Material that would make a good top for a workbench?

I am going to be building myself a nice workbench for projects, luthiery and possibly reloading (at some point down the line). I have a vision for what I want to do design wise, but what would be a great material for the top? I mean obviously something crazy like a solid 4x8 of birdseye maple would be sweet...but what about something that is functional, but also looks good? My 1st thought originally was MDF just because it's cheap, but I decided I want to build this right.

So what would be a good material? The only specialty thing I may do with the top is make a vise off of one side with the same material and install holes for some bench dogs.

Countertop material.

I have an old bench (50+ yo) that has masonite as the top surface. The deck is tongue and groove 2x4. The masonite is replaceable and has been pretty durable.

I build a work bench last year (I'll try to get pics). It's high enough to sit at with a bar stool. It's about 4'x4'. The top deck is 2x8 pine and the work surface is 3/4 plywood. The top was sanded, cracks/holes filled and finished with marine spar varnish. You could dance on it. [Ban1][Ban2] Have a wood vise on one side and pre-drilled holes for grinder, planer, etc. That sits on a six drawer cabinet on wheels.

There is a guy in the springs that advertises reclaimed wood butcher block countertops on CL. I priced a piece for a sink stand project, super durable hard wood cut to size and stained. If the surface gets dinged just sand it down.

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In the garage I use an old counter top. About 2/3rds of it is covered with 1/4 plate steel. For gun work and other hobbies I have an old lab table in the basement. The good kind with asbestos in it.

Plywood and then top it with some stainless sheet metal.

Solid core luan door

I had one that was made out of an old hospital fire door. 2 inches thick, 1/2 plywood on either side of a very dense particle board core. Heavy as all hell.

I like a cover top of plywood. Easy to replace and cheap. It gets grimy and beat up, replace it.

Buy a pre made counter top and put it on like 3/4 MDF. If you want a nicer top use MDF and veneer it and then pour polyurethane on top. I have one hardwood top and the other was MDF but I now have a big piece of stainless to use.

Mine is three layers of 3/4 particle board laminated together. The border is maple, and it sticks up 1/4". The final layer a is a replaceable 1/4" thick sheet of MDF. If you're careful gluing up the substrate you can get a top that's very flat. The top of my bench alone weighs something like 225#. The base easily doubles that. It's fairly stable.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...psfyosly9s.jpg

Just watch the craigslist free section. They come up on there from time to time

Habitat/Renew stores. Good stuff and cheap.

Mine is 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood glued and screwed together and then glued and screwed to a frame of 2x4s and it is rock solid. I can jump up and down on it all day long and it wouldn't even flex. Downside is that the plywood is a relatively soft work surface. I'm considering coating mine with some sort of epoxy or polyurethane to protect the surface from dents and marks. If I had to do it again, I might consider getting a cheap countertop instead of all the work I put into the plywood bench. (I admit that the labor was part of the fun for me... I love building things, but the convenience of a prebuilt countertop is appealing.)

Another vote for a solid core door. I also put 3/4 particle board down on the face and MinWax polyurethaned it.
Legs are 4x4" with 2x6 stringers.
Solid bench

Going to be beating on stuff on top? Cleaning carbs? Putting a bit of torque on it by working a reloader? Kind of makes a difference.

fire rated wood doors on craigslist. 2-3 inches thick. I bought one 36x9ft @ 75. Nice oak veneer unfinished. (dang thing is heavy, took 4-5 people to handle it)

lumber liquidators sells butcher block tops, they are harder than plywood or a solid core door can be sanded and refinished and will last forever.

i had left over from a demo we did on a kitchen years ago,

I just took some left over hardwood flooring and built mine. The base is a tool chest with a plywood base layered 3 sheets thick. Added the flooring, sanded, trimmed and installed.