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I have this bench which is too small and needs a new top, my ideal solution would be a bit of solid wood worktop but it’s a bit expensive and overkill for the garage. I’m aiming for about 80x200cm
My other idea is 18mm ply.
I want to extend it up to the blue shelves and replace the plastic drawers with a kitchen unit to support the end.
Any other inspiration of what I could use that doesn’t cost too much? Or any really cheap work top suppliers that do deeper than 600mm tops?
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Mine is an old fire door. Must be about 800 deep. Thicker than a worktop and hardwood. Got it free from local business that was refurbing. Lovely and solid. Might be able to find something similar on Facebook or ebay. I actually picked up two and made a smaller bench and shelves from the other one
If not needing the weight then ply would be fine. Maybe a single sheet and use the remaining 400mm to batten the top skin to have it semi double thickness. 50mm strips with just over 50mm spacing would provide a bit more stability than a single skin.
18mm ply with a layer of 3mm ish rubber sheet pinned to it.
18mm ply with bargain bucket laminate flooring glued and pinned to the top.
Looks good and been robust as hell even when hammering the shit out of it....
I picked up a kitchen side offcut for £30 on Facebork Mankyplace 😊
Perfect size… just need to organise the garaj so I can get it built.
For cheap kitchen units the IKEA bargain corner would be my choice although it might need some extra bracing.
800mm worktops are a thing, I have a bit probably exactly the size you need but unfortunately it's my workbench so, er, sorry. Look for someone redoing a kitchen with a breakfast bar, odds are that's the bit whoever takes the rest doesn't want.
I have a length of worktop up in my old man's container but I'm almost certain it's standard depth.
18mm mdf is good. Cheaper than ply.
In my old workshop, we used joiners benches that are 8x4(actually about 8 1/2') so it takes a full sheet of 18mm, and after its been sawn into ,paint, glue etc etc you just flip it over..
The Clarke workbench I had came with 18mm ply top. I fitted a thinner sheet of ply as a sacrificial surface on top.
It had a vice mounted, was used for 2 car restorations and other service work, bike & DIY duties. Replaced the top once after c10 years. Had it for c22 years before selling with no problems
Secondhand table has been my usual source for large shelves and worktops where I can't be bothered to join boards. Not a lot of money can get a fair chunk of timber, you could even keep the legs on at one end to help extend your current bench.
Otherwise, if you are near the Brecon Beacons I have a friend that has just milled some oak slabs in the size you are after. Not cheap though.
"Ply" covers a lot of materials. Any ideas on what's good value nowadays for general workshop and utility furniture use?
How about an old door?
I used some really thick ply I scrunged from a builder, double thickness, I think its 20mm = 40mm
Sourcing a cheap 2nd hand timber was too much hassle for me (ie talking to people) so just bought a couple of big sheets of 18mm MDF and delivery from DIY store. Cut them to size and doubled layered them for the top. First sheet screwed to bench, second screwed from beneath, probably used a bit of wood glue too. Seems good so far (1.5+yr). Some spare for shelf below bench and other bits and bobs.
If you're near South Manchester I've got a six foot-ish piece of kitchen worktop that you can have if you come and get it.
Cheers, so it looks like I’m on the right lines. An old door is a great idea but I bet I can’t find one though until the day after I buy something else.
And I might drop in to IKEA to check for a unit 👍
Rubber or laminate are good ideas too.
Otherwise, if you are near the Brecon Beacons
About 7 hours away…!
..
I previously used the cheapest offcut of kitchen worktop I could find in B&Q. Worked OK but not enough depth.
I 'upgraded' my office desktop to a bigger one so reused the 1400x800 as my workbench. Think it was the Trotten top. Not that robust so I've added 5mm rubber sheet on the top. Wish I'd done that sooner, it's a brilliant surface to work from.
Mines made from a sheet of 18mm OSB, cut in half lengthways and glued and screwed together, then a sheet of ~5mm exterior ply screwed on as a veneer on top.
Seems to hold up to hammering a bit better than the previous kitchen chipboard worktop. Only downside is it's not wipe clean, so it's a bit of a patchwork of oil stains.
“Ply” covers a lot of materials. Any ideas on what’s good value nowadays for general workshop and utility furniture use?
WISA Special Spruce. Only available in 18mm. Smoother, flatter and more stable than softwood shuttering / sheathing ply, but not far off the same price. Much lighter than hardwood ply or mdf.
as a ply for utility use the face ply is nice and thick unlike the thin, splintery paper-like face veneer on hardwood
recently WiSA and MDF have been about the same price - although that’s more a factor of MDF prices being very high
Why not turn the bench round 90deg counter-clockwise so the back of the bench sits under the shelves? You could still extend if you wish but I reckon it would instantly feel larger as the left side is currently a bit unusable as it's under the shelves.
Place I used to work at had a couple of work tables I used to use that were former typesetter’s ‘stones’, used to put cast metal type into the forms ready for printing. The main table was four-inch uprights with openings for drawers, but the tops were cast iron with a recess underneath to fit over the uprights. Bloody heavy, needed a pallet truck and two people to shift them! I’d have needed a new shed to take them even if they’d have been available, with a very heavily reinforced floor!
They’d rust like buggery if anything wet got put on them, though…
Found a picture of a very similar typesetting table, wonderful thing, a century old, and likely to last another century, provided it’s kept dry.
As long as you're not going for a full sheet you can get largish offcuts of formica sheeting. This will contact adhesive onto say cheap mdf and provide a wipe clean surface thats impervious to oil/etc stains
eg-
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114968432585?hash=item1ac4a70fc9:g:UosAAOSw7DNhMfwV
I have a long sheet of osb you are welcome to, if you are any where near Tring
B&Q earlier today cut me a sheet of 18mm to the right size. Much better.
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And then some guy on the internet mentioned turning the bench round
Why not turn the bench round 90deg counter-clockwise so the back of the bench sits under the shelves?
So I turned it round, put the bit of wood back on and now have a corner bench 🙂 Tbh I hadn't even thought about turning it. It's staying like this and I'll cut another bit of the ply to cover the L shape bit and then might cover the whole thing in something - rubber or formica etc. I plan to just varnish it at the moment though.
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Neat 👌
Final set up, just need to get a kitchen unit to replace the plastic drawers 🙂
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Looking good 🙂 Nice job.
Somewhere to sit now....
Forget a kitchen unit. Get a decent filing cabinet and raise it up to be the right height
It's cheaper, stronger and betterer. The draws will take more weight and draws are more useful for storage than cupboards. You could store most of those bottles and things in drawers and they'd take up less space. I have 4 filing cabinets in my garage, then the smaller ones with shallower drawers on top of them (or workshop toolboxes)
Get a decent filing cabinet and raise it up to be the right height
problem is finding something suitable, but I know what you mean about them being better.
Somewhere to sit now….
On the list
That's nice and making me want to get some wood (lol?) to finish my bench project. A little more elaborate than yours but I am extremely lucky to have the space. Time on the other hand.....
Please put some sort of "cupboard" over all of those plugs and wires. It's making me jittery just looking at the photos!! 🙂
problem is finding something suitable
Facebook market place.
Time on the other hand…..
Time is the easy bit..
Skills and tools... that's a whole different thing !
@phil5556 there are a pile of cabinets sitting outside Ayr Ice Rink, 2 of them are 2 drawer units. If you ask the curling club I'm pretty sure they would let you have them as they've been sitting for a few weeks. Not sure what nick they are in but if they work then crack on.
Please put some sort of “cupboard” over all of those plugs and wires. It’s making me jittery just looking at the photos!! 🙂
Phase 2!
Although realistically I’ll probably never get around to it.
@squirrelking cheers I’ll take a look if I go past. I’ve made a frame & leg underneath the extension so it doesn’t need anything to sit on after all so there’s no rush to sort it whilst I keep an eye out for something suitable.