I know theres a lot of threads out there about building benches and surfaces and such, but i couldnt find much on using a metal frame. Im considering having a 4' x 8' metal frame made to support a sheet of MDF. wooden legs and cross braces would be added underneath, but the metal frame would be used to keep the surface perfectly flat and true.

any opinions would be great!
thanks

I'd like to know also.
I live in Florida and have gone through 3 doors from Home depot.
They were perfectly straight at the store and at home. Then they developed bulges and pockets below the surface in my garage.
We have lots of heat and humidity.
The third one I primed and finished with two coats of enamel, Three days later there was a 1/8 inch dip in a section.
MDF sounds like the way to go, but what frame under it will keep it straight???
Does anyone have plans to make aFLAT building board.

Mine is 3'x8' supported by 2x4 framing having the back length beam attached to my garage wall. The left and right of the frame is supported by base kitchen cabinets, leveled out which provide oodles of storage 3/4" sacrificial ply screwed on top of the cabinet supported frame which I replace every couple years due to it getting yucky,.... not warping, etc.. On that I build on inverted 2 x 4 ceiling tiles which is great for holding pins, etc

A metal frame is nice but not needed in my opinion. My shop is a no A/C or heat garage in west (2 mi from Gulf) central florida. No issues with warping or delamination of my ply top.

Unless your buying solid wood slab exterior doors, those intended for indoor A/C use will warp as they are basically hollow with thin wood strips internally with thin ply skins on top.

At the moment, i have a solid core door supported by some pieces of engineered floor joists leftover from a job site I was working on. The joists are very strong and the legs are made from 2x4 and 2x6 pieces screwed together in an a L shape. Its very sold, just not very flat. I was thinking of either getting a frame welded out of 2" angle iron or 1.5" square tubing, or possibly shimming my current setup to make the top perfectly flat.

I guess the metal frame is not as widely used as I thought it would be

My workbench / building table has a steel lower frame. It was purchased from a complany named Global Industrial and the cost was not too bad. The top is a 1 1/2" piece of maple, built like a butcher block, and sealed wtih some very durable finish from the factory. This was purchased from Woodcraft. Because the wood is made of many different pieces of wood it is very warp resistant and dead flat. It is really heavy but by adding wheels I can easily move it about. The wheels lock in caster and roll so there is no shake on the table when the wheels are locked.

The plane on top of the table has a 105" wing which was built on the table in two halves.

Choose the wood top first then choose the base to match.

When building I put a piece of drywall on top of the table to give me a pinning surface. Drywall, like the maple table, is dead flat.

SunDevilPilot

If you have a building salvage place around, look for some cheap kitchen cabinets to put a benchtop on. You get the storage space and a nice solid stand.
I use two solid core doors on top of each other and have no warping problems to date, about 5 years.

SDP, that is a nice set-up you have there but your shop is waaaayyy to dang clean!

I'm a litte space challenged with large tools and only a two car garage. I put all the tools on locking casters to allow me to push them into the wall and still be able to park both cars in the garage. When I want to use them I can just wheel them out.

I need a three, if not four, car garage.

I may be a bit OCD, I can't work in a mess.

SunDevilPilot

OCD!??? You sure you aren't a woman?

Just kidding man

I have always joked that my next wife would have a 4 car garage and own stock in a liquor store.

Sundevil,

that table is pretty much exactly what i had in mind. checking woodcrafts website, they show about 200$ for that maple top. Now I just need to see if i can find a canadian supplier =)

I have built on many surfaces and I can honestly say the butcher block style maple top is the strongest and flattest I have seen, while still being reasonable in cost. It is really heavy so plan on not moving it around too much unless you have help or wheels.

The top shouldnt be too hard to find from another place.

SunDevilPilot
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