the bottom of my layout, so I plan to make a hinged frame out of 1"x3" lumber, that has a 1/2" plywood back (with clamps for hanging modeling tools,(eg drill set, chisels, srew drivers, closeable plastic nail boxes, etc.) This frame will be hinged and have clamps to hold it upright, when in use, and able to fold flat to the work surface,(when stored under the model railroad layout). I plan to have electrical outlets on the inside edge of the frame. Perhaps, I may even install a “HO programming rail” on the work surface. I will be able to shove it under various sections of my layout, plug it in to electrical outlets and pull it out. Bob Hahn PS… I was just wondering what is the best way to store tools, nails, and tiny parts in this workbench. I happened to get the Micro-Mark catalog today. Wow! This “free” catalog has everything (and then some) for the model railroader ,as for tools and storage. Get the catalog … it’s great!
