Ed,
I kind of question the minimum size that you stated in your post but, if you have room for it and feel you really need something that large for a "weekend warrior" hobbiest, have at it.
I built my bench in 2007 and am still using it. I cut a sheet of 3/4" mdf in half and stacked it up to 1-1/2" thick and the wraped the edges with some red oak for the top. My bench top only measures 27-1/2" x 50-1/2".
I built the base out of common 2 x 4s and added the shelves of mdf as I built it up. As you can see, I had some extra orange paint that I had to get rid of.
See ""
See ""
See ""
I added a small vise, two power strips, casters, and polyurethane on top then waxed the bejeasus out of the top so that glue and finish won't stick. (I re-wax every year or so) I think the locking, swivel, casters were the most expesive part of the whole project. I wanted to be able to move the bench around my small shop from time to time.
It doesn,t look nearly as nice now because of the saw cuts and drill holes and finish stains that I've put on it over the years. (I just did that to add that quality look to it.
)
Rog
PS Sorry about the poor, fuzzy pictures, they were taken with my old camera, now you know why I have a NEW camera!