Who can suggest the best workbench?

[shipwright]

Just another Idea. I, personally have never quite gotten the heavily built, traditional "woodworker's bench". To me they have always seemed to be very beautiful and expensive and not very practical. I have always favoured a bench with a double 3/4" plywood top built as part of the shop wall with lots of drawers under it and one or two steel quick release style wood vices. Mine are usually two to four feet wide and have been as long as 24'. They are absolutely solid, you can fasten or clamp to them anywhere and I've never missed not being able to walk around one. They're also cheap and you don't mind rebuilding a diesel on top of them. I realize that my work has been in a different direction than many others (the 24' x 4' bench was specifically to accomodate scarfing of 24' x 4' plywood for the sides and bottoms of a series of 20' boats), but these benches have never left me wishing I had a "classic" bench.

I appologize now for the mess. My excuse is that I was in the middle of building my sailboat when my wife came out to the shop and said something like "Have you taken those pictures of your shop inventory yet. The insurance co. wants them today"

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Paul M

[honeywell]

I appologize now for the mess. My excuse is that I was in the middle of building my sailboat when my wife came out to the shop and said something like "Have you taken those pictures of your shop inventory yet. The insurance co. wants them today"[ATTACH]8346[/ATTACH]
Paul M

Looks like my bench (minus some of the mess). I noticed the big jug of wood glue under the bench. Is it more economic to buy it that way, instead of a bunch of bottles? How long does it stay fresh? I am asuming you probally use it before it has a chance to go bad.

[shipwright]

Hey, I apologized for the mess. If it doesn't freeze that glue, (Tightbond) will last a very long time and yes, it's cheaper to buy the gallon (4 litre in my case). I use a refillable squeeze bottle with an assortment of distribution tips.

When I have a major project on the go, it's all "git er done" until the mess gets really bad at which time, about once a week, I clean up meticulously and start in again. I think the broom, shovel and garbage can in this photo signify that a cleanup had just begun....In fact the floor is already done..... Jeez I just keep apologizing, these photos weren't originally meant for publication.

Paul M

[mckenziedt]

I designed a workbench for myself a few years ago and have since built a half a dozen for family. It is not fancy and it isn't portable or pretty. The main criteria was to be cheap to build and be sturdy, as in mount a vise on it, and be able to pound on it. An 8' X 2' bench takes approx 21- 2x4 studs, 2- 10' 2x4s, 1-8' 2x4, 1- 8' 2x8, 4- 27"x1/2"or 5/8" threaded rod + nuts and washers, 1/2 sheet of 3/4" plywood, and 1/2 sheet of 1/4" masonite, 2lbs- 3" deck screws, plus another 1/2 sheet of 3/4" plywood if you want shelves between the legs. Approx $120.00 of materials.
15 of the studs plus the 8' 2x4 at the front and the 8' 2x8 at the back are set up on edge with glue between each one, and the 4 threaded rods are put through 4 sets of predrilled oversized holes and tightened. If the 2 outside 2x's have their holes countersunk about 3/4" deep, the nuts and washers will not protrude past the front and back and any excess length of rod can be cut off flush with the nuts. A short piece of 2x4 is fitted between each protruding end of the 8' outside top pieces to finish off the exposed end grain of the stud length top pieces. A wee bit will need to be trimmed off these 8' pieces to reduce them to flush with the end grain caps. We now have a 2'x8' bench top with a 4" lip at the back. 4 pieces of 2' 2x4 are then screwed flat to the bottom surface where the 4 legs will be attached, to act as cleats to screw the legs onto. The leg units consist of 2 vertical 2x4s(length determined by how high you want the work surface to be(remembering that there is an additional 1" of sheet goods material to go on yet), plus 2 20" cross pieces(one across the top and one across the bottom), and a diagonal 2x4 brace top front to bottom rear. The leg units are narrower than the bench top to allow for diagonal bracing across the back of the legs and to have the legs inset a little front and back to allow for being set up where there is a non true wall and/or floor and to keep them from interfering with feet moving along the front of the bench. The 10' 2x4s are used to make an X shaped double diagonal brace to hold the legs square at the back and the legs are attached to this resulting in a free standing base assembly. Additional 2x4 cleats can be put across each leg at whatever level you want the under shelves to be at, and pieces of plywood cut to fit in for shelves. If a lip is put on the back of the shelves and they are not attached to the cleats, they can be sliding pull out shelves. The top unit can now be lifted onto the base unit and the tops of the leg units screwed into the cross cleats under the top. Now the 3/4" 2'x8' plywood is screwed onto the top surface and trimmed to size. Then the 1/4" hardboard(preferably the tempered type) is attached and also trimmed to final size. This gives you a smooth,hard, replaceable work surface. Vices,grinders etc can be bolted on. 3/4" bench dog holes can be drilled.
I don't have any pictures or dimensioned drawings as each one I've made has been off the top of my head, with little improvements incorporated each time. Length and width can be customized any way you want. I made a 2'x12' one for my garage and there is nothing to stop you from going 28,30,32,36" wide. 2'x8' just happens to be an economical size to build considering the sizes lumber and plywood come in.
Don

[heathicus]

I think I followed most of that, mckenziedt, but a picture would really help. It sounds very interesting and something I might want to add to my file of workbench ideas.

[hagarz71]

Sorry for Hi-Jack of thread....Location of table that OP wanted info on.

Is anybody on this site a member of "finewoodworking.com". I know it is only a small fee, but is it worth it? If so what do they have to offer for the money?

[horologist]

Homer,

This has been discussed in some detail, take a look at:

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=4389

Troy

[hagarz71]

thank you Troy.

[machinistchest]

Here`s a plan by American furniture desig of a work bench. Looks nice.

http://www.americanfurnituredsgn.com/ac ... kbench.htm

MC

[mickyd]

Great economy workbench for $125 + Arnold's 8.75% share.....

To make the bench portable, I had an idea on how to mount some swivel casters that will neatly tuck away when not in use. I'll post pics when / if the concept works. Much simpler and attractive than the ones shown in post 59.

Here's the idea I came up to make my workbench portable using inexpensive casters where the design allows them to be tucked away when not in use.

UPDATE 7-01-10 The plywood needs to be wider so that the centerline of the caster axel is OUTSIDE the side of the leg. Here's the redesign. That eliminates the need for the eye hook and clasp shown.

Casters are mounted on a strip of plywood which is hinged to the bench leg. You'll notice that the hinge mounting holes have been elongated / slotted. I’ll explain later.
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The bench weighs about 150 lbs which makes it relatively easy to manually lift one end of the bench and with your foot, flip the casters inward which puts the bench back down on its original legs. If you didn’t want to manually lift it, you could also some kind of pry under the leg.
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I had to add a little eye hook latch to keep the casters in their raised position when moving it around. The set up tended to fold under if I rolled it around too fast. This design flaw could be avoided by making the mounting plywood a couple inches wider and setting the casters out past the end of the leg a tad.
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Now the reason for slotting the hinge holes as shown in the first picture. They’re slotted because with the casters in the down position, the hinge pin extends BELOW the bottom of the bench leg as you can see in the first picture. When the casters are folded to the inside, you don’t want the bench to rest on the hinge. By keeping the hinge mounting screws loose and having the holes elongated, the hinge raises up and the bench sits on its feet properly as shown in the second picture.