work table top

Glass makes a nice cutting surface but can be scratched as well. 5x10 piece of glass will not be cheap! Have plenty of support under it, because it does flex.

 

LDPE we special order pallets in 5x10. Acrylic or poly I think will scratch your prints after you cut on them a couple times.

 

1" MDF come in 5x10 at most lumber yards/building supply. we have 12 tables that are 5x10 and built this way.

 

Are they for print production or fabrication? I think he's making a 'vinyl table'

 

Wouldn’t LDPE be too soft?

In the end, it seems you would still need a cutting mat to provide a smooth surface or opt for tempered glass which would be heavy.

 

We use LDPE all the time. It's basically the same as those cutting mats just not quite as nice but I can do 5 LDPE sheets before I pay for the one cutting mat. LDPE on top of rolls roller table.

Also on our wood masking tables.

 

How thick is the LDPE? Where do you special order from?

 

See if any of your local glass companies have damaged glass they can't sell.Guy here has some glass that has scale on it that can't be removed without the labor cost ending up more than the sheet. They let them go cheap - saves the labor time needed to smash them down into small enough pieces to go into the dumpster.

 

Ahh, too bad - maybe we just get low quality glass here along with tropical humidity and temperatures.
Glass ends up with a white mold looking pattern that can't be removed. Doesn't bother anything when the glass is used as a table top.

 

finish it with a self healing mat

 

we use MDF 5x10x3/4 for the base and then put a piece of PVC 5x10x12mm for the surface.
gets and takes a lot of abuse.
when we notice burs, we take a razor and "shave" the surface smooth again,
flip it over for side 2.
Toss and order a new piece as needed.

don't like using glass, dulls blades too easy

 

If you change your mind on the 5x10 cutting mat, this is the best price I found, $179:

https://www.reecesupply.com/2309443/Product/Image One Impact CM510

 

We have 2 4 x 8 tables. One with a pvc board the other one has tempered glass. (The glass only cost us around $450. 5x10 would have been $525) for the glass we went to a local glass shop to get the glass. The only down side that I have with the glass top is that I go through a lot of blades the last 6 years.

 

For my work tables I build them out of steel and have them on rollers (everything is on rollers even the old shear) For the top I like to use .040, you can cut on it and it doesn't go all that deep until you go over the same place many times. After a while I just take a razor scraper to the damaged areas and it's pretty smooth again. When that side becomes too damaged, I just flip it over and have a fresh new side to work with. I hang the edge of the .040 about an 1/8" over the side and use a break blade to make most of my cuts so I've been able to use one sheet for about 6 years. You don't have to use an expensive 5x10 base sheet, I just used scrap MDO or 3/4" plywood and lay the .040 sheet right on top. My designer has to have the self healing mat so I built him his own table. We can even roll them end to end and have a long table for wraps and banners as long as the floor is level.