The bench of procrastination

[The mean fish]

I've been putting off building a much needed work bench for my shop for a few years now and I'm finally getting close to wrapping up the build. I've been taking lots of pics to keep track of the build so here's the story.

While finishing up chemo treatments in 2012 I was given a pile of heavy angle iron by a buddy, it's been laying in the grass behind my shop since I unloaded it and I've always had intentions of building work surfaces for my shop out of it.

A couple months ago I pulled a couple 22' sticks of angle up to the shop and began formulating a plan. Most of what I was given is 1.75" x 3/8" thick angle iron. My shop is a disaster area so please excuse the mess.

1/2/2016

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/1598_10154721199153849_6751729509835595597_n.jpg?oh=38fe974353ffd8afe37083a91a8e320a&oe=57505942

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10884_10154721199158849_1186881787522668613_n.jpg?oh=269b97a4e5face8088141ce3baf21628&oe=57512ACE

 

[The mean fish]

My intention was to somewhat copy what Steevo did with the HF tool boxes. I picked up 3 of them last year.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10577211_10154721195813849_3894125118353498595_n.jpg?oh=a9c3623b40a273626bc1ca4ecc426dcf&oe=574EEF96

This bench will live where those 3 boxes are now, I'm only putting 2 of the boxes in the bench though. I've got 12' wide by 42" deep to work with, I'm putting it in between my pallet rack uprights to create a work area.

I started by building a square frame for the bottom which is 12' wide x 29" deep.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/21615_10154721199138849_7308331822513188615_n.jpg?oh=0cc87b3ae8566ae745d4f8dd9dc019b9&oe=576FE8D8

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlf1/v/t1.0-9/10409081_10154721199143849_4258619995203039970_n.jpg?oh=7ad70f6fc534eb381dcafe5dda2c597d&oe=574C229B

I'm no expert welder and I'm building this with my Millermatic 175 so I'm beveling all the joints to get the best welds I can.

 

[The mean fish]

I tried using some saw horses to save my back but things were getting too heavy so I moved to the floor.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t1.0-9/10357175_10154721199148849_2308758222906850679_n.jpg?oh=9c6b06941aa18c68abf20ff87319d86b&oe=57581FD6

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I got the bottom welded in and squared then I started on the uprights.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/12400762_10154723111413849_323197133101524348_n.jpg?oh=f1193d668410303106b006ce7382f159&oe=575AB098

 

[Kevin54]

Great job so far on the bench, but I mainly wanted to post to tell you that I'm glad to hear you finished up your chemo treatments. I won't ask what kind of cancer or any particulars unless you want to tell. But my wife went through chemo and radiation, and she is in four years remission now, and will be five years this coming Sept. Congrats man!!!

 

[The mean fish]

I started piecing the frame together from there.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/v/t1.0-9/1918250_10154723463158849_5700564982136790030_n.jpg?oh=c18d80bfbe64f85aad230e2e02c0c3e0&oe=574FECFC

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtl1/v/t1.0-9/12039379_10154723495638849_2377537519894847453_n.jpg?oh=0d5376c249b19092ab340bae736fe093&oe=5798F970

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[The mean fish]

Great job so far on the bench, but I mainly wanted to post to tell you that I'm glad to hear you finished up your chemo treatments. I won't ask what kind of cancer or any particulars unless you want to tell. But my wife went through chemo and radiation, and she is in four years remission now, and will be five years this coming Sept. Congrats man!!!

I'm not shy about it at all, I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in Sept. 2012. By luck I found it very early by feeling an enlarged lymph node in my right arm which we thought was just a cyst. I had it removed and got the call nobody wants. I did chemo and very limited radiation and I've been in remission since Dec. 2012.

 

[RedTailHawk]

I've been researching welding and want to learn to weld. Where do you get this kind of metal? The big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes) only seem to have 4' lengths of metal. Maybe they have longer lengths in a different section of the store?

 

[The mean fish]

The bench top was going to be about 30" deep so the bench will be a bit deeper than the boxes. The boxes are 42 1/8" wide so I planned all of this around a top opening of 43" wide. My front openings will be 41 1/2" wide and 33" tall.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-9/12717465_10154831848338849_6621121901929616472_n.jpg?oh=40a5609d9a681d2b8624f0efacfbb7fa&oe=579940FA

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfl1/v/t1.0-9/12743793_10154831848333849_445220842842377366_n.jpg?oh=18ab473c21565c6ea983b25883e73e8b&oe=576E8705

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10609662_10154831983648849_520413308152223383_n.jpg?oh=1a665b52f495ea60bb17cfb6565a34ba&oe=5764DF50

The center section between the boxes will become a sitting area for a stool or chair. I do a lot of soldering and stuff like that so I wanted a nice place to work on stuff.

 

[The mean fish]

I've been researching welding and want to learn to weld. Where do you get this kind of metal? The big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes) only seem to have 4' lengths of metal. Maybe they have longer lengths in a different section of the store?

Any steel supplier can get stuff like this at a fraction of the cost of big box store prices. I get all my steel from SSS Steel in the Houston area, they're a national company.

 

[The mean fish]

So I'm no pro but I did my best to give me the strongest and best joints I could end up with. The second pic is my worst cut, I had a decent gap to fill but I didn't have the energy to cut it again so I just filled it.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfl1/v/t1.0-9/12742577_10154832000948849_2657611072744465112_n.jpg?oh=ce1484342c3f0453f7d9abbf8f48c5c0&oe=57615B10

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/12743820_10154832000943849_7087004395038130_n.jpg?oh=fad430699b913d7bed5ea81517c8fe71&oe=57592D5A

 

[The mean fish]

At this point I welded up all the corners and flipped the frame over. I welded some nuts to the bottom to accommodate the feet that I bought. I placed everything the best I could so the feet wouldn't screw up into the bottom of the tool boxes. I put in 8 feet total and I did some grinding on the bottom welds so they wouldn't cause me any issues in the future.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/12734276_10154832319808849_7433195991446403002_n.jpg?oh=f16c277f87502df29548d8b0aa6ce182&oe=574DFB14

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[The mean fish]

I decided to weld some support into the frame for my old rusty Wilton vise that needs to be rebuilt.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpl1/v/t1.0-9/12717827_10154843034173849_6098970806526750311_n.jpg?oh=e987dba78e1736dbacc2a16835426aca&oe=574AFDB9

I also cut the center section out in the bottom and moved it forward to allow for a chair or a stool to be pushed under the sitting area. I flipped it 90 degrees putting the flat section at the top for a foot rest.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/12715739_10154843034188849_5648407166353953089_n.jpg?oh=6b8e4cf53cf617bb6e0932a232b63c45&oe=575865D0

 

[The mean fish]

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/12745845_10154843034198849_3733491461732778194_n.jpg?oh=57e4fc50b1a64edcdd7c82fb75d5abba&oe=574EEEDE

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I built a couple simple dollies to move it around before things got too heavy to lift.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtl1/v/t1.0-9/12742357_10154843193573849_8608413509919744026_n.jpg?oh=26c5d6bd3e9ac9b08a61d1c01fa1b33b&oe=576B3CC7

 

[1/2 Cup]

Wow your bench is looking fantastic.

Regards

 

[The mean fish]

I drilled some small holes in the top of the frame all the way around to allow for a wood top to be screwed down from the under side easily.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/12741959_10154843034208849_6857662345760150535_n.jpg?oh=9bc48443ab178450b6e6981361c12920&oe=5759D0FE

I gave her a good clean up with a wire wheel, wiped all the cutting oil and junk off with acetone and got it ready for paint. I put on one full coat of matte black TSC implement paint and didn't like the dull finish so I did a final coat of glass black.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/12744329_10154847398398849_3828041949392945321_n.jpg?oh=5a21e3ac9926060cc67c609f64d50c26&oe=5755F763

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[The mean fish]

So using a Warn Pullzall I lifted the empty HF boxes and dropped them down into the openings once I took the casters off. They fit perfect, much better than I even expected. I've got just enough overlap on the front to leave no gap but I've got plenty space for the drawers and even the lock to be accessible.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/12321581_10154852484468849_2197738537342268327_n.jpg?oh=143d5b0ef0a846d1d44aeff727c8a699&oe=574C7B25
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[The mean fish]

The second box went in just as easily.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfl1/v/t1.0-9/1476460_10154853572513849_7576207758140617707_n.jpg?oh=6c38e066add1885a432f6ae9c8fd22cd&oe=574B2635

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10399057_10154853572518849_7936004379736197880_n.jpg?oh=3037b4e1421237c845b8eb90ac8823b4&oe=57682F4B

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[TK-421]

That's looking pretty good, bet it'll get a ton of use when you're done. Have you thought about putting cabinets or something on the wall above it for more organization?

 

[The mean fish]

At this point I let it sit for a couple days, I still hadn't decided on what to do for a top. I thought about double plywood, laminate, steel, etc but hadn't made up my mind. A buddy recently bought a solid core 36" x 80" solid wood door slab from HD for $54 which was about 1 3/4" thick. It was very beefy so I decided on using a pair of these slabs to create my top.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10400458_10154857257303849_1277954240885972271_n.jpg?oh=27a3fa53dd43f608c29eefda077bae67&oe=574B1B59

The plan was to cut them down so that the seam landed in the center of the sitting area. I also cut 8" off the side of each door to give me to the right depth. I ran the sections I cut off through my table saw for a clean edge and used them as a 7 1/2" tall "back splash" on the top. I just hand cut the 12' long cut since nobody would ever see that edge anyway.

This was before I cleaned up the edge, I just sat them up there to see how it would look.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfl1/v/t1.0-9/9868_10154865637583849_1535485977116515892_n.jpg?oh=adea8629947351d528e8d8ea628126df&oe=5762841F

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfl1/v/t1.0-9/12806142_10154865637608849_6363967064536367052_n.jpg?oh=bf98933fee00e807d21e05f94f01399f&oe=5762CC71

 

[The mean fish]

That's looking pretty good, bet it'll get a ton of use when you're done. Have you thought about putting cabinets or something on the wall above it for more organization?

It's going to sit under/inside of my pallet rack, I've already built this pallet rack shelf which will end up above the top of the work bench.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlp1/v/t1.0-9/997047_10153260724948849_542650768208176227_n.jpg?oh=63f9045d2cf49385603062d6b539523c&oe=574D8D69

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/10665768_10153260725263849_980164740853999512_n.jpg?oh=5afcc5b684895ee4a085c0b4ba6ec80c&oe=574A7CF0

It'll live right where the boxes are now.

 

[The mean fish]

The dirty edge will get hidden behind everything so I didn't mess with it at all.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/12799254_10154865640758849_1891774200806242719_n.jpg?oh=39dc1431806ea05f3e82acc0d822deb3&oe=574CAA71

I did the clean cut them put the back sections on for a clean fit, they worked out great.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlp1/v/t1.0-9/12800119_10154865730103849_6087485803053974671_n.jpg?oh=d8064be530770dd5694f7bb13fad50b9&oe=575016AE

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[The mean fish]

In those last photos you can see how I butchered the end cut on the wood when I cut the end off. My circular saw wasn't liking those solid doors much at all. You can also see a slight offset on the front edge of the doors, because I butted bottom to bottom on the doors the end tapers didn't match up but I'll cover all that up soon anyway.

 

[The mean fish]

Once I got the top in place I started to think about some sort of front edge protection for the wood. I don't plan on beating things to death on this surface but I'd still like something harder on the front edge than some pine. I decided to dig a piece of 1/4" 2x2 angle iron out of the yard and use that on the front edge of the wood.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfl1/v/t1.0-9/12802844_10154868182323849_9004095537149854869_n.jpg?oh=6f5cae3e7c12a4adc4030611b2155089&oe=576C5BEB

I used the steel as a guide for my router and I routed a section of the front so the steel would end up flush with the work surface.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpl1/v/t1.0-9/10006188_10154868182313849_3119383516740619162_n.jpg?oh=66a2bad68af7a7abc8f1914dd55d02d7&oe=574E99A3

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After a ton of massaging and sanding I got a pretty good fit. I left a little bit of a reveal to **** down once I bolted the front edge on.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/12718367_10154866272128849_6951821001478221027_n.jpg?oh=11149c265ad5f0e0d24b613d2c7ae7d2&oe=5765071E

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[The mean fish]

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-9/12790982_10154866272303849_7826839781688347309_n.jpg?oh=763a7ae070af3f1304a771a655e7b4db&oe=575530F6

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Once I was happy with the fit I drilled and countersunk some holes which go all the way through the angle iron frame sandwiching the wood in the center.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10403334_10154866652038849_3511464016303855022_n.jpg?oh=2be4002ae3c75cdf97de1faa03aaab65&oe=5765269A

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I used some torx trailer decking screws that I had to hold it down, they're self tapping and fit pretty well.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/12189094_10154866652033849_7878710183691555170_n.jpg?oh=72dd849ccc3e5cd78fdecf7db39aaf76&oe=575172D9

 

[The mean fish]

That basically takes me to present time, I drilled out the vise holes and got it test fit last night. I'm going to pull the vise and the front edge off tonight, cut it to length and prep it for black paint. I plan to tear down the vise and repaint it black/red as well.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlp1/v/t1.0-9/12802744_10154866770763849_5559908714227183306_n.jpg?oh=9dfe9e10da7ef56ca82eea94bc86bee7&oe=57527B64

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[The mean fish]

I'm going to stain the wood black and either do some sort of wax or polyurethane on it for protection. I'm going to try getting it done by next weekend. I'm 2 months in already, what's another week?

 

[65cayne]

I'm going to stain the wood black and either do some sort of wax or polyurethane on it for protection. I'm going to try getting it done by next weekend. I'm 2 months in already, what's another week?

Awesome bench and vise. Time and effort are paying dividends. Looking forward to the final product.

 

[PugetDude]

Great job on the build, thanks for documenting it and sharing the pics with us.

 

[CNGsaves]

LOVE the routered edge for angle iron on solid wood door top !!

Keep the PIC's coming. Excellent work.

 

[941designs]

Great job! I never get tired of well documented builds!

 

[RedVise]

I've been in remission since Dec. 2012.

Excellent !!

However... tell me you are moving those gas cans away from your welding area !! If I am looking at the pics wrong, no harm no foul !

Looks like a nice set up, I like a bench I can sit down at if needed .

Brian

 

[Aspen RT]

Looks great!!! Thanks for posting the pics as you go.

 

[The mean fish]

Excellent !!

However... tell me you are moving those gas cans away from your welding area !! If I am looking at the pics wrong, no harm no foul !

Looks like a nice set up, I like a bench I can sit down at if needed .

Brian

The cans are all empty, I usually take them out when I do any welding just to get them away from sparks. I've been airing them out for a long time now I can install some air vents that I bought.

 

[chipss36]

very nice work, in metal and wood...

 

[Pluribus]

Nicely done!

 

[Steevo]

Sweet bench build.
Nice work.

 

[AMCguy]

love it.

 

[pancho400cid]

I was going to build a procrastination bench.... but I never got around to it....!

Very nice work!

 

[KraftwerkMk1Jetta]

That's a killer work bench! Well done!

 

[95riosnake]

Very nicely done, that is some super heavy duty angle too.