Was going to do some rehab work on the bench top and was considering a few options. Right now the top is made of two solid core doors placed end to end and although they are in fairly good shape, there are a few places where the finish is gone and they're dinged up a little. I thought about putting metal over the top and also thought about using a laminate flooring materail that looks like hardwood floors. I know that stuff is VERY TOUGH but my concern was the seams but it seems to go together really tight. So what do you all think, sand and refinish the exhisting doors, or cover them with metal or use the laminate flooring stuff? The metal would by far be the most expensive, around 150 bucks for a piece 13 feet long by 34 inches wide. Gimme your thoughts!

How about some 1/4 " luan plywood. Glued down so no fastener holes. Finish off with several coats of polyurethane.
Scribed along the wall to eliminate any small crevices to lose small parts.

muck

I've installed a lot of the laminate flooring, it's tough allright, but I don't think you'd be happy with it as a bench top. I've seen people try to use for countertops and it just doesn't work too well for that. I'd sand 'em, fill the dings, and give 'em a coat of floor finish and you should be good to go.

My 2' x 8' bench top is doubled 5/8" particle board with a DuPont floor finish. It has held up well for 35 years but it sure doesn't look new anymore! I patch misplaced/relocated press, etc, and ding holes with epoxy so the tops integregity is maintained.

Things do get spilled on a bench top, water and assorted oils both. Lam flooring would NOT deal with that very well, just as it's a poor flooring for kitchens. (As my wife has finally found me to be right about!)

IF I had the option, I'd do metal. Failing that, laminate a sheet of formica over, that would be less costly than metal and almost as good. Failing that, do the floor finish.

You might do what I did. I went to a company that installs kitchen cabinets and that sort of stuff and bought a new counter top that was mis-made for $25 and used that for the top of my reload bench. It makes a really nice work surface.

Try a sheet of 1" MDF. It's solid, warm and heavy.

Sounds like you have a fully adequate base for strength and rigidity; you're just looking for a way to put a fresh surface on it, right?

The suggestion of using 1/4" Luan plywood on top of your existing base is on the right track, but Luan is pretty soft. My bench top is 3/4" oak plywood (on top of two layers of 3/4" MDF). It is finished with polyurethane and is holding up very nicely. I think the oak is somewhat harder than the Luan. You can get it in 1/4" thickness at any Home Depot or similar. It is a little more expensive than Luan, but is plenty affordable. Birch is also available and is a little cheaper, but I don't know whether birch or oak would be tougher.

cobrajet ; Is your SC doors light or dark , What do you want them to be ?.

What ever color is your preference simply buy a piece of Wilsonart http://samples.wilsonart.com/

contact adhesive and your finished . You or a cabinet shop or counter top shop can supply

and cut it for you . If your surfaces aren't really that bad , simply do as Craigster suggested

floor finishes are very tough . I wouldn't use metal . Laun is tacky , Door skins are much prettier

and if floor finish is used over them they'll be tough enough .

My bench is an L affair SC doors covered in laminate . They are still as good as the day I made them

25 plus years ago on this rig .

I would say they are somewhat light, sorta golden oak color. My bench is going to be in an "L" shape as well and I think I'll probably just sand em down and restain them. Just got about 20 feet worth of countertop to do so it'll take a little while to sand.

I'd just give it a light sand, fill, and clear coat.

Good Luck

Reloader

I used a 2X8 frame, 4X4 legs every 4 feet and two pieces of 3/4 plywood glued and screwed together. On top of that I put a preformed counter top with back splash in butcher block pattern. It wipes off easily, is held down by construction adhesive and has no cracks to catch dirt or parts. There are many colors to choose from. Mine has lasted 12 years so far and still looks great.

I lucked into 16' x 48" (two five footers, and one six footer) of stainless steel table tops at a local furniture company's outlet store. They had been returned for various cosmetic scratches. I think I paid $25 per table top.

They already had 5/8" MDF underneath, and for added mass/rigidity, I glued another sheet of 1/2" plywood to the bottoms. I then mounted the whole works atop several work benches.

Makes for a very smooth, easy to clean, stable work surface. I've had them about 5 years now and they look like they day I got them.

If you were to sniff around or look on craigslist you might be able to find some similar stainless for cheap.

-nosualc

my benchtop is a single piece 4 X 8 X 3/4 plywood cut down the center and glued togather to make a piece of plywood 1 1/2 X 2 X 8 and then contact cement and a formica top.

It is a very strong and beautiful bench top and surface.

The hardwood plywoods (all thicknesses) are simply faced with hardwood veneer! That facing is only 1/16" (or less) and the "core" underneath is usually plain old pine! So in terms of strength, there is not much difference in the hardwood plywoods regardless of specie! You would be better off (if you are going to use a painted surface) using good one side,sanded, marine grade fir plywood. Thicker facing and quite hard in relative terms. Have a great day.

R D McMillan
one of us

Posted 15 January 2009 21:21 Hide Post
The hardwood plywoods (all thicknesses) are simply faced with hardwood veneer! That facing is only 1/16" (or less) and the "core" underneath is usually plain old pine! So in terms of strength, there is not much difference in the hardwood plywoods regardless of specie! You would be better off (if you are going to use a painted surface) using good one side,sanded, marine grade fir plywood. Thicker facing and quite hard in relative terms. Have a great day.

Posts: 26 | Location: Kamloops British Columbia Canada | Registered: 19 January 2006

This is not true !.

Saying all plywood ; is simply a mistake !. It's Like saying all rifles are .

Hardwood Plywood is totally different than soft wood plywood as is aircraft grade or marine grade

different . Some hardwood plywood can be lumber cored and not ply or veneer core at all . Finish or Baltic

birch is generally multi ply example 3/4" or 19mm = 13 ply's or veneers if you get technical .

Marine grade ply isn't always fir either !.


Joubert Okoume is the highest quality marine plywood available today. Joubert Okoume is certified by Lloyd's of London to be manufactured to the British Standard 1088. This lightweight panel is used almost exclusively for marine applications. The type of customers who typically purchase the BS1088 okoume can vary from the hobbyist boat/kayak builder to the largest boat manufacturers in the world.

Standard size is 6mm - 25mm. Additional sizes are available.


Aquatek is a luan based marine grade ply. This cost-effective marine panel is taking the Douglas fir A/B marine market by storm. Offering few to no core voids, more plies, and a competitive price, Aquatek is popping up in numerous applications. Garage doors, decking, outdoor applications and boat building just begin to scratch the surface of utilizations for this product.

Standard size is 6mm - 25mm. Different sizes are also available.


Teak Cabin Sole panels are specialty marine plywoods that simulate the appearance of traditional sole planking. Produced with 1.0mm face veneers, these attractive panels feature alternating strips of sliced teak and contrasting light colored KOTO wood. The panels are fully bonded with waterproof glue and have mahogany type innerplies and backs. Lay up design: Teak 2-3/8 in., Koto 1/4 in.

Mahogany Plywood is also Common Philippine , Honduran and African .


We won't go into Architectural ( Ply ) or Panels . As it's a Huge selection of what ever you need !.

I knew a client who used lifts of Italian Poplar for mold making and lofting sheets were 5X10' .


Common Wood Veneer Thickness:
Pre 1800's, veneers typically were 1/4" thick and cut with a hand saw. Today all veneer manufacturing is mechanized, with the most common thicknesses as follows:.... 0.50mm (1/50"), 0.55mm (1/46"), 0.60mm 1/42", 0.65mm 1/39", and 0.70mm (1/36")... .. the maximum width is equal to the diameter of the tree,or the width of the plank. Usually veneers are cut from logs just over 8 feet long.

Most common hardwood ply face veneer is generally the thicker cut but not always !.

cobrajet ; Reloader has the right idea and if the color doesn't suit your taste

there is always Epoxy paint . Want a texture use the garage floor type two part available from

your local home center . You ask and You get more suggestions and great advice on this site,

than any of the others I know of . BOL ...


My above posting was for informational purposes and not directed at correcting anyone's postings !.

I really like formica tops. I have one now and have been using it for several years now. my old top was 1/4 inch ply.

I went to either Home Depot or Lowes and bought a wood door. Big, thick, and heavy. Best top I've built.

Stained it, coated it, and I was done.

I've always built my reloading benches with a multi-layer top. The bottom layer is 2x6's or 2x8's laid flat, the next layer is 3/4" plywood or 3/4" HD particle board. These are fastened with glue and screws. I then glue indoor/outdoor carpet on the top so I have a soft surface for working on guns or stocks. The front edge is finished with a 2x4.

My current bench is wall to wall 11'-2" x 25" deep. It holds a Bair single stage 12 ga press for hunting loads, 4 Hornady/Pacific 366 progressive presses in 12, 20, 28 ga, and .410 for trap and skeet reloading, a Dillon 450 press and a RCBS Rockchucker press. There's room behind the RCBS press for a rotary tumbler (I make my own shot and tumble it in graphite) and a vibratory tumbler for cleaning brass cases. Other tools like case trimmers and a Lyman cast bullet sizer/lubricator are mounted on 3/4" boards that I can clamp onto the front of my bench with C-clamps when I need them.