SpudFiles

Haha I moved to NJ... about 10 minutes away from my old house... same town though.

What looks good to me is maple wood, ash wood, oak wood, and something called aircraft plywood (not sure if it is one of the types mentioned). I guess next time I go to Home Depot or Lowes, I will check out these types, and see what to get. I am hoping for a minimum of 1" thickness for this workbench top.

Another problem that I might have is securing the plywood on the top of the frame, because there are a LOT of screw holes in the wood from my other failed attempt. I'll figure something out though.

here's a pic where you an see part of my workbench.

It's got a top that's about 4.5 to 5 inches thick

click it to see a bigger picture.

For holding it down, 3'' deck screws work good and some construction adhesive.

schmanman: Where did you get such a big piece of wood?

I went to Home Depot today. In the wood section, the best they had was 3/4" Oak plywood. There was also poplar, particle board, and birch, but the oak looked the best. I felt it by lifting it, and I really don't think this 3/4" piece would be able to support my 60 lb vice. The guy there (pretty knowledgeable; although most H.D. employees are clueless, this was one of the guys who knew what he was talking about) thought it should hold. But the grinder and vice I hope to attach to the bench will probably be moving and shaking a lot, and I REALLY think the wood would bend.

On Saturday I am going to a lumber yard. What should I ask for? The guy at H.D. said he had never seen any plywood thicker than 3/4" (maybe 1", he thought). So I need something thicker, stronger, and available at a lumber yard. Any more ideas or clarifications?

Screw and glue 2 sheets together or 3 sheets. Put the best sheet on top and the cheaper stuff under.

sjog's got the idea. Two layers of plywood, (3/4"), or more, glued together along the entire surface with liquid nails or a quality wood glue, would provide more than enough beef for your projects. You don't have to screw them together, because even wood glue over that large of a surface area provides a great bond, when cured properly.

If you're going to use any part of the surface for drafting, (which I should have freaking thought about since that area of my worktop is starting to get indentations and scratches), you should get some hardwood veneer and glue it to the top of the surface as well. A few thick coats of roll-on polyurethane and it's perfect. I can't stand drafting on the computer after taking Drafting for a semester.

Yellow carpenters glue between sheets, screw from the back
remove screws after glue sets. The screw works like clamp and pulls it together. Yellow glue is plenty strong, water clean up and fast set time.
There is a MDO ? type it is called sign painters board very smoth surface,
no grain even. I used it on mine. So smoth I went right to wax as a finish.

Aww, come on guys,nobody has a woodworkers table?

http://www.charm.net/%7ejriley/bench.html

Maybe this will help Rmich.They really are a great design.Pretty much every woodworker has one and everyone else could use one.

The 3/4" ply wont bend if you put supports every 12'' OC, and screw it down with some 3'' screws.

Thanks for your help guys. I have found a distributer of Butcher's Block, and I am purchasing a 96"x30" piece, 1.75" thick, to be used as a workbench top. Of course this is grossly too large for the frame I have built... so instead of doing the prudent thing and cutting it down to size, I am going to build a new frame .

Hey, I'm in this for the build, so thats what I will do.

Bigger is better

How much was the top?