Replies

1. 
   user-1036644 | Jul 05, 2019 09:25am | #1

   My roubo top is 1.75 x 26 x 84 , it is plenty strong and more than heavy enough for all work I do. I added a 4 inch face to the side I mostly work on and made sure the foundation is rock solid since that is where you will get the movement when planning. So unless your Vise requires the depth you will be more than fine in my opinion.

2. 
   fourier_transform | Jul 05, 2019 09:43pm | #2

   I have a similar sized workbench top and am happy with it. 2" is plenty thick for the top.

   One important feature of a workbench is mass. A light workbench is gonna squirm and move around. But 36 board feet of maple weighs 120 lbs or so. Once you add the weight of the chassis and vise(es), it should be more than 150 lbs. And that's pretty good.

   But if you still wish to add mass, you cannot simply glue plywood to the maple. Your maple slab will change width pretty substantially throughout the year but the plywood will not. It will tear itself apart after a couple of seasons, guaranteed.

   One way to add mass is to build a beefy chassis. Big 4" square legs, 2" thick stretchers and a shelf underneath will make for a hefty bench.

3. 
   john_c2 | Jul 06, 2019 07:13am | #3

   2 inches is pretty thin for holdfasts, which are my primary means of withholding. And 3 feet wide is really wide for a bench. Really, really wide.

   If it were me, I would make the top 20 inches, 22 max. I would rip the 3' maple to 20", glue the remaining 16 inch piece under the front edge of the 20", and add a 4x2 inch piece under the back.