Buying steel plate

That's a pretty substantial plate. Obviously, it is also a substantial bench but I would be wondering what you are working on that would need that. Presumably you have an anvil for serious hammering? If you do a lot of rivetting on awkward objects I can see there might be a case for it. But on the assumption you are not handling anything weighing more than a couple of hundredweight I would have thought that 3 mm or so would be fine.

The price sounds about right to me, though.

I've no idea what thickness would be appropriate. I picked 6mm because I could just about get that on by myself, but I have been starting to think that really it's not thick enough to be seriously solid yet is also a bit OTT for what I'm (realistically) likely to be doing over the next few years - engine work, bit of light MIG welding, bashing of assorted things (the anvil gets used but it sits on the bench).

Isn't having a softer top, ie wood of some kind, a good idea because it won't hurt things put on it? It'll get beaten up, yes, but not terminally so.

He probably wants to weld on it sometimes.

Yes I'd go for 3mm plate. 6mm is a bit on the heavy side for the size given.

My carpenter tenant was also insisting on 6mm for a metal working bench top. He sourced some suitable offcuts from a ship repair business at Southampton. Paid £30/sheet but I don't have the dimensions.

He says E-Bay offered choices including some in Wales.

and there will sometimes be liquids running around

When I need any steel I just go down local fabricators ... you can get pieces easy for cash.

I have 3mm plate on my benches, no need for any thicker than that.

Thanks, folks, for making me rethink - I opted for 4mm at a cost of £48 for 1300x750. One more question - about preventing rust. I don't want to paint it so plan to give it a coat of hard wax polish every now and again - is there a better approach?

That would probably work, but don't forget what mineral oil can achieve. When I started metalwork lessons at school, everything we made was finished by draw-filing and then going down through the emery papers with liberal amounts of oil. Mild steel finished that way is actually quite rust-resistant. My approach for a steel bench would be rub it down with oil-soaked steel wool, repeating the treatment any time you notice a rust patch developing. Indeed, that's what I still do for things like lathe beds and chucks.

That brings back memories. I still have a few such pieces in reasonable condition after over 50 years.

Chris

I got some 530x330x10mm steel plates a while back from the local steam railway engineering shop - I think they just ordered them in from somewhere in Plymouth who laser cut them out. Cost me £32+VAT each, so given the size of yours vs. the size of mine, I suspect your deal is OK.

My plates go into a oven (of the cooking variety), so I just sanded them down, covered in (vegetable) oil and "seasoned" them to 300C a few times.

Gordon