: You might look at melamine covered particleboard for that bottom
: shelf, too. The plastic (melamine) coating is easy to keep
: clean. Spills from most fluids wipe up easily. Price may even be
: less than MDF. Support your shelf every 24 to 30 inches if you
: think you'll store power tools there. They can get heavy when
: you have a few, and putting in support now will prevent the
: shelf from sagging.

I'll look into the melamine covered particleboard. Looks like the local big box carries it, in the guise of shelf boards. I'll have to piece them together, rather than getting one big sheet... looks like the widest they've got is 16". By the time I seal the MDF, the price ought to come out about the same.

The bottom shelf will have supports every 24" (4' wide, edge supports and center). I figure the workspace may need more rigidity &/or support, so my original plans included a 2x4 every 10 to 14". That new circular saw is heavy. That vise is heavy, too.

: Fast and study tops are made from 2x8s, 2x10s and 2x12s. You get
: the 1 1/2" thick top you are thinking of, but you only need
: to cut them to length. Without the workbench being completed
: you'll have a juggling act trying to cut sheets of plywood to
: size with just your 2 sawhorses for supports. If you go with
: plywood see if you can get your dealer to cut the 4x8 sheets
: down to whatever size you need. You may pay a dollar or two for
: this service, but if there is a panel saw in the store, take
: advantage of it.

Local Lowe's has a panel saw... they were repairing it the last time I was in there. Getting a sheet cut down to 36" wide won't be a problem, and it'll actually fit in my Outback.

: How deep is the top going to be? It appears to be about 24 inches
: or more. Assuming it IS 24"---> That would mean 1 or 2
: 2x10s and a 2x8. Combined those give a width of 26.5",
: which would cover the 24 inch frame and give an overlap of 2.5
: inches. You need the overlap so you have something to clamp to.
: These boards do not need to be joined to each other, but you can
: glue them if you want to. Put the 2x10s on the outside and the
: 2x8 in the middle. You could use 2x4s or 2x6s, but I'd go with
: fewer boards.

Top's gonna be 36" deep. That places the rear edge just within my grasp, in case I opt to use the rear as another shelf with workspace in front of it. Gives me plenty of workspace. I failed to consider the benefits of an overhang, though... I may regret going 36". Ah, well. If, by some miracle, the top actually comes out rather flat, I may use it for building model aircraft. I've got a smaller table with a top I know is flat, though, so I don't know how likely this case is.

: My father's workbench and mine (which he built for me) are covered
: with a disposable piece of 1/4" tempered hardboard (it used
: to be called Masonite) I think I saw him replace that only once
: in 40 years. It did get an occasional coat of paint--usually
: from drips from projects, so the color varied from end to end. I
: recommend it over plywood. The relatively thin veneer face of
: plywood gets chewed up with shallow cuts and will turn to
: splinters in a year or two.

I'll hunt around my local yards.

: Take a look at metal "bench dogs" in hardware catalos,
: like Rockler's. These fit into holes you drill in the top of the
: workench. Tap them in and they serve like clamps. Buy 2 to 4 of
: them first, then drill the holes for them. Try it on scrap 2x4
: before committing to drilling in your workbench.

Interesting... I'll check these out.

: First: the word in this case is "VISE". If your dad had
: any vices, I don't need to hear about them. You might want to
: change the spelling of the title on that picture you have, too,
: before it gets you a XXX rating.

Ha. Ha ha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Something in the back of my head had sent up a little warning flag when I typed that last night, but I disregarded it due to a strong desire to crawl into bed. It's corrected now. Thanks for the catch!

: Second: there are three mounting holes on the vise. If you are
: working with a base of 2x10s, you can center those mounting
: holes on the board and have a strong mounting. Make sure you
: don't drill too close to the support frame of the workbench. You
: need to put a washer and nut on each mounting bolt. Leave enough
: room for the washer, and you should have enough room to get a
: wrench on the nut.

Actually, there are four. One's covered up in the pic. Regardless, I think getting a good base underneath is smart. I don't want to rely on whatever I use to cover the workspace to support the vise by itself.

: If you use two sheets of plywood you'll need to glue them together
: to get better stiffness. It still won't be as stiff as the solid
: wood 2x stock, but it will be pretty close. After you have
: applied an even layer of glue, clamping the plywood together is
: pretty hard, so use screws spaced about a foot apart. Start
: roughly in the center and work out from there in roughly a
: checkerboard fashion. Drive them in and after the glue has set,
: pull them out. You don't want a lot of buried screws if you can
: help it. You might end up drilling into one when you install the
: bench dog holes. Even if you get the plywood cut to size you'll
: still do more work to assemble the top than if you use
: dimensional lumber.

Yeah... the more I think about it, solid lumber might be preferable for my situation.

: When you attach the final layer, be it thin ply or hardboard, use
: very few screws and put them in back corners. and spots you
: won't generally be working on. Nothing dulls a plane as fast as
: hitting a screwhead. If you use any glue to hold this top sheet
: in place, use it sparingly so you won't have a lot to sand off
: when it comes time to change the top.

: Good luck with your project.

: PGJ

Thanks for the insight!