What's your workbench look like?

dittle fart around · May 27, 2011

Here's my new workbench. The beautiful Vana White is showing the fine craftsmanship of this 30 x 72 all steel workbench. Actually that's my wife Donna playing the spokes model part, and doing a wonderful job, I must say.
Made of recycled soccer goal posts, my only expenses were the casters and a sheet of 1 1/8" plywood. All told it cost me 70 bucks and 18 hours labor. The steel came with a combination of rust and white paint and that took many hours to remove.
The new workbench takes the place of one I built when I was 19. That one started out as a stained glass workbench with an integrated light box (for seeing the pattern through dark colored glass). It had been moved many times and over 700 miles to it's current location. I modified it in 1991 to work as a mitre saw extension and general catch all in my garage. It was kinda sad to see the old bench go after 35 years of projects.
The idea behind the casters is so the new bench can be moved to accommodate the work. Roll it out onto the driveway, and I can use it as a extension for my table saw and save time sweeping the garage. Always a plus.

jimbob1 · May 27, 2011

Nice. I love steel framed work tables. That would be a great welding table frame.

milner351 · May 27, 2011

Nice work - anymore - I put casters on everything because the more stuff I have on casters the more I like working in my garage - as there's always a reason to make room here or there to get a project done.

Killer95Stang · May 27, 2011

great looking bench.... where do I find some of crappy rusty, painted goal post steel? It looks better than the new stuff I pay top dollar for..

Jim Stabe · May 27, 2011

3/4" steel top for fabricating. Receiver tubing in the corners for mounting tools (planishing hammer, shrinkers, beverly shear, vise, etc). It weight about 600 lbs

A29 · May 27, 2011

Hard to tell with all that **** on it.

daveroy · May 27, 2011

Mine looks something like this:
(not usually that messy... I swear it's not!)

The bottom two drawers are not really drawers but 'boxes' on three skate trucks each (probably older than I am... have steel wheels!)

dittle fart around · May 27, 2011

Killer95Stang said:
great looking bench.... where do I find some of crappy rusty, painted goal post steel? It looks better than the new stuff I pay top dollar for..

I do volunteer work for our local soccer club. They replace goals every 5 years or so

Jeff · May 27, 2011

Two workbenches along the back wall and a work/assembly table in the middle.

Marty256 · May 27, 2011

Wish I could weld; it would be steel!

billybudge · May 27, 2011

dittle fart around said:
Here's my new workbench.

Thats a great looking bench project,
I can not find My work benches as I have managed to camoflage them with a boat load of tools and bit and peices, but I know there in there somewhere,

bobbycoke · May 27, 2011

Don't know it is so messy haven't seen it in 3 months!

PCO6 · May 27, 2011

Here's mine ... on a "clean" day.

W650Mike · May 27, 2011

Right after a fresh pegboard and paint + re-sealed the bench top while it was cleared. ...It got a little cluttered since that photo...you know how it is.

mrobins297aaa · May 28, 2011

ever been there?.......not one ******** place to put something down.......lol

Adrien · May 28, 2011

For the time being, it looks like this:

That will change soon enough!

Adrien

frankkl · May 28, 2011

Mine is 10' long. Half is steel, half is mdf. I will probably change the top for a full sheet of 3/16 steel.

Jackfre · May 28, 2011

That is nice work. I too use casters for most everything. I did have a fab table, steel with 1" steel top, 3x4', that got some heavy work. While the casters were satisfactory I needed a really solid base. I made some bracketts just inside the legs that had 3/4" threaded rod, thru rod couplings and jam nut backers. When I needit it to stay put I'd lower them and I could precisely level the table top.

regguy1 · May 28, 2011

Home made bench, plywood and 2" x 4" legs

domain · May 28, 2011

First is old set up, Second is Newest set up.

larry_g · May 28, 2011

Jim Stabe said:
3/4" steel top for fabricating. Receiver tubing in the corners for mounting tools (planishing hammer, shrinkers, beverly shear, vise, etc). It weight about 600 lbs

Jim
Along the bottom of your bench is a rod/bumper looking thing. Is that a wheel lock of some kind or some other ingenious invention?

lg
no neat sig line

billybudge · May 28, 2011

PCO6 said:
Here's mine ... on a "clean" day.

Wow, come on, that make me so jealous. thats it I,m off to the shed to start digging my benches out, time for a sort out,
great stuff,

billybudge · May 28, 2011

jimbob1 said:
Nice. I love steel framed work tables. That would be a great welding table frame.

that is outstanding, it must be time for me to sort all my gear out, as all mine is pilled up like a giant pyramid, lol

billybudge · May 28, 2011

mrobins297aaa said:
ever been there?.......not one ******** place to put something down.......lol

Thats more like it, looks very similer to mine. love it,

Jack Olsen · May 28, 2011

I like workbenches -- and I probably have too many of them for a 20x22 garage.

Here's a tour. They're all cleaned up for the pictures.

1) Smallest is this little 3/16" thick welding table. I keep my table saw underneath it. Right now there's a band saw on top of it (that's on its way to being restored):

2) Behind it is my main bench, a solid-core door on a toolbox:

3) This big boy is an inch-thick steel-topped table for fabrication (and persuasion) work. That's a very sturdy cabinet underneath.

4) I've got an island type bench against the center pillar of the garage. It's birch butcher block. More storage underneath.

5) At the opening to the garage, I've got one I made out of 2" rectangle tubing.

6) Around the little sink, there's a 1/8" steel topped, also with cabinets underneath.

7) On the parking side, I've got a table I use to hold my router -- and sometimes for cutting with the miter saw. It's covered with two layers of 3/4" plywood.

8) Next to it is a 1/8" thick welding table.

Both of them fold up and out of the way when they're not in use.

9) And speaking of out of the way, I've also recently put in a hydraulic lift table, which comes up to the height of the other benches and can function as one, in a pinch.

10) Finally, there's a spare 1/8"-steel-table suspended up along the ceiling. This is the one I used to build the sections of my wrought-iron fence.

biscuit141 · May 28, 2011

Damn Jack, your garage never ceases to amaze me.

uxhamby · May 28, 2011

Here is mine in one of its cleaner moments lately:

Cobra5150 · May 28, 2011

Dunno,
I haven't been able to see mine in quite a while.

jeffk14 · May 29, 2011

regguy1 said:
Home made bench, plywood and 2" x 4" legs

A bit OT, but it looks like you've got the same Hobart cover and the same "Deluxe" welding cabinet from Northern that I've got. Is that a Handler 187 under the cover there?

I just got my setup, so I can't evaluate, but I liked the deluxe cabinet better than some of the others. I got mine for $189.99 on sale. :thumbup:

Pharmteck · May 29, 2011

biscuit141 said:
Damn Jack, your garage never ceases to amaze me.

Yes But.... Its always the same pic's in just about every other thread. :headscrat

PCO6 · May 29, 2011

Pharmteck said:
Yes But.... Its always the same pic's in just about every other thread.

I think that's because it's basically the same garage.

If you follow any of Jack's threads or postings you will see that he has made lot of interesting improvements over time.

VegasBruce · May 29, 2011

Here is mine.

Morrisman · May 29, 2011

I have nothing remarkable bench-wise, but I plan t build a heavy topped steel fabricating bench some time when my new 'shop is done.

What I want is solid and heavy, but with some sort of lever operated castor system to raise it 1/4" and allow me to move it, then drop it back solidly on four legs.

A bit like this one in construction, with storage and stuff underneath, welder maybe, but four inner castors that are out of the way..

Here's the bench in my last shop, but it has been rented out now we've moved overseas. Can't really see much, but it is back there, buried under rod parts.

Bryan83taco · May 29, 2011

Not much bench space but seems to be working out so far.

regguy1 · May 29, 2011

jeffk14 said:
A bit OT, but it looks like you've got the same Hobart cover and the same "Deluxe" welding cabinet from Northern that I've got. Is that a Handler 187 under the cover there?

I just got my setup, so I can't evaluate, but I liked the deluxe cabinet better than some of the others. I got mine for $189.99 on sale.

I've got the Hobart 140, the cabinet is very handy and keeps things neat and where needed..... OT?

regguy1 · May 29, 2011

Pharmteck said:
Yes But.... Its always the same pic's in just about every other thread.

Yes but.....the poster wanted to see workbenches and certainly Jack has a great selection. The poster might not have seen other threads, if he gets one idea that helps someone it's worth it.

jeffk14 · May 29, 2011

regguy1 said:
I've got the Hobart 140, the cabinet is very handy and keeps things neat and where needed..... OT?

OT = off-topic

steel 35 · May 29, 2011

Here is my tackle work bench the only clean bench I have, yes its cheaper to build up. and yes this picture can be found a few lines down as well!
View media item 9905

Morrisman · May 30, 2011

Bryan83taco said:
Not much bench space but seems to be working out so far.

An old hand told me long ago: "you don't need a bench more than a yard or two long, 'cos all you do is pile junk on most of it".

He was right, I built a twelve foot bench, and only ever managed to work on 3' of it. :dunno:

Better to have a decent, reasonable sized, bench, and lots of shelves. :thumbup:

28HopUp · May 30, 2011

Here's the one I built in our basement -

View media item 7859

I haven't put up the pegboard along the right wall yet, but I have managed to keep the work surfaces from getting cluttered up. (that's an accomplishment in itself!)

What's your workbench look like?

Well-known member

Attachments

Active member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Super Moderator

Well-known member

New member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Active member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member