# solid core doors - bench build



## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

So I was able to score 7 solid core doors from work, At least four of which are eight feet by 2 1/2 ft. They are decent quality with very nice brass hinges on them too. Since my current bench is two x four three-quarter inch ply on stud frame I want to use Some of these to build a new bench. I've been reading up on the past threads showing talking about solid core door benches. I guess my first question would be whether I should plan on using two of the doors on top of each other, or whether one is really enough. I guess I'll have enough to do a router table metalworking bench and more to spare. Will probably have more than I can use. I also need to start looking into cheap and easy ways to do An end vise. I seen some two by X construction for the frame that I like on here so I will probably adapt one of the designs I've seen. It will also need to be able to break down. I'll post some pics once I get them into the house. Not much to tell you I know, but I was so pumped about these doors I wanted to share. 
A


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I don't know if solid core doors would make that great of a top for a work bench. You know a solid core door is just 1 1/2" of particle board with a 1/8" plywood skin on each side. I think you would be better off with a plywood top. Double it if you think you need a heavier one.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I use 'em, I love 'em*

I would put a 3/4" piece of particle board on top as a work surface however. It can be sticky taped in place and then when the surface gets beat up, flip it over for a fresh surface. I shellac mine to give a nice finish that's easily repaired. You could drill a number of 3/4" holes in the top piece for bench dog stops if you wanted. 

If you really want a heavy duty bench, double them as suggested as the weight alone will be substantial. I would make a traditional wooden frame for support in the "classic" style OR as I have done get some used legal size used file cabinets for support.
The files have great HD roller drawers for tools and will carry a lot of weight. It's not traditional, but it really works well in my opinion...... I have 4 benches set up this way and they are all filled with hand and power tools. My 10' wide table saw outfeed support is a torsion box also on file cabinets.

Great find on those doors ...use 'em! :thumbsup:


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

If nothing else, you could make a base like an "I" beam. Two ends with a center panel. Lay on one or two doors on top. You could cap with ¼" tempered Masonite, or Melamine. Glue doesn't stick to Melamine. 













 







.


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

Steve Neul said:


> I don't know if solid core doors would make that great of a top for a work bench. You know a solid core door is just 1 1/2" of particle board with a 1/8" plywood skin on each side. I think you would be better off with a plywood top. Double it if you think you need a heavier one.


I do know that they aren't the best by the are the best price and I haven't the time or funds to build a better more traditional top. These are exceptionally big long and heavy though - they have haunched joints on the corners too which I don't think is true for many doors of this sort. I think they're thicker than 1 3/4 too but instead of trying to remember ill go check it out today or tomorrow. 


Thanks for the cabinet idea- there are some of those ip for grabs right now too. What style did you use? The side out style designed for hanging files or the ones that have narrower drawers that come out "forwards"? How many drawers in the ones to used?

If I don't use a cabinet or other such salvaged approach I am thinking of making a traditional design of base but using framing lumber to save $ as I have seen others on here do.


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## sgtrunningfool (Jan 14, 2012)

I was reading the other day on this forum where another member took a solid core door and then covered the top with Maple tongue and groove flooring. This would give it a classic look without the cost and time. Please let us know what you end up doing because I am thinking of doing a solidcore door work bench.


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## Marv (Nov 30, 2008)

Solid core doors are generally used as entry doors and are designed to be stable against the elements which makes them an excellent choice for a workbench top IMO as well as for making the base. Nearly 20 years ago I made a "temporary" workbench using a 1 3/4" Birch solid core door for the base and a 1 3/8" Masonite skinned solid core door for the top (I would screw a sheet of Melamine to the top so I could easier clean glue etc and would just replace the Melamine whenever it got too many holes etc). I am actually in the process of finally rebuilding this "temporary" bench to make it mobile as well as to add some drawers (I'll be using the original base parts) and the new top will be a Masonite skinned solid core door however this time I am going to cover it with a horizontal grade plastic laminate. :smile:


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*local used office furniture*



railaw said:


> Thanks for the cabinet idea- there are some of those ip for grabs right now too. What style did you use? The side out style designed for hanging files or the ones that have narrower drawers that come out "forwards"? How many drawers in the ones to used?
> .


I use a 2 drawer legal size, but be careful they come in slightly different heights, just get a matched pair. Mine were $75.00 each for Hon brand, so that's a total of $150.00 for a base with ball bearing drawer storage... :thumbsup:

Like this: http://toledo.craigslist.org/bfs/3364654247.html ONLY $50.00!


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

If I use these mine will be free also from work, which will be great. Did you adjust the height at all? Im tall so ill have to think about how to add height. How did you attach them to the top?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*there's a few different ways*

To add height and to secure them to the cabinets:

Make a perimeter frame that sits on the cabinets either individually or as a pair. Individually will give more storage height underneath.

The frame can have a rise of what ever dimension you need. It just needs to capture 1" of the top of the cabinet to keep it in place. Screws up from the bottom through some pre-drilled holes will secure it OR in from the sides.


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

*Design progress on bench*

I've determined with reasonable confident, via a test drill, that my solid core doors are actually solid inside; i.e. no particle board. They are certainly old enough for this to be the case as well, as I understand that about 20-30 years ago these doors were built with softwood centers and hardwood frames. This is very good news to me and has set the wheels turning. A couple of questions have resulted:

1. I am in a smallish temporary space. I would like to leave the 8'x30" doors whole for the workbench top. I think i will put 2 on top of each other; each is 1 3/4" thick, and I have plenty to spare. I don't want to make a permanent base at this point. If i attach it to my 2'x4' current bench (2x4 construction; plenty solid enough), that would leave 6" overhang on the front or back (or I guess 3 and 3), and 2' overhang on each side. The doors are quite heavy but I'm curious as to stability; two together are certainly over 100 lbs. Is there a rule of thumb or feeling on how much lateral overhang is ok while remaining stable on a bench? I would ideally have an end vise or (better) a wagon vise, so there would likely be lots of hand planing forces on the overhang portion. 

2. Bench Dogs. I do not want to discuss round vs. square. But I do have it in my mind at the moment that I want square dogs, so please humor me. The question for me is how to put them in the bench. Obviously the easiest way would be to laminate a board onto the front that has the notches done before gluing. I'm concerned though that I wouldn't be able to level out the bench; I don't think planing the door would have a good result. Any ideas for making the dog holes that wouldn't be hours per hole? I am aware that round holes would be exceedingly simple and probably at least as effective. I'm not asking about them. 

Thanks for your thoughts.


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I skimmed over the posts but here is my 2 cents worth.
I built my work bench/outfeed table/assy table from 2x material and used a solid core door for the top. Yep it has particle board stuff in the interior but that hasn't bothered me. 

I covered the top side with a piece of white Formica and trimmed the edges with oak banding. The top overhangs my bench frame by 2 inches all the way around so I can use clamps.

I also drilled 3/4 inch holes in the table for bench dogs. Lastly I recently installed two of the Kreg clamping tracks for additional clamping purposes. It is working great for my projects. The top is 30 inches x 48 flat as a flitter and on my home made frame, solid as a rock.

Here are a few pics of the build.
Hope this helps.


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## Wema826 (Jul 22, 2012)

railaw said:


> 2. Bench Dogs. I do not want to discuss round vs. square. But I do have it in my mind at the moment that I want square dogs, so please humor me. The question for me is how to put them in the bench. Obviously the easiest way would be to laminate a board onto the front that has the notches done before gluing. I'm concerned though that I wouldn't be able to level out the bench; I don't think planing the door would have a good result. Any ideas for making the dog holes that wouldn't be hours per hole? I am aware that round holes would be exceedingly simple and probably at least as effective. I'm not asking about them.
> 
> Thanks for your thoughts.


Humoring you with square dog holes. the easiest way would be to yes, laminate them in on an apron board pre notched / cut for the dogs. but then your looking at laminating 2 boards for the front apron. you will not be able to get them in a single board economically speaking. it would be easier and cheaper to cut / notch 2 boards with half of each dog hole. 

OR......

skip the square holes and go the even easier route and drill 3/4 holes and use round dogs. I would bet you could be done with the dogs in less then 30 min. where the square dogs would be a few days.


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

Wema826 said:


> Humoring you with square dog holes. the easiest way would be to yes, laminate them in on an apron board pre notched / cut for the dogs. but then your looking at laminating 2 boards for the front apron. you will not be able to get them in a single board economically speaking. it would be easier and cheaper to cut / notch 2 boards with half of each dog hole.
> 
> OR......
> 
> skip the square holes and go the even easier route and drill 3/4 holes and use round dogs. I would bet you could be done with the dogs in less then 30 min. where the square dogs would be a few days.


Thanks; how about leveling the apron with the rest of the bench? I'd be nervous to have the plane hit the door, and I'm not terribly confident that I'd be able to line up that board right with the top.


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## Wema826 (Jul 22, 2012)

Well, If you have a jointer you can get it very close to straight. If not. then you will have to use a hand plane and set it for a very fine shaving. I would use a Jack plane to get it close, then a number 7 or 8 to get it flat. If you dont have any of those. use what ya got and make it work...

But most of all always remember these 2 things. God hates a coward and Confidence does not come from always being right. It comes from not being afraid to be wrong.


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## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

Railaw - I've been using a solid core door for a bench and they are great. They are flat and stable and heavy - the basics of a good bench. After abusing my door for 12 years, I covered it last year with bamboo flooring $55 for the box and I used half of it). You might want to take a look at what I did for my end vise - pipe clamps. And dog holes???? I use t-tracks. Take a look at my bench. If you don't like it as a whole, you might find a piece of it that you can use. http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/versatile-small-shop-work-bench-unique-40361/


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

*update on this very slow build*

I put the doors onto the top of my 2'x4' plywood bench. I really like having the extra space. It is also entirely too high and unstable. Planing on this set up is not fun. I'm continuing to plan on building a traditional base - i think out of ash. From what I read it's a suitable choice and cheaper than SYP around here. I want to leave the option of one day replacing the top with a traditional wood top if I feel like it. 

The doors (2) are already bowing from the overhang. I will need to decide whether one or two supports under the top will be necessary. I am thinking about 10" overhang may be ok on the sides; perhaps a bit less. 

I will probably go with laminated front strips for square dogs. I am not settled on that though. 

Also, the doors are the regular gooey particle board kind; i discovered this when pulling off one of the sliding door handles. Oh well; still going to use them. 

I picked up a couple of vises - an old Morgan vise to use as a face vise and a cheap Craftsman Taiwan made vise to use as an end vise.


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

Taking Chris Schwartz advice, I got a 2x12x16 from hd over the weekend to rip into the boards I will laminate and attach to the front of the doors for the front edge of the bench, with square dog holes. I am waiting for the board to acclimate before ripping, but I cut it into two 96" lengths (with my disston 12 panel saw) last night. I will then use my circ saw and mdf straight edge guide to square the edges and cut out the pith. I will end up with two relatively knot free 93" x 3.5" x 1 3/4" boards from each 96" piece. Not certain how many I will laminate yet; that may be a function of the width of the end vise. Also need to decide whether to trim off the edge of the doors to expose the wood frame to glue the laminated surface to rather than sticking it into the veneer. 

I flattened my no 8 jointer to good enough, but have been having the worst time trying to sharpen the iron - it has a laminated blade and I wonder if that is a factor in the difficulty I've encountered. 

Also need to decide how to attach the two doors together semi permanently. Either recesses in the faces of the doors that are in contact with one another with dowels stuck in so that the surface of the bench doesnt have a hole with a bolt stuck in it or more probably a few bolts and wide washers.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

railaw said:


> I flattened my no 8 jointer to good enough, but have been having the worst time trying to sharpen the iron - it has a laminated blade and I wonder if that is a factor in the difficulty I've encountered.


Many Stanley blades had a laminated piece at the end of the blade. I have sharpened many without any problems.

I am not sure what issues you are experiencing, but if you send the blade to me I will be happy to sharpen it for you.

Just send me a PM and I will provide my address.


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

Thx. It is a union blade. I'm going to give another go this week and then we'll see if I will need to take you up on that. I have had no trouble with chisels or other irons so I don't know what's up.

Ps I posted on the same topic on an old thread in the hand tools section where I had discussed this jointer previously.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

railaw said:


> Thx. It is a union blade. I'm going to give another go this week and then we'll see if I will need to take you up on that. I have had no trouble with chisels or other irons so I don't know what's up.
> 
> Ps I posted on the same topic on an old thread in the hand tools section where I had discussed this jointer previously.


The only time I sharpened a blade which turned out not to be sharp was due to my not paying attention to whether I had a a burr.

The blade looked nice and shiny, but did not cut at all. I was scratching my head.

I looked at the edge under a magnifying glass and the very tip was rounded, so 99.9% of the blade was polished, but not the 0.1% I needed to cut.

I started again, this time ensuring I had a burr with each grit. Viola, this time it looked sharp and did cut.


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## yank (Nov 15, 2006)

Railaw; I used a solid core door 10 years ago for my work bench and it is still there. 2 x 4 frame and two cross members. 82" long and 40" wide. Two years ago I had some laminate flooring left over from dining room build, and covered the top with that. Edge banded the bench with poplar. I have never had a problem with the table flexing or moving. Good solid table.


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

*Square dog hole dimensions?*

How much extra room should there be in a square dog hole vs. the size of the square dog? e.g. if the shaft of the dog is say 3/4 square, with an appropriate taper at the bottom and an overhang of 5/16", what should the hold size be? Would a 1/16th larger have enough room to allow easy sliding up and down but still hold? 32nd? 8th? 

I am setting up a router jig to make the dog holes for the four strips I will be gluing to the front of the top (doors), ala the benchcrafted suggestion. 

Also, any thoughts on securing the two doors together would be appreciated (bolts and washers? Dowels? Screws in the outer hardwood frame?)


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

I've finally made some progress on the bench. A few weeks ago I bought a 2x12x16 of doug fir ( syp is pricey around here) following the suggestion of Chris schwarz. I cut it in half with my disston no 12 panel saw, which was fun, then after letting the boards acclimate a couple of weeks brought it to a buddy's to rip on his table saw. He doesn't have a jointer but I figure I'll be hand jointing the too at the end anyway so as long as the edges of the board are reasonably straight it'll be fine. I got 4 3 1/2" boards, 96" long out of the board I bought. Final dimensions will be 93" long and 3 7/16" wide, stood in end to attach to the front of the sandwiched doors. I cut around the pit so the resulting boards are "quarter sawn". 

Here are the four cut boards. 











Then I started matching them up for gluing. After a few combinations I took the two boards that were the closest fit and lined them up face to face and marked where they were closest together. Then I got out my no. 5 and got to work knocking them down. 










The bench right now is absurdly high for hand planing (it's about 44") even with me being 6'5". But I have some renaissance wax on the sole and I was really surprised what a big difference it makes. 

I was at it for about an hour and am chasing my tail a little bit am starting to get the hang of it I think. Here's where I stopped for the evening:

























I'll have to decide at some point when it's "good enough" over at least 93" of the boards. Would be interested in input from anyone else who did this by hand.


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

Made some quick progress tonight. In about ten minutes got the two boards to good enough. The is one gap about a foot long and maybe a couple of sheets of paper in width. I think that's as good as I'm going to get. Forgot to take a photo. 

I would be curious to hear from others who glued up tops prepared with hand tools how good was "good enough" for them. 

Tomorrow I will add a third board. The fourth may be too warped to use.


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

It's more progress tonight. I think tonight I have learned the value of a Power jointer. I've cleaned down all four boards with my number five sufficiently that with clamp pressure there are only a few gaps. One board has a pretty good toe in it which results in a gap even with the clamp pressure but I've deemed it. good enough. My wife though I was nuts when I told her the work I've done all week could be accomplished in about 15 minutes using the 4" jointer I saw on cl for $50. Instead in going to spend $50 for a new iron for my jointer plane. Oh well. 

No time for work tomorrow. Friday will be finishing the jig for routing the square dog holes and hopefully testing it out. 

Here's some pics.


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## railaw (Nov 15, 2011)

Haven't had much time to work on this until this week. In that time I was able to get the jointer iron sharpened, got a new cap screw for it, marveled at how much the wood moved over the prior three weeks, used the jointer to clean them up a bit more and started in on the dog strip. 

I made a few decisions about the plan, which I usually dither on for too long. I have four strips that I'm adding to the front of the bench. I had decided to make the dog strip the their from the outside, on the outer part of the board. But the I had to make them on the inner part based on the way I made the dog jig. Not a big deal. 

I also am going to mount an end vise in place of a wagon vise and was concerned about mounting it in end grain. The end vise is small, so I'm going to rebate the ends and put a "cap" on the end tall enough to accept the hardware for the vise, and it will have lots of face grain to face grain glue surface. 

To cut the dog holes, i made the dimensions based on a metal dog that I happened across and tweaked the template on a scrap piece, establishing the 2 deg bevel on the. Chop saw. The depth was the hardest to figure but I ended up at about 15/16. I then marked out all 20 on the strip, 4" apart, with the first about 5" from the end. The I set the depth of my circular saw to less the the final cutting depth and ran two kerfs a little inside each edge. The I broke out the chisels and popped of the waste, which I figured of halfway through how to pretty much do in one pop. I cracked one spot where I shouldn't when I tried using a (dull) backsaw for comparison and was screwing around wit a chisel smacking where I shouldn't have. I was able to revalue the piece though. Then I got my new whiteside 1/2" 3/4 cl top bearing bit and cleaned up the slots wit the template. Pics to follow.


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

BernieL said:


> Railaw - I've been using a solid core door for a bench and they are great. They are flat and stable and heavy - the basics of a good bench. After abusing my door for 12 years, I covered it last year with bamboo flooring $55 for the box and I used half of it). You might want to take a look at what I did for my end vise - pipe clamps. And dog holes???? I use t-tracks. Take a look at my bench. If you don't like it as a whole, you might find a piece of it that you can use. http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/versatile-small-shop-work-bench-unique-40361/


What the duce Bernie. Send him to your published article too. 

Bet that bamboo is rock hard.

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## BernieL (Oct 28, 2011)

I appreciate the compliment Al... The article is simply a "tip" in the current _*ShopNotes*_ magazine that won me the PC 450C router (nice little router) - it points out the versatility of the t-tracks. But the big pay-off of my bench is the use of it. I know lots of folks like their impressive looking benches which have served woodworkers very well for centuries... but the use of t-tracks is a step forward. I just finished cutting a whole bunch of blind dados for a window seat I'm building using the method described in my bench post and I'm amazed at how easy it was and how accurate they are. And the bamboo flooring is great for finishing - easy clean up for glue squeeze out and spilled paint or stains.


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