Workbench Top, Top Bumpers, and Lighting Questions!

Baltic Birch cabinet grade plywood comes in 8x4 sheets, and makes a great surface.

A 6" over hang is too much in my opinion.

I have an 8x4 table in my workshop, and Ill be honest. Its too big. I wish I had 2 smaller tables.

 

I just bought two old work tables on Saturday . Both are 4' X 4' X 2" butcher block Maple from the Junior High school that I attended as a kid . They even have chewing gum stuck to the underside surfaces . Each table is at least 250-300+ lbs.
There is nothing wrong with using fluorescent lighting . Mix the tube types for a more warm type of light .
Nothing beats natural sunlight for surface inspections . Martin still places their inspection stations next to exterior windows in order to take advantage of the best type of light available for these purposes .
Multiple tables will permit you to establish dedicated areas of work for certain specific tasks .
Because furniture building requires larger surface areas , most commercial setups are built along these needs . Guitar work does not require these larger surfaces but actually benefit from numerous smaller work areas .
Food for thought .

 

I made mine with a 3/4" laminated maple top , over a 3/4" plywood top , mine is not in the center of the room so I made it 27" wide , 4' wide would work in the center of a room but still thats a large surface , I just use pieces of carpet to protect guitar bodies , unfinished bodies I use bench cookies under them .

 

Lighting can be a very personal choice . I , for one find it fatiguing to be under nearby high intensity lighting , particularly if it is in the white end of the spectrum .
Experiment a bit and find your preference .

 

For guitar building, I can't think of any reason for a large table. But its nice for building shelves, picture frames, and stuff like that.

When you have a large table, you want to make the most of it. For instance, you want to build shelves or cabinets in the bottom. Build outlets into the table or hanging from the ceiling. BUild it sturdy and heavy enough you can hammer, chisel, and plane on it with out it rocking all over the place.

 

Woodworker's Source has Baltic birch ply nad the prices are reasonable.

Woodcraft has thick maple tops... nice but spendy... but when viewed on a board-foot basis are not that unreasonably priced.

 

MDF or Melamine also makes a nice work bench top. Plus they are cheap, and easy to replace when they get worn out.

 

Melamine... I love Formica... damn near indestructible...

 

Its a nice slidy surface for RAS and router tables.

 

I made some "pallets" once for a factory. They fit into custom made racks... really like big baking sheets.

I had 1/32" formica glued on both sides of 1/4 fiberboard. About 100 4 x8 sheets. That stuff was steel plate for strength. The stuff did not sag a bit over the course of 8 years.

I wish somebody would sell like 1" MDF with that "dimpled" formica on both sides.

 

Hi Stratavarious , L.I. in L.A. , better weather out there than here , that's for sure. The reason I went with 3/4" plywood under 3/4" maple was that I always practice the fine art of overkill , I wanted a workbench that I could pound a lump hammer on if necessary. I would think that as long as your table had enough cross braces for the top that 3/4" maple would be more than sufficient , the reason I got the 3/4 is because Lowes had 3/4" x 12" x 6' laminated pieces available , I also added a 3"strip of 3/4" flame maple down the center between the two 12" , gave a little more width and looked good. I screwed the plywood down to the cross braces and outer frame and then drilled holes and screwed the maple down to the outer frame and cross braces , the screws in the maple were counter sunk and plugged with hard maple dowel , and sanded flush. The maple is not glued to the plywood , but the maple is glued together , the three pieces. Here's the link to my New Shop thred , I showed how I built the work bench. http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/262674-new-work-room-shop.html

What type of carpet ? Well, for those spesh-ul moments I would say a nice shag carpet , but I just picked up two carpet mats , almost a Berber type , not to thick , I'm sure its some type of synthetic . Bench cookies are one of the best helpers in my shop at least , they are reasonably priced and work great . Good luck with the table , and post pics of the build .

 

I made mine out of 2x3 lumber, really solid and great for mounting a vice.

 

Shepherd Thats a hell of a work shop you got there nice!!!

 

Sadly, I lack the self-discipline to have a neat workspace, though I certainly admire those who do. I think I could compete in a "most disorganized shop" contest. I've never mastered the art of putting away a tool when I've finished using it. I sometimes have to stop mid-project to clean up in order to find a missing tool. At my advanced age I'm not likely to change my work habits. I have two 8' x 2' work tables. One from Costco and one home built.

 

Ive got a shot in this competition.

 

Colt and Bud,

Y'all just need another table...

 

I was thinking a maid would be more appropriate.