I was looking for something to make soft jaws for my carpenter’s type vise, that I planned to use for clamping the stocks of rifles in when working on them. In a dollar kind of store, I came across yoga mats for sale. They were inexpensive. Less than ten bucks, maybe only six or seven. I forget. I cut out two small rectangles and contact cemented them in the vise. It worked great.
My new workbench is fur 2x10s bolted to a steel frame, that is bolted to the concrete slab. I put a couple of coats of sealer on it, but expected it to get worn with use. The other day I was taking apart a gun and wanted to keep it from getting scratched or marred. I was looking for a heavy cloth when I remembered about the leftover yoga mat. I cut myself a nice rectangle a little bigger than a place mat at a dinner table. It worked great protecting the gun as well as the bench top. It’s non slip and cushioning properties were a plus too.
I can take it off and shake it clean and don’t have to worry when using an Exacto knife, or excess glue etc. When it gets worn, I can replace it.
The other day I cut up the rest to use as liners in the bottom of a steel drawer tool box.
It’s great for a lot of stuff and the best part is it’s inexpensive, as long as it’s not coming from an expensive sporting goods store.