Workbench Melamine Surface Update

Just thought I’d quickly mention a workbench addition that I like a lot. When I first showed you the work I had done in the garage hanging cabinets, the bench still had the plywood surface. It was fine as it was, but I wanted something brighter and easier to clean and I needed a way to hang tools or anything else I wanted on the wall. If you noticed in the post with the Guzzi up on stands, you can see the difference from the earlier photo.

What I added is a panel with a melamine surface covering a very dense particle board core cut to size. Lowe’s sells these in 4X8 sheets 3/4 inches thick and they have big panel saws in the store so you can get it trimmed to exactly the size you need. That leaves a raw edge all around that doesn’t look finished. You can get melamine tape made for this purpose and it’s really easy to apply. It has a hot glue backing so all you need to do is cut the tape to length for the edge you want to cover. Go a little long for trimming afterwards. I used an old iron we happened to have which worked perfectly for the job. Hold the tape up at one end and apply the iron for a couple of seconds, set to the temperature marked for cotton. The glue melts and the tape will be firmly attached. Slowly run the iron along the tape all along the remaining portion of the edge. Trim with a razor at the end and you’re done. It’s very easy and looks professional, the same as an edge would be finished on a melamine shelf you would buy in the store.

These panels are heavier than they look, so once I had it sitting on the bench, I drilled and countersunk four holes through the panel and the plywood benchtop and into the 2X4s underneath. Once the screws were in I covered the holes with plastic caps left over from the cabinet installation. The surface is very sturdy, it’s easy to clean, reflects the light from the LEDs over the bench so the work area is nice and bright and if the surface ever gets damaged or really dirty, I can remove four screws, flip it over or install a new panel and it will look like new.

The pegboard speaks for itself. I had outlets in the wall already so I had to locate those on the pegboard and cut the openings. The cutouts weren’t exactly centered and the edges were a little rough. The cabinets I hung over the bench had come with that thin material you’re supposed to nail over the open back, but since it was mounted on the wall I didn’t use it. I used it to make rectangles with openings the size of the outlet covers with about an inch of additional material all around. Then I used double sided tape to fasten it to the pegboard centered over the outlet. Very low tech, but it dressed up the edge just fine.

Nothing complex here, but if you’re following along as I add to the shop, I thought you might be interested.