I’m certain this has been discussed to death, but please bare with me.
I’m in the process of thinking about a workbench. I’m getting tired of working off crates and sawhorses.
while the space required for a workbench seems like it will chew up a good portion of the shop when I’m done, I believe I can stll justify it if,..
1 I put it on retractable wheels to get it out of the way when not in use.
2 I put shelves and cabinets under it to store stuff.
If I do the later how much will that hurt it’s versitility? I saw someone clamp underneath the workbench with a long board and realized that having cabinets under there could prevent or reduce it’s use as another way to clamp things up..
Or am I over thinking this thing.. chances are I’ll never need to use a workbench like that..
One final question.. How do you keep the workbench from being covered with stuff all of the time?
Replies
frenchy
Are you over-thinking this thing. Not any more than over-thinking who you decide to marry. You got to live with it a long time. ha..ha..
I put drawers an a shelf under mine and still can clamp, which I feel is important to me on certain occasions. Think over-hang on the top, that will give you something to clamp to an still not waste space under-neath. You have to pull the drawer out a little farther to get full view, but I felt it was worth the compromise to get the ability to clamp.
Over-hang will not give the traditional look, but I'm not too traditional anyway. Bottom line is getting the job done, IMO. < G >
sarge..jt
Frenchy, build a 'Well' all around the table about 4" deep and 6" wide
(to hold loose tools and such.)
Add a band of 1/2"baltic ply to form a continous lip to keep your block plane and your ham and brie sandwich off the floor.
Add two non swivveling casters on one end, and two grip handles on the other side,to 'Jockey' the unit about. (Like a wheelbarrow) Stein.when you enclose the table for shelves, leave open spaces all around to facilitate clamping from all sides G,Luck,
I'd expect the table I build to wind up close to a thousand ponds or more.. not exxactly a wheel barrow thing, but I can use a floor jack to move it around with.. planned on the cast iron casters on one end just touching the floor.. that way when I jack up the opposite end it is on those two wheels.
frenchy
Missed one. "How do you keep the top from getting covered with stuff all the time"?
Place a card-board box on the floor at one end of the bench. Go to the other end an level your fore-arm across the bench-top. Make a sweeping motion across the top to the end with the card-board box. Your top is now "all-clear"! ha..ha..
sarge..jt
Hey frenchy pick up scott landis' workbench book from taunton if you havent already. Many great ideas to work from there.
Keeping the stuff off of the workbench requires two things. Disipline and easy access storage.
I have the book,
figured that at some point I'd build one, but I need to bend timbers and maybe I could do two things at once>>
Frenchy,
I like many on here love talking workbenches....so fire away with all the questions.
Bob's Workbench web page helped me a lot in deciding some of the key issues. The first piece of advice he provided that stuck with me is you'll probably build 3-4 workbenches over a lifetime...so, go with your current needs and change the workbench when the needs change.... Good quality vises can be reused....stretchers can be replaced and lengthened or shortened. The point being only the top needs to be rebilt.
On the spectrum of bench size you have Tage on one end and shaker style on the other. You can attach a sheet of ply under a small bench and standing on it while you plane...its stable.
My bench is quite heavy but movable...and I move it so i can have access to both sides for planing and such. I store wood underneath which adds weight but also can be easily removed.
I have a roll around set-up table which serves as an outfeed table and prepared stock storage for work in process. It gets cluttered when I'm working on the workbench....and the workbench gets cluttered when I using the set-up table for finishing, etc. clutter is unavoidable. I also built a large storage cabinet with box doors which is on the wall over my workbench...holds the power and hand tools.
Clamping to the workbench can be accomplished several ways...I have never needed to put a clamp from the top side to the bottom side of the workbench...you have holdfasts, pony clamps, Veritas thingies and strategically located holes to facilitate the clamping. However, there are always new challanges...clamping 24" boards vertically to cut dovetails...that may require pipe clamps from the front to the back of the bench.
So, relax and enjoy...it won't be your last bench...
One of the uses I see for the bench is to bend timbers.. (six by six is the start of timber sizes, the rest are just sticks) to do so You'd have to use the top as the form and the bottom of the top to clamp a long timber to underneath.
Building the complex parts of this timber frame are the first use and I won't get to furniture untill after the timber frame is finished.. years from now..
The first bit of furniture I intend to work on in the future will be a table for the great room.. something like 16x5 or six feet.. so it will be rather big and heavy..
Frenchy,
Two things:
First, I don't think its such a good idea for you and Terry to be talking directly to each other. A Woodaholic talking to a Shopaholic could have some dyre consequencies...like the creation of a swopaholic...ouch!
Second, I can't remember the tables/workbenches at the timberframing school Norm went to up in VT. when they were building the barn on TOH..does anyone else bemember the episode?
BG,
You make a good point. LOL
TerryRegistered Shopaholic
Aw heck, the addition of only one more addiction would probly go unnoticed.
besides if I get enough addictions maybe I could be considered normal??!!!!
you know, I'd have to divide my attention to a variety of things like most people do?
Myself I would want a big heavy stationary bench with like a double stack of drawers and a pair of sliding doors beside the drawer stacks. Thick top heavy duty all the way.
I would want it very stable so it would not move around
Like the BIG traditional work benches
Ron,
My saw horses are made of 4x4 black walnut.. I too like big heavy.. (I figured at one time I had over 11,000 ponds of timbers on them and they didn't wiggle an inch)
I added two 6 in x 24 in drawers side by side on top of the bottom stretchers for the legs to keep all the measuring and marking stuff that is always vanishes when you need it. This still allowed room to store the downdraft table which I usually use on the workbench and plenty of clearance for running cauls or clamps under the table.
Frenchy,
Since you asked, I gotta throw my two cents in.
I agree with Ron, the one universal quality that all benches aspire to is heaviness, solidness and stability. You know I think where you put the vises, what kind of vises you have, whether or not you have a tools tray, whether you have round dog holes or square dog holes, whether you have a traditional tail vise - all that stuff comes down to personal preference and personal syle of work and whether you want your bench to look classically beautiful or not.
But stability - you always want more stability. I have built two benches and if I could build the base with timbers the size of railroad ties, I probably would. I don't see a workbench as being roll-around portable. Maybe a three-quarter height assembly table could be portable.
Anyway, that's just my opinion,...But if you get a chance look at that Shaker workbench in "The Workbench Book." Those boys knew how to build a heavy, stable workbench.
Shaker Work Benches
I start drooling every time I see a picture of one
One of these days I will build myself one when I have a bigger shop - check out the 2 pic. sorry they are blurred but they are REAL Nice Work Benches
Heavy I like, sturdy I planned on.. the wheeels deal is I was gonna use a coupl of large cast iron wheels bolted to one end just touching the floor barely then use a floor jack under the other end to jack it up onto the wheels and roll it around.. that way when in use all of the wieght would be on the legs
Has anyone ever considered building some sort of fold down bench that's attached to a wall and folds up/down out of the way when not needed? It's something I've thought about doing in the past. What I envisioned was something that would had big a** piano hinges or something really sturdy like that strapped to the wall framing and with fold down, cross braced legs of some sort (4"x4" stock?) under the outside edge. The main appeal of this concept for me would be that it could be folded out of the way to maximize floor space in a small area. Something where not only the bench surface but the legs and everything are designed to fold against the wall when not in use.
Just a thought...
Regards,
Kevin
Kevin,
I've done it and it worked alright. There are lots of plans out there. I believe both Shop Notes and Workbench did articles on that. I can get the issue number for you if you want.
Problem is you can't walk around the bench. That's why I tore out a 14' long bench off my wall to build a mobile one. The new one isn't 14'. Another thing to consider is when you have a fold down bench, it has a tendency to remain folded down.
My shop is my garage and the convertible gets parked there too.
Len
Kevin,
While that may be one solution, the limitations of access to only three sides of a bench would soon wear..
Along with all the good, good advice, here's some moderate advice. Dont' get too hung up over it. No matter how long you agonize over it and perfect the design, you are almost sure to see someone's neat trick in a couple of years (or months), saying 'I wish I'd thoughta that'. The other thing is, your needs might very well change over time, so the bench perfect today wont' quite be perfect in a few years.
The good side is, you can always change it. The even better side is, the less agonizing and perfecting you have done, the less emotional investment you have in it, and you will be more willing to pick up your 77 and hack six inches off one end when you decide it might be just a tad too long (the workbench, I mean).
If space is an issue, the bench doesn't really have to be seven by four feet. Shelves, drawers or cabinets can be very convenient, especially when the things stored there are what you use at the bench.
As for avoiding junk on the top, the only remedy is persistent diligence in cleaning off the tabletop and putting stuff back in its place. I wouldn't know.
Retractable wheels are a great idea, there have been some good discussions and ideas here, especially w.r.t. stationary equipment. I have a homemade version from castors and 2x4s, but I was surprised to find my workbench not equally balanced on the four wheels. This must be related to the weight distribution in the drawers below, but it means I have to be careful not to tip it over when wheeling it in one direction.
Best of luck, Chris.
OK...I can't reisit any longer. Here is last years summer project.
Terry
Verrrrry Nice!
that's somthing along the lines that I'd imagined. (tell me the first time you spill a quart of glue or paint on it will you? I kinda imagine that'd be worse then the first dent in a new car)
Frenchy,
I cheat when I'm doing things that involve glue and such by covering the top with a piece of hardboard.
It has a bunch of scratches and such on it now, but it is a bench and that is to be expected. It's just "patina"...right???
TerryRegistered Shopaholic
Oh Yea!
Now that's a Great Work Bench I bet you love dont ya?
Can I come a live in your shop? Man oh Man clean tons of room I cant hardly stand it . Looks like you have a Great Shop also.
Can you tell us about the Bench?
Thanks for the Picture
Ron,
Thanks!!!
The bench was inspired by the bench in Woodsmith magazine Vol. 23/Number 133. I made some modifications to suit me better.
The base is all white oak, mortise and tenon construction. The corner posts are 3X3 and the stiles and rails are 1 1/2" thick. The floor and dividers in thebase are 3/4" ply.
The drawers are 1/2" baltic birch ply on full extension 100 lb. drawer slides. Drawer fronts were all cut from a grain matched glue up.
The raised panels in the doors are from some really cool tiger white oak, but the pics don't do it justice.
The top is 42 X99. It is a 3 layer 3/4 MDF glue up with plain sawn white oak ply on the top. The top is edgebanded with 1 1//2" white oak. The vise is the big Jorgensen. I use a bench puppy for the front dog holes.
The thing weighs a ton. Hope I don't ever have to move it. :-)
There is a complete tour of my shop on my site if you are interested.
http://www.terryhatfield.com
TerryRegistered Shopaholic
Some questions for you
What do you want to use the bench for?
Do you reach for the hand tool first or last when doing something?
From your what tool should I buy post, it sounds as though Dave Munkittrick's Ultimate Tool Stand may be the thing for you. I'd post a picture but can't get "attach files" to work at the moment. I'll try later
BTW what tool did you end up buying?
The picture i was trying to post earlier
third attempt at attaching the picture
the 3 hp shaper and a bunch of snap-on tools..
I'm sure I'm doing everything right
I click on Attach Files, Browse to the file I want, click Upload, wait till the file name appears in the windows then click done. I''ve tried it 4 times, let's see if it worked this time.
Rolling Tool Stand picture
I thought the same thing. I'm in the process of building it now. Cut most of the wood yesterday.
It's a hybrid of sorts. I've designed it to have casters and leveling feet. It has drawers on the front and a shelves on the back. It also has storage on the ends. For the bench top, I bought a 1-3/4 thick maple bench top. Yes, I know I should be gluing one up myself but I really don't have the time. I have a standard, quick release vise for the end and a pattern makers vise for the side.
I can clamp to it because the bench top is raised up. I have a plan but not all of it is on paper.
I can post the plan or send you the ACAD drawing of it. I'll take pictures as soon as it isn't just a pile of wood.
Len
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