Buerste wrote:
I took two old vanities that I replaced in the bathrooms and screwed them
together end to end to make the carcass of a new garage workbench. They get
raised 12" and I made a top from 2 x 4s glued-up face to face. I had to
make the top in 2 pieces so they would fit through the 20" planer at work
then glued the two together. I filled any imperfections with wood putty. I
don't care what it looks like, I just want a good, solid surface. The bench
is lagged to the wall. I also bored two lines of 3/4" holes front to back,
two feet apart. The bench should be very functional for a lot of things but
mostly it'll be my reloading station. And, I mounted a bunch of the old
kitchen cabinets above it on the wall. I have five 8', 2-tube fixtures to
go up on the ceiling and walls.

That's when I had a GREAT idea! I routed a half-round groove 3/4" wide x
3/8" deep, all the way around the top, 3/4" in from the edge. Then I
polyurethaned the **** out of the whole top. I'll bet that saves me from
some of the trying to find parts that would otherwise roll off. Is this an
original idea? Also I'll put some indoor/outdoor carpet on 1/3 of the
bench.

I've seen a "homemade" shop bench for electronics repair that had an edge
designed to catch screws or lay screwdrivers. Those are usually carpet
coverer, so parts can't really roll away.

jumping away c-clips is another story.