"Cabinet Grade Particle Board"....where can I find it?

Fri Nov 19 18:30:00 AKST 2004

Ken: Yes, I add an additional leg in the middle of the 7 foot length.
That makes a total of 10 30 inch long 1x2s. Then I made 3 "skirts" -,
also of 1x2. These are positioned around the top for top support, 9
inches down from the top to support the drawers, and 3 inches from the
bottom to support the shelves. Whole thing takes less than 80 feet of
1x2.
Yes, you do have to be more accurate in your screw positioning but,
anyone expecting to build with the accuracy necessary for a pattern ship
had better be able to hit the center of a 3/4 inch board! I also
pre-drill the holes and counter sink the flat head screws.
The "doubled" corners still just have the equivalent of a 2x2, certainly
not more material than a 2x4.

I don't know current wood prices, but when I built mine in 1984,, the
total cost per workbench was about $30. Of course that did not include
the concrete that was added some years later. And the concrete does not
need much supprt to keep it from sagging! :)

Terry T.

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 07:36:47 -0500 "Ken Thompson III"
<mrandmrst at comcast.net> writes:
> Terry,
> The reason I use 2x4's is not for the extra strength, it's for the 
> ease of 
> running in the screws without the concern for being exactly in the 
> center of 
> the board.  If you are a little off center with a #6 screw in the 
> edge of a 
> 1x2, chances are you will split it.  In doubling up the material on 
> your 
> corners you use more 1x than 2x product.  Using 1x2's, to support 
> industrial 
> grade particle board, the weight of the particle board alone will 
> make it 
> sag in the middle, unless of course you add extra support to the 
> center of 
> the table, which in turn adds more material, thus more cost.
> I use my style of table to build everything from counter tops to 
> cabinets. 
> Granted, these items do not have to be anywhere near as accurate as 
> an 
> airplane wing, but they are a whole lot heavier and my tables hold 
> their 
> flatness and level very well.
> Concrete?  Now that's some heavy duty building surface!!
> But, I'll bet that it's accurate as heck.
> 
> Ken
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Terry Terrenoire" <amad2terry at juno.com>
> To: <discussion at nsrca.org>
> Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 7:01 AM
> Subject: Re: "Cabinet Grade Particle Board"....where can I find it?
> 
> 
> > THE 2X4S ARE OVERKILL!!!!!!!!!
> > You do NOT need this extra"strength", expense and weight, as well 
> as
> > space loss.
> >
> > Instead, use 1x2 for all framing and double them in an "L" shape 
> for the
> > corners.
> > I built my workbenches this way 20 years ago and they are in 
> perfect
> > shape today.
> > You might be interested to know that I build on concrete. there is 
> over
> > 350# on one bench, and nearly 700# on the other.
> > When sheeting a wing, another 200# is added.
> >
> > I started out my tops with hollow core doors that I got cheap from 
> a
> > local lumber yard because they had some minor damage. These were 
> sheeted
> > with Homosote. This is stiff but pins can be inserted. Now I use a 
> steel
> > sheet for magnitic building on the concrete slabs.
> >
> > Terry T.
> >
> > On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 00:02:06 -0500 "John Pavlick" 
> <jpavlick at idseng.com>
> > writes:
> >> I've never tried any of this "high-tech" stuff. Sounds 
> interesting.
> >> In case
> >> you want to do things the "old-fashioned" way (like me), here's 
> how
> >> I built
> >> my bench:
> >>
> >> 1. Standard 2x4 (wood) frame. Build it straight and square, and
> >> brace it
> >> heavily (especially in the corners). I used the metal brackets 
> made
> >> for deck
> >> assembly to speed up assembly and help make everything square. 
> You
> >> can find
> >> these at Home Depot near the pressure treated lumber.
> >>
> >> 2. 3/4" plywood top. Glued and screwed to the frame.
> >>
> >> 3. A shelf made the same as the top (2x4's and 3/4" plywood) 
> about
> >> 1' off
> >> the floor. This strengthens the legs and makes the corner braces
> >> effective.
> >>
> >> 4. Paint it everywhere.
> >>
> >> 5. Install in final resting place and level and square the top.
> >>
> >> 6. Get a piece of 1/4 glass for the top. This in itself is not 
> flat
> >> - it
> >> will conform to the surface it is laying on. Shim until it is as
> >> close to
> >> perfect as you can make it. You can use the little pads for 
> glass
> >> table tops
> >> available at a glass shop or Home Depot. Place them at 1' 
> intervals,
> >> the
> >> glass will not deflect over this short span.
> >>
> >> 7. To push pins in (they won't go through the glass) use a piece 
> of
> >> "Homasote" - this a construction material used between siding 
> and
> >> sheathing
> >> (Home Depot again). It is gray, about 1/2" thick and fairly 
> light
> >> but it
> >> holds pins very well.
> >>
> >>
> >> This has worked nicely for me. I check the top surface before
> >> building but
> >> so far I haven't had to adjust it since I built the bench two 
> years
> >> ago. The
> >> bench is in my basement but it's fairly dry. The nice part is 
> that
> >> even if
> >> the wood warps a little bit, I can always correct the top. This 
> is
> >> probably
> >> overkill but at least I know the reason my maneuvers aren't 
> perfect
> >> is NOT
> >> because of a twisted wing or fuselage.
> >>
> >>
> >> John Pavlick
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> > >
> >> > > --- Mark Grabowski <MGrabowski at fmtinv.com> wrote:
> >> > >
> >> > >> Gents, I've seen references to using cabinet grade
> >> > >> particle board for making
> >> > >> very flat building surfaces. I'm assuming this isn't
> >> > >> something I'll find at
> >> > >> my local home depot. Any suggestions? (I'm in the
> >> > >> Chicago suburbs)
> >> > >>
> >> > >> This is a solicitation for business and to be
> >> > >> removed from our list please
> >> > >> email at:
> >> > >> mgrabowski at fmtinv.com <mailto:mgrabowski at fmtinv.com>
> >> > >> Mark Grabowski
> >> > >> Account Executive
> >> > >> Ph: 630-515-4747
> >> > >> Fax: 877-316-7401
> >> >
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