Solid wood doors for workbench top?

Tom Baugues

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Lafayette, Indiana
I would like to build a new workbench. My current one I got for free on Craigslist and has gotten the job done but lacks a lot. I'm looking into using a solid wooden door as the top. I'm finding several sources for used doors but they are composite cores. They are very heavy and seem very solid but should I hold out for solid wood like oak instead of a composite type?
 
I would hold out for the wood door. You might want to try Habitat for Humanity, which has all kinds of older stuff. My SIL redid her kitchen cupboards with older doors from H4H.

I actually stopped at a Habitat restore today. They have heavy composite doors but want $50 each.


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Years ago I built a bench out of 6 x 6 fence posts and a composite solid core door. I put maple skirting around the door sitting up 1/4" proud of the top, and then filled that space with a sheet of 1/4" hardboard, thinking i could replace the hardboard when it got too nasty. Although not drilled for bench dogs, I'm still using it and the top is none the worse for wear. The only thing that has gone wrong with it is the red colored 4" wheels have cracked to pieces and it's no longer mobile. If you need to drill for bench dogs maybe hold out for a solid wood door, but otherwise I wouldn't hesitate to use composite. The real key is a sturdy base.
 
I would be interested in pictures of what you have in mind.
I can see the flat, composite, commercial type of doors (heavy, flat surface for assembly, etc), or sandwiching plywood together (and if you want to get fancy, putting in metal ribs, aka a Mr. Sawdust style table, like done for old DeWalt RAS). But would think if your not looking at free (and I can't picture a six panel, solid wood door top), then I would be more apt to go to the Menards in your town and get a section of their butcher block counter top, to make into your bench.
 
Two things make a good bench. Weight and flatness. Finding a solid wood for that is not frame and panel for less than $50 is likely a pipe dream. Building a plywood (composite) will cost more than that. So if cost is an issue, then composite it is. I built a solid maple app many years ago at a cost of over $400. Now days, probably double than around here. I also have a composite door. Really heavy. Its flat audit doesn't;t move no matter what I throw at it. Forgot what I paid, but 450 sounds about right. Found on Craigslist. Took several warm bodies tp get it home and set up. Just moved it a few weeks ago and my two helpers grunted a bunch. I just directed traffic. Go for the composite, Tom. I like Ted's ideas of wrapped and layering with hardboard. Also covers the lockset holes!
 
Depending on what you want for a workbench top, but I like to built from scratch.

I go to Lowes and get the best grade 2x4's and run them through the planner on the 1.5 sides top and bottom. Might end up with 1-1/4 thick or a little less. Most of the time I also square up the sides. It just makes the joints come out better.

I cut miters and make a frame to that it is 24" by 94". I use construction adhesive for app the joints. Gob it on - it will never be seen.

I fit cross pieces at 24" intervals inside and pocket screw those in place.

I rip 3/4 sanded pine ply at 24" x 94". Drill clearance holes and countersink screw holes. Construction adhesive and screw to frame.

Repeat with 1/2 plywood for bottom.

Make a nice oak frame for the perimeter - that is why I said 94" long. Make the base so that the top will over hand Minimum 3" so that you you can use clamps.

You can sand the top and polyurethane. I usually add a Formica top and rout around the edges.

This makes an AWESOME workbench top. REALLY strong, nicely flat, very very durable.

YES - it is very heavy.

NO - it is NOT a conventional woodworking bench top.

This is WAY better and stronger than the doors, but is does cost a little more, and will last a lifetime.
 
I picked up a solid core door today to use as a bench top. My current bench is only 24" wide and I knew I wanted the new one to be a bit wider so I got a 30" door. I had my choice of doors up to about 36" wide. I figured a 30" door would prevent me from having to cut it down so that is what I brought home. I didn't think about the door knob hole though. If I had bought a 36" wide door I could have cut it down and eliminated the "hole" that is now in the middle of my workbench. :bang: So....any creative uses for this "hole" besides a cup holder? If not then my only other option is to cut a "plug" and fit it in the hole. Also my current bench is 36" tall so that is what I'm going to build the new one at. The one main thing I want to add is a drawer or two just under the bench top. My current bench has no storage and it would be very useful to have either one wide drawer or two separate drawers.
 
You could always position the hole to the back of the bench, then bring an extension cord up through it so you could use power tools on the bench without having cords to trip over.
 
The door knob hole will make a great place for drills to go through rough work if it's on the front side of the bench. A foam plastic coffee cup will fit in it too, but you already realized that. There's all kinds of possibilities for that hole that we just aren't thinking about yet, but it will be there and very handy when the need arises. For now, just keep your coffee from getting knocked over by using it.

I had a solid red oak door bench top in my last shop, but I left it there when I moved away. I found the door for it in a flea market. It was a brand new 1 7/8" thick 36" wide door and they only wanted $25 for it, but that was 45 years ago. It was so heavy that it almost did me in, just getting it home and then down into my basement, so there was no way that I was going to even try getting it back out of there when I left. I decided that I could find another solid door after I got here and make another bench, but then my shop here ended up being so small that it wasn't worth trying to use a door to make another big workbench. I did take the vises off that old door workbench before I moved here though and brought them with me. I recently saw another new 36" wide 1 3/4 thick door at my local Habitat store for $60, and I was very tempted, but I left it there. This one wasalso smooth faced and it's sides looked like mahogany veneer, so it was probably solid MDF in the center. Still, it would make a great super solid and big workbench, and with a piece of 1/4" MDF to cover on the top to make the surface last, it would be another great bench, if I only had the space for it. My old bench had six 4 X 4 pine construction grade lumber legs and 2 X 4 frame, all lag screwed and glued together. It was as solid a feeling as a block of granite when working on it, and I miss that in my present benches.

To find one, flea markets, Habitat stores, and industrial salvage outlets are my best suggestions for finding one. The one that I saw recently was in the Kannapolis, NC Habitat store, and I think it's still there, but likely too far away for you (didn't check your location).

Charley
 
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I like the 'put it in the back and thread a power cord through it' idea a lot! ` I'd also consider a plug to reduce the hole so only the cord fit and then other loose stuff couldn't anciently fall through it.

Do have a suggestion with regard to the drawers. Leave a 2-3" lip so you have a clamp gripping surface under the front edge of the. top. I use that all the time, especially in narrow glue ups where I don't want anything to move. The kind where the weight of the clamps is greater than the piece being clamped. Super handy. My two cents. And congratulations!
 
Maybe not so much, Ted. The price! Yikes! And only one outlet. And dust in the USB port, not that it would be connected to anything. What I had in mind was a 5 outlet power bar. I'd just cut a plug to fit with a notch for the power cord. Plug would not be flush, just proud enough to grab if I wanted to remove it. One could also cut more notches for more cords as needed. Like a lamp cord, or radio cord, or cup warmer cord, or whatever your imagination can conjure up. :)
 
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I'm probably not going to get started on this for a few months but I'm just now trying to draw up a sketch of the bench. Nothing fancy but build in as much functionality as I can.
 
My latest bench (the first one with dog holes and a vise) was made with 4 layers of MDF to give the 2.5 inches thickness recommended for the vise. It has worked very well, even using the L-shaped hold-downs that you hammer into a dog hole. The bench is a stand-up bench on top of a regular work table, about 14 x 42 inches, so the MDF requirements came out of my scrap, but 2 layers 1/2 inch plus 2 layers 3/4 inch laminated together are super sturdy and stable. I do a lot with vacuum bags, but without that, I would just drive screws from the bottom to hold while the glue cured, then remove the screws and put the next layer on the bottom, repeat, etc.

Be sure to leave room at the edge to clamp things to the top with conventional clamps, as Carol suggests.

I love an open shelf under the bench, to hold a couple ROS (different grits) - you can see the vacuum hose, planes, glue bottles, etc. - with the small bench it is handy to have a place to put the sander (for example) while you adjust the work piece. I also have space under the stand-up bench for my slider from the table saw when it is at that end of the very tight shop!

ShopBench2.JPG
 
Most of those doors have very soft surfaces. To me, that is not a very satisfactory surface for use intended. Couple thoughts for alternate, inexpensive bench: go to a kitchen remodeling company and ask if they have any old formica counter tops waiting to go to the landfill or look for same at auction houses.
 
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