use a door as a workbench?
 

Hello

I'm thinking of buying a few of these B&Q interior MDF doors, plain
faced and white finished at about 18 quid a go:

http://bit.ly/igsexd

(B&Q NAT26MDF, EAN 0000003847749)

It seems to my simple mind that knocking up a framework from CLS timber,
then fitting the doors, would make a nice work surface for a hobby room
in our house (electronics, computers etc. rather than arc welding or
turning cast iron steam engine boilers).

I could cover the work surface of the door with some rubber matting and
I think it could all look quite nice and be quite solid - I presume that
when you buy a door for fitting yourself, it won't have handle hole or
lock holes or hinge rebates - true?

I know that the doors will be flimsy unless any load is spread over a
fair area, and I suppose if I was worried I could skim the surface with
some 6mm ply or similar - but I'm hoping the doors themselves have a
hard enough carcass to withstand light use and not much weight apart
from some test and measurement equipment (upto 20kg, spread over an area
upto the size of a tea chest's bottom, that sort of thing)

So, may I ask please, are the doors supplied completely plain and has
anyone done this sort of thing before with satisfactory results?

DDS

use a door as a workbench?
 

On 26/03/2011 21:43, John Rumm wrote:
On 26/03/2011 21:20, DDS wrote:
Hello

I'm thinking of buying a few of these B&Q interior MDF doors, plain
faced and white finished at about 18 quid a go:

http://bit.ly/igsexd

So, may I ask please, are the doors supplied completely plain and has
anyone done this sort of thing before with satisfactory results?

Having said that, a sheet of 19mm MDF will probably cost you similar
money, and be far stronger, not to mention larger.

oh yes - I see what you mean. Wickes do an 18mm MDF sheet which is 2
foot wide by 8 foot long and costs 15 quid (their product code 110035),
or a 4' wide one for £15.90. A better bet then. Thanks!

use a door as a workbench?
 

It happens that DDS formulated :
oh yes - I see what you mean. Wickes do an 18mm MDF sheet which is 2
foot wide by 8 foot long and costs 15 quid (their product code 110035),
or a 4' wide one for £15.90. A better bet then. Thanks!

Just seek out some reject kitchen worktop - much more solid, good
surface to work on and less likely to suffer damage.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

use a door as a workbench?
 

In message , DDS writes
On 26/03/2011 21:43, John Rumm wrote:
On 26/03/2011 21:20, DDS wrote:
Hello

I'm thinking of buying a few of these B&Q interior MDF doors, plain
faced and white finished at about 18 quid a go:

http://bit.ly/igsexd

So, may I ask please, are the doors supplied completely plain and has
anyone done this sort of thing before with satisfactory results?

Having said that, a sheet of 19mm MDF will probably cost you similar
money, and be far stronger, not to mention larger.

oh yes - I see what you mean. Wickes do an 18mm MDF sheet which is 2
foot wide by 8 foot long and costs 15 quid (their product code 110035),
or a 4' wide one for £15.90. A better bet then. Thanks!


Though a sheet of MDF will need a bit more support. Though since you
are making some sort of frame, that isn't necessarily a big deal.

The door does work though. I had one as a desk/model making bench in my
teens. It fitted nicely into an alove, so was supported along the 3
edges.

Cheap kitchen worktop can also work well, I used that in our she din the
old house. Has a nice easy to keep clean surface
--
Chris French

use a door as a workbench?
 

DDS wrote:
On 26/03/2011 21:43, John Rumm wrote:
On 26/03/2011 21:20, DDS wrote:
Hello

I'm thinking of buying a few of these B&Q interior MDF doors, plain
faced and white finished at about 18 quid a go:

http://bit.ly/igsexd

So, may I ask please, are the doors supplied completely plain and
has anyone done this sort of thing before with satisfactory results?

Having said that, a sheet of 19mm MDF will probably cost you similar
money, and be far stronger, not to mention larger.

oh yes - I see what you mean. Wickes do an 18mm MDF sheet which is 2
foot wide by 8 foot long and costs 15 quid (their product code
110035), or a 4' wide one for £15.90. A better bet then. Thanks!

DDS,

Personally I would go for the far stronger (IMHO), 19mm exterior grade
birch-faced plywood (or at a pinch shuttering ply, good on one face) for the
bench top - mine has withstood some rather harsh and varied punishment for
the last 27 years (admittedly with various holes and dents in it now).


Cash

use a door as a workbench?
 

If you are going for a door, maybe a fire door blank? This one is £28.50 at
wickes Lisburn Ply Veneer Fire Door 1981x762mm Product Code: 200294.

use a door as a workbench?
 

On 26/03/2011 21:20, DDS wrote:
Hello

I'm thinking of buying a few of these B&Q interior MDF doors, plain
faced and white finished at about 18 quid a go:

http://bit.ly/igsexd

(B&Q NAT26MDF, EAN 0000003847749)

It seems to my simple mind that knocking up a framework from CLS timber,
then fitting the doors, would make a nice work surface for a hobby room
in our house (electronics, computers etc. rather than arc welding or
turning cast iron steam engine boilers).

I could cover the work surface of the door with some rubber matting and
I think it could all look quite nice and be quite solid - I presume that
when you buy a door for fitting yourself, it won't have handle hole or
lock holes or hinge rebates - true?

I know that the doors will be flimsy unless any load is spread over a
fair area, and I suppose if I was worried I could skim the surface with
some 6mm ply or similar - but I'm hoping the doors themselves have a
hard enough carcass to withstand light use and not much weight apart
from some test and measurement equipment (upto 20kg, spread over an area
upto the size of a tea chest's bottom, that sort of thing)

So, may I ask please, are the doors supplied completely plain and has
anyone done this sort of thing before with satisfactory results?

DDS


I found a scratched and damaged 40mm x 3M kitchen worktop in a local
building supplies firm.
I got it cheap as they couldn't shift it.
Don

use a door as a workbench?
 

"DDS" wrote in message
...
Hello

I'm thinking of buying a few of these B&Q interior MDF doors, plain
faced and white finished at about 18 quid a go:

http://bit.ly/igsexd

(B&Q NAT26MDF, EAN 0000003847749)

It seems to my simple mind that knocking up a framework from CLS
timber,
then fitting the doors, would make a nice work surface for a hobby
room
in our house (electronics, computers etc. rather than arc welding or

In my last house I used two such doors, widened by lengths of 4x2
screwed to their edges, as a temporary Christmas Feast family table on
woodworking treesles. Now in new house one is still in use as my
office desk on the same tresles, and the other is my desk in the
workshop on top of a pair of two drawer filing cabinets. Both work
very well

AWEM

use a door as a workbench?
 

On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 21:20:36 +0000, DDS wrote:

Hello

I'm thinking of buying a few of these B&Q interior MDF doors, plain
faced and white finished at about 18 quid a go:

http://bit.ly/igsexd

(B&Q NAT26MDF, EAN 0000003847749)

It seems to my simple mind that knocking up a framework from CLS timber,
then fitting the doors, would make a nice work surface for a hobby room
in our house (electronics, computers etc. rather than arc welding or
turning cast iron steam engine boilers).

I could cover the work surface of the door with some rubber matting and
I think it could all look quite nice and be quite solid - I presume that
when you buy a door for fitting yourself, it won't have handle hole or
lock holes or hinge rebates - true?

I know that the doors will be flimsy unless any load is spread over a
fair area, and I suppose if I was worried I could skim the surface with
some 6mm ply or similar - but I'm hoping the doors themselves have a
hard enough carcass to withstand light use and not much weight apart
from some test and measurement equipment (upto 20kg, spread over an area
upto the size of a tea chest's bottom, that sort of thing)

So, may I ask please, are the doors supplied completely plain and has
anyone done this sort of thing before with satisfactory results?



We did it for years when we built control panels. We had a steel box
framework (supporting the door on all edges) and just fastened the doors
on with screws up through the box section. When the top gets too full of
holes etc., just turn it over for another use. They worked very well
indeed. We didn't bother with paint or varnish. ;-) We were putting steel
boxes up to about 1m square on them, most of the weight transfers to the
frame so the door isn't really under a lot of stress.

--
Mick (Working in a M$-free zone!)
Web: http://www.nascom.info
Filtering everything posted from googlegroups to kill spam.

use a door as a workbench?
 

In article , Harry
Bloomfield scribeth thus
It happens that DDS formulated :
oh yes - I see what you mean. Wickes do an 18mm MDF sheet which is 2
foot wide by 8 foot long and costs 15 quid (their product code 110035),
or a 4' wide one for £15.90. A better bet then. Thanks!

Just seek out some reject kitchen worktop - much more solid, good
surface to work on and less likely to suffer damage.


In fact the missus wanted a lump of that for her study room, goes from
one wall 't other all in one go and very sturdy even with no
intermediate supports. Nice wood finish too.

FWIW used to work in a TV repair shop centuries ago where the benches
were mad of olde doors and quite well that worked as well. Could also
face it with some MDF later if the surface isn't up to it perhaps....
--
Tony Sayer

use a door as a workbench?
 

On Mar 26, 10:20*pm, DDS wrote:

I'm thinking of buying a few of these B&Q interior MDF doors, plain
faced and white finished at about 18 quid a go:

Doors can work out OK, but I'd use heavier doors, not B&Q interiors.
They're too flimsy for heavy stuff, they're too bouncy for light,
precision stuff.

Last time I did this I used a couple of cheap firedoors. There was a
regulatory change in the '90s, these were old stock and went for
bargain clearance. I don't know firedoor prices today, but otherwise
I'd be looking at kitchen worktops. They need support against long-
term sagging (2x4 frame), but they're dense enough to be nicely
stable.

use a door as a workbench?
 

"DDS" wrote in message
...
Hello

I'm thinking of buying a few of these B&Q interior MDF doors, plain
faced and white finished at about 18 quid a go:

http://bit.ly/igsexd

(B&Q NAT26MDF, EAN 0000003847749)

It seems to my simple mind that knocking up a framework from CLS timber,
then fitting the doors, would make a nice work surface for a hobby room
in our house (electronics, computers etc. rather than arc welding or
turning cast iron steam engine boilers).

I could cover the work surface of the door with some rubber matting and
I think it could all look quite nice and be quite solid - I presume that
when you buy a door for fitting yourself, it won't have handle hole or
lock holes or hinge rebates - true?

I know that the doors will be flimsy unless any load is spread over a
fair area, and I suppose if I was worried I could skim the surface with
some 6mm ply or similar - but I'm hoping the doors themselves have a
hard enough carcass to withstand light use and not much weight apart
from some test and measurement equipment (upto 20kg, spread over an area
upto the size of a tea chest's bottom, that sort of thing)

So, may I ask please, are the doors supplied completely plain and has
anyone done this sort of thing before with satisfactory results?

That's taken me back 50 odd years. The first firm I worked at used doors
as office desks. They were mounted on black metal frames which at the time
was a well known and popular system, and trying to remember the name of it
is driving me crazy. Can anyone remember? It consisted of black metal
tubes about three quarters of an inch square and it all plugged together
with plastic plugs to make table frames, shelving or whatever.
--
Tinkerer

use a door as a workbench?
 

On 26/03/2011 22:05, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
It happens that DDS formulated :
oh yes - I see what you mean. Wickes do an 18mm MDF sheet which is 2
foot wide by 8 foot long and costs 15 quid (their product code 110035),
or a 4' wide one for £15.90. A better bet then. Thanks!

Just seek out some reject kitchen worktop - much more solid, good
surface to work on and less likely to suffer damage.

This is what I used in my hobby room. Never had a problem with it.

Dave

use a door as a workbench?
 

On 27 Mar,
"Tinkerer" wrote:

That's taken me back 50 odd years. The first firm I worked at used doors
as office desks. They were mounted on black metal frames which at the
time was a well known and popular system, and trying to remember the name
of it is driving me crazy. Can anyone remember? It consisted of black
metal tubes about three quarters of an inch square and it all plugged
together with plastic plugs to make table frames, shelving or whatever.

Dexion speedframe

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

use a door as a workbench?
 

On Mar 27, 9:34*pm, wrote:
On 27 Mar, *
* * *"Tinkerer" wrote:

That's taken me back 50 odd years. * The first firm I worked at used doors
as office desks. * They were mounted on black metal frames which at the
time *was a well known and popular system, and trying to remember the name
of it *is driving me crazy. * Can anyone remember? * It consisted of black
metal *tubes about three quarters of an inch square and it all plugged
together *with plastic plugs to make table frames, shelving or whatever.

Dexion speedframe

--
* B Thumbs
* Change lycos to yahoo to reply

Years ago we found an old door in a house we moved into. My wife
covered it with curtain interlining and then lining. Gets used as a
worktop for making curtains etc. Also light enough to strap to the
roof of the car, take to car boot sales (put in on two trestles). When
lining gets soiled, easy to replace!

use a door as a workbench?
 

Dave wrote:
Just seek out some reject kitchen worktop - much more solid, good
surface to work on and less likely to suffer damage.

This is what I used in my hobby room. Never had a problem with it.

Promble with kitchen worktops is that they're 2' deep whereas
reusing a door gives you a worktop 2'6" deep. Thobut I've found
a work surface shallower that a full 3' is too small for a decent
computer working area.

JGH

use a door as a workbench?
 

On Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:15:05 -0700, jgharston wrote:

Dave wrote:
Just seek out some reject kitchen worktop - much more solid, good
surface to work on and less likely to suffer damage.

This is what I used in my hobby room. Never had a problem with it.

Promble with kitchen worktops is that they're 2' deep whereas reusing a
door gives you a worktop 2'6" deep. Thobut I've found a work surface
shallower that a full 3' is too small for a decent computer working
area.

Breakfast bar worktops. 900mm.

--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

use a door as a workbench?
 

"Huge" wrote in message
...
On 2011-03-27, Tinkerer wrote:

That's taken me back 50 odd years. The first firm I worked at used
doors
as office desks. They were mounted on black metal frames which at the
time
was a well known and popular system, and trying to remember the name of
it
is driving me crazy. Can anyone remember? It consisted of black metal
tubes about three quarters of an inch square and it all plugged together
with plastic plugs to make table frames, shelving or whatever.

Dexion Speedframe.

Thank you. That is the very name. My mind can relax again. A quick
Google shows that it is still available (OP please note).
http://www.dexion.com/product_29.aspx
--
Tinkerer

use a door as a workbench?
 

On Mar 28, 9:34*am, Huge wrote:

BTW, I have some Ikea desks in my study which apparently have the same
construction as doors...

Yes, but they also make wardrobes from the same construction as fast-
food boxes. Doesn't mean it's a good idea.


OTOH, Ikea's cheapest "hardboard" material, as used for the backing of
wardrobes and such, is proof against industrial cutting lasers. No
idea what's in it, probably asbestos and adamantine. Won't cut though.

use a door as a workbench?
 

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember DDS saying something
like:

So, may I ask please, are the doors supplied completely plain and has
anyone done this sort of thing before with satisfactory results?

Following some advice on this very newsgroup some 13 years ago I set up
a plain hardboard door on some fruit boxes and used it as a computer
desk, purely as a temporary thing.
Guess what? The temporary nature has proved to be fairly long-term and
it's still supporting a PC, CRT monitor, printer, speakers and assorted
junk.