Alemite work bench make over

[don long]

I'm about 1/2 way through the restoration of one of my Alemite work benches.

I bought this bench in Wyoming a few years ago with the intention of making it look like new again.

About a month ago I brought the bench into the work shop and started the project

2019-08-30 16.11.27 by don long, on Flickr

It was decided to give the bench a face lift and a new image. It will be called the Pennzoil bench.

 

[don long]

With the help of a good friend that dropped by one day we dismantled the entire back section of the bench by first unbolting the bench from the back section

2020-02-07 16.11.51 by don long, on Flickr

The front doors needed to come off, then the back panels and cross brace

2020-02-15 17.35.58 by don long, on Flickr

Then it was time to separate the top from the sides

2020-02-15 17.35.28 by don long, on Flickr

2020-02-15 18.04.20-2 by don long, on Flickr

 

[don long]

Now was the time to strip all the moldings off and remove all the side pieces.
This was a rather simple step to get to the main course of this project (THE BODY WORK) I ended up with 9 pieces that needed dents removed and painted

I started with the top of the unit, ground the paint off with my D.A. and 80 grit sand paper. by moving the sander across the panel evenly I could see where the dents were.

2020-02-23 13.08.11 by don long, on Flickr

A little hammer and dolly treatment and a coat of bondo and lots of sanding
with my long block hooked to my vacuum with 80 grit paper the top was soon ready for primer

2020-03-03 16.35.12 by don long, on Flickr

2020-02-23 13.08.01 by don long, on Flickr

I worked over each of the side pieces before moving them into the booth for the first coat of primer

2020-02-26 10.37.19 by don long, on Flickr

Into the booth with a load of parts along with a pennzoil sign base i've been working on

2020-02-26 18.10.58 by don long, on Flickr

 

[PugetDude]

Subscribed immediately.
This one's going to be good, Don!

 

[royce]

Right on Don
Going to be a dandy

Royce

 

[turbowoodworker]

Nice project Don, thanks for sharing.
Rick

 

[samss]

Looking forward to seeing the finished project. Do you plan to put it to use or showcase?

 

[Stuart in MN]

I always wondered what those things looked like when disassembled. What kind of material did they use for the bench top?

 

[redragoon]

Very nice set. Subscribed as well.

 

[don long]

Subscribed immediately.
This one's going to be good, Don!

Thanks Dude

Right on Don
Going to be a dandy

Royce

Thanks Royce
I like what you have been doing!!

Nice project Don, thanks for sharing.
Rick

Hi Rick
You're welcome

Looking forward to seeing the finished project. Do you plan to put it to use or showcase?

samss
I'm looking forward to seeing it finished too. It will be on display in my 1930's garage

I always wondered what those things looked like when disassembled. What kind of material did they use for the bench top?

Stuart
The bench top is like a 14 gauge steel pretty heavy the rest of the box is like 20 gauge light weight stuff

Very nice set. Subscribed as well.

Thanks redragoon
I'll try not to disappoint!!

 

[don long]

Here is a progress report.
The top of the bench is now a bright red color along with the 4 pieces that go down the sides of the pillars

2020-03-05 12.02.11 HDR by don long, on Flickr

2020-03-05 12.03.21 by don long, on Flickr

The only part that will be yellow is the back steel peg board panel and when finished it will have the Pennzoil logo hand painted in the center of it

2020-03-03 16.34.42-1 by don long, on Flickr

The pillars and front doors were painted black

2020-03-07 15.34.29 by don long, on Flickr

2020-03-07 15.34.21 HDR by don long, on Flickr

Next the parts will be reassembled.

.

 

[Skylarkgp]

That will be beautiful!

 

[Wanna Ride]

Looks like an awesome project. Can’t wait to see more progress pics!

 

[Bears Fan]

Beautiful

 

[wrenchguy]

Neat 4 sure! Any idea of model or year?

 

[Growlertdi]

umm yes!

 

[LXCam]

That’s going to be spectacular Don.

 

[don long]

Thanks guys. I'm happy to see so much interest in my project.

Wrench guy
The bench is from the early 50's and it is a stand alone bench without the side cabinets that most Alemite benches had.

I worked on the bench yesterday, I color sanded and buffed the red paint then put the sliding doors on the 2 sides and mounted the red top to the uprights and this is what it looks like this morning

2020-03-09 17.40.40 by don long, on Flickr


I did drop off the yellow back panels to have the Pennzoil logo painted on and it will take a few days before we see them again and I've started polishing the stainless molding that go around the top

2020-03-10 15.24.44 by don long, on Flickr

.

 

[4xdog]

The black and red look terrific, Don.

 

[don long]

The black and red look terrific, Don.

Thanks 4xdog I really like that color combo too.

Made a little more progress on the alemite project today.
The upper molding that I was polishing got installed along with 2 lights in the top.
The Back portion of the bench is finished less the pegboard back so I put the work bench in

front of the back for a picture

2020-03-11 15.42.07 by don long, on Flickr

Now it's time to start on the work bench

2020-03-11 16.20.27 by don long, on Flickr

I took the top and the doors off the bench

2020-03-11 19.08.32 by don long, on Flickr

I've cleaned all the grease and grime out of the insides of the bench and sanded both shelves and sides. Then turned the bench up side down to work on the bottom of the shelves and straighten the kick panel.

2020-03-11 19.08.03 by don long, on Flickr

Tomorrow I hope to paint the inside of the bench.

.

 

[TMcCay]

Outstanding work. I am looking forward to seeing the finished project!

 

[Bill Bowman]

Don:

Very nice project. Thanks for taking time to post the process.

 

[don long]

Thanks guys. I happy to share.

Today it has been raining hard all day so I stayed in the shop working on the work bench. I've managed to strip all the old paint off the bench inside and out

2020-03-12 14.58.40 by don long, on Flickr

After stripping the paint off the bottom of the shelves, I left the bench turned over because most of the needed bodywork on the bench is on the lower section.

2020-03-12 14.58.22 by don long, on Flickr

The bench body is ready for primer with all the bodywork finished.
Next I started looking at the doors that were removed from the bench. One is in very rough shape ao I started on it first. The outer door looked like a bag of walnuts and the inside reinforcement looked to have been bent in the middle

2020-03-12 13.08.30 by don long, on Flickr

So I cut the bent section out of the reinforcement and started straightening the door by putting several shrink spots on the face of the door. After pulling the door tight again I ground the paint off and bondoed the entire door

2020-03-12 14.58.12 by don long, on Flickr

After 3 coats of bondo (sanding in between each coat) I'm finally ready for the finish coat and a little more sanding

 

[Bears Fan]

Just curious! you stated you put several shrink spots in the door, did you do this with just a shrinking hammer and dolly? and when you cut out the bent spot on the back support did you weld a new piece back in its place?

Great work! Always amazed at the speed of how you get the job done

 

[don long]

Thanks for asking B.F.
I haven't welded the piece that I cut out in yet. The shrink spots were made with an electric prob that generates heat in a pointed area and it makes a hot spot 1/2 the size of a dime.

2020-03-14 14.01.52 by don long, on Flickr

2020-03-14 14.01.39 by don long, on Flickr



The back of the bench is completed less the peg board back and so I'ne moved it into place in the 30's garage under the Pennzoil sign

2020-03-13 17.12.06 by don long, on Flickr

 

[Monza Harry]

Don I LOVE that colour Combo Thanx for Sharing!

 

[Monza Harry]

Don I LOVE that colour Combo! I can hardly wait for the finished work of Art! Thanx for Sharing!
2020-03-13 17.12.06 by don long, on Flickr[/QUOTE]

 

[RStewart]

All of your projects are top notch. Thank you for bringing us along as always.

 

[Jayman17]

Don, this looks great so far, working to your excellent standards again! Can't wait to see it finished.

Jay

 

[don long]

Don I LOVE that colour Combo Thanx for Sharing!

Harry
Thanks for the visit. I'm happy with the color combo as well

All of your projects are top notch. Thank you for bringing us along as always.

Thank you Stewart
I'm very happy to share

Don, this looks great so far, working to your excellent standards again! Can't wait to see it finished.

Jay

Thanks Jay

I've been working on the work bench for a while and have made some pretty good progress.

The bench is primed

2020-03-14 14.02.29 by don long, on Flickr


and the inside of the bench is painted with Zolatone

2020-03-17 16.17.04 by don long, on Flickr

2020-03-17 16.17.37 by don long, on Flickr

The zolatone is not as good as I would have liked, because my spray gun has too small a nozzle and it broke up the specks a bit much but it will be ok

2020-03-17 16.17.22 by don long, on Flickr

with the bench drying I moved on to the doors of the bench. They each had several dings and scratches. One looked like it had been folded in half at some time so it took a little more work. The metal was stretched quite a bit so I had to shrink it back before I could fix the dents.

2020-03-12 13.08.30 by don long, on Flickr

I had to cut a window in the door bracel to get to the damage on the door.

2020-03-14 14.01.52 by don long, on Flickr

They are now both straight and primered waiting to be blocked before the color goes on them.

2020-03-17 17.22.14 by don long, on Flickr

Next I moved onto the table top.
First I ground the paint off the top. Next I taped the fastener bolts into place and welded them in so I can make the bench top smooth without showing the bolts.

2020-03-17 16.18.25 by don long, on Flickr

2020-03-17 16.17.54 by don long, on Flickr

More soon

.

 

[PugetDude]

You're making good progress, Don. You're really a craftsman.

 

[brianh]

Looks great already, love the old art deco style.

 

[mcdye]

Love watching your projects! Great work as usual.

 

[don long]

You're making good progress, Don. You're really a craftsman.

Looks great already, love the old art deco style.

Love watching your projects! Great work as usual.

Thank you guys

This one is a fun project

I have a little update to share!!
The bench doors are blocked and back in the booth with more primer on them and the one with the piece cut out of the back is all back together (sorry no pic. tonite)

The bench top is in bondo and first sanding is done.
The big news is that I stopped by my friend the stripper and picked up the Alemite unit back panel today and will install it tomorrow.
What do you think?

2020-03-19 13.06.28 by don long, on Flickr

2020-03-19 13.06.22 by don long, on Flickr

2020-03-19 13.06.14 by don long, on Flickr

.

 

[FJ 432]

Incredible high quality work Don.

 

[drivesitfar]

Don: I don't always get time to find and read new threads, but even though a lot of this thread's pictures are on your PARTY GARAGE THREAD i'll follow a thread you host anytime.

another great project and i'm sure it will be the showpiece of your cool Penzoil garage.

I hadn't seen that you had to cut a hole in one of the doors to hammer out the dents then weld that piece back in and bondo and sand and paint it. WOW that's a lot of work for an old door, but i'm not surprised cause your attention to detail is almost as amazing as your skills.

good luck!!

 

[Jayman17]

Don, that back portion looks great, that will look better than new when installed. When you shrunk the door panel, are the burn spots tack welds that you then grind smooth? If you wanted to stretch the metal you would planish the tack welds then grind smooth? I have no experience with this but starting to read another thread about welding skin panels and trying to grasp the process.
This is something I will probably never do but I find these metal working skills very interesting. Thanks

Jay

 

[don long]

Don, that back portion looks great, that will look better than new when installed. When you shrunk the door panel, are the burn spots tack welds that you then grind smooth? If you wanted to stretch the metal you would planish the tack welds then grind smooth? I have no experience with this but starting to read another thread about welding skin panels and trying to grasp the process.
This is something I will probably never do but I find these metal working skills very interesting. Thanks

Jay

No Jay the burn spots were made with an electric prob that heats up a small spot to a red glow then with a wet rag I cool the spot and that shrinks the metal just a bit. When welding the same thing happens so you need to stretch the metal back by planishing the weld.

 

[Jayman17]

Don, thanks for explaining that process.

Jay

 

[senlow]

Thank you guys

The big news is that I stopped by my friend the stripper and picked up the Alemite unit back panel today and will install it tomorrow.
What do you think?

2020-03-19 13.06.28 by don long, on Flickr

Wow, a stripper that can also paint!


Yeah, I know... you meant to type striper. I had to give you a hard time.

OK, smartass mode is now turned off. The bench is looking great. I enjoy reading your build threads.