building a new work bench.

[JPG]

My bench which could be a 'brother' of yours(2x4 doubled and lap jointed etc.) has 2x4 on edge for the top with 'masonite' top skin.

I do not consider that 'overkill'.

Mine is held together with lag bolts so it is disassembleable.

No dog holes or WW vises(mistake!).

[brick1]

Thanks, JPG.....I did consider the 2X4 on edge but was concerned about warpage later?? not sure how today's available wood would hold up and thought the MDF would stay flatter longer??

thanks, bill

[maggeorge]

Looks like it is of good built.




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http://www.sawblade.com

[letterk]

Looks like a nice bench. Wish I had more room for a bigger bench myself.

maggeorge - Looks like you've come out into the open with your affiliation with sawblade.com. Although, I have to call into question some of your earlier postings where you posed as a customer of them.

[brick1]

Looks like a nice bench. Wish I had more room for a bigger bench myself.

maggeorge - Looks like you've come out into the open with your affiliation with sawblade.com. Although, I have to call into question some of your earlier postings where you posed as a customer of them.

thanks letterk, i have a 12x16 shop with a 40 inch workbench across one 12 ft wall. then the shopsmith, various mess and this workbench is going to be 22x58.....just about the right size to do a lot of projects on and then i can put some saw horses outside with a piece of plywood on it for additional room??

thanks and take care, bill

[rpd]

I ran across this series yesterday by Paul Sellers showing him making a traditional European joiner’s bench in his back yard from glued up 2x4's, using only basic hand tools (a plane, handsaw, square, drill, mallet and chisel etc) .

His blog describes how to build the workbench a in a fifteen part article.
His YouTube channel mirrors the blog but only the first seven parts have been posted to date.

I really enjoyed the blog and the videos so I thought I would share.

[robinson46176]

thanks letterk, i have a 12x16 shop with a 40 inch workbench across one 12 ft wall. then the shopsmith, various mess and this workbench is going to be 22x58.....just about the right size to do a lot of projects on and then i can put some saw horses outside with a piece of plywood on it for additional room??

thanks and take care, bill

Any new progress or pictures ?
I am always fascinated by other peoples benches. Since we all use them differently there isn't really any one size fits all bench.
When I was a kid growing up the layout of the small farm shop (about 18'X20') we had then pretty much required a bench with the vise mounted on the right end. I grew up working at that bench almost daily and yet today working at a vise at the left end of a bench makes me feel like a fish out of water.
Most woodworking benches have the vise at the left end and I "can" work at one, it just doesn't feel natural.
Ideal bench height varies a lot not only due to worker height but type of work being done. A bench for a lot of hand planing needs to be lower so the worker can lean into the work. Light carving calls for one a little higher.


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[brick1]

Not much progress lately. Had to do some christmas projects. Next i need to decide on material for the top. I was thinking about four layers of half inch MDF, but not sure about how the end with the vice will hold up?? I may go with 2x4's on edge and planed....?? I have a really broken up back and i'm six feet tall. I'm making the bottom 36 inches and whatever the top ends up, it may be about 39-40 tall......I just cant bend for a long time....

I see you're in Shelbville!! my wife's sister lives in Greensburg now after her husband died. they had a dairy farm in Milroy for 30+ years. Her grandchildren live in Shelbyville now...

take care, bill

[eagleta2]

I like your bench...it looks like you are doing a fine job. I agree in overbuilding the bench.... I think my new bench weighs in at about 300#.

I used a 36" wide solid core door for a top... the bench is really large, heavy, and dead flat. I'm rather lazy and like to sit for most of my work so I made the bench the correct height to sit at... I figure I can mount retractable casters to it to move it and raise it to a standing height later on if I so choose.

I think I might have considered trimming it to 30" wide though, side reaching over the 3' bench to get a tool off of the board is a bit of a stretch...but since I'm 6'2" I have a pretty long reach.

I'd love to see pics of yours when finished

Geo

[brick1]

I'm going to post pictures of each stage.......the next stage, as soon as i can get to it, is to box it up with the stiles on each end.....

i'm leaning more toward the 2x4's on edge???? any thoughts??