Timber suppliers?

[kafkaian]

A lot of timber suppliers, especially those in business for a long time don't have websites or if they do, really bad ones, so without personal knowledge it's difficult to assess them.

Many on that list don't even respond to emails, so I know exactly what you mean (I won't name and shame them).

I've had dealings with a few, but find some of them downright unreliable whilst others simply only want to deal with trade and large volumes.

Thanks for this anyway W37, still useful

 

[Paul Chapman]

Thanks for that Paul, some pics would be great. My thoughts on it were to perhaps laminate two 18mm MDF boards to give a rock solid 36mm thick bench top. I'd need it to be thick as I'd like overhangs on either end to accomodate a tail vice at one end and a front vice at the other. I like drawers as I find I can get a lot more in them than cupboards and I can put inserts and dividers in them to house smaller items. Besides, it gives me a chance to use my newly aquired woodrat to cut the dovetails for the drawers.

Hi Darren,

As promised, here are some pictures of my MDF bench (apologies for the delay ). I built it over 10 years ago as a temporary bench until I had the time and could afford to build something better, but it's been so successful I'm still using it and it's still as good as new

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The top is made from three layers of 18mm MDF, lipped with soft wood and glued together. The size is 74"x26" and it is 54mm thick.

I fitted two Record 52D vices. Here's the other one

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The top is drilled with four rows of holes to take Veritas bench dogs

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I was concerned that the holes would go out of shape as MDF is relatively soft but they have been OK, despite a lot of use. I keep the top waxed regularly, which makes it easy to get glue off and stops it generally absorbing moisture.

The legs are 2 3/4" square.

Overall I've been very pleased with it and can certainly recommend MDF as a worktop. Treated with a bit of care, it will last for years and if it's thick enough will remain flat.

Hope this helps.

Cheers :wink:

Paul