Who has made a potter's bench with a metal top?

[NJCher]

3. here's another idea

I watch the craigslist free section carefully because I am in charge of some nonprofit community and school gardens. While I have a pretty good budget, I still look for donations. One thing I've noticed is that people remodel their kitchens and give away their countertops, even granite! I've seen marble, too.

Sometimes there is a kitchen sink carve out, but usually that's just on one section of the counter. If your craigslist doesn't have many, check with kitchen renovators. They might be open to letting you have one that will be thrown out. Anything that lightens their disposal load is a plus for them.

The one thing that could be a problem is the size. Granite is expensive to cut. Same with marble. However, with some granite cutters, if you tell them you won't hold them liable if they make a bad cut, they will do it for considerably less.

Yes, you can buy stainless steel. We checked it out. I ruled it out because handling it is a nightmare (sharp edges), but if you know your size, you can have the supplier cut it and put the edges on. The stainless was expensive, too.