Workbench Table Material?

[Lowkus]

In terms of a hobby electronics bench, do people prefer the top to be made of glass, wood, metal, or some other material?  Does the table top structural material matter if you're ultimately going to lay an antistatic mat on top of it?

[Ian.M]

Glass is too vulnerable to impact damage and metal is a safety hazard if you ever work on mains or high voltage circuits as it vastly increases your risk of getting seriously shocked.

[Lowkus]

Plastic is probably a static hazard on its own.  Does anyone use concrete tables?  It sounds like wood is the standard though.

[beanflying]

A recent thread here and also look up the show us your workbench thread linked my first reply. 2x3/4 " Laminates of MDF or 1 1/2" if you can get it will suit the job IMO.

 https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/advice-on-workbench-bench-tops-(canberra-region)/msg3507840/#msg3507840

[Kerlin]

After looking at the Show Your Workshop thread I have decided to upgrade my electronics work bench.
Electronics work bench implies you are not going to mount a big vise on it or do extensive metal work on it.
Having a separate work bench for metal work and making project enclosures is the only way to go.

I am thinking that I have found nothing to be too permanent, it always gets burnt when soldering and scratched and scared.
So I was thinking of just using five ply on the main part and cutting three bench tops in one hit, so I have spares on hand.

I have set up some industrial workshops that had to pass an audit by an independent accredited third party inspector.
On two of those I used anti-static paint on the floor as I had seen it done before.
Those two were tested and measured for conductivity and earthing and passed.
So Whilst I am sure most of us do not care much about anti-static requirements I was thinking of just using a domestic grade paint that might be anti-static to paint the bench top and the spare ones. Thinking that most black paints would probably would have some carbon in them, good enough for me.
But black don't look to good any suggestions ?


 

[Ian.M]

Surface your workbench with a sacrificial top layer of unfinished hardboard, smooth side up, held in place by thin double sided carpet tape near the corners.  Although not formally ESD safe, it wont generate significant static, and its dirt cheap and easy to replace when required.  The underlying workbench needs to be reasonably even and level and strong enough as the hardboard must be fully supported.

Its also a good option if you have no choice other than to work on a good table top that must be protected from damage.  Cover the table with felt or a wool blanket, with the hardboard laying on top.  The felt/blanket protects the tabletop against bruising from hard localized impacts to the hardboard and also provides thermal insulation to minimize the risk of heat damage.

[basinstreetdesign]

Electronics work bench implies you are not going to mount a big vise on it or do extensive metal work on it.

Even if it's wood construction, it cannot be too light.  The bench should be built to withstand a load of, maybe, 50 lbs at front & center (not at the back or ends where its, no doubt, stronger).  Some older equipment can be that heavier or even more so.  I have a HP 141T spec an. and it weighs in a about 60 lbs according to specs.  I wouldn't want to plunk that on the bench and have it collapse onto my foot.

[jc101]

My benchtop is 25mm (1") ply with a 6mm MDF top layer with a wood veneer which is really there to seal the MDF surface.  This top layer could be changed easily if required.  The whole thing then has one large anti-static mat along the top (roughly 3.5m x 0.8m).

The ply is pocket screwed to a frame made of 10cm x 5cm (4" x 2") sections.  With the frame pocket screwed together and to the legs.  The legs are newel posts from eBay cut down to length. It is freestanding but is very rigid.  Plus it doesn't have any legs on the front edge so I can move about easily.  I have close to 200kg on it without a problem in the past.  The pic attached is a grab from Google SketchUp from years ago when I was working it all out.

[wizard69]

I ALWAYS like spending somebody else money so here are some points to consider:

In terms of a hobby electronics bench, do people prefer the top to be made of glass,

Normal glass would be a big NO in my opinion.   Now maybe some of the super alloys might be in order if you can afford them.   In general glass breaks and often massively, I just wouldn't do it.   Now glass on top of something else might make sense for a portion of the bench, in this case w2riting.

wood,

This is the obvious choice, however avoid plain wood (laminated like a butchers block) as they have issue with being covered and moisture.   That is if you put a mat of some sort on one side of the bench you can get some really wild warpage from a differential moisture content.    Instead prefer plywood, particle boards, chip boards and the like and seal both sides to prevent moisture damage.   Ideally whatever you do on top you need to do on the bottom.

metal,

Only go this route for a very specific need!!!   This is not a solution for general use.   I've worked on large tools that have the entire tools base made of copper plated steel with various bits of electronics around that plate.   Not ideal for the people working on the machine.    It isn't just the riwk of electric shock either, sharp edges, square corners and the like are very uncomfortable.   With wood you can shape an edge to what ever suits your fancy.

or some other material?

The biggest problem with wood is that it has skyrocketed in cost over the last year (Wood products are almost 3X what they were very recently).   I'm not sure why, probably the lack of competition.   This has opened up the possibility of using plastics.   The problem is finding the right material and a local supplier.   You can also consider various composites and things like bamboo.

  Does the table top structural material matter if you're ultimately going to lay an antistatic mat on top of it?

Yes it does.   Like I mentioned plaint wood can suffer if it isn't keep equalized moisture wise.    I actually had this happen to me on a bench made of maple 1-1/4" thick.   Wish I had taken a picture but it was shocking how much that top warped.  Lucky for me leaving it open for a few weeks had it back to a nice flat surface.    Your construction has to be stable against the impact moisture has on wood.   Even composites and plywoods will warp which is why office furniture will have Formica on both the top and bottom.

Unless you have very special needs you want to avoid a steel top, even if the frame might be steel.   This is in part for safety.

You also have structural issues and frankly you want a robust bench that should be able to manage the weight of a big human in the center.   Since the benches size will influence how it should be built to handle that weight, there is no one answer to suitable construction.   Given enough length a single layer of 3/4" ply will not be enough!!!   In fact an 8  ft long bench would likely need reinforcement beyond two layers of 3/4" plywood.

Now understand I lean towards a bench capacity greater than 300 pounds.   It is real easy to stack a lot of weight on a bench.

[GreyWoolfe]

I use 1 layer of 3/4 inch MDF with an ESD mat on it.  My bench is 8 feet long and 33 inch wide.  The framing is all 2X4 with 2 support braces to carry any load so the MDF won't sag.  My bench is sturdy enough for me to sit on it and I am very plus sized.

[Renate]

I used 3/4" plywood and Formica-ed it myself.

[wizard69]

Plus it doesn't have any legs on the front edge so I can move about easily.  I have close to 200kg on it without a problem in the past.  The pic attached is a grab from Google SketchUp from years ago when I was working it all out.

Hi JC;

I just realized that your bench drawing highlights one very important element for any bench designed for technical work on small stuff.    That is the bench overhangs the frame by enough to allow clamping stuff to the accessible edges.   What I'm thinking about here is task lighting, visual inspection (magnifier on an arm), vises and other work holding instruments.   Even a C-clamp can be handy at times.   

Somebody mentioned above that a machinist vise need to be mounted on a very sturdy bench, and the bench probably bolted down.   That is true you don't want to be pounding on your electronics bench.   However sometimes it is good to completely immobilize something more securely than a Panavise setting on the bench.   That is where a quick and easily clamped to perimeter is a good thing.

I've learned this the hard way.   Back some 45 years ago I made a bench in high school with the 3/4" plywood top framed with 2x4's ( still have that bench).    The unfortunate thing is that clamping to the top is a pain in the butt due to the need for extra long clamps.   As a result it has never been a good "electronics" work bench.

I just wanted to point out this one design element as it is something that people building a new bench should be aware of.    Little design elements can have a big impact on usability.

[jc101]

Plus it doesn't have any legs on the front edge so I can move about easily.  I have close to 200kg on it without a problem in the past.  The pic attached is a grab from Google SketchUp from years ago when I was working it all out.

Hi JC;

I just realized that your bench drawing highlights one very important element for any bench designed for technical work on small stuff.    That is the bench overhangs the frame by enough to allow clamping stuff to the accessible edges.   What I'm thinking about here is task lighting, visual inspection (magnifier on an arm), vises and other work holding instruments.   Even a C-clamp can be handy at times.   

Somebody mentioned above that a machinist vise need to be mounted on a very sturdy bench, and the bench probably bolted down.   That is true you don't want to be pounding on your electronics bench.   However sometimes it is good to completely immobilize something more securely than a Panavise setting on the bench.   That is where a quick and easily clamped to perimeter is a good thing.

I've learned this the hard way.   Back some 45 years ago I made a bench in high school with the 3/4" plywood top framed with 2x4's ( still have that bench).    The unfortunate thing is that clamping to the top is a pain in the butt due to the need for extra long clamps.   As a result it has never been a good "electronics" work bench.

I just wanted to point out this one design element as it is something that people building a new bench should be aware of.    Little design elements can have a big impact on usability.

The overhang is also quite handy for other things.  I have some anti-static wrist strap connecting studs under the overhang too, so the lead doesn't drag over the bench from studs at the rear.  Plus some mains sockets on the front at one end, again for just connecting equipment without the lead trailing on the bench.  All these bits are mounted onto the 4"x2" underneath.

Today I was using a quick clamp to hold down a box to drill some holes, the overhang makes this really easy.  Just sweep the swarf off the front edge into the bin.

[Jwillis]

I ended up just purchasing a couple Polyethylene Folding Tables. Understandably Polyethylene can build static electricity like any insulating material but I haven't had any problems so far. With the air where I live being so dry most of the year  , static tends to build on just about everything including wood.

[Lowkus]

Has anyone built a bench using the motorized sit/stand legs?  I've enjoyed that type of desk for computer work, seems like it would be good for electronics work too.

[Berni]

Wooden kitchen counters make the best workbench surface.

The coatings they put on it are very tough while also being nicely textured to give things a constant amount of friction along the surface. They will stand up to quite a bit of heat, you can hit then pretty hard without leaving a ding, can be cleaned easily, stands up to a lot of common solvents... etc

Metal is obviously a bad idea for electronics, you are going to short any board you put down on it. Glass is possible, especially if you just use glass as a cover on top of a wooden table, this makes the glass very impact resistant since the wood below absorbs the hit without bending the glass. But while being incredibly resilient to just about anything, it is not a very comfortable work surface. Laying your forearms on it makes it feel very cold to the touch, will condense your sweat on the surface, making it feel wet and sticky while objects on your workbench slide around all over the place, dropping a screw on glass makes it bounce around like crazy while making a loud noise etc..

My own workbench is a hardwood surface with lacquer on top to seal it, sitting on top of a sturdy thick wooden frame. Nicely stable and solid, the wood surface looks nice, is comfortable to lean your bare arms on, resistant to dings and dents, doesn't scratch easily at all, provides a consistent medium amount of friction, cleans nicely... BUT it has one big flaw... It's not resistant to solvents, like not at all, even pretty pissant ones like ethanol. So get some ContactChemie PCB cleaner on it and the surface becomes as sticky as glue until the solvent evaporates. This is the reason why i recommend a kitchen counter top, it has all of these benefits while also being solvent resistant.

EDIT:
Oh and i might fix this by simply buying an ESD mat. This makes the surface under it not matter so it can be anything you want.

[JustSquareEnough]

Thought I'd add another idea for others that might be interested.  I used solid core doors. you can get the cheaply at the big box store, they are heavy, just add legs.

couple of pictures of mine here:
http://justsquareenough.com/Projects/LabBenches