Back in 2003, I purchased a product made of recycled rubber tires and cut it to fit inside my Jeep Libertyโs cargo area. It was one of the best purchases Iโve ever made. When Rockler announced its Rockler Rubber Bench Mat, I immediately knew that this excellent product had more or less made its way into the world of woodworking shops everywhere. Whatโs unique about it is the simplicity of design. Thereโs nothing fancy about it โ itโs just rubber, but itโs the perfect texture and protection for any surface.
Letโs face it: If your idea of the perfect worktop surface is linoleum, plywood, or tile, this is going to revolutionize your lifeโor at least add a level of convenience and flexibility you hadnโt thought of before.
Rockler Rubber Bench Mat Features and Build Quality
Iโd love to wax on about how great the material is made and how it felt like newborn puppy hair in my fingers. Truth is โ itโs rubber. Recycled rubber. There just isnโt much to say. If youโve ever worked with a rubber mat, youโll appreciate the recycled kind โ itโs far easier to cut and easily pliable and shapable to any amorphously diverse application you can think of. In fact, this mat could be easily cut into any hideous shape or around any irregular corner with a simple carpet knife. On top of that, we liked the blue overtones that lifted it out of the typical black color associated with rubber.
The Recycled Rubber Mat is just 3mm thick โ thatโs thick enough to be very protective as a surface, and thin enough to be maneuverable and not weigh a ton. The rubber mat I used in my Jeep Liberty was thicker by a millimeter or two, but it also included a bit more air. This mat is more dense, and the entire roll, which measures 24โณ x 60โณ, weighs a considerable amount. Thatโs actually kind of good since it will withstand more as a result.
Testing and Use
We tested the Rockler Rubber Bench Mat by framing out a workbench with 1ร2 material that we mitered to form a central area that we intended to fill with the mat. We elevated the trim to 3mm above the plywood surface to give us the perfect match to the thickness of the Rockler Rubber Bench Mat:
When we were done, weโd have a perfectly flat, but well-protected work surface. Hereโs what the lower cabinet/bench looked like after we framed out the sides:
Next, we measured the area, which, luckily for us, was a near-perfect rectangle. Marking it, we used a 4-foot level as an edge and ran a Milwaukee Folding Razor Knife along it to make our cut:
Satisfied that our piece was perfectly cut to our specs, we placed the mat, refastened our vice, and added some additional trim pieces to finish everything off nicely. Note that you can add some glue to keep it in place permanently (3M has some excellent products suitable for fastening rubber to wood). Here is what the completed cabinet/workbench looks like:
Conclusion
Overall, this is a very simple, but exceedingly handy product. I could see it being used in a way that allows it to be removable, or permanently installed as we did here. Rockler may really have a popular product here and our only negative was that they didnโt include a backing to be able to declare it water or spill-proof. This would be a nice feature and a definite enhancement to an already excellent product.
In terms of Performance, we gave the Rockler Rubber Bench Mat an 8/10 โ itโs great, there just isnโt much to it, and itโs only available in one size. For Value, we dinged it a little โ I mean, itโs just recycled rubber, why is it $40? Still, we feel an average Value rating of 5/10 is more than fair and isnโt going to detract anyone from picking up this excellent product from a company that is continuing to build an excellent reputation for creative and well-thought-out solutions.
