A good friend of mine is willing to help me build a dedicated workbench for rod building. And I looked at some pre made countertops I could cut to size that were already laminated but didn't care for them. We are thinking about using a natural wood and using a stain or finish that will be easy to clean. I'm hoping to hear what you all have used to make your personal benches as I'm sure you all have some different ideas or even things you've learned from upgrading or rebuilding your work benches over the years. Also what dimensions you've found work best. I'm currently thinking 9' x 27.5"

Sounds good to me, I wouldn't go any deeper, many are in the 15-18 inch range to help get to things on the wall behind the bench, if you are sitting this can be even more important. I have seen many where the wrapper is able to fold up, leaving the option of a clear work bench when needed. If you want a full length foot control board you have to think about what will go under the bench before hand.

I have always liked Melamine coated MDF or an HDPE plastic like Star Board.

You can get the HDPE in a variety of colors and thicknesses through local dealers. Star Board is a brand name and pricey.

The great thing about the plastic or Melamine is that when you get epoxy or other things on it, they either peel off when cured or wipe clean easily.

Regards

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2022 01:13PM by John Cates.

You can always go to your local Home Depot. They sell butcher block. That would make good looking solid work bench that you can stain to any color you want or even put a bar top epoxy on it.

You might want to take a look at the dedicated, mobile, rod building workbench series in some earlier issues of RodMaker. That series began with RodMaker Volume 10 #3. I will mention that the top is painted a pastel green that is very easy on the eyes and provides great contrast. You won't lose small guides, etc., anywhere on the workbench surface.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

...........

About 8 years I bought three inexpensive 5’ harbor freight work benches, and they have worked out very well for me. Two were placed end to end against the wall to make a 10’ bench, 20.125” wide and 34.125” high. This what the current harbor freight work bench looks like.
[www.harborfreight.com]
it’s slightly different and a little more expensive than the ones I bought, but looks extremely similar. When on sale and using one of their coupons the price drops dramatically.
Norm

I read your post and see that you did not like the formica topped surface.

I understand how you feel. However, some years ago, as I was changing my rod room, I had 2-4 foot tables with folding legs on them. I decided to go with a 10 foot white formica coated kitchen counter top with an integrated back splash.
For me, was the perfect solution. Although I use the bench a lot for building rod, I also use the same surface for many other things. As a result, I wanted a dedicated long continuous surface for th rod building.
Because of prior back issues, I do my rod building seated. To that end, I currently have a power wrapper made of a single 2x4 aluminum channel to which I attached rollers and brakes.

In use, I stay in one position, with high intensity lights, tools, thead etc. along with the wrapper foot pedal Then, as I wrap, I roll the rod being worked on by my work station and I have to move nothing as I work the length of the rod as it goes by me.
I move the wrapper, set the brakes - work at that location, release the brakes and move it to the next spot on the rod. i.e. easier to move the wrapper and rod, rather than moving my work station constantly.

A picture of the wrapper base:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

However, this is not a dedicated bench but is a multi use bench:
For example - when doing electronics work:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

A special rod wrapper that I use for short ice fishing rods in my general setup. Note the use of the back splash that keeps items from falling off the back of the bench:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

A picture from some years ago, when I was evaluating a blank for a potential build. Because of its design, the bench is a very multi use surface that I use for many other things besides building rods:
[www.rodbuilding.org]

Unless you are person who makes his living building rods, a rod building bench that is dedicated to only building rods is going to be sitting empty a great deal of time. Therefore, for myself - I chose to have a smooth continuous surface with a back splash that I could use for a myriad of uses. My rod building equipment breaks down into convenient sized boxes, so when not building rods, the room and bench surface may be used for any other that is needed at the time.

Best wishes



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2022 03:19PM by roger wilson.

I saw a bench top a few years ago that was made of bowling alley lane material-I believe its maple but I may be wrong. Trying to remember where i saw it. It was being used for 2 uses in mind. One was a reloading bench and the other was for rod building. I lost track of the person who made the bench. It looked like it would hold up very well- One question i never got answered was how it was cleaned for use in those 2 applications.. They cut the alleys up into manageable sections.
Good luck.

Good advice above!

If I had only one word to add it would be STORAGE.

....or SPACE. That is, if you have it you will use it.

My experiences are more from a dedicated bench I built perspective:

I used cabinets above my bench to keep stuff OFF my bench. Same with some generic pegboard: To hang tools and serve as a 'backsplash' to keep things rolling off the surface and under the bench.

Plenty of outlets for plugging in lathes, rod-dryers, fans, lights, radios, and whatever. One great tip I learned here is a centralized outlet, on the ceiling, above the bench!
Wish I had thought of that! Otherwise, perhaps a multi-outlet surge-protector extension cord

Lots of light! (Shadows are rough when building rods.)

As was stated, your rod space will likely also be used as a general work space.

I recently built a dedicated rod building station recently and spent quite a bit of time on the net looking for images. I feel like this could be a good thread!

I went with a white top, lots of light and a pretty high bench that i can either sit or stand at. I like the white top as it is really easy to see bits and pieces and doubles as a good backdrop for photos, which I like as I like to chronicle my builds. I positioned the track lights basically right above where i wrap so I can use the reflection of the lights along the blank to help line up / place the guides. I find this works pretty well. It is about 32 inches wide I think but doesn't make reaching the wall that difficult and it allows me to push the wrapper towards the wall and give me room for gluing up grips and seats and such.

Lots of light. I went with a pretty high end led magnifier but it is so nice to work with, adjusts smoothly and easily and stays where i put it

Here's a few pictures. I'm very happy and grateful for this space

I built a torsion box from 3/4" mdf, 4" thick x 30" deep x and 10' long. I supported it on both ends with cabinet bases. The torsion box has held up great, does not sag and is solid as a rock. The cabinet bases make great storage areas for materials and tools. The area between allows for storage of plastic storage boxes for other items. I have peg board on the wall behind and to the sides that provides other options for storage. The peg board allows me to place pegs strategically to store rod blanks and other longer materials.

That's killer, Bob!

Bob,
Terrific work.
If you don't mind - can you take and post pictures of the exterior of this building. A really nice looking space.

Lots of really great ideas and Insight. Going to get together with my friend and he'll help sketch some plans up this weekend and see what materials I can source locally. Spencer I agree with what you were saying about the depth of the counter to be able to access what's on the wall or behind it. I hadn't really thought about that being an issue prior to now.

Starboard or a similar product would make a great surface but if possible I'd like to go with something more aesthetically pleasing.

Roger you have a great set up for efficiency and working around your personal needs. That's a really cool idea!

Bob you have a serious set up there! Even have a TV in your workspace but I'm wondering did you have room for a Kegerator? Or atleast a dedicated beer fridge!

You all make a great point that a work station that can be used for multiple tasks is ideal for someone who isn't building rods full time. Would be nice to have a clean workspace for servicing my reels and other fishing related tasks.

Thank you to all who posted. You guys have been a huge help to get the ball rolling and figure out where to start. Some really good people on this forum with a great deal of knowledge.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2022 12:08PM by Tyler Reinert.

If it is a dedicated rod building bench then I would only go to 24" width at the max. 24" is plenty even if you have some kind of storage toward the back, there is no sense in taking up more space with the width. The length is good although I like a nice even number like 10' or even 12' if there is room. The idea of a surface that can have the epoxy come off easy is very appealing especially after it has hardened. You will need to figure out sitting or standing.

Mark, thanks. The key to building the space was to buy a power wrapper (love that wrapper) that is much too big and bulky to be happy anywhere but a dedicated space. Two thirds of the space that we renovated is my wifes glass fusing studio and the remainder is for my fishy bizness.

Tyler, a kegorator won't fit. I can only put it under the bench and that does not allow for the tap unless i put the tap in the bench top haha. I can barely maintain any quality with my new rodbuilder hands sober so no fridge or kegs for now. My lineage is english / welsh so room temp beer isn't a problam. Good luck on your space.

Roger, thanks. Cant say enough good things about that wrapper and so happy for this space. I'm going to include a couple shots of outside even tho I'm confused why haha. It's two floors with a stick frame top on a log bottom story. We've built more or less out of pocket over the years and somehow the logs have still not gotten finished outside. Part of me was hoping for a nice grey patina on them but really it just ended up looking like a crown on a crackhead

That wrapper/finisher is nice. I would even say the best. Though I am a bit biased. I made it.

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com

Fair enough John haha. It really is a pleasure to use. The slow speed performance is amazing n using the foot control at slow speeds quickly became second nature. I love the aesthetic almost as much as how well it performs. Hopefully I haven't offended in any way adding the tension rod.

Next on my wish list is your 4 rod dryer. I've left room above everything on the wall for it and am hoping to put a cabinet around it.

Tyler, kinda feel like I hijacked your thread, apologies.

Cheers,

Bob

Right on. The tension rod just doesn't work for me or us at Flex Coat. We feel it is in the way 90% of the time and useful 10% of the time, and that 10% diminishes as you get better on the wrapper. And with this wrapper its so easy to get better.

When I was looking over your pics of the shop with Roger, the first question he asked was, "Where is the 4X machine?"

Great looking rod room!

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com

John,
Ditto on your comments.

In addition with the wonderful slow speed control of your wrapper and its ability to back up, I have never found a need to have a tension rod using your machine.

Best wishes