Hi Bob,

I've been lurking for quite some time as I built a cedar strip canoe, and picked up lots of great information here. Some one finally asked a question for which I can put in my 2 cents worth.

I built my bench out of 1 inch thick MDF, and I really like it.the surface is smooth, I don't get slivers from it. and it is really flat. My bench is 8ft by 3ft, with supports every 2ft under the MDF.

I was happy to find out the MDF is somewhat resistant to water. I keep plants on my bench, and have over watered at times, and not noticed for 1/2 an hour. only very minor (almost no) swelling occured. I'd give MDF the thumbs up for the bench top.

Cutting it is pretty ugly though, you will be breathing a lot more glue than if you are cutting plywood.

Well those are my thoughts.

cheers,

Myrl

: Previously I've made storage shelves topped with plywood. For building my
: next boat, I'm thinking of building workbenches using some sort of a
: compressed-wood fibreboard product I've seen. (It's a pale yellow color,
: with wood chips visible in the smooth finish.) This material (at 1/2"
: thick) looked strong enough to span the 2' width I'm planning for my
: tables. (It was also cheap, at $10 per 4x8 sheet.) I don't know what MDF
: or OSB are (material? strength? appearance?), so any comments on what I
: should look for or what MDF and OSB are would be appreciated. Perhaps I
: should stick with some good plywood?
: Bob