My ironing board is very old , hence, very sturdy. It's over 50 years old. My husband cut a piece of plywood about 22 x 52 inches and rounded off the corners. I then stapled on an old mattress pad and then covered it with some silver ironing board fabric I buy at Jo Annes. Hubby put 2 heavy-duty cuphooks on each underside of the board then used bungee cords to hook from one side to the other under the frame of the ironing board It's very sturdy and I love having the large ironing surface. As for irons I use a Rowenta Professional as it seems to be the only one I can find that doesn't have an automatic shut-off. I prefer older irons like Sunbeam but can't always find them. I have a friend who watches for them at garage sales.