The heart of my shop has been my Solid Core Door bench top. My bench is of
unconventional dimensions.... I made it wide because it doubles as the table
saw run-off. It is heavy and sturdy and has stood the test of time. I
purchased the door from a lumber supply house as a second for just a few
dollars. But, my door is gypsum filled, so I edged it with 2 x 4 yellow pine
and made a trestle base of 4 x 4 yellow pine. It has been performing for me
in a South Florida Garage shop for over 15 years now.
The only thing I would do differently when I rebuild the top is I would not
use the 2 x 4 on edge. It makes the top too thick for using some clamp on
type fixtures.
I also bought a second door of standard width and use it as a very heavy
portable work table across two folding steel saw horses. When not in use it
is stood on edge along the side of the shop. It is still as flat as the day
I brought it home.
Dennis Slabaugh
Hobbyist Woodworker
www.woodworkinghobby.com
"John" wrote in message
...
You are likely to find variability in the composition of the doors within
the same store, not only between stores. It's all going to depend on who
manufactured them, with what, and for what price point.
My solid core door benchtop consists of really really thin birch veneer
over a core of fine particles. It almost looks like MDF but it's not MDF
as it is not as dense or as heavy as "real" MDF. For a door though, it's
pretty heavy. I routed a recess into the door/top for my router plate and
when routing this stuff you get nice crisp clean edges in it. They've
stayed that way because the router plate seldom leaves its recess. But
when you make through holes, whether for the router or for bench dogs, the
stuff crumbles. I wound up making and applying 3/4 edging to the router
cutouts, and applied a thin layer of wood filler into the recess where the
router plate sits just to keep this stuff from chipping, etc. (The door
overhangs the end of the workbench and the router mounts in the overhang -
thus I have a workbench and router table in one.) The dog holes were a
disaster. After a handful of uses the holes became misshapen and the area
around them "mushroomed." The solution for me was to inlay a 3/4 inch
thick strip of hardwood with suitably sized dog holes in it. I also glued
a 1/4 thick strip directly below (on the underside of the top) to prevent
the same from happening on the bottom. Keep a 3x5 block of pig iron or
steel at hand as an "anvil" because if you do any serious pounding on the
door's surface it will quickly go to hell on you.
I got the door because a neighbor was giving them away in a remodeling
job. It is heavy and flat, and all things considered it has stayed that
way over nearly 10 years in an unheated garage, so I am not dissatisfied
with it. The bench does NOT move no matter what I do to/with/on it. But if
I had to spend my own money on materials I'd go with a couple of layers of
3/4 plywood and maybe a sacrificial hardboard surface and take the trouble
to get it flat as I do not have access to sufficient quantity of good
hardwood (or money) for a solid wood top.
J.
James Williams wrote:
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I want to use a 30"x80" Solid Core Door Slab for a benchtop for a new
workbench I'm building and have a couple of questions someone might be
able to answer.
I have found at both Lowes & HD, 30"x 80" birch skinned solid core doors,
is there any diff in the two stores doors? Does anyone know what is under
the skins? (mdf, ply, pine, ecte) this is important because I will be
drilling holes for bench dogs and of course need to mount the door to
frame via screws.
Thanks for the help!
JW