My woodworking bench is 50 x 20 as it was designed for furniture making. Now that i am coming back to rc airplanes I think it needs to be bigger. Given how heavy it is and its mobility/hieght adjustment abilities I will use it as a base and add an MDF top supported by brackets where it overhangs the bench. What dimensions are y'all using? 70" x 40" seem about right? i want enough room to build on plus have some tools, coffee cup, etc. I guess bigger is likely better, but don't want so big I cannot comfortably reach any area.

Thansk again.<br type="_moz" />

If room size is not an issue an 84x36 door is a good size . I have 3 this size one is steel for magnetic use, one is a solid core oak door, and one is a solid core door covered with fiberboard .
I did cut one down in width to 24" to make it easier to get around , but the length just right for the big builds and still have room for the coffee cup or favorite adult beverage.

70 x 40 will work fine for most plane sizes.
What I found when I built mine was not so much the size of the top (I got hold of a very large top by going to the local factory that makes Melamine benchtops and buying a reject - it is around 160" x 48") but the height of the bench. I started out at 900mm (~3ft) high and son was cutting the legs down so I could work more comfortably on the planes. Even now at 750mm (about 2' 6") high it is still too high to comfortably work on the 42% plane that I currently have on it.

Thanks. Steel door is a great idea. I do plan on using magnets. Height is no isse as my workbench is height adjustable and very strong. Thanks.

I can buy into a wide table if the surface is low(er) so that you can easily reach the back side OR if the table is in the middle of the room. Some times, when pinning up components, an awkward reach will result in broken parts.

I built my table using a 4x8 foot sheet of particle board. It seemed really big at first but I put it in the center of my workshop and was able to build a wing and fuse of a 35% extra at the same time on the table. Also allows you to fully assemble the airplane to check CG and incidence.
chris

I'm just finishing my bench now. I used a solid core 6' 8" (80") x 36" x 1 3/4" masonite door for the top. I used a 6' 8" x 32" x 1 3/8" for the base and I put castors under the small drawer units that form the end supports. I found that in just a couple days of the bottom setting on the castors, it sagged almost an inch in the center. I ended up putting angle iron (old steel bed frame) on each edge of the bottom door and again on each edge of the top door. I'm fairly sure this is going to hold up OK. I'll check straigtness before the first build though.

I have a couple 33% planes, a Laser 200 partially built and an Extra 230 kit, and old Ace kit. Those and my ASM P-61 have been waiting for a bench, my old desk just was't big enough. 36" width is long enough to hold the finished plane on it's landing gear. The 80" length is long enough to build a bigger wing that I'll ever use. My table top is going to be closer to 90" finished, with a glue box, light stand, and a Dremel flex shaft stand on one end.

Don

If I had the room I would have a bench in the shape of a large U...Wing on one.. fuse on other.. tail on other..and able to access from both sides...

You can do that using saw horses supporting the 2nd table. Easily stored when one's enough.

My building board is 6 foot long by 20 inches wide. It sits on a bench that is a bit bigger though so I have room for wrenches and stuff, Can't have enough stuff!! I also have three drawers and three cabinets under it so everything is close to hand. If I had a bigger shop that U shape would be a good way to go. I haven't had any problems building planes 1/4 scale and smaller but I did have to widen my board this year by a few inches for a wing.

Steel tops aren't recommended because they are rarely "true", and you really can't fix them to be.

This is one of those situations that is almost unbelieveable in that the cheapest way to go is also the very best, and that is using a hollow-core door.
Easy to find and virtually always perfectly flat, you start by leveling your base table perfectly, and then just lay the door on your bench. Double check for level and you're ready to go.
If you find that the door slides around by your aggressive leaning on it, just put a couple of short wood screws up from the bottom of your table top into the door to hold it from sliding.

For building on it, I then lay on a sheet of 1/2" sheetrock, trimmed to the edge of the door for full coverage. Tee pins push nice and secure into the sheetrock, and after I've built maybe 4 to 6 planes on it, I just replace it with a new sheet of sheetrock ($6) and have a "brand new" building surface all over again. After I finish each plane and start a new one, I'll put a piece of 180 or 220 grit sandpaper on a sanding block and just swipe over the surface of the sheetrock to level off any of the pin holes that have left little edges on them. Just a swipe is all it takes and you're good to go.
The door will last forever, of course.

I just remodeled my shop and built a portable bench that is 78" long and 24" wide and is on casters so it will go anywhere. I use ceiling tiles on the top and it has 4x4 legs with a full length shelf underneath where I store all the stuff I normally need for building like lots of balsa wood, controll rods, covering, etc. I've only built one plane since I finished it and it worked out very well.

Here's my workbench. It's 4' 1 1/2" x 8' 1 12" with a 16 guage steel top. It's a torsion box with MDF top and bottom and a 1 x 2 internal frame. It's not quite dead flat, so I am considering rebuiling it. I also will be adding T track on the 8' sides to be able to clamp a straight edge across the table where ever needed. The base is made from two heavy duty shelving units I've had for a long time.

Scott

Great info, thanks. Since I am starting with a traditional woodworking bench, I cannot screw anything in from the bottom. It is 18" of solid maple. The casters and height adjustment are already built in, so I just need an overlay. I am leaning toward plate glass with a metal sheet on it for using magnets (T-pins were not issed during my break from. Modeling). I figure it is easy to clean, dead flat and smooth.

When I'm do e with the the basics I'll throw a pick or to up. <br type="_moz" />

We had our monthly meeting today and the subject of my bench with the masonite solid core doors came up. One of the guys mentioned the local Habitat for Humanity store had some doors, so I stopped by to have a look. A near new oak finished flush solid core door, 36 x 83"x 1 3/4", with a nice varnish finish, was $25. Yep, it had a hole for the lock set and some nitches for the hinges, but one could ealy rip down a 32" bench top from it and only have to seal the ripped edge. I almost bought one to top my current door.

While I was there, I noticed they had cutoffs of ply, wood, Trim board, etc. All the stuff that is cluttering my garage/shop. My next trip is a deposit, and I'll then go there for stuff before the hardware store and I won't feel the need to save the stuff in case I may need it some day.

Don

Being a wood worker all you need to hear is torsion box and metal top for magnetic building.

I like the T-rail idea for clamps. I'll have to look into adding some Kreg rails in my next bench.

Here's my new bench;

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_10...m.htm#10746448

I have been using 1" foam insulation board for the building surface. Easy to pin to, flat, easy to move around it you need to. With the wing pinned to it I can pick it up and set it aside to build something else on another piece of foam board.  a 4X8 sheet can be split up easily into sections for each part of the plane too. Even more rigid is the 2" foam boards. They can be larger than your bench, being how light they are, they can be moved around the bench to be able to work on different parts so you aren't leaning over it, or walk around the bench, or even better, if you cant walk around because it is against a wall like the bench I'm using.  The only drawback, DONT LEAN ON IT! my left elbow left a divot.  The pinholes disappear, the plans glue themselves to it via static electricity, so they lay nice and flat.

Oh one other side benefit, when it is no longer smooth enough to use for a build, just stick it to the ceiling for added insulation. Recycle!

What's funny, my friends and I have a build night every Tuesday, and we build in his barn, The barn is huge, but our build room is small, the work benches are only about 2' deep. The rest of the barn is taken up by a real B-17 under restoration, and the work benches that have lots of room have B-17 parts all over them.

Okay, re-thought this given all of your advice and my search of other threads about work space.  Seems like a great setup is an L or U shaped bench.  Since I have a hand joinerery woodworking bench, it seems crazy to cover it up and use it as a base for an assembly table.  I am going to pick you a cheapo workbench from Sears and cover it with 7' x 3' plate glass as an assembly area.  That will in turn be largely covered by sheet metal so I can use magnets.  I will have my existing woodworking be ch with its vises and heft next to the assembly area forming an L.  That should give me great precision for assembly and a great and proven work space for heavier stuff, pounding, power tools and beverage holder.   <div>
</div><div>Many thanks.   </div>

Good luck with your project, and please post photos when you're done. So much of what I have and continue to learn is through threads like yours.

Scott