How many layers of plywood for my new bench?

How many layers of 3/4 plywood for my bench top?

  • 2 = 1.5" of plywood, it's plenty

    Votes: 76 68.5%

  • 3 would be better

    Votes: 17 15.3%

  • 4 will be super strong

    Votes: 5 4.5%

  • Other

    Votes: 13 11.7%
  • Total voters
    111
  • Poll closed .
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Shrinkmd

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I am building a new bench for reloading, and I plan on using the sears 6' metal bench frame and then "glue and screw" some 3/4 sheets of plywood for the bench top. I've seen some people using 2, but others more. I am planning on mounting 2 to 3 presses eventually, so I want it to be strong!

So how many sheets of 3/4 would be best?
 
When I built my bench for the shop it was all wood with the top being 2X6 boards over which went a single sheet of 3/4 inch plywood glued and screwed. A single sheet over the 2X6 boards was all I needed and that bench was sturdy with 4X4 legs.

Ron
 
Two layers is good and plenty! (And a whole lot easier to find and cheaper than 1-1/8" plywood.)
 
I have made several work benches over the past decade, or so ... reloading bench, gun bench, work benches.

I have provided them all with tops made by laminating 2 pieces of ¾" BC plywood with Gorilla Glue.

All of these benchtops are much more than adequate fro their uses.
 
Mine are two layers of 3/4; one has an extra piece of backing just because I needed a smoother surface on that one. If you have to hit an exact height for some reason, keep in mind 3/4" plywood isn't 3/4" anymore. They cheat ya by about a 1/32nd.

When I built mine, my ocd was kicking in pretty good. I secured the first layer with liquid nails and screws. Gridded it and added a mark 3/4" off the edges with a strait edge and pencil. Applied liquid nails, set the next layer and secured in place w/ a few brads (set the gun to leave them a little high so I could remove). Then chalk lined a grid for short screws and a perimeter for longer screws to hit the structural part of the benches.
 
Why not just buy the butcher block top? It's plenty strong enough, nicely finished, cut to size, comes with a back rail to keep small things from rolling off, and is available with the rest of the parts.

I used 1/4-20 inserts on the bench to easily mount and remove various items, including an RL-550 B, a Square Deal B, a Super Swage 600, a case trimmer, and a bench vise.
 
2"x4" legs are all anyone needs for vertical support, you're only going to reload on it, not support your 4x4 truck and camper.

A single layer of 3/4" is plenty of top thickness IF you add (front to rear) pieces of glued and screwed 2"x6" at the press locations. And have legs within 6" or less of the press locations to take the pressure without flexing the top.
 
If you built it with a triple 2X4 torsion beam in front one layer of 3/4" plywood is all you need....the torsion beam does the work of preventing movement during press strokes.

This is the cheapest way to build a bench that is extraordinarily strong. You mount your press with 6" long bolts and fender washers. Torsion beam is glued and screwed.
BENCH4.jpg

BENCH2.gif
No.....no cross pieces are needed with this 2'x8' design. The plywood only has to span 18".
Cutting list for such a bench below:
BENCH1-1.gif
 
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Find a damaged, solid core interior door, that you can buy cheap. 1 3/8" thick and 80" long and up to 36" wide. You see them that were damaged by the monkeys in receiving. Nobody is going to buy a damaged door for their house, so they're cheap...
 
Check out businesses getting construction done. We have tossed out 3 or 4 heavy doors in the last couple of weeks. They make great table tops. All of our work tables have them for tops.
 

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Thanks for the info GW Staar! That looks like it would be cheaper than the Sears metal legs, and that way I could paint the entire thing The right shade of blue, because I'm taking a big sip of the blue kool aid.

Is there a website or other reference to those plans? I'm still a little new to carpentry, but I'm trying to learn. I would probably have Home Depot make the cuts for me since I don't have a saw table. How many 2x4 would I need? Would I want the pressure treated or just the standard plain?

Thanks for the info!
 
Just print what GW Staar posted... has all the info ya need right on it.... he wouldnt have posted it if he didnt wanna share it:p

looks Like a nice bench...... I used Butcher Board for my Tops... at the Time it wasnt designed for Loading... but now they are.... the Top actualy Flexes quite a bit... so have ADJUSTED it since... I also have used 3/4 Sheathing and put 1/8 Melamine on Top... NICE smooth top, cleans easy, and Looks Nice....

3/4" is Plenty as long as you dont overhang it off the edge where the press is Bolted to

I like GW's design of the Front Beam..... Great GRABB spot for the Press to bolt into...


PS

No Pressure Treated lumber... its a soft wood and is kinda garbage to build with... Dry Lumber would be best if ya can get it.... that way it dosent shrink up and cause ya grief... plus you can Paint it right away...
ya 20yrs in drafting and Lumber sales... heck i actualy retained a FEW things....LOL
 
1 1/2" glued is enough.

I've been using a 3/4" sheet glued and screwed to the top of an old chest of drawers, 2 presses mounted on the end, all the dies and equipment in the 2 bottom drawers, with tools in the top drawer.

I have those plastic sliders on the legs so I can slide the unit into position so I can sit on a stool or stand to use the presses.

I've added a second dresser drawer with a 3/4" top, for use with my lubesizer, black powder drop tube, and to hold all my molds, lube sticks etc. I have peg board on the wall and the dresser drawers acts as a work bench, I have both installed into a corner and have a cheap wheeled office chair to roll between both benches.
 
Let me preface by giving the lie to what I'm about to say: I own, and for a long time used, a reloading bench made with a ONE INCH thick solid steel top. Most of the equipment bolts went through holes tapped to accept them. I know the value of the ULTIMATE solid bench top.

But that's not what I use now. For one thing, the bench with its steel legs ended up weighing almost 500 lbs. For another, it is totally unnecessary to go ULTIMATE solid. Buying a butcher-block top from Grizzly (or wherever) for $125-$450 is beyond overkill. It is stiff, and it is undoubtedly hard (being maple), but it isn't likely to be any stronger in the sort of torsional stress that a press puts on it as it tries to hold the press still against the handle force than a doubled 3/4" ply surface would be.

The real key to a good bench is anchoring. If it has to be free-standing (maybe you live in an apartment and don't want to attach to the walls) this is harder, but for most of us, framing the bench supports solidly to the wall studding and subfloor will do more good than an expensive, massively thick table top.
 
When you consider the properties of a monolithic Spruce/Hem/Fir 2x12 (that's 1-1/2" x 11-1/4"), vs the 10+ plys of material composited together into two sheets of 3/4" ply (still 1-1/2" thick) they aren't stronger, or even close to as strong. (Though, of course, it will still be plenty strong, though the screw-thread tearout resistance won't be as good.)

...Well, now that I stop to think, you might have meant that you laminated 2x12s together on edge, so your bench top is 11-1/4" thick. That would indeed be stronger!
 
Anchors away?

So if I successfuly build the all-wood bench (I like the less expensive part because I'm a little sticker shocked by the 1050, hope its worth it!) I am putting it against the cinder block wall of the garage. What would be the best way to anchor it to the wall? Would it make sense to drill some holes through the back part of the frame and send a couple of bolts into the block wall?

I know a lot more about reloading than carpentry, but I'm learning and really appreciate the advice.
 
I went with 3/4 inch ply under an inch or so "composite" board. I like the very smooth surface of the composite. It has held up for a year now excptionally well. I also put a 2x6 on the bench which really firmly anchors my press. I anchored my bench to wall studies. Finally, I put a small bead of molding around the bench. It has saved countless things from rolling or falling off.
 
Sam1911 said:
When you consider the properties of a monolithic Spruce/Hem/Fir 2x12 (that's 1-1/2" x 11-1/4"), vs the 10+ plys of material composited together into two sheets of 3/4" ply (still 1-1/2" thick) they aren't stronger, or even close to as strong.
Click to expand...

You're probably right. At the time though much of my decision was based on the fact that I could easily get an 8' 2x12 chopped in two home fairly easily in my hatchback, whilst the plywood would be difficult without a lot of cutting :).
 
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