Workbench Covering

I consider myself really blessed to have a dry basement… here in Massachusetts, at least it is dry enough to have a couple of workbenches for modeling. My workbench surfaces are made of formica, so they are easy to scratch with a blade. To protect them from glue and accidental cuts, I lay a paper covering over the surface. This may be of use for you who use your kitchen table or other table for modeling, so I thought I’d share.

I purchased the cheapest roll of paper at Home Depot, Red Rosin paper.  If you didn’t already know, rosin paper is used for many home building projects and is commonly used in a wide variety of construction applications, including roofing, flooring, and as a general jobsite protective covering - it also comes in brown.

I use it as a work bench covering - that is why you see it as the background in most of my photos.

I got tired of ripping off a pieces from the roll and taping it down, so I rigged up a delivery system. I mounted a PVC pipe to the back legs of the bench with pipe brackets and hung the roll on the pipe.

The paper runs up the backside of the bench and comes out on the surface.

To hold the paper from falling off the backside of the bench, I made a gravity clasp with a square tube. The square tube is held in place by a angle bracket that is 

hot glued to the bench surface.

The bar falls down to “clamp” the paper

When I need more paper, I just pull and tear it off at the front edge.

My other workbench is covered lengthwise, I just tear off a 5 foot length and lay it over and tape if on the edges.

I keep two tools really handy… a hot glue gun and a hair dryer. The hair dryer is perfect for heating hot glue joints just enough to loosening the glue without melting the foam. I made a hot glue gun holster with a 2” pipe bracket and mounted it on the front edge of the bench.

The hot glue gun is always at the ready and when it drips, it drips into the trash.

Bench tips from HildaFlyer!