Lets see your workbench

[nateo]

I did, the top is made out of an old bowling lane

That looks great!

I just came across a guy local to me selling chunks of bowling alley. I was thinking of picking some up for a desk, but at $500 - $800 a piece it was waaay out of my price range.

Though to be fair, my price range is usually $0 - $20.

 

[19Vert64]

That looks great!

I just came across a guy local to me selling chunks of bowling alley. I was thinking of picking some up for a desk, but at $500 - $800 a piece it was waaay out of my price range.

Though to be fair, my price range is usually $0 - $20.

Thanks!
I believe I paid $100 for a 8 ft section and $30 for the section with the pin set


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[drivesitfar]

NATEO: another option to buying ready made butcher block is making your own. since you probably have the skills to go find old homes that are being remodeled where they throw old wood away and have to pay to do it they'd sometimes let you have it for free or in your budget.

then get a good hand planer (remove all the nails and metal from wood first) and plane up the wood. spend a few bucks on some good glue. use or find some good pipe clamps and wipe off as much excess glue as you can before you finish up with another pass or two with a planer.

there are several good videos on YouTube and Jay's $112 workbench was one of my favorites cause of his skills and editing.

start with a small one first and you'll be surprised what you can make from scraps heading to the dump (or go buy a few new boards at HD if nobody is remodeling in your area).

good luck!!

ALL: I picked up another old Government or maybe Boeing since I live in Seattle steel bench that is 6 foot wide, 3 foot deep and tall and built like a tank with 3 big drawers. I needed an outside bench and the weather up hear isn't kind to wood and if I clean it up and put some BLO or maybe other rust protector on it i'll make it work. sorry I didn't have time to take a picture when it was daylight so here's the other one I own that sits in my small garage.

 

[nateo]

NATEO: another option to buying ready made butcher block is making your own. since you probably have the skills to go find old homes that are being remodeled where they throw old wood away and have to pay to do it they'd sometimes let you have it for free or in your budget.

then get a good hand planer (remove all the nails and metal from wood first) and plane up the wood. spend a few bucks on some good glue. use or find some good pipe clamps and wipe off as much excess glue as you can before you finish up with another pass or two with a planer.

there are several good videos on YouTube and Jay's $112 workbench was one of my favorites cause of his skills and editing.

start with a small one first and you'll be surprised what you can make from scraps heading to the dump (or go buy a few new boards at HD if nobody is remodeling in your area).

good luck!

Ha ha, thanks Drives. As a "frugal" (if we're being generous) person I've learned how to scrounge lumber and supplies over the years. The problem is the list of projects to get done is orders of magnitude larger than the amount of time available and the cheaper you go on the project the more time it takes!

To make the desk happen I could pull out some of the 1 1/4" thick particle board workbench top I salvaged a few years back that has been sitting on the rack in the shop ever since. I could even pretty it up with some leftover laminate flooring that came with the house.

But in the end I'll probably just find another free desk on Kijiji (i.e. Canadian Craigslist)!

 

[drivesitfar]

NATEO: I hear you cause life is short that is for certain. i've still got stuff on my TO DO LIST from maybe 10 years ago.

another option to clamping is screwing all the boards together which might make it quicker and maybe a bit stronger especially if you don't need to drill holes in your bench.

or as you say find an old workbench in an old barn or garage someone is giving away and haul it home.

cheers

 

[DaveT]

NATEO:

ALL: I picked up another old Government or maybe Boeing since I live in Seattle steel bench that is 6 foot wide, 3 foot deep and tall and built like a tank with 3 big drawers. I needed an outside bench and the weather up hear isn't kind to wood and if I clean it up and put some BLO or maybe other rust protector on it i'll make it work. sorry I didn't have time to take a picture when it was daylight so here's the other one I own that sits in my small garage.

Drives: that is a really nice work bench!

 

[goofiefoot]

I built this a couple years back. Started with an extra sheet of 3/4" birch plywood I had laying around. I laminated the two halves together and edged it with ripped 2x4's. It's held up really well, and I love the lift casters.

Here are the videos of the build:
Part 1 -

Part 2 -

 

[drivesitfar]

GF: nice and simple and looks great too.

where did you buy the lifting casters? does it roll pretty good on a rough cement floor or driveway?

 

[383]

Just finished this one last week. Two Harbor Freight end cabinets on a steel frame with casters, and a walnut top.

 

[Jcrock]

I finally finished my new bench. I have a similar one I built out of 2x4s in the attached garage, this one however uses 1-1/2" square tubing and 3/16 angle iron. The top is 2x4s glued and biscuit jointed together with 3/4" plywood and a sacrificial masonite over that.

Sent from my SM-G970U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[marine-mp]

Holy schamoly, thems some nice benches!! Here’s one of mine that was made 28 years ago out of roughsawn. Seen manya projects started an some even finished!!!Semper-fi & This We’ll Defend, Mike

 

[Shakes_26]

My little hovel, with home renovations its a mess right now. Anyway;

I started with the Craftsman box set on the far right, which had my dad's vintage Snap-On KR56 sitting on it. I bought the set on the left when Sears started liquidating. It was cheaper than just buying the lower cabinet at the time.

I reclaimed a butcher block workbench which had legs that were all bent to hell. First ripped the top down to width (it had been 36" iirc) then biscuit joined and epoxied the end piece to get the length I wanted. It is finished with a Ben Moore water based clear (I forget the exact product), which has been remarkably resistant to my abuse. The whole top sits on an 80-20 frame (wasn't needed top is solid).

I'll be changing this setup out to accommodate a 72" roller cabinet that's 24-25" deep and can store all my tools in one place. Also adding a locker to get rid of one of these gray lockers and possibly the wood cabinets above. The gray lockers are 36" wide by 24" deep, each shelf can hold an engine block or three. These were also salvaged with the intent of refinishing but that hasn't happened.

Rapid Air '1/2in' air distribution going in, adding electric to relocate compressor, adding better general storage, better tool storage.

 

[goofiefoot]

GF: nice and simple and looks great too.

where did you buy the lifting casters? does it roll pretty good on a rough cement floor or driveway?

Thanks! Here is the link to the casters:

Powertec Workbench Casters

They roll well across concrete and my aggregate driveway.

 

[drivesitfar]

Marine: I'm not usually a fan of open screw vises, but your old Columbian looks pretty stout. AND it's too to have a big Wilton on the other end of your bench.

thanks for sharing.

GF: thanks for the link and information!!

ALL: great looking benches and shops guys and thanks for posting them.

 

[marine-mp]

Drivesitfar, I not a real fan of the open screw vises, either, but I couldn’t help myself on the 144M. It’s a heavy vise and in great shape for over a hundred yaron old!!! The Wilton on the other end isn’t really big, the picture plays tricks on the peepers!! It’s my Dad’s old 3.5” he left me that I restored. The “big” Wilton is over yonway on the other bench!!!Picture included!! Take care my friend. Semper-fi & This We’ll Defend, Mike

 

[Bmwtie]

Well I finally finished my new workbench. Ever since I made my last one well over a year ago (two years now???) I have been compiling my list of what I would do to make it better. So this is the culmination of my thinking about this, sketching, and solidworks creation. I bought everything on Black Friday weekend. Saved quite a bundle, but things trickled in over a 6 week period. I still don’t even have some stuff I ordered. Anyway fast forward to now and I have something I am very proud of. I created a YouTube video discussing the bench and some of the features. The video was originally wayy too long and there are so many more features I need to cover in a follow up video. It has also been fun learning about video editing and the investment into the time it takes to produce and edit something better than just uploading a one take shot.

I have several projects lined up on my list and hope to film and share on YouTube just for fun. I think they are all pretty unique projects that I have never seen done before.

Hope you enjoy I will try to pop back and answer questions if anyone has any.

 

[4 FN 27]

Very impressive and well thought through design!!!

 

[Black300zx]

Well I finally finished my new workbench. Ever since I made my last one well over a year ago (two years now???) I have been compiling my list of what I would do to make it better. So this is the culmination of my thinking about this, sketching, and solidworks creation. I bought everything on Black Friday weekend. Saved quite a bundle, but things trickled in over a 6 week period. I still don’t even have some stuff I ordered. Anyway fast forward to now and I have something I am very proud of. I created a YouTube video discussing the bench and some of the features. The video was originally wayy too long and there are so many more features I need to cover in a follow up video. It has also been fun learning about video editing and the investment into the time it takes to produce and edit something better than just uploading a one take shot.

I have several projects lined up on my list and hope to film and share on YouTube just for fun. I think they are all pretty unique projects that I have never seen done before.

Hope you enjoy I will try to pop back and answer questions if anyone has any.

Pretty sure I saw this bench linked in the Milwaukee Addition thread. Nice!

 

[Bmwtie]

Pretty sure I saw this bench linked in the Milwaukee Addition thread. Nice!

Cool I will have to check it out!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[drivesitfar]

BMWtie: even though I'm more of a vintage cabinet and tools guy I can really appreciate all the work you've done there not only to your bench, but in your entire garage.

WELL DONE SIR!!

looking forward to you maybe posting up some of your cool projects in the woodworking 101 thread in general tools or in your garage thread if you have one ongoing too.

looks sunny in Colorado!!

 

[Trapps]

Well I finally finished my new workbench. Ever since I made my last one well over a year ago (two years now???) I have been compiling my list of what I would do to make it better. So this is the culmination of my thinking about this, sketching, and solidworks creation. I bought everything on Black Friday weekend. Saved quite a bundle, but things trickled in over a 6 week period. I still don’t even have some stuff I ordered. Anyway fast forward to now and I have something I am very proud of. I created a YouTube video discussing the bench and some of the features. The video was originally wayy too long and there are so many more features I need to cover in a follow up video. It has also been fun learning about video editing and the investment into the time it takes to produce and edit something better than just uploading a one take shot.

I have several projects lined up on my list and hope to film and share on YouTube just for fun. I think they are all pretty unique projects that I have never seen done before.

Hope you enjoy I will try to pop back and answer questions if anyone has any.

Fantastic.

This is impressive on many levels; thanks for sharing! I have been collecting ideas for a few months and there is enough content in your bench to conclude my search.

 

[alberto]

Well I finally finished my new workbench.

Wow, that's friggin' fantastic. Very well done.

 

[slalomsauce]

Here are some pics of my two workbenches that I built with the help of my brother-in-law. I am very happy with how they turned out and the removable vise design I came up with with has been very handy when I've needed a vise elsewhere on the property. easily goes in the hitch on my tractor or my truck.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

BMWTie, How are your Cadillac and Chevy banners attached to your garage door? Any issue with them coming off when the door is raised and lowered?

 

[joshotto94]

Sioux bench i just finished restoring.

 

[lis2323]

Sioux bench i just finished restoring.

Beautiful! [emoji481]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[FTWingRiders]

That’s gorgeous!

 

[DaveT]

Sioux bench i just finished restoring.

Wow that’s an awesome workbench. Fantastic job on the restoration.

 

[smalltown]

Looks great. Would not have seemed possible, but you did it !

 

[loganb]

Sioux bench i just finished restoring.

Awesome work

Sent from The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Old Radar]

joshotto94--

You should frame the "Before" picture and hang it inside one of the doors--then pat yourself on the back every time you open it! Really great job!!

 

[drivesitfar]

JOSH: that work station looked so far past worse for wear i'm very surprised. after looking at your vintage fridge pics

(https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=351517)

you posted a couple days ago i'm really not surprised at all.

VERY WELL DONE SIR!!

ALL: I found another one of these old Lyon or some other maker's steel workbenches and i'll use it as a sawhorse til I spiff it up and put it in my parent's garage/basement where i'm setting up a woodshop so i can maybe get my 88 year old dad off his ****.

also moving around these 250-300 pound steel benches isn't easy, but I managed to flip it up onto our old deck i'll be replacing soon.

 

[joshotto94]

Thank you it was quite the project i just started on the next one this past week. I also tried to upload the catalog photo of the Sioux

 

[crasher98]

Here are some pics of my two workbenches that I built with the help of my brother-in-law. I am very happy with how they turned out and the removable vise design I came up with with has been very handy when I've needed a vise elsewhere on the property. easily goes in the hitch on my tractor or my truck.

I like this - very sharp, well done!

 

[ply426]

I built this bench/table. I’m doing a built in workbench as well when I get to it..

 

[turbowoodworker]

Very nice and welcome to GJ. You score points for a picture with first post.

 

[drivesitfar]

PLY: looks like a great bench to start off in your new shop. did you build or buy that new garage/shop?

how thick is the steel top maybe 1/2 inch? i'm guessing that you bench weighs more than a little.

also thanks for joining GJ and we all love pictures so congrats on getting a good start. if you have any questions just get on threads that are talking about the subject and ask or comment on stuff you can share cause anybody building a table that nice definitely has some skills.

are you mounting a big vise to it or making a trailer hitch type mount or what are you planning to use it for?

 

[Wheelingit]

Thats just incredible. Fantastic job Joshotto!!

 

[pelletman]

That looks great!

I just came across a guy local to me selling chunks of bowling alley. I was thinking of picking some up for a desk, but at $500 - $800 a piece it was waaay out of my price range.

Though to be fair, my price range is usually $0 - $20.

I was happy to find 16' of it @$30/ft for my bench. I considered it cheap. If you keep your eyes peeled you can find it cheaper, I missed a couple pieces really cheap IN MY TOWN!!! I was second. I didn't really need it and I got a bunch of other stuff out of the place so I can't really complain.

 

[ply426]

Thanks, yes 1/2” top. I’m guessing it weighs around 800lbs.. I’m planning on doing a Reese style removable vice mount and grating for a lower shelf. I’m in the middle of finishing my barn/shop so I’ll get back to the table soon. ��