Industrial Workbench

[Ryan]

You know what gets me? When an antique store or some chic modern interior design type gets ahold of a really great old industrial workbench before one of us blue collar types ...
To read the rest of this blog entry from The Garage Journal, click here.

 

[JasonW]

I'm with you on that one. Just watch, someone will take it home, rip out the bottom shelf to make a desk. After a year or two they decide it is no longer stylish and throw it out in the garage to await an uncertain fate.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

I know I'm liking those wooden sorting boxes on the top. Not sure what they are, but I love wooden boxes of industrial design.

 

[HandsomeDan]

I agree. those boxes are really cool.

 

[Ryan]

Those are file sorting boxes standing on their backs... And yes, they rule.

 

[Amitygravel]

To my old eyes that color looks like olive drab.
Is that an old military bench ?
And , yes its very cool.

 

[carhunter]

Its a great looking piece. I'd absolutely use something like that in the house if it fit the decor.

Is there really a market at that price point?

And Ryan, I gotta stop for a moment...You said "Greasy tool" huhuhuhuh....yeah.

 

[Jarhead0408]

Yeah it looks ex GI to me. The crate underneath looks like it say Property of Medical Service Co. What's the bar handle that is on the left side of the pic?

Ryan, Where'd you source the pic from? Almost looks like a museum display.

 

[n0fac3]

]Just bought the same style bench 6 months ago at a garage sale for 75 bucks. It doesn't have that secondary top shelf, bottom shelf sets higher and mine has a nice metal topic... I have a cb200 motor tore down on it at the moment so no in house desk for me. Will try and snap a pic.

 

[ny1]

Maybe it's part of living in the North East but that bench doesent seem that rare and it shouldnt be that hard to find one like it. Those legs are common. There are a number of benches in my dads shop that have the same legs. Just my humble opinion.

 

[Tarnished]

Great bench! Love the style, have a few similar. They work as good as they look also. Been around since Gods dog was a pup, and always in demand. Kinda like them with all the "character" left in the top, and not sanded out. Am I missing something, or does this bench have a wheel on the right side, and not the left???

 

[bookittyrun]

pics like this make me drool for a workspace to keep it in... apartment living can ****. very cool!

 

[carhunter]

Waaaiiit a minute...I recognize that bench. Had one just like it a few years ago. See the sheet metal splashbacks on the sides and rear? That's a transmission repair bench from the 70's or 80's, that's been given the faux vintage treatment with a butcher top and some metal shelving bolted across the back.

If this is in an antique shop, I wouldn't put it past them to have "aged" an Ikea countertop and installed it for looks.

Still looks great, though. Just not a "real" piece.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Common garden variety industrial workbenches. Cannot remember the brand right off hand, I have three with that style of legs, one of another brand. The legs are a welded assembly and varying types of tops can be bolted to them. The metal tops like I have are pre punched on the bottom flange so the legs can be bolted at the joint of two tops (three legs for two tops for instance) or the legs can be set flush with the ends, or moved inward to several sets of holes. There are varying bottom shelf configurations and backboards for the bottom, back and end boards for the top, metal tops, wood tops like the one in the pic, all sorts of stuff. Tops are all the same thickness so they match up when butted end to end.

I have three of that particular brand, and one of another brand, and one 7 ft top, two 6 ft tops and one 5 ft top.

Charles

 

[tyjoja]

I have the same bench I bought on C.L. last year, but I have 3 drawers on the left side. It was olive drab b-4 I painted it. Mine was stamped with the name LYON on it and I have looked them up on the web

 

[WWIIjeep]

To my old eyes that color looks like olive drab.
Is that an old military bench ?
And , yes its very cool.

Possible, but not necessarily. Green was a common OEM color for those old workbenches. In later years, the OEM green gave way to gray and other colors. Two companies who were major producers of them were Lyon, and Hallowell (Standard Pressed Steel Co.). Both companies are still in business and Lyon still makes steel workbenches. Hallowell is now SPS Technologies. The one shown isn't a Lyon, but it might be an old Hallowell.

As already mentioned, they were offered in various widths and lengths, with or without back and end stops. Accessory drawer units were available in single, double or triple stacks.

 

[dawgee]

Edsel makes the legs or the whole bench. I just bought a brand new one 2 years ago from ENCO

 

[ScubaSteve]

Personally, it irritates me when someone marks one of these up, commenting on the "patina". But, if they can find a buyer then more power to them. I used to live in Chicago and came across a guy who had several of these but wouldn't let them go for less than $400 in rough condition because of all the hipster apartment dwellers that liked that style. Apparently people would just use the top as an island in their kitchen, etc.

For those of us who actually want to use the bench as it was intended, that's a bit pricey IMHO.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Somewhere out there, somebody has bought one of those and painted it pink.

 

[willy3486]

I did something the opposite I guess to one of those benches. I found parts to one and recreated a workbench. I had 3 pieces to a few benches.None of them matched but two of them were similar. So I cut and refitted one until it was the same as the other one I planned to use. I saved them from the recycle bin after my dad died. My mom wanted all the stuff gone and I saw potential. I also saved a huge 4 inch wide wooden beam he made. I cut it in half to make a worktop and mounted it to the legs. I also added a back to hold shelves and side cabinets to hold tools. I put wheels on it so I could move it. I painted it like a 50s splatter paint. It has worked out really well for me. You can see how I made it in my post on my shop rebuild below. I wanted to rebuild my garage to look like a old 50s/60s repair shop and the bench fit right in.


Here is a picture of it.

 

[carbons4]

30 years ago they were common. Our high school had those in 70's. It's like how do you get the paint off those big saw mill blades?????????? A good piece of hickery or white oak...............

 

[crazytrain]

I have one very similar to that. It was my Grandfathers main work bench in his workshop. It held his big vise which I also own now.

Grand Pop painted the drawer front white and added the second shelf below the bench top. I added the upper shelf over the bench top and the light. I use this bench for my model railroading hobby. I added the smaller vise and moved the larger one to my shed/workshop.

 

[oldthudman]

You know what gets me? When an antique store or some chic modern interior design type gets ahold of a really great old industrial workbench before one of us blue collar types ...
To read the rest of this blog entry from The Garage Journal, click here.

Looks like the old workbenches we had in our field shop (USAF)......Well built and heavy..........IIRC the top was 1" or maybe 1 1/2" square lengths of (probably) maple.................Definitely a great garage bench.......

 

[cwlo]

Did someone mention selling em to the yuppies, or whatever they're called nowadays:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/atq/3159165682.html

Whenever "patina" is mentioned, you know its going to be $$

 

[bobemmerich]

Wow. They had these all over the place at work. They got rid of (scrapped) them and they now have Lista's for a more "clean" look. Thankfully most of them were taken buy a lot of the guys. At the time i didn't have the room, or I would have grabbed a couple. In hindsight, I should have anyway.

 

[bluebolt]

I just sold a a rusty one, steel top, 6 foot long, no drawers or riser, had two lower shelves though. Picked it up sitting outside a guys shop for $10 about a year ago, sold it for $40. Guy said he picks them up all the time, cleans them up and sells them.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Did someone mention selling em to the yuppies, or whatever they're called nowadays:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/atq/3159165682.html

Whenever "patina" is mentioned, you know its going to be $$

Yeah, that's a really nice one....cast iron vs. the usual sheet metal. But still....$495? How about $250?

 

[TDLMOMOWERS]

When I worked for GM, as a Maintenance Mechanic in Mansfield, Ohio, we had these exact benches all over the shop. They were tough and we used them hard. I'm sure they auctioned them off when they closed down our plant in 2010.

 

[Nelson58]

I had one of these, the wood top is over 2 inches thick cleated maple, really sturdy and beautiful. The steel legs were a bit shaky, so I added some cross-bracing to it and it was very stable. The drawers are sheet steel or a very heavy gauge. They don't make them that heavy duty anymore- it's thin stamped sheet made in China now.


Nelson

 

[Nelson58]

Yeah, that's a really nice one....cast iron vs. the usual sheet metal. But still....$495? How about $250?

How about free- that's what I paid, and the top was nicer than that one.



Nelson

 

[magnusk750]

Saw this one in an artyfarty antique shop in Stockholm, Sweden about a year ago. They had lots of french and american stuff for sale so it's not for sure of swedish origin. 11 000 swedish kronor on the price tag, about 1500 USD. I couldn't afford it, but took a lot of pictures to make some kind of replica in the future. For the workshop NB!

 

[Nelson58]

Looks like a large lathe cabinet with a wooden top on it. You can get a South Bend Heavy 10 cabinet and make or buy a wood top for it and there ya go.


Nelson

 

[carhunter]

Saw this one in an artyfarty antique shop in Stockholm, Sweden about a year ago. They had lots of french and american stuff for sale so it's not for sure of swedish origin. 11 000 swedish kronor on the price tag, about 1500 USD. I couldn't afford it, but took a lot of pictures to make some kind of replica in the future. For the workshop NB!

Nice Merkuria Praha seltzer bottle, but looks a little out of place on the cabinet

 

[Motorhead Extraordinaire]

Sometimes we feel bad for putting such antique workbenches out of work. But then we think about it more like retirement .

 

[TrackMagicWS6]

Edsel makes the legs or the whole bench. I just bought a brand new one 2 years ago from ENCO

Yup. http://www.edsal.com/index.php?com=Catalogue&type=Workplace Furniture&group=380&groupName=Basic Plus Flared Leg Work Benches&deckcheck=1

 

[oldthudman]

Saw this one in an artyfarty antique shop in Stockholm, Sweden about a year ago. They had lots of french and american stuff for sale so it's not for sure of swedish origin. 11 000 swedish kronor on the price tag, about 1500 USD. I couldn't afford it, but took a lot of pictures to make some kind of replica in the future. For the workshop NB!

Agree!............That's a bit steep even in North America......Might be worth $500-$600 USD...........

 

[MatthewM]

As Charles mentioned these are common industrial modular benches that can be purchased new. We have over 100 in my facility with maple or steel tops. Additionally, the steel top ones are modular. You can combine two or more together by removing one set of legs between the tables, shift the remaining shared leg over, and bolt them together so that they share a pair of legs.

http://m.globalindustrial.com/m/p/w...square-edge-work-bench-fixed-height-1-3-4-top

-Matt

 

[bczygan]

You know what gets me? When an antique store or some chic modern interior design type gets ahold of a really great old industrial workbench before one of us blue collar types ...
To read the rest of this blog entry from The Garage Journal, click here.

I agree......but looking at it the other way around......WE are looking at these things with the same artistic eyes.....We are seeing the same COOL factor.....In a way, I am glad they share the same aesthetic, but darn it, quit running the demand AND prices up.