Best material for assembly table tops

[Chet]

I am new to this forum but have been doing wood working for the past 30 years.  But I do have a question that may make me  sound like a newbie.

 

I am getting ready to build a new work bench actually more of an assembly table and I was wondering what some of you use for the top surface.  I have seen a lot of people use hard board/masonite but I wonder how it is to get dried glue off of that.  I was thinking of use Formica, I know if you end up with dried glue on that you can hit it with a putty knife and it pops right off.  

 

Thanks, 

Chet

[..Kev]

Welcome to the forums Chet.

 

I used baltic birch and put a couple coats of Arm-R-Seal on it.  Dried glue just pops off.

 

When it's time to replace it, I'm pretty sure I'll do the same thing as it's worked well for me.  I made sure that the top was removable so I could do just that in the future.

 

I'm pretty sure I did a journal on it in the journal section - I also use it as an outfeed table so, I think that's what the title was.  Let me know if you can't find it and I'll go find a link.

[Tpt life]

Hey Chet, welcome to the forum. Use whatever you like and wax it when you go to glue on it. I worked for years on a plywood assembly table. There are surfaces that self release glue, but even these will grab some glue when they become scratched. The biggest issue with Formica is that it does not offer much friction. You might experience a bit more sliding than you like until you get a chance to adjust.