Question for Workbench Design

[Souljer]

Hi,

I'm building my workbench and had an idea based on some found materials.

I got the 8' x 2' stainless steel top from Sears. I was going to rest it on one or two roll cabs but after you guys replied here and I looked at a bunch of other workbenches on here with a more educated eye, I decided the bench needs to stand on it's own. A roll cab of some kind will still end up underneath but not as a load bearing member.

Right now the top is on two sawhorses and is carrying the top box, but this feels quite wobbly and not secure. Also DEFINITELY need a plywood panel below or something to spread the load and even up the surface. So in reading about the benches and seeing so many examples I have questions for the group.
- Instead of building the typical four wooden legs + stringers across...

I found some "U" channel aluminum that is quite thick. It really looks more like half an I-Beam: this shape " [ " and is 12" across. So I was thinking of getting two of those about 40" tall and then connecting them with "L" angles that span the length of the top between the two legs. Maybe an extra angle also connecting the bottom of the legs, at least in back. If this is strong enough, I'd like to keep the front open so I can someday roll a cab in.

Here is a sketch of what I had in mind for the legs and frame. Do you think this would work?
As you can see, I was also playing with the possibility of bending sheet aluminum into boxes to form the supports. I like the idea of fewer parts, but that seemed like a lot of work right now. So here, instead of two parts plus bolts, there will be four or five parts plus bolts. That's still a lot less than building it out of wood.


I'm going to find out how much it will cost. Unless you guys tell me it will not work for some reason. Hmm, just thought: maybe a bottom panel (underneath) that connects the legs to strengthen the whole structure, spreads the load and acts as load dispersal for the cab when it's on it. Would that work?

The top box I got this week. Here it is in my truck.

This thing is a lot bigger in person than it looks in pictures. It absorbed a whole bunch of stuff that I was keeping in bags, boxes and tool boxes. I'll probably go for the matching bottom box if I can save up the money in time. Looking at this thing on the bench for real, I have to say, overall these two would be plenty of storage for now. I'll get a giant something later when I have more room.

Weird coincidence finding a used one in black and stainless when I'm looking for a black or gray box to go with my stainless bench top.

Anyway, please tell me what you think of the base idea. Will that work as a support for a bench top that's 96" x 24"?

 

[Steevo]

I would have legs at both ends and in the center for an 8' bench. That is a long span to support from just the ends, which will mean tall angle or beams or whatever you use to support the span. With center legs, you won't need more than 2" angle between the legs to support the open span.
The beefy aluminum channel you found would make very strong ends, but is probably overkill. 2" square or round tubing is more than sturdy enough to support a ton, and with decent bracing will eliminate wobbles, too.

 

[Souljer]

Hi,

Thanks for your comments Steevo. Very much appreciate some technical support from the more experienced here.

So taking your advise, I'll probably use 1.5" angle as stringers and set up the middle leg to create a pocket for the lower roll cab to sit off to one side (about 40" wide, but end legs won't be right at the edge, maybe 6" in from the edge). This will make the leg off center but close to it and leave an open space for me to use for shelves or storing larger things, etc. I'll also check to see if they have a thinner " [ " channel which might be less expensive.

Any opinions on using an aluminum panel bent into a box as support legs (also visible in the sketch)? I was thinking four sides and an end panel. Would that be hard to do? With something that size and necessary gauge I mean. Or could that be just as strong but made with thinner, less expensive and less difficult gauge?

Thanks again, really appreciate your help.

 

[BWS]

Might look into metal studs used in commercial buildings?They're cheap and easily obtained......going for the "industrial look",haha.Good luck,BW

 

[Steevo]

Hi,

Thanks for your comments Steevo. Very much appreciate some technical support from the more experienced here.

So taking your advise, I'll probably use 1.5" angle as stringers and set up the middle leg to create a pocket for the lower roll cab to sit off to one side (about 40" wide, but end legs won't be right at the edge, maybe 6" in from the edge). This will make the leg off center but close to it and leave an open space for me to use for shelves or storing larger things, etc. I'll also check to see if they have a thinner " [ " channel which might be less expensive.

Any opinions on using an aluminum panel bent into a box as support legs (also visible in the sketch)? I was thinking four sides and an end panel. Would that be hard to do? With something that size and necessary gauge I mean. Or could that be just as strong but made with thinner, less expensive and less difficult gauge?

Thanks again, really appreciate your help.

That is pretty much how Craftsman makes theirs:
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-prof...p-00959186000P?prdNo=7&blockNo=7&blockType=G7

Personally I like steel. Steel square tubing and steel angle iron. That is what I used to make my bench frame:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126086&highlight=Toolboxes+workbench

 

[akdiesel]

Might look into metal studs used in commercial buildings?They're cheap and easily obtained......going for the "industrial look",haha.Good luck,BW

Not sure what gauge material those studs are but they are designed to work in conjunction with some sort of sheet material for side load strength. All the metal studs I have seen don't seem to be suitable to handle shear strength alone.
I really like the strut products. Easy to weld if needed as well as bolting together with the associated brackets. They come in 12 gauge and the 1 5/8" channel will support an 8' foot span horizontally of approx 600# easily.
This is what I used to frame my 11' bench, but I am also using my cabinets to support it. The channel also houses my electrical and airlines to conceal them.

 

[Souljer]

Might look into metal studs used in commercial buildings?They're cheap and easily obtained......going for the "industrial look",haha.Good luck,BW

Not sure what gauge material those studs are but they are designed to work in conjunction with some sort of sheet material for side load strength. All the metal studs I have seen don't seem to be suitable to handle shear strength alone.
I really like the strut products. Easy to weld if needed as well as bolting together with the associated brackets. They come in 12 gauge and the 1 5/8" channel will support an 8' foot span horizontally of approx 600# easily.
This is what I used to frame my 11' bench, but I am also using my cabinets to support it. The channel also houses my electrical and airlines to conceal them.

Hi,

Unfortunately, not being experienced with building materials, I have no idea what you two are talking about.
I like the idea of cheap and easy to obtain and using the interior of the channels to house electrical, etc.

Please help cure my ignorance.
Explanation or links please.

Thanks for the link to the Craftsman table Steevo. I thought I could build something better and cheaper, which my above design did accomplish. However in looking around your link I found out the the 8' bench frame is on sale so it's cheaper now. My version might be stronger though. Somewhere on GarageJournal (I think somewhere in the "Show Us Your Workbench" thread) I saw that someone had set up the 8' bench and commented that it was a little unstable.

Another thing, mentioned on another thread, is that this is going to be in a second story apartment, not a ground floor garage with a concrete floor. So weight is an issue. Also I don't want to weld up there even if I knew how. I thought the aluminum parts would provide the strength needed at a fraction of the weight.

I did read Part III of your bench build already. Thanks for the link.

Anyway, thanks everyone. Still listening and open to ideas and suggestions.
Thanks for taking the time to post here.

 

[akdiesel]

Sorry I did not include a name for the strut. Unistrut is the preferred name but others also make it with a different name. Lowes and Home Depot sell it on a lesser scale than Unistrut. These can be bolted together as I mentioned earlier.
Steevo has a great bench but if you can not weld in that area than this may be for you.
The aluminum is great stuff but you will have to gusset the corners or bolt it really well to stop any wobbling since you won't be welding it.