I'm building myself a new workbench because I've outgrown the old one and, as I take a look at the various chemical stains my old surface has
accumulated, I'm wondering what material I should choose for the new bench. I think I used plywood with some kind of white laminate on it, but of
course it wasn't resistant enough for everything.
What surface would you choose? What is cost effective and easily obtainable? Do they make plywood with an HDPE surface, for example?
Actually, it's probably easier to buy the plastic and epoxy it to plywood, you think?
Appreciate any help, folks.Praxichys - 23-11-2013 at 19:44
I would recommend making the surface replaceable. All my lab tables are 1/2" plywood held down with a couple screws. If it gets nasty, sand it. If
that doesn't work, flip it over and use the back side.
Home improvement stores usually carry "hardboard" which is basically laminated cardboard that's 1/8" thick. This works well but is more prone to
staining (It's like a whiteboard) but much cheaper to replace.UnintentionalChaos - 23-11-2013 at 20:07
How much stuff are you spilling on the benchtop? I use particle board with melamine resin coat, which is what I think you may have been using. It has
some stains from strong acid and bromine damage, but generally holds up great to solvents and can be wiped clean. It is not heat proof. I find it a
huge improvement over my old plywood benchtop which was nasty and soaked up all the spills.Blue Matter - 23-11-2013 at 20:57
I got about 600 3x3 porcelain tiles used for bathroom flooring for extremely cheap and they work amazing for a work surface as they can easily be
replaced it one is damaged and you can wipe up any spills that might happen.
It also gives your work space a clean look which is always nice violet sin - 24-11-2013 at 15:58
I would recommend FRP(fiberglass reinforced plastic) sheeting (4'x8' like plywood) for spill prone but not heated areas. at the local home
improvement store it is ~$26-28$ last I checked. it is used in bathrooms and kitchens for waterproofing and easy clean up/sanitizing with strong
solution w/o problems.
work construction for a few years and you pretty well know what is in the hardware stores by heart.
-Violet Sin- zed - 25-11-2013 at 18:08
Well, in the past, for work surfaces that were really going to take a chemical beating, WOOD was the recommended material. I suppose it still is.
HDPE has good resistance to everything but heat. Tile is nice, as is granite, but either is hard enough to crack glassware, and both are fairly
slippery.
Teflon?plante1999 - 25-11-2013 at 19:04
I remember reading that the best board from the early 1900 was hard asbestos would withstand aggressive chemical, heavy heat, was not hard, was not
slippery and so on. Time change... And regulations mess things up.Blue Matter - 25-11-2013 at 19:33
personally I think no matter what work surface you get unless it is some crazy expensive material or no longer available it will eventually look
crappy eventually that comes with anything you use frequently so I say use what ever you can get cheaply and can replace easily that is if you have a
ton of money to buy some of this stuff. http://www.durcon.com/classictabletops.aspx
[Edited on 26-11-2013 by Blue Matter]violet sin - 25-11-2013 at 20:06
thats basically why I suggested the FRP. it wont stain deeply with toxic residues, is roughly the same cost as plywood of the same dimensions (price
compared to 1/2"x 4'x 8'ply) but is far more durable to damage from moisture. meaning you could use cheaper chip board or even particle board
underneath. nice if you had an old desk like that. one piece could be split up to a decent size bench top, back splash, liner to a couple shelve
chunks. protecting what ever wood is below. you can caulk it with silicone, its available darn near everywhere and its easy to cut.( not super fun
but easy)
the concrete board is the thicker puffed up kind not as brittle and more forgiving on glassware. better insulation for the surface below, easily cut
and multiple pieces can be had from the one sheet. so between the 2 you spend less than 50$ and can cover a lot of space conveniently. I understand
that everyone has their own ideas on what is best and I'm not trying to win you all over. I just think its a pretty good place to start for the cost.
-Violet Sin-Eliteforum - 26-11-2013 at 04:37
I use a proper lab table with a acid resistant top. It was very expensive though.bleckster - 26-11-2013 at 22:52
Thanks for the replies everyone. I forgot that HDPE couldn't take high heat--that's definitely out. I definitely have to agree that wood or coated
particle board are the top choices due to the hardness factor--you can easily break glassware on tile by setting it down too fast.
To answer some questions, my old workbench surface is melamine coated particle board. I really have no idea what exactly each stain is--particularly
the old ones--but I have been working with phenols and phenoxides lately and small invisible "rings" left by beakers have a tendency to discolor
overnight, even when you thought you had cleaned them up. I use oven cleaner to clean things up but there are some rings that even lye won't get out
of the melamine. All in all, it's a good material. I was just wondering if there was something better.
Incidentally, I just finished building my new workbenches out of old subfloor plywood I had lying around and I thought I'd share some pics of the
design:
I built two of these, one for the fume hood and the other for extra space. They are 32" long x 20" wide. I used 1 x 3's for the legs and frame. The
surface you see right now is the underlayment--what the new surface will be attached to (by screwing up from underneath so as not to put any holes in
it). You can see supports for a lower shelf in the pic--I just didn't have enough wood left over to build it.
I wanted benches that could be easily disassembled. I chose this particular size because I have a 40"W x 25"D closet that I am going to store
everything in and these will pack up very nicely and sit on the bottom of it (legs all on one horizontal layer with two benchtops above), taking up
about 10" total. I will set the hood (3 ft tall) on top of this, leaving all area above that for storage shelves.
I'm pretty sure everything I have will fit in there, and I really like the ability to pack everything away in a locked closet in case I have a party
or invite a new girl over, you know?
I'm almost finished with the fume hood--I forgot to buy the plexiglass. :-)
I'm still unsure how I'm going to do the plexiglass windows, actually. I was thinking two pieces--one a fixed top, the other set in an inner "track"
so it can be moved up and down like a sliding glass window. There would be holes in the track for metal "pins" that could move in and out that would
stop the panel from dropping when I slide it up to gain access. Unless somebody has a better idea...?
I will post pics of it when done. bismuthate - 27-11-2013 at 04:13
Good luck! Is marbel a suitible work bench surface?Pyro - 27-11-2013 at 05:13
nope, it's porous and reacts with acids (CaCO3)
you mean marble, right? that fancy church stuffsmaerd - 27-11-2013 at 05:33
I found some very cheap 6inch by 6inch tiles and glued and grouted them to two layers of 3/4 inch ply. It's served well for a few years. Occasionally
I have to use some household bleach or 2-isopropanol to clean it. I've regrouted a few of the tiles one time just for aesthetics. I'm sure it's not
the most acid or chemical resistant material but I've had no issues as most of the chemistry I do is pretty mundane and almost always microscale. It
has held up fine for hot glass-ware and better over-all then my ring-stands when it comes to spills. hyfalcon - 27-11-2013 at 05:47
Good luck! Is marbel a suitible work bench surface?
No, you have to wipe hard water up off marble just to keep it from spotting. It's a pain to keep up.
[Edited on 27-11-2013 by hyfalcon]
[Edited on 27-11-2013 by hyfalcon]Natures Natrium - 27-11-2013 at 09:37
Right now I am using a plywood top, and after just a few spills I am about to discard it.
I am thinking that synthetic/engineered stone would be a good, widely available bet. It is basically 90%+ quartz fibers in a hard setting resin.
Very resistant to a range of chemical attacks, as well as heat resistant to "stove top" temperatures. Of course, it is expensive.
I was also thinking about a DIY concrete top when I pull the plywood top, much cheaper but requires more work. Of course, glazed ceramic tiles are
also a good option. Lots of choices.Magpie - 27-11-2013 at 10:17
I do my experiments in my fume hood which has a 304 SS pan for a work surface. It has served me well over the last 13 years but of course was
expensive. Some chemicals (halides) will mark it but these are readily removed using a 3M scotch pad. It is surprisingly gentle to glassware, as is
my SS sink.
Before that I had a piece of 1/2" plywood coated with epoxy paint. Epoxy is a good surface but will be marked by sulfuric acid spills.
Formica makes a black laminate product sold specifically for lab workbench surfaces. It's expensive IIRC but might work out quite well. I never
tried it.
[Edited on 27-11-2013 by Magpie]subsecret - 28-11-2013 at 18:42
I don't see much purpose in having a fancy lab table. I use a 1/2 inch (smooth) plywood surface on top of an aluminium frame, and it's got stains all
over.
Pardon me, but I don't understand the concern about the work surface. In my novice opinion, it's better to save money and use cheap plywood...BobD1001 - 28-11-2013 at 20:01
I highly recommend using a wooden top, and making half of the surface HDPE. This allows one side to resist heat, where the HDPE would soften, and the
other half with the HDPE to be highly chemical resistant, for measuring and such so no spills will penetrate. Wood by itself is actually quite a great
material for its thermal and chemical resistance, however will hold stains, and sulfuric acid really discolors it. You can get sheets of black HDPE
from Grainger, 2 feet by 4 feet for only $12. bigmol - 29-11-2013 at 00:04
After over 50 years in labs I found that the most suitable readily available bench surface is industrial flooring linoleum.
My new lab has over 30 feet of linoleum covered bench surface.
After installation it needs to be waxed and polished with a hard floor wax. It is attaked by some solvents and does not like red hot glass. but with a
little care it lasts a long time. Dont be tempted by ceramic tiles they are very very hard on glassware.
I use tiles of heat resisting mineral fibre board mounted on rubber feet underneath any very hot equipment.
