New Work Shop For Me!!!

[rockNmayhem]

Originally Posted by Bigrigger

That is one sweet workbench! There will be plenty of room for working in there! What will become of your old work area?

Thanks for the compliments on the benches. The old work area is where we will move the fridge and deep freeze in to and also use some of it to store the christmas trees and decorations.

Originally Posted by WhiteWolf McBride

Tyler,

Makes me oh-so-envious of people who have the space... and some decent tools as well!

You using bare wood tabletops? You might try a tip I've used for years to strengthen & protect the wood: thinned epoxy. Its as cheap as urethane, but ~much~ stronger, and easier than fibreglassing 'em.

I know I mentioned it elsewhere, but here goes: get some two-part epoxy, like HobyPoxy, preferrably 45 minute set, and mix equal parts as directed. Then you add the secret ingredient - Klenk's Epoxy Thinner. With this you can take the thicker epoxy down to paint thickness (or even a bit thinner), and apply with a brush or roller to your tabletop. Let it dry for at least 24-48h, then sand and re-apply. First coat seals the wood, second coat protects it. You can even buy epoxy-paints for models, if you want to color the tabletop. Black Baron is one name I seem to remember...

Between the Hobypoxy and Klenks, its cheaper than any other finish, and any gouges can be easily touched up with a re-coat!

Just be careful to add the Klenks ~slowly~ to the mixed epoxy, as it doesn't take very much to thin the epoxy down. I can't give you estimates, as I've not mixed any in a number of years, and never needed to quote amounts. If the weather keeps warm, I may be soon, to seal my two 4' boat hulls, and the deck for my flatbed trailer.

WhiteWolf

Thanks for that bit of information as I've never heard of that. I am for right now leaving the benches raw material and possibly gonna cover them in laminate that I can get from a local hardware store as leftovers for dirt cheap. All I have to do is cut it to the size I need and I'll be good to go. They get all kinds of shapes and sizes and I can usually get a 4x8 sheet in about any color that I want for around $10. That is a really cheap and durable top that I can deal with. I'm thinking I may go with white so I can find my screws on it easier than the metal top that I have been on. Its a big toss up between white and black though.

Thanks,
Tyler