wgasa84
Active member
Ever since we bought our house I've been wanting/needing a real work bench. Working from the floor, folding table and a old tv stand just was not cutting it any more.
I was patient and found a screaming deal on craigslist. The guy didn't have any pictures but I knew it would go fast for $25. From what I gather it was used as a shipping/receiving table @ a dealership.
The top is 1/8" thick mild steel and it has a 5" lip at the back and a 2" lip going down at the front. The legs are 3/16" angle iron and 1/4" c channel with 1/8" c Channel supports for a lower shelf. I took pictures when I picked it up but my phone apparently didn't like them.
Here's the pictures that I have...
This is what the top looked like when I pulled it off the legs.
I welded up the holes for the carriage bolts and the other holes where they had stuff mounted to the top as I wanted a smooth top.
Even with the rust I feel it was a good deal. It took a lot of hours with a wire wheel, flap wheel, and sandpaper to get it usable.
The Legs were in OK shape. It was just the top that was really rusty.
After some time with a wire wheel & flap wheel.
The original adjustable feet were bent and were simply bolts threaded into nuts welded to the legs.
I upgraded slightly
5/8" couplers for threaded rod welded to the legs
5/8" G5 bolts countersunk and epoxied into hockey pucks (Idea came from GJ - THANKS!)
While the epoxy set I cut 3 sheets of 3/8" OSB up and glued/screwed them together to create a sheet 2 1/8" thick. 24 hours later both the epoxy and the new base for the metal top were ready for assembly.
The wood base for the metal top weighed probably 60# and the metal top is probably 50# so picking them up and putting them on the legs once glued together was not really a smart option. I used 3/8"x 2" lag screws to attach the wood to the legs, applied a very liberal amount of Gorilla Glue to the wood and metal surfaces (after spraying it with a little water for better adhesion), slid the metal top on-top of the wood one and clamped and stacked probably 400 lbs of stuff on the bench.
I wanted electrical outlets on the bench so I mounted a box to the one of the legs and soon it grew into what you see below. The HF hose reel was given to me by my boss when he cleaned out his weekend warrior so he could sell it.
Switch for the lights above the bench and above the tool box.
I mounted a power strip to the left side for the laptop, stereo, chargers, etc.
I mounted my 6" Wilton to the left side and this is essentially what it looks like now.
It came out a bit taller than I would have liked but I needed to use the space under it for storage for the table saw, so that set the height for me. I added two diagonal cross braces to stiffen it up from moving laterally.
It is VERY stable. I stood on it while the glue was drying (with the 400+ lbs of stuff) and it didn't budge.
I still need to do a final sanding of the metal top and apply some oil to keep the flash/surface rust from coming back.
The back of the bench is currently cluttered with stuff as I go through boxes/tubs and find like items to combine so I can organize my garage (Build thread).
I was patient and found a screaming deal on craigslist. The guy didn't have any pictures but I knew it would go fast for $25. From what I gather it was used as a shipping/receiving table @ a dealership.
The top is 1/8" thick mild steel and it has a 5" lip at the back and a 2" lip going down at the front. The legs are 3/16" angle iron and 1/4" c channel with 1/8" c Channel supports for a lower shelf. I took pictures when I picked it up but my phone apparently didn't like them.
Here's the pictures that I have...
This is what the top looked like when I pulled it off the legs.
I welded up the holes for the carriage bolts and the other holes where they had stuff mounted to the top as I wanted a smooth top.
Even with the rust I feel it was a good deal. It took a lot of hours with a wire wheel, flap wheel, and sandpaper to get it usable.
The Legs were in OK shape. It was just the top that was really rusty.
After some time with a wire wheel & flap wheel.
The original adjustable feet were bent and were simply bolts threaded into nuts welded to the legs.
I upgraded slightly
5/8" couplers for threaded rod welded to the legs
5/8" G5 bolts countersunk and epoxied into hockey pucks (Idea came from GJ - THANKS!)
While the epoxy set I cut 3 sheets of 3/8" OSB up and glued/screwed them together to create a sheet 2 1/8" thick. 24 hours later both the epoxy and the new base for the metal top were ready for assembly.
The wood base for the metal top weighed probably 60# and the metal top is probably 50# so picking them up and putting them on the legs once glued together was not really a smart option. I used 3/8"x 2" lag screws to attach the wood to the legs, applied a very liberal amount of Gorilla Glue to the wood and metal surfaces (after spraying it with a little water for better adhesion), slid the metal top on-top of the wood one and clamped and stacked probably 400 lbs of stuff on the bench.
I wanted electrical outlets on the bench so I mounted a box to the one of the legs and soon it grew into what you see below. The HF hose reel was given to me by my boss when he cleaned out his weekend warrior so he could sell it.
Switch for the lights above the bench and above the tool box.
I mounted a power strip to the left side for the laptop, stereo, chargers, etc.
I mounted my 6" Wilton to the left side and this is essentially what it looks like now.
It came out a bit taller than I would have liked but I needed to use the space under it for storage for the table saw, so that set the height for me. I added two diagonal cross braces to stiffen it up from moving laterally.
It is VERY stable. I stood on it while the glue was drying (with the 400+ lbs of stuff) and it didn't budge.
I still need to do a final sanding of the metal top and apply some oil to keep the flash/surface rust from coming back.
The back of the bench is currently cluttered with stuff as I go through boxes/tubs and find like items to combine so I can organize my garage (Build thread).