workbench top

[singlespeed68]

I want to start by thanking Mark for this new site and hi to everyone.

I'm going to build a workbench top and was wondering about using some left over

maple flooring. Its 3/4 thick and prefinished. I was going to remove the finish but

my question is should I face glue the boards after removing the channels on the bottom side or

should I use them as regular flooring on a couple sheets of plywood?

[RenaissanceWW]

How much leftover flooring do you have? Traditionally they would be face glued but at 3/4, maybe 5/8 after thicknesses flush, it will take a lot of them to make a 24" wide benchtop. You can go narrower than that if you like, but anything less than 18 is too skinny for me. The face glue up will add a lot more mass to the top as well making sure you won't be chasing the bench around the shop as it slides. Ultimately though, the style of bench really depends on the type of woodworking you plan to do. Hand tools require a hearty bench that won't move around and usually good work holding like dogs and/or vises. Power tools are not as demanding. I have seen the plywood method work great and add a row of maple flooring on top might help to stiffen it even further and keep it flat so you could go that way if necessary. My recommendation is for the face glue up however.

[mattvan]

I want to start by thanking Mark for this new site and hi to everyone.

I'm going to build a workbench top and was wondering about using some left over

maple flooring. Its 3/4 thick and prefinished. I was going to remove the finish but

my question is should I face glue the boards after removing the channels on the bottom side or

should I use them as regular flooring on a couple sheets of plywood?

I have to agree with Shannon on this, but I'm really intrigued with the idea of attaching them like flooring to a piece of plywood. If you followed this route, even after planing them down to remove the finish, you would still have plenty of thickness left over for a few resurfacing's down the road. The underlying plywood could be attached to a base much like you would a torsion box or with a traditional apron.

The only downside I could see would be if you glued all these pieces to the underlying plywood. I'm sure their narrow widths would make them less prone to wood movement in all but the most wildly humidity fluctuating shops.

I might be wrong, but I think it could work...just a lot of work...to make it work LOL.

[singlespeed68]

I have plenty of flooring, 180 square feet. I think I'm going to go with the face glueing.

Even though it'll be more work but I think the payoff will be worth it.

Thanks Shannon and Mark for the help.

I'll post pictures when I get the top completed.

[mattvan]

With that much sq footage of material I'd say you have a good chance of making the width you need lol!

[servant74]

Years ago my Dad was going to make a 4x8 drafting table (before the days of home computers, let alone CAD systems), and a neighbor was a carpenter and got him a pickup load of 'cutoffs' from building a new bowling alley. with a slight tung/groove, it was roughly 1.5" wide and 2" thick. ... We got the board built, but never found a place that could plane or sand such a beast. ... I carried it around until about 5 years ago then it went 'dumpster' when we moved. Bummer. But THAT would make a great bench top or 2, or 3

[PurpLev]

I'd go with face glue- sure it would take a serious glue up process, and you'll need lots of strips, but I think it would give your benchtop a sweet look, and in the long run will be a better suited material for the top, heftier, can withstand more abuse, and with less vibration. Go For It!

[Mike P]

I made a bench top from some old maple flooring. I simply glued the tongue and groove to make a panel. After it dried, I glued the panel to a piece ofplywood to give it rigidity. I framed the whole thing with hickory to finish the edges. There are some minor gaps in some of the maple boards, but nothing I can't live with.