Hello Bob,

Basically I'm trying to remove the timber, and reduce the weight - the "tabletop"
is actually the top of a small shelf/ cabinet which holds the lathe.

By making the tabletop steel, I can weld things to the top, and drill and
tap fixtures as required - things I'd be less comfortable doing with wood
underlay.

I've got 4mm (just over 1/8") thick galvanised sheet that I plan on using
to replace the 12mm MDF.

If the properties says the 4mm isn't as "stiff" then I'll be putting some
braces or something in - but I'm trying to reduce the weight since I'm adding
other accessories such as VSD, taper turner, etc to the system.

Des




In the spirit of RCM, I'll ignore your question and suggest an
alternative: why not just put the sheet steel on top of the wood?

Bob