I made a work bench that I can move around on wheels. I need to find something to put cover the top it has to wipeable (gas, oil etc.) and hard kinda like a counter top any ideas ?

Dan

 

How about Formica?

 

I like to use masonite over the plywood, because it's easy to replace when it's worn out. I tried formica once, but everything slides around too much for me. I've thought about using linolium flooring on top of masonite.

 

Get yourself some sheet metal, about 1/8 inch thick and bolt it down. If you are going to be doing a lot of welding on it go 1/4 inch. IMHO steel makes the best workbench tops, rugged, able to weld jigs to it, solid surface for beating out rusted in parts. The only drawback is the weight, but you have wheels so that shouldn't be a problem. A little pre oil will prevent rust.

 

Cody if you are close to a Building Salvage & Supply Co they might have the answer. About 10 years ago when wandering thru one I came across a pile of Fire Doors they had salvaged.These are widowless steel doors usually used on power room etc in buildings. I bought two for about $35 welded them together, ground of the weld and painted them with light grey sandable primer. This gave me a 3 1/2' by 14' benchtop that I have welded, pounded and general abused for ten years. When they start to look really messed up I take a rag soaked in lacquer thinner and simple wipe them off, this cuts the underling primer and the and the grease, paint or whatevers on top simply wipes off, a quick spray from the can and the top is like new. To answer Howdys consern of occasionaly wanting a non slip surface I bought a 8' piece of ribbed rubber floor runner I can put down when needed. The only drawback I have ever had with top is that once welded together it is close to three hundred pounds so moving it is a bitch. If your rolling Table is fairly small you can get away with one door and get out the old Sawall.

Skip_T
1934 Ford PU

 

Doors make nice benches, especially heavy duty metal ones. I've heard the best bench material is BUTCHER BLOCK COUNTER TOP. I've seen some of this material that is really thick (2"-4"). Man, you wanna talk about strong. This stuff has no problem with most applications.

My $0.02

 

I use sheet metal from the local sign company. They usually have
signs laying around that have been taken down. Most of the material is thin guage, but may work on a portable work bench....besides it's free.

 

Buthcer block is an execlent choice, I've made some bucher block tables about 3" thick, and it's tough has hell, and if you put some sheet metal over it you'll have a table that'll last, also since you built the bench yourself I hope you used gorellia glue, it expensive but the things projects i've glued with that never failed, and if you try to beak the glue at the joint the wood would break before the glue gave out

 

I went to a sheet metal shop with the dimensions of my wooden bench and they pre-bent a top with back splash that wraps around the front edge as well. It's galvanized so it won't rust and it's easy to clean. The drawback is you can't weld to it and it doesn't take hard beatings.

 

I lucked out and got stainless steel for my garage and work shop bench's FREE!!! The sponsor's of my race car were at the house to see thier promo on the car and noticed the bare bench's and offered to fix it. I had the stainless the next day.

 

Masonite is fine unless you leave the window over your workbench open and it rains on it!

 

I built my own workbench as a general purpose thing. It is big and heavy (not on wheels). There's a woodworker vise on one end and a machinist vise on the other end. Stability is a must on a serious workbench. I used 2x4 and 2x6.. .....Over the 2x6 top I screwed down a piece of 3/8th tempered hardboard. That's not masonite. After forty years of use I replaced the top. Since I don't do welding, that's not an issue.

 

I always had a workbench made of a couple slabs of wood about 6x14 or bigger...they were of course filthy and splintery and things would fall in the cracks. So I took up the things mounted to the bench, grinder, vise, etc. and bolted a nice piece of sheet steel to it. It is a little spingy but easy to keep clean and no more losing small parts.

For welding I have another table made entirely of steel with a large vise welded to it. It works great because you can set the work on it anywhere or in the vise and just clamp the ground clamp to the table leg. An old cylinder head off a flathead IH pickup just laying there makes a great surface for beating on things so you don't have to carry them over to the anvil.

Birken

 

Kitchen or restaurant supply houses will hook you up with places(usually s.m. shops) that will make you countertops out of anything,alum,steel,stainless..............

 

Am in the process of building a new workbench myself, and want to go with 4x4 legs, with a 3/4" plywood top, and then put 1/4" steel down over that.