counter weighting a workbench

[Ryf]

I have a hodge podge workbench made of wood, I do a fair bit of metal work, but I have alot of lumber around as well.. I will have my new shop built in 2-3 weeks, this puts a new problem at hand. I want to have a sturdy workbench to pull on, I am not sure I want to put holes in the concrete to be permanent too soon (and dont want to tie into building structure as its a enclosed carort design)

so I am thinking a workbench base of lumber, along the bottom two runners of heavy angle stacking a row of cinder blocks on edge along said runners. a cap block weighs between 22-35 lbs according to lowes, and a 6 ft bench (5.5 inside) maybe with blocks on edge is 16 blocks at 22 lbs is 350lbs... thoughts? I see that as about $40 worth of 350lbs weight which with mechanical advantage through its length and leverage, I should be unable to move it without some real effort since I am 6'2" 300lbs.

anyone got thoughts or a better idea, I am looking what I have and trying to make it work, as budget is a factor.

 

[PT Doc]

If you are pulling on the end of the 6' bench, then you would need a tremendous amount of force to lift the table so you should be good.

 

[Ryf]

with the layout I am wanting the vise would be hanging off the end in the corner, would be used both on short side and long side (for bending short side only would be fine, giving maximum leverage)

 

[Randy in Maine]

I built a wood lathe stand for a buddy a few years ago. I built a "box" on the bottom of the stand out of 3/4" plywood for sand to go in to give it more mass for stability. That box also functioned as a shelf. He used five 70 pound "tubes of sand" from Home Depot.

Very solid and stable.

 

[Ryf]

I like that idea, if the bench were to shift the bags would likely not move or shift, and being denser more weight could be added in the same amount of space. I will have to ponder if my ocd wants the uniformity of block or the simplicity of sand.

 

[Always_Thinkin]

I like that idea, if the bench were to shift the bags would likely not move or shift, and being denser more weight could be added in the same amount of space. I will have to ponder if my ocd wants the uniformity of block or the simplicity of sand.

I personally would't get too deep into the weeds here. Put a cost together and do which ever is the cheapest. It doesn't matter where the weight comes from it is still dead weight. Personally I would think the blocks would be the way to go. If you puncture a bag that could be a mess. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Ryf]

lowes and menards both have solid cap blocks for 1.50ish @ 33ish pounds (not looking at sale price of menards its 45 mins away) this puts blocks ahead on per pound (by about a penny a pound) honestly I'm not picky I just want a solid base, if I can spend less than $60 on the weight I doubt I'd complain much. leaky bags would be a problem later, and sand tubes do break down. I like the ideas though they open me up to alternative thinking, never a bad thing. 16 blocks at 33lb would be 530 lbs, I like that number without a doubt.

 

[justanengineer]

I want to have a sturdy workbench to pull on

Why not do like most of us do and push on your bench. Instead of bending parts outward, bend them in toward the center of the bench, thus pushing it into the floor rather than pulling it up.

Personally, my favorite way to build a bench is by building it "butcher block" style. Instead of sheets of plywood or a think benchtop, take 4x4s or better yet, 6x6s, bore a 7/16" hole every foot or so and tie them together with threaded rod and a few big nuts/washers. Plane the top with hand/power plane or sand it if you have to, and you have a solid benchtop you can really beat on. Best of all, when it gets marked up too bad you ahve plenty of "meat" left to plane/sand smooth. Needless to say, the top gets HEAVY quick.

 

[Ryf]

Why not do like most of us do and push on your bench. Instead of bending parts outward, bend them in toward the center of the bench, thus pushing it into the floor rather than pulling it up.

this would be great in a perfect world, metal always going one way and all lol, as a general theory it is good, but sometimes a part only fits the vise one way, granted I only have a 4" vise on my current bench, and will be going to a 6" on the new one, so that may be less of a problem with a jaw that opens farther allowing blocks etc to offset better, maybe...

sometimes though my biggest asset in bending somethings is gravity (and my big ****), I can push on something all I want, but if I hang on to an offset lever and let my knees go I can get somethings done more quickly. for bending a smaller object your right its the way to go, but I've notch cut 4"x 1/4" angle and bent it cold, using leverage and my own weight, and pushing would have been miserable.

I like the butcher block idea, will have to see how much similar lumber I have. don't own a hand plane though, and prolly wouldn't bother worrying about its fit and finish in that respect, ridges make nice "tool retention zones" I will have a countertop bench for fidley bits.

 

[rick carpenter]

I like that idea, if the bench were to shift the bags would likely not move or shift, and being denser more weight could be added in the same amount of space. I will have to ponder if my ocd wants the uniformity of block or the simplicity of sand.

Your ocd will enable you to have the same exact number of sand grains in each bag.