MDF Or Plywood For Workbench Tops: Which Is Better?

When you start working on projects, whether small or large, you will need to create a workbench that can help you create. The longest-running debate among artisans has always been whether or not to use MDF wood or Plywood for the top of a workbench.

Plywood works best as a workbench resistant to glues, epoxies, and other abrasive materials but easily splinter. MDF is extremely smooth and allows you to move parts across the surface without much issue but cannot be easily sanded down to remove unwanted spillage.

Choosing between these two materials usually falls to what you need to do on the workbench. We have seen many people who are not always considering that the boat they are building needs to slide along the workbench rather than just keep it continually clean.

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Is MDF Board Good For Workbench Tops?

MDF is an excellent budget-friendly workbench top when working on smaller projects that may not be glued together. The surface stays relatively smooth after heavy use and can be used to clamp onto or screw into to help you get the desired shape for your projects.

<strong>MDF Or Plywood For Workbench Tops: Which Is Better?</strong>

We always recommend that you have one workbench with an MDF top to feel and experience the surface that it provides. Ensuring that you can easily and comfortably learn how a workbench really should be used without having to stress about damaging it repeatedly.

However, the MDF is quick to stain and will be hard to fix, like you how you can easily fix Plywood. With stains, oil, glues, and epoxies, permanently changing the surface of the MDF into something that will become a challenge to use.

Is Plywood Good For Workbench Tops?

Many artisans use Plywood as their go-to workbench because they may already have larger pieces of scrap plywood on hand. The wood reacts well to waste glue and epoxies, allowing you to create and build on the surface without replacing it when glue spills and hardens on the surface.

Many plywood workbenches are specifically used to give a coating or clamp larger pieces together while the gluing process hardens. Boatbuilders and other epoxy artisans specifically use Plywood because it can be easily removed and scrapped once everything has dried.

However, Plywood does not make a good long-time workbench top as it is pretty quick to splinter and becomes a problem as the wood ages. With no treatment capable of helping the Plywood last, the only option is to replace it, which can happen several times a month if constantly used.

What Kind Of Plywood Should I Use For A Workbench Top?

Any type of Plywood can be used as a workbench top; it is recommended that it be half an inch thick to allow you to easily rest weight on the bench. This will enable you to build heavier projects without the top bending or flexing, giving way and causing damage to your workpiece.

Using thicker Plywood may be safer, but the workbench can become top-heavy as the material becomes much heavier. However, if you have a small workbench that is low to the ground and only meant to be used as a clamp guide, thicker Plywood may work better to add some weight.

Overall, the type of Plywood does not matter because you will be using it with some speed, and all Plywood will be too soft to cause a lasting top. Instead, the Plywood just needs to be thick enough to accept a screw or nail if you need to quickly hold something onto the workbench without a clamp.

How Does The Plywood Compare To MDF?

Plywood is layered sheets of wood that have been glued together to create a thicker, stronger piece of wood that can handle pressures in different ways. MDF usually has shredded wood glued together under intense pressure to create a new solid piece of wood that is cheap.

We have several ways to compare these two pieces of wood, each one highlighting why they are used or not used as workbench tops. It is important to remember that no matter what, both pieces of wood have their benefits when used as the workbench tops around your garage or workshop.

Cost Of MDF Vs. Plywood

MDF is usually the cheapest type of wood you can buy, even cheaper than Plywood, so it is most often a workbench top. Plywood can cost quite a bit more, especially as wood becomes rare to find and the sheets required to make them increase.

The only big difference in their pricing is that Plywood has inconsistent pricing, while MDF has more consistent pricing worldwide. With Plywood varying from state to state, MDF usually has a more stable price because a few corporations produce them.

Longevity Of MDF Vs. Plywood

Generally, Plywood lasts much longer than MDF once treated as the glue layers help protect the wood from moisture. MDF does not last as long and is only meant to be used as a temporary stand-in until something has been built using solid wood rather than the MDF.

It is most notable when MDF starts to swell from being exposed to even a little bit of moisture when the layering of the wood starts to swell like a sponge. Plywood can be treated, which means that the wood may even last for several years when left completely exposed to the sun, wind, and rain.

Surface Types Of MDF Vs. Plywood

When you buy a new sheet of MDF, it will be completely smooth to the touch, not needing to be sanded or varnished at all. Plywood will usually be quite rough and can splinter when used excessively.This is usually because the top layer of wood is completely rough and not ready to be used.

This is often why MDF is the go-to use for any type of top, as the surface is already perfect for most projects you may have. We always recommend that you consider what you need to workbench top before choosing which of the affordable tops you will use.

Why Is MDF Preferred For Handyman Workbenches?

A general handyman or someone who has a workbench in their garage is much more likely to constantly use the workbench for different things. One day it may be to do some soldering, while the next, it may be to clamp a project together while gluing.

This is much more damaging to the workbench top, so you will need to be sure that the top does not show the damage as fast. MDF is hard enough that you can drill a hole in one side of the workbench and keep going without having to stress about cracks or splitting.

Most handymen do not care to take care of the top either, which means that the top needs to last a while and be extremely easy and fast to replace. This makes MDF perfect as it will always be cheap and, if not used, won’t become damaged as long as it is kept dry.

Why Is Plywood Better For Woodworking Workbenches?

When woodworking, you’ll generally use a chisel and other tools to shape your wood and then glue everything together. Plywood is perfect for this as it can handle a lot more weight and force from this type of use, not chipping easily when hit by a chisel.

Further, the Plywood is easier to clean than MDF when covered by dried-out glue or epoxy, easily letting go. This is because the surface is smooth but can be sanded down without the wood becoming ugly or too rough to use, which happens with MDF.

Plywood is also a lot lighter than MDF, which allows woodworkers to easily create large workbenches, ready for larger projects to be made. Plywood sheets can easily be bought and screwed onto the workbench to create something that will easily and happily help them create larger projects.

How Thick Should A Workbench Top Be?

The thickness of your workbench will determine how heavy and wobbly the entire workbench is when you are using it. Many artisans face the problem that their workbenches are not strong enough to support the projects they are working on, causing failure at important times.

It is essential to have the right thickness on your workbench to ensure that you can easily and comfortably create without your entire bench shifting and sliding. We always recommend getting a workbench built just slightly stronger than you may need.

MDF Top Thickness

MDF should preferably be around one inch thick to ensure that it can easily handle all the work you will be throwing towards it. Many MDF workbenches that are too thin start to fail before everything that the bench offers have been achieved, causing frustrations and headaches.

When working with thicker MDF, you can use larger screws and be harder on the surface without stress about cracks forming or the top being damaged. When building a temporary workbench, most people will use thin MDF because of the lightness of the material.

Plywood Top Thickness

Plywood should preferably only be half an inch thick to ensure that you can easily replace the piece once it is no longer useful. Many people also underestimate the weight of a large flat piece of plywood at the top of a workbench, causing their brand-new workbench to be rather unsteady.

This may be why you can see some artisans refuse to use Plywood because of past mistakes causing their workbenches to be too top-heavy. However, when using the right thickness, you can easily and comfortably have a strong workbench capable of handling anything you throw at it.

Why Should The Workbench Top Not Be Solid Wood?

Simply put, solid wood workbenches are made by master artisans to show the quality and ability of their craft. This is why these solid wood workbenches usually cost more than most furniture pieces built by other artisans, causing people to buy them and then be too afraid to use them.

Further, in theory, a solid wood workbench would work in your garage or workshop; however, it becomes a problem when moving things. Instead, many older workshops have solid wood benches because there were no alternatives when they were built.

Not only are solid wood workbenches overkill for the use of a workbench in the modern age, but they are also extremely expensive to the point of being prohibitive. We always recommend using as much scrap wood as possible when building your workbench to keep it as cost-efficient as possible.

Should Plywood Or MDF Be Used For The Entire Workbench?

We recommend using a mixture of Plywood, MDF, and solid wood when building your workbench. The legs should be made out of solid wood to allow the most weight, support structures constructed out of Plywood to give proper rigidity, and either MDF or Plywood for the top.

This workbench is all about function over any type of look or form, which means that having it made out of several different types of wood may be better. Creating something much more robust than any of the three types of wood would be on its own is what a workbench needs to be.

Many artisans have workbenches that have lasted their entire careers made out of several different types of wood they had available. With no color coordination or staining that seems to fit, instead of the wood, all work together to create s properly strong structure.

Conclusion

MDF and Plywood are wood types that should be considered when creating your workbench, as they are good options. However, we always recommend using whatever you may find the most affordable option, remembering to replace the top whenever you need to.

Remember, the workbench top needs to be properly secured, no matter what!