I have a work bench that's to long so I'm building a new one and I'm toying with the idea of using a steel top. Do any of you guy's have a steel bench top or is a old wood top still the best?

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I have two friends that have steel tops.one is a bench made out of 1/4 steel that came out of a coal mines and it's a beast.you can beat on it all you want,weld to it,just plain abuse it and it will take anything.then just wipe it down and it's good to go again.another friend of mine went to auction and found an industrial stainless food service counter.it is like 10' long and 3' wide and 3-1/2' tall.has shelving and everything in the bottom.paid 150.00 for it and you just spray a little cleaner on it and it looks brand new all the time and it's pretty tough also doesnt dent easy at all or get big scratches I was impressed.if I get a new one I am going to try and go the stainless route myself. Chad

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NOW GAS IT!!!!!

We have an old wood top bench that is extremely heavy built. To use it to weld and beat on we went to the scrap steel yard and bought a piece of sheet metal to cover it. Our vise bolts to the bench and doubles as a hold down for the steel top. It's probably only 3/32" thick or something but with the solid wood under it, it's remarkably strong. I love setting a piece down on it, clamping the ground clamp on the other end and just welding away. I'd never have just a wood top again. Don't worry about oil, solvents or anything getting on it. I'd love to fabricate a steel table with a 1/2" thick top that nice and square and flat for setting up things like trailing arms.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

metal top is the best. as forty stated its REALLY nice to put your ground clamp on the table. just put your project on the table and its grounded pick it up and flip it over without messing with the ground clamp as long as its on the table its grounded saves alot of time.

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If it ain't broke ill fix that

I have a steel top bench that I weld on and, well do anything else I want on. This is a 3' x 4' machine table I bought and is it heavy. I loaded it into the back of my S-10 to bring it back to the shop. I should have used a 1 ton, it almost killed my truck. This top has to weigh 1,500 lbs The "T" slots are nice for clamping and bending parts.

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Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.
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Not sure I could afford the beer and pizza to get it off my trailer, lol.

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I have a welding bench on wheels. You all make a good points I think i will go with a wood frame and a steel top. I'll post pics when I'm done.

Thanks

Dave

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|_..._..._______===|=||_|__|., ] -
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Old bowling alley lane works great as a bench/counter top.
Mine is 43" wide and 2-1/2" thick hard maple.

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Gary

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I lucked in to a table out of a factory that closed . It has 3x3 square steel legs and a 3/4 inch thick stainless top
weighed it at work on the truck scales 990 lbs . Not bad for $100 bucks . I gave it to my Dad to mount his lathe on . it was a bitch to unload off the trailer !