I have a CRP-4848 that I am nearing completion on. One aspect of construction that I completely forgotten to consider is surfacing the table. I have 64"x52" area I would like to surface. The thickness would depend on the work hold solution. I would like to include some integrated work holding for clamps, blocks, vices, and even custom fixtures. I would like to be able to work with wood, plastics, foam, and aluminum. A precision surface would be nice.
I have considered wood, aluminum/steel, glass, and granite. I would expect wood to suffer the most from moisture, expansion, and marking too easily. The prices I have seen for aluminum/steel have been upwards to $1100. Although industrial glass has been suggested, I would also expect it be easily marked by a wayward tool. Granite so far seems to be the cheapest (~$5 sqft) when looking at local suppliers, but I'm curious about surface tolerances, cut fees, and most pieces I have seen only have the top surface cut to tolerance.
What are some of the solutions folks here have come up with? I would be very interested in opinions and actual solutions people have used.