Lets see your workbench

[Jgaz]

You'll like having a work surface on top. I didn't realize how much more I would like the workbenches with tools storage underneath but it has been a gamechanger for me. Most tools are still in my main toolbox, but having the ability to store others under the workbench surfaces and keep them out of sight is awesome.

^^This.
You will love the metal top. I can’t believe I waited almost 35 years and four other houses before building my metal topped bench.

My main tool box is under my metal topped bench.
My old SnapOn bottom is built into the bench to the right of my miter saw.

I sold both of my top boxes when I retired and moved west for hopefully the last time.
While planning this shop space, before I moved, I knew I wanted bench top space more than the top boxes.
It was a bit of an adjustment at first but I’m not sorry I sold the tops.
I will however keep the machinist box I built on the countertop where it now sits.

 

[rharman]

@Jgaz - Always good to see a fellow ShopSmith owner. I've had mine for about 40 years. A few upgrades - casters, new style fence, PowerPro motor. Sure, it's not the best option but I wanted one from when I was a kid and saw it at a neighbors house and it does save me a lot of space.

Yours looks very clean - just like mine. Looks like you have it on a cabinet base?

 

[PhantomEB]

@mollydog How good is that exhaust fan? I have a hole at the back corner from an old radiant heater as well outlet for the future liftmaster.

got a link too? Mine would be more for grinding dust and Welding fumes.

 

[Jgaz]

@Jgaz - Always good to see a fellow ShopSmith owner. I've had mine for about 40 years. A few upgrades - casters, new style fence, PowerPro motor. Sure, it's not the best option but I wanted one from when I was a kid and saw it at a neighbors house and it does save me a lot of space.

Yours looks very clean - just like mine. Looks like you have it on a cabinet base?

@rharman Mine was purchased in 1988. So yeah, coming up on 40 years.

Agree, it’s not the perfect choice, but I will honestly say it was a very long time before my skill set was better than the machine for many operations.

My cabinet is suspended below the lower tubes on threaded rod.

No reason for the design other than 25 years ago when I built the drawers I was storing several tool boxes under the machine and this allowed me keep storing the boxes that way.

Is the LH end of your ShopSmith accessible where you have the machine set up? If so, the six inch disk sander I made using the lathe faceplate has been one of my best additions. You can see how it’s set up in my original post.

Sorry for the thread derail. We now return you to our regularly scheduled programing.

 

[ATC]

 

[ALLFAST]

That vintage beastly bench looks like it would cost $1500 plus to replicate today? NICE one !

 

[ATC]

That vintage beastly bench looks like it would cost $1500 plus to replicate today? NICE one !

Picked it up a few weeks ago for $500

 

[bulletpruf]

Don't think I've posted this here yet.

Here's the start.



Stained it. Added pegboard.



Loaded up.

 

[rharman]

@Jgaz - I think mine is 1985. I've used the 12" disc on occasion. I still have a new in box 4" jointer and the 6" belt sander. Jointer has never been used and I think I used the belt sander one time. I'd like to sell them. I've had plans in my head for many years for an under-cabinet. I have some Container Store wire mesh baskets and frame that I purchased for use in one section of it.

For sanding, I have a Craftsman 6" disc / 2"x42" belt sander that I bought long ago. I use it all the time - it's the handiest tool in the shop - no setup required.

Similar to this except I almost always have the belt in the horizontal position. Might be the best $100 bucks I've spent.

 

[TheClaw]

@mollydog. Awesome build, giving me some inspiration. Building a new garage. Picking up ideas.

For a question, with such a heavy duty bench with those massive legs, doesn't it defeat the purpose with these relatively small leveling screws?




Thanks, jeff

 

[tarmy]

My benches has the metal version of those…works fine. Gotta zoom in to see them…

 

[TheClaw]

Nice! For years I would get some water in my garage. I raised everything up on casters.

You don't notice any diminished stability?

 

[Hal]

When I bought this lift, the seller told me I would be using it for a bench, as much as a lift. Didn’t really register with me then. Now I am quite certain of it. Works very well for stuff that would need two gorillas to load on to a fixed height bench. Can adjust the height to be comfortable with whatever I’m doing. And, because it als gets used for its original purpose, it doesn’t get filled up with miscellaneous ****.

 

[rocksnstumps]

I use my hydraulic lift table in much the same way. More as a bench than anything especially during the winter since it's home is parked closer to the wood stove.

But have another bench, hmmm several actually cause need to have something with a vise too.

But the height adjustment for your work at hand is a nice feature as mentioned

 

[kaymccampbell]

My auto lift gets used for the car, bike, garden tractor, Dingo, as well as an assembly table, welding fixture, large clamp, you name it. I mostly bought it for brakes, exhaust, and oil changes. That's maybe 5% of its life.

 

[Jgaz]

Since we are still in the holiday season I’ll mention another lift use.

The H style, single hydraulic cylinder lifts in the first gas station where I worked in the early 70’s were used every Xmas eve as a buffet table and a bar.
A sheet of plywood, a few C clamps and presto instant table.

 

[Hal]

My regular bench is pile with **** and useless, unless I want to spend half an hour clearing it off. I need one with a clockwork trip mechanism to dump it on the floor at regular intervals.

 

[TheClaw]

Thinking of ditching my old repurposed dresser with a bench made from these. Not sure what I would put in all those drawers but I'm sure over time I'll fill them.

 

[IRQVET]

Had to make these cause my garage is too small and starting to look like a bomb hit Walmart. Benches connect into different configurations as my needs/ projects change.

I call this my wood working bench(es @4), as I already have a metal bench I built for welding projects.

 

[jmiller_2308]

Thinking of ditching my old repurposed dresser with a bench made from these. Not sure what I would put in all those drawers but I'm sure over time I'll fill them.

I like re-purposing office furniture for garage storage and work benches. The file drawers are great for larger tools or you can put containers in them to hold smaller stuff.

On my furniture the smaller drawers are not full extension and that is a bit of a pain. I end up using only the front portion of those drawers so things don't get lost.

Don't worry about having too many drawers - you will fill them

 

[OccupantRJ]

This is my welding and mechanical work bench. It has drawer cabinets all around underneath except for a kneehole on the far side for tig welding while sitting. The steel cabinet underneath rolls out for additional work surface or long items support, and contains shorter metal storage.
The hydraulic scissor lift is used as an adjustable height heavy duty work table. When a car is being repaired both tables end up alongside the front fenders, so they are used as tool and parts tables.
The scissor lift has tapped holes on one corner to allow a vise to be quickly mounted and removed with an impact.

 

[fishwatcher]

My work bench is a Gorilla bench from 20-ish years ago. The bench top is a Husky 1.25” thick “butcher” top I cut to fit. I’ve got a 4.5” Wilton Cadet vise painted blue to match my Park Tools and highlights of my other favorite tools include a restored vintage Craftsman soft mallet, old USA Craftsman metric and Blackhawk by Proto SAE combination wrenches.

A second vise, Capri Tools, is mounted on a Black and Decker Workmate 300. A Park Tools bike stand gets moved out when I need to work on a bike. On the left is a Baldor bench grinder I picked up cheap, cleaned up and put on a side table I made out of iron pipes and the rest of the Husky work bench top. On the right above my cabinet I have a wood top made from IKEA bed slats. On top of that is a Wilton Bullet 9300 vise.

It’s a small and cramped space, but I absolutely love it. One day I’ll clean out some junk, so I can have some more room.

A few more tools and a dozen reorganization efforts later.. I’m finally happy with how the pegboard on my workbench is organized. It’s a little crowded but what can you do.

 

[Dave G in Gansevoort]

Built this bench 50 odd years ago. It’s a 3x4 3/8 inch piece of diamond plate, diamond side up, a 3x3 1/4 angle welded to the front edge, and very heavy wall square tubing for legs. All of it came from scrap bins. 3 inch channel on the bottom of the legs was added 6 years ago with the casters. The vise was given to me by a friend in 1975. No idea what brand, however it’s forged not cast, and has withstood decades of misuse without any issues other than the serrations in the jaws are worn down. Maybe some day I’ll make new ones. It ain’t purty but it might just outlast me and my nephew who gets it next.


This thing was built 20 years ago and has changed a tiny bit from time to time. Mainly the top. And the wheels. They keep going flat. No flat solid tires are no better, as they flat spot if not moved regularly. I originally intended it as a bench/toolbox for going to the track, but life got in the way, and that project was shelved. Again not pretty but holds the stuff I need it to hold.

Looking through all of your benches, I can say that mine are like Old Frothinslosh Beer and their advertising model, Miss Old Frothingslosh. You may know their slogan. Miss Old Frothingslosh, the girl all others look down on! I’m no good with links so for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, look it up on the internet… you’ll appreciate the time spent

 

[kaymccampbell]

Old Frothinslosh Beer and their advertising model, Miss Old Frothingslosh. You may know their slogan. Miss Old Frothingslosh, the girl all others look down on!

Hey! I resemble that remark.

 

[zimman]

Starting from scratch again. This is actually in my storeroom. It's been moved and still don't have a garage yet. Working off the porch. LOL
Wood is scrap from my camper build now a Decked System.
Zim

 

[larry4406]

Looking through all of your benches, I can say that mine are like Old Frothinslosh Beer and their advertising model, Miss Old Frothingslosh. You may know their slogan. Miss Old Frothingslosh, the girl all others look down on! I’m no good with links so for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, look it up on the internet… you’ll appreciate the time spent

The pale stale ale with the foam on the bottom!

The Story of Miss Olde Frothingslosh, Marsha Phillips - Beer Info

Marsha Phillips, 54, a 300-pound-plus resident of Rochester, died on May 26, 2000. But not before making her mark as Miss Olde Frothingslosh

beerinfo.com

 

[zanyad]

Old Frothinslosh Beer and their advertising model, Miss Old Frothingslosh. You may know their slogan. Miss Old Frothingslosh, the girl all others look down on!

Hey! I resemble that remark.

I beg to differ. You're a giant among women (and men!)

 

[Fordguy1964]

I just got my new to me vise up on my new to me table in my new to me garage. More to come... You know your vise is big when you need an engine hoist to put it on the table.

 

[Hooked]

I just got my new to me vise up on my new to me table in my new to me garage. More to come... You know your vise is big when you need an engine hoist to put it on the table.

I saw a similar sized one at the radiator shop last week. It was huge and I'm certain it required either multiple bodies or a hoist to get it on the table.

 

[Jay__Dub]

I just got my new to me vise up on my new to me table in my new to me garage. More to come... You know your vise is big when you need an engine hoist to put it on the table.

That is a beauty.

You may want to anchor the other end of that bench to the floor.

 

[fishwatcher]

I just got my new to me vise up on my new to me table in my new to me garage. More to come... You know your vise is big when you need an engine hoist to put it on the table.

That vise is huge. Details on brand, model, size?

 

[Fordguy1964]

That vise is huge. Details on brand, model, size?

Hollands model 56H I picked it up at a yard sale for $50. He was selling it because it was too big for him to put on his bench and too big for his bench.

 

[Fordguy1964]

That is a beauty.

You may want to anchor the other end of that bench to the floor.

The table weighs 2600#. I doubt it is going anywhere. for scale, that top is 1.125" thick solid steel. She's got some bulk to her.

 

[Jay__Dub]

The table weighs 2600#. I doubt it is going anywhere. for scale, that top is 1.125" thick solid steel. She's got some bulk to her.

That's some bulk alright. Looked like a wood top, hence my comment.

 

[JustVicingIt]

Picked this up a short time ago. Finishing up another workbench, so once thats done, this be will get a proper cleaning and refresh.

 

[JustVicingIt]

Here's my other work bench that is currently in resto mode. I posted about it in the Vise thread but it belongs here too.

Started off as this hunk of junk.






In my truck ready to be hauled away:



I saw the listing and the tool tray and vise kind of gave away it's previous use as a woodworking bench. That gave me hope it was maple and yes it is.

The extraneous garbage add-ons were removed and it's been reduced to its main bits, mainly the top and bottom.





Removed the vise and cleaned up the rust and debris. The wooden face is in the process of being sanded back.





Sanded the bottom of the top back and glued it up.



Still need to flip it over and deal with the caulk covered top. I wanted to get it stabilized from below first.

Biggest issue was all of the insect frass that existed. Probably termites but the parts where they did a number are easy enough to remove and repair. I don't see any signs of current infestation which is good.



SO, this one is on it's way and will be a side workbench in my space. I'll reinstall the vise for the one side face and keep the tool tray. The tray bottom will be replaced with a new piece of wood as it was too far gone. I'll re-enforce the whole thing with proper bits so the legs sit nicely and it'll be much more solid after all is said and done.

 

[JustVicingIt]

Today's update.

Flipped the thing over and here's the base with all the junk on it.





Started with a scraper to get the gunk off. Had a marker type smell, so not quite sure what it was.



Progress with some sanding included. Side note, the Festool 150 Roto is insane and a welcome addition to the workflow. It atethrough this garbage so fast. Saved me so much time.



Here it is all sanded:



Did find live termites and did some exploratory tearng away of bad pieces.





I'll use some boric acid to saok through and I have mahogany scraps in the wood pile to make repairs. It doesn't need to be pretty so it'll show it's scars well.

More to come.

 

[JustVicingIt]

Alright, it’s basically done. I need some light touch’s. Will add some bits to the tool tray. Going to add a finish to it once that’s here. Also some more light sanding but overall happy with the bench as it sits.

The underside needed a lot of work. Added a tool tray with a finished plank of white oak I had laying around. Added the bracing for the base with routed out spaces for the simple end vise.



In its new space in the shop:



Feet need leveling because my garage is uneven but that’s okay. Overall chuffed with the whole thing. After some resto fees with supplies etc, I’m about $150 into the whole thing. Not too bad for a mostly solid maple top.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

 

[JustVicingIt]

Love your stool