Lets see your workbench

[Tricon]

Still a lot of work to do on my bench, but got my server up and running so I thought I would browse GJ for a couple minutes....2 hours later....here I am still browsing, damnit!

 

[akdiesel]

Working on more strut surroundings for the trolley system but the bench is mostly done. Still gets cluttered with all the projects but this is a rare picture of it in its clean state.
I have a thread started for the Lista project.

 

[Steevo]

Working on more strut surroundings for the trolley system but the bench is mostly done. Still gets cluttered with all the projects but this is a rare picture of it in its clean state.
I have a thread started for the Lista project.

akdiesel,

Do you have a thread somewhere explaining your "trolley system"?

I'd like to know more about it.

 

[akdiesel]

Steevo

I do. It is still an ongoing project but I touch on it a little in the thread.
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=171590&showall=1

The double trolley wheels are rated for 600# capacity and the single trolley wheels are rated for 400# and then the rated capacity of the Strut channel. I am supporting my strut channel approx every 5' from the ceiling strut.

 

[ABADWILLYS]

Love this thread, and you guys have some great workbenches! gathering a lot of ideas for my own.. in the meantime, i needed something to work on while working on my new shop and scored these Craigslist beauties, thought ide share
nice solid construction and stainless tops.. heres 2 of the 4 i bought

 

[Journaler]

Those are nice. The only workbenches I see around here are big box store rejects.

 

[kfainf]

Still a lot of work to do on my bench, but got my server up and running so I thought I would browse GJ for a couple minutes....2 hours later....here I am still browsing, damnit!

Great looking garage! I really like your color scheme also.

 

[kfainf]

Love this thread, and you guys have some great workbenches! gathering a lot of ideas for my own.. in the meantime, i needed something to work on while working on my new shop and scored these Craigslist beauties, thought ide share
nice solid construction and stainless tops.. heres 2 of the 4 i bought

Great score on those Craigslist benches.

 

[colt zantop]

Nice use of the old porch columns..

thanks!

 

[akdiesel]

ABADWILLYS

Those are great benches. Wish I found those when building mine.

 

[Tricon]

Great looking garage! I really like your color scheme also.

Thanks! Gonna have to take some better pics once its finished.

 

[customgtp]

yeah gonna have to clean mine up before pictures are taken

 

[mdkingsley]

Great score on the CList benches

 

[madavis77]

First post here...
All built by me.

 

[pmilin]

Metal edge Formica top and recessed power strip in the peg board. Added sink, mini fridge and bathroom. Built Harbor Freight toolbox into counter top.

View media item 27538

 

[slowtwitch]

I just recently built this bench. It's 16'x6'.....

The sections under the bench with the cross-members, is where the future slide in drawer units will go.

The 6' "L" section , is my powder coating space......

On the other half of the back wall, is my old workbench.....

 

[akdiesel]

slowtwitch

Nice work station. Is that the Harbor Freight polisher on the stand? I ordered one and have not had a chance to try it out yet.

 

[jeffmoss26]

Wow, that's quite a setup. I like the main bench with all the electronics gear.

 

[slowtwitch]

slowtwitch

Nice work station. Is that the Harbor Freight polisher on the stand? I ordered one and have not had a chance to try it out yet.

Yes it is. Works pretty good

 

[slowtwitch]

Wow, that's quite a setup. I like the main bench with all the electronics gear.

Thanks, I'm hoping to learn the dark side of servo motor drives

 

[SteveL]

Metal edge Formica top and recessed power strip in the peg board. Added sink, mini fridge and bathroom. Built Harbor Freight toolbox into counter top.

View media item 27538

Love it! Not sure why but the colors just grab me. Simple but very looking!

 

[dodge610]

I just recently built this bench. It's 16'x6'.....

The sections under the bench with the cross-members, is where the future slide in drawer units will go.

The 6' "L" section , is my powder coating space......

On the other half of the back wall, is my old workbench.....

What powder coat gun do you have I need a new one been comparing not sure which to go with. I do my own stuff and a few pieces for customers.

 

[slowtwitch]

What powder coat gun do you have I need a new one been comparing not sure which to go with. I do my own stuff and a few pieces for customers.

It's a Spectra Coat ES-02

 

[rharman]

Slowtwitch,

Can you post a couple of close-ups of the racks you made for the pliers & screwdrivers?

Thanks.

 

[slowtwitch]

Slowtwitch,

Can you post a couple of close-ups of the racks you made for the pliers & screwdrivers?

Thanks.

Nothing really special, just some scraps left over from the bench build....

I attached them to the wall using pocket holes (Kreg pocket hole tool) ...gives it a clean look

 

[cheechi]

Nothing really special

No I disagree. That's pretty damn great.

 

[hchinaski]

Here's my workbench build. I moved into the house in October and built this just before Christmas.

8 feet by 2 feet, 36" high. I recycled some pressure treated 2x6 that had been the work surface of a very poorly built workbench that was in the garage when I moved in. I made dado cuts in the uprights on the radial arm saw as a gang so they would all have the exact same spacing, and the long horizontal stringers received matching dado cuts. The top is two layers of 5/8" MDF glued & screwed capped with 1/4" masonite (which is proving to be not such a great top surface). Two shelves, the lower one for power tools and the upper one for smaller things. The top is 4" wider than the base on the front and right hand sides to allow for clamping things to the surface, and this left two 4" wide pieces out of the 4x8 sheet of MDF to make back panels for the shelves with, to keep stuff from rolling off the back. The lower shelf is high enough off the floor so that if something does roll under the bench I can reach it - this was an important and conscious design decision!

Lighting is a pair of vintage new-old-stock Smoot-Holman warehouse lights I picked up at a garage sale.

I built it in an afternoon using mostly scrap materials - I had to buy three 8 foot 2x4s and two sheets of 5/8" mdf, so my total outlay is about 40 bucks.

 

[baggedcobra]

Lots of nice setups here. I hope to start mine soon.

 

[Trey T]

The span on the right side looks too long for rigidity.

....

 

[donnykooy]

that bench looks weak..also ur blocking a door

 

[wellpoison]

Here is how mine sits right now. It was here when I bought the house. It's pretty empty right now but this is just the beginning. I'm hoping to finish another row of osb on the walls Saturday so I can put some shelves up. I'm also working on another bench that's made from an old water bed frame.

 

[jeffmoss26]

Looks like you won't lose any tape measures

 

[JKcrawler]

I don't think I put mine up here.

 

[wafer]

I'm always changing stuff and moving things around, but here are a few current shots after cleaning up a bit...

 

[L84ARACE]

 

[Iroc-Z]

I love the look of this. Nice work.

 

[melliott28]

I just finished upgrading my workbench. It started out as 2 Craftsman workbenches, one with 2 drawers and one with 3 drawers. I added additional drawers to fill up the space underneath. Then I replaced the 2 mdf worktops with a single worktop I made from 2 - SYP 2x12's edge glued and sealed with 5 coats of polyurethane.

 

[Hotrod barn]

Hey melliott28 ,what did you use besides glue did you use any fasteners under your boards.I am thinking of making my bench like yours .I was going to glue and maybe use kreg screws.may also use cross bracing not sure yet.any pics or info would be helpful.thanks

 

[melliott28]

Hey melliott28 ,what did you use besides glue did you use any fasteners under your boards.I am thinking of making my bench like yours .I was going to glue and maybe use kreg screws.may also use cross bracing not sure yet.any pics or info would be helpful.thanks

I only used glue (specifically Titebond III) to connect the 2x12's. I'm no woodworker, but I did some research on some woodworking forums and most of the woodworkers just use glue when making their bench tops.

I believe the key is a good glue up. I flattened both edges of the wood with an electric planer to remove the rounded edge so that they would fit together flush and I used 3/4" pipe clamps and some bar clamps to make sure I got good clamping force along the entire joint. Also, if you are going to build this type of worktop, I wouldn't use anything smaller than 2x10 lumber because the larger boards seem to be less prone to twisting and warping. Getting a good joint is extremely difficult if the lumber is twisted or warped.

I don't see anything wrong with using metal fasteners, but they really aren't necessary. I picked up the top and moved it multiple times before mounting it and it is solid and heavy. It feels just like a single slab of wood.

One more tip, I recommend using all pipe clamps because they can exert more force than bar clamps. I used the Harbor Freight 3/4" pipe clamps with the legs, and 36" lengths of threaded black pipe from Home Depot. If you use the pipe clamps with the legs, you can sit the clamps on the floor of your shop/garage, and arrange the boards on the pipe clamps while glueing them up.

I almost forgot to mention, I did attach the back edge/ back splash with screws instead of glue because I wanted to have the option of removing it.

 

[Kevin54]

Dodge....how do you have your computer monitor fastened to the wall? I have a Flat Panel and I'd like to ket it up off of the bench.