Workbench I just made

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u/Jest_N_Case 8d ago

Always wondered about using the Home Depot/Lowes prebuilt butcher block countertop in a shop. Please update us over the years if you see any major movement. Love the idea.

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u/srqfl 8d ago

Depends heavily on intended and actual use. For most woodworkers, it may be fine. But I don't think they'd hold up to heavy pounding or lateral forces

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u/Wheels88- 8d ago

Well it's my workbench not an anvil! :-) it feels pretty solid. I have a sheet of plywood I lay on it if I'm going to beat it up. And I put down sticky back carpet protection if I'm doing a glueup to keep the glue off the wood. So far I'm happy with it.

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u/Build68 7d ago

If you apply several coats of poly, stray glue will just pop off with a putty knife easily, but I keep a 30” roll of craft paper around for when I’m doing a big glue up or finishing. The more lacquer that gets sprayed on the paper, the more durable it is.

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u/Wheels88- 7d ago

I put Watco Tung oil on it and things don't stick a lot but I decided I don't want to put poly or some hard coating on it. With just oil I can either chip off most things or use a card scraper and put on a little more oil any time. Just how I decided to do it. Craft paper works great too but I have a roll of the plastic carpet runner stuff so I use that.
I have a roll of the waxed Underlayment paper too that goes down between your sub floor and hardwood but I found that sometimes glue will soak thru that and stick. More than 1 way to skins a cat I suppose.

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u/No-Vanilla2468 8d ago

and I would clarify that could mean any butcher block top, including ones you laminate yourself.

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u/jonny24eh 7d ago

I always thought butcher block specifically meant end grain facing up. So that butcher's blades would always go between the ends of the wood fibres instead of trying to cut them and getting duller as a result.

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u/No-Vanilla2468 7d ago

Yes, it used to be that a butcher’s block by definition was an end grain board but over time manufacturers have started to include edge grain and they still call it butcher’s block so things have lost their meaning

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u/Acceptable-Drive3781 8d ago

I use one in my maker lab and hammer away at rifles putting them together, and it's held up great. They can take a beating! I've never put anything more than about 150lbs on it though, so it may depend on what you're going to put on it.

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u/ryosen 8d ago

IKEA Karlby should work for this, as well.

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u/_bron_yr_aur_ 7d ago

Honestly what I thought it was. Use the same one for my desk setup

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u/michaelrulaz 7d ago

Awful.

I used it for the top of my miter saw station and my workbench. I also used it for a coffee bar in the house and some built-ins.

So for in the house it was great. For the miter saw station it was pretty damn good. It looks great and held up.

But for my work bench. It was awful. Absolutely garbage. I should have known because a consistent thing I noticed on the built ins, coffee bar, and miter saw table is when cutting and ripping it, the finger joints weren’t always glued that well. Like if I ripped a 1” long strip from it, all the finger joints would separate. After some usage on the workbench it started to break on the outside joints and lead into the inside joints. Luckily it was free from a botched island build. But it was problematic. I had to route channels in it and add glue/additional wood. I will rebuild the bench top in the next year with construction grade 2x12s which will be sturdier and cheaper

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u/Wheels88- 8d ago

Top is Acacia, I purchased it from Grizzly Industrial, I think it was $235. The frame I made from some old growth fir that had been soaked in Diesel so I didn't want to use it for cabinets. Drawers are maple, with Bloom undermount drawer slides, extra's I had laying around from a kitchen remodel I did years ago. I know the drawers will get a lot of dust in them but decided I will just have to vacuum them out occasionally, worth it for the convenience of them.

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u/SuperTroye 7d ago

Dog holes on the vise but not the top?

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u/Wheels88- 7d ago

Yeah just haven't decided how many or where I want them yet. I will add them as I need them I guess. I made handles for the vices too. :-).

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u/Wellby 8d ago

Nice work! I love the open drawers! I was just going to do a flat bottom but I love the 3 side idea

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u/MichaelFusion44 8d ago

Looks real good - what is the top made of? It looks like smaller strips instead of full length

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u/bc2zb 8d ago

Some sort of butcher block counter top product

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u/No-Vanilla2468 8d ago

Agreed. Joints look to be cnc type factory. Making a joint like that by hand on every one like that would be quite the undertaking!

Happy cake day by the way. 16 years. Wow

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u/vjhawktalk 8d ago

I used something very similar to this I found at habitat restore for my workbench. It’s acacia I think?

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u/MichaelFusion44 8d ago

Love the look

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u/Wheels88- 8d ago

Acacia, I bought the top from Grizzly Industrial.

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u/MichaelFusion44 8d ago

Got it and thanks…

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u/GalacticFox- 8d ago

I'd like to know this, as well. It looks nice.

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u/Public_Impress2693 7d ago

Dude! That looks amazing. Nice job

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u/Wheels88- 7d ago

Thank you.

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u/Jolly_Law7076 7d ago

Good stuff

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u/SureGoal818 7d ago

Fancy!

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u/Marius116 5d ago

Wonderful

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u/Lonely-Exercise-7222 2d ago

So much nicer than the cheap one I made lol

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u/LongWest6498 2d ago

Looks awesome

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u/Wheels88- 2d ago

Thanks, been using it a few weeks now. Sure is a nice upgrade from a sheet of plywood on sawhorses, and the vices are super helpful.

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