01What a load rating actually promises
Three numbers hide inside every rating, and they are not interchangeable.
- Uniformly distributed load — weight spread across the whole top. This is the number in the catalogue.
- Point load — weight in one place, usually mid-span. Typically half the uniform figure, sometimes less.
- Deflection limit — how much the top is allowed to sag at that load. We rate to span/500, which for a 1800 mm span is 3.6 mm.
A bench quoted at 1000 kg with no statement of which load and which deflection limit is a bench with an adjective, not a rating.
02The four members and which one fails first
In order of how often they are the limiting member.
The one that surprises buyers is the feet. A 2000 kg bench on four 40 mm feet puts 500 kg on each, and on a screed over insulation that is a floor problem. Load-spreading pads cost almost nothing and are the difference between a bench and a hole in the floor.
03Why deflection, not strength, sets the rating
A steel rail that is 3 mm thicker will carry more before it yields. It will not be much straighter under normal load, because stiffness goes with the cube of depth and only linearly with thickness.
That is why our first answer to “how do I stop the bench sagging” is never “a thicker top”. It is a third rail, or a shorter span, and both are cheaper.
04Three ratings, three builds
Written as a bill of members, so a quotation can be checked against it.
| Rating | Top | Rails | Legs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 kg | 3 mm mild or 1.5 mm stainless over board | 38 × 38 × 1.2 mm | 38 × 38 × 1.2 mm |
| 1000 kg | 5 mm plate | 50 × 50 × 1.5 mm, two rails | 50 × 50 × 1.5 mm |
| 2000 kg | 6 mm plate | 60 × 60 × 2.0 mm, three rails | 60 × 60 × 2.0 mm, braced |
All three assume evenly distributed load on a level floor with load-spreading feet. Point loads at mid-span should be taken at half the figure, and a bench that will be dragged should be specified one rating up because a dragged bench loads its legs sideways.
We build the 2000 kg rating by welding a third rail at mid-span rather than by going to a thicker plate, because the rail is stiffer per kilogram. The plate is then cut to size, the ends folded down for stiffness, and the whole assembly inspected for diagonal before the top is welded on. Packing is the part people underestimate: a 2000 kg bench travels as a knocked-down frame with the top crated separately, not as one crate nobody can lift.
05Specifying a heavy bench in four lines
Rating, span, top material and what will be put on it. The fourth line matters more than buyers expect: a 1000 kg rating for evenly spread stock and a 1000 kg rating for a single machine foot are different benches.
We build to span/500 deflection, in mild steel or 304 or 316L stainless, with 3–6 mm tops and rails sized to whatever the span requires. Height is held to ±2 mm with the feet mid-range. Lead time is 15 working days from a confirmed drawing, shipped assembled where it fits a container and knocked down where it does not, with an inspection sheet recording height, diagonal and the joint schedule. If a rating cannot be met in stainless, we will say so and quote mild steel instead of quietly under-building the stainless one.
Stainless steel workbenches · Metal workbenches in three metals · Countertop technical data · Send a drawing for quotation