I finally looked up the load rating on my plywood workbench top

So I built my bench a few years back using a single sheet of 3/4 inch plywood. Just assumed it was strong enough for anything I'd throw at it. Then last week I did some digging and found out that a standard sheet of plywood on a 24 inch span can only handle around 30 pounds per square foot before it starts to sag noticeably. That surprised me since I've had heavy vises and parts sitting on mine for months. I found the stat on the APA wood council website if you want to check your own setup. Has anyone else accidentally overloaded their bench without realizing it?

2 comments

2 Comments

aliceg6113d agoTop Commenter

Start checking the ratings on stuff at home and suddenly everything feels sketchy. I did the same with some cheap shelving brackets from the hardware store, turned out they're only good for like 50 pounds total, not per shelf like I assumed. Made me wonder how many things in my shop are just one heavy tool away from a collapse.

the_olivia13d ago

Right? @aliceg61 now I'm side-eyeing every shelf in my house like it's gonna betray me. Pretty sure my toolbox is just holding itself together with hopes and dreams at this point.