One bench vs multiple rolling carts?

[afbrian13]

I think I made my decision today but you guys always have good ideas.
I've been working out a workbench design for a tablesaw, router, incorporate a miter saw, and a place to set other bench tools (sander, scroll saw, grinder) when needed. As I was designing I was getting into the 8ft long range, which I don't have space for right now. I already have a 36x80bench and rollaround toolbox top for workspace.

I'm leaning towards multiple 30x24 carts on casters. One for miter saw with flipup wings, tablesaw with flip up outfeed, and another for the sander and scroll saw. The last I can't decide between a flip top design or just 2 shelves to store the tools. When I get a jointer and planer, just build another cart.

I will be moving multiple times in the future, so this seems to be the better option. Easier to place things in different spaces, easier to move.

Any suggestions or ideas? Examples of others that have gone with this idea?

Thank for anything you've got!

 

[Richard Cranium]

I agree with the mobile carts, especially with you going to be moving many times in the future. Plus you can move the cart out to the door if you want more natural light.

 

[chicken89]

i made a rolling bench for my chop saw. made the saw fold down, so its kindda out of the way. i used old kitchen cabinets, so i have drawers for hand stuff (tape measure, markers, pencils, extra screws and nails, screwdrivers). i put all my saw type tools in the lower part- blades, saw zaw, jig saw.
like Cranium mentioned, it is nice to be able to pull the table out of the garage and into the light... also helps keep saw dust out of garage. and since it rolls, it can be moved around the garage depending on if i need space for a car

lastly, when i move, i will be able to load the cart up with more tools that i won't have an immediate need for and use that for storage

i thought i had a pic of mine, but it is before i put on the chop saw.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I guess it depends on how you work. And it's definitely a personal preference thing. I hate rolling benches. I don't want to have to move something in order to use it, for instance. I don't like to have to think too hard about the best configuration for a project before I get started. I just want to start it. I want to remember where everything is in my shop without having to think about it. Rolling something means it will get left where it was rolled to. Then I'm going to have to make a decision about rolling it somewhere or just using it in an inconvenient place.

I don't like when a bench or a tool moves while I'm using it. I want it to be solid.

That said, all of this is a compromise of one sort or another, and lots of guys would land firmly on the other side of the line. And for them, it's the right answer.

I have ten benches in my 20x21 shop. To me, that makes starting a project very easy -- even if something else is already started on another bench. Not all of my benches are always available, unfortunately. Space limitations dictate that. And there are a lot of tools I have to take out (or worse, take down) in order to use. I don't prefer that -- again, everything is some kind of compromise in a 20x21 shop.

But I don't have anything is on rollers, and I've never wished something was.

 

[XS29L9B]

I have a bench, and it's unorganized and full of ****. It's also too far away from anything I am working on, inside or out of the garage. So I am a fan of a rolling cart - a HEAVY rolling cart, with locks for castors.

 

[77Mini]

For a general use bench I like something fixed or built in. Something nice and stable, level, and sturdy.
For various wood working tools like you are talking about I can see possibly having something that rolls.

 

[77Mini]

If you have enough room to have everything in a permanent fixed location I think that would be more convenient.

 

[Thumper68]

I built dedicated rolling work stations for a few of my tools, Router table, planer, and the sanding station (spindle sander, belt/disk sander and down draft table) these were designed so that they would fit under my work bench. Since these are tools I don't use everyday it works, easy to pull out for use and then be put away.

Now the router table has found a home in the nitch between the outfeed on the table saw and the jointer so it no longer has to slide under the bench.

I will have to take a few pictures/video of them and post, they all have extra drawers for storage of the tools and supplies that go with them.

 

[Moose364]

I had everything in my old shop in a fixed place on a bench, and I found it's more of a CF than anything, you give up valuable bench space and it always seems everything is piled up around your tool
This time everything is going on rolling tool boxes, I can get the 4 drawer husky from Home depot for $100.00 I put a wood top then bolt the saw or drill press to it, I got my welding machine done already, It nice having everything right where your working at and can use it and put it back in its drawer, the scroll saw is next, and for stability I going to weld a docking station on the side of my bench that I can if needed lock the tool box in, and as long as I stay with the same size tool box all of them would be able to use the docking
Ive just started this, and doing it as money lets me, the only thing I have done is the welding machine tool box, and so far and very happy with it,

 

[bczygan]

A combination of fixed positions for tools, clear bench top space that folds down from the wall, bench top space that rolls around and tools that are mounted on walls, benches, and tools that are stored, but can easily be pulled out and mounted for use, would be my solution for less than adequate space.

I wouldn't mind a standard setup routine for different tasks.

I also don't mind different tasks being in different locations, even different buildings.

Stock can be in one place, cutting in another. Milling and drilling in another. Assembly can occur in a lot of places. Then surface treatments and finishing in yet another.

If space is small, then get as many tasks out of the space as possible.

I know a guy who assembled aircraft in his garage. No space for covering wings, so a long table in his living room was the answer. And he bent aluminum tubing in a bender, mounted on the wall, in the hallway.

Bill

 

[Clik]

I get to working on a project and then get held up because I need a part or a fastener. At that point I often move on to another project. I often have three or four projects going on, so, I like multiple portable work stations.

 

[bczygan]

Sounds like a woodworking shop to me.

Two ways of breaking down the accessibility requirements of different tools.

The first is to examine the flow of the work, from initial stock acquisition to jointing, planing, band-sawing, cutting and breaking down sheet stock on the table saw, to lathe work, drilling and mortising, sanding, assembly and finishing.

The second way to break things down, is by how much the tool is used. The more it is used, the more readily accessible it needs to be. For most woodworking the most used tool will be the table saw. That needs to be front and center, or at least easily be made front and center. Another often used item is the workbench. It needs to have an easily fixable location with ready access to all the hand tools. It can also double as an assembly table. Even the table saw can be used as a surface for assembly.

I would break the work cycle into the following main phases.

Stock acquisition, storage and acclimatization.

Rough board and panel prep. including jointing, planing, bandsaw work and table saw work.

Secondary work including lathe work, mortising, routing and fine table saw work.

Pre-assembly and glue-up and final assembly.

Sanding.

Finishing

Some of these tasks can be done in different areas, in fact, some should be, like sanding and finishing.

Some things like jointing and miter saw work require a long narrow work space. This space can be doubled up for more than one use.

Some functions can be done separate from the main shop. Stock storage and jointing and miter saw work and scroll saw and mortising can all be done in different places.

What are your available spaces?

Bill

 

[toddacimer]

I prefer a large toolbox so all my tools are together. I also like having a room on top of the box to set tools rather than a larger stack of boxes.

 

[afbrian13]

Thanks for all the replies! I can't wait until I have a space to have solid benches everywhere and can leave everything stationery, but that not going to happen with what I've got now. I do a lot of auto work and the 61 and 76 toys live in the garage too. I've always wanted to get into more woodworking and just can't have the dedicated space right now.

I'll have to get you guys some demensions and pictures of the current setup. In short, 1968 2 car garage with a center post. Houses 2 cars and still has working space in front to access my bench across the back wall (deeper garage than a modern house)

Like I said, I'll get some measurements and pictures. I have 1 solid bench, so I think my best bet will be the carts. Looking at many different plans, I'm going to build them like mini workbenchs. Most of what I see are basically a kitchen cabinet on wheels, but I'd like some a little more stout than that.
Thanks again!

 

[taumac]

My father and my FIL have 2 different shop designs. Mine has 2 clear benches with a system of wooden plywood plates to bolt stuff down.

These holes line up with holes in the mounting plates for tools, vises etc.

It's a universal spacing so I can mount any tool to my bench. I can also take in outside and set up a table or Workmate outside. This idea works for me and keeps tools on the shelf off the bench. I also park 2 vehicles in my 2 car garage.

On the flip side my FIL has same size garage and only parks 1 car in his. He has every power tool on carts or rolling stands. He used bunch of universal table saw stands from HF. Rolls tool out uses it and rolls it back.

So my design is more set up time but doesn't take up floor space while his takes much less time to set up but uses valuable floor and other room. Since he does a lot more wood working than I his work best for his hobby while I might break out the chop saw or table saw only few times a year. It depends hood much you depend on using the tools.

Overall I like a movable tool any day of the week verse a a stationary piece IMO.

 

[astroracer]

This is one of the TEN roll-a-round tables/workstations I have built. This one has a 3/8th's thick metal top on it now. Built from a trash picked bathroom vanity.

This one is built from another trash picked bathroom vanity. It has a 1/4" steel top.

I got two of these cabinets for 30 bucks (15 ea.) One is my automotive paint supply storage and the other holds all of my sockets and wrenches. Well, not ALL of them, but a lot...!

These go pretty much where ever I need them to and having this stuff on casters sure does make cleaning and rearrainging easier.
Mark

 

[EdT]

Clearly, there is a wide range of opinions on this topic, so I'll throw in one more. I find mobile work benches to be too unstable for heavy work even with locking casters. They are OK for, say, assembly work or taking something apart, but for tasks where you have to crank on something, I find them unsatisfactory. Mobile tools where the mobility is temporary seem to work out OK. For instance, my table saw is on a mobile base that can be elevated for moving and then set back down off the wheels for use. That kind of system seems to work pretty well, but can add quite a bit of complexity compared to simple casters. There are lot of designs for retractable "landing gear" for benches out there on the internet. For certain kinds of tools where the bench or table is not really absorbing any lateral loads, simple roll arounds are probably fine. For example, a chop saw is probably OK on a roll around since the forces of cutting are not trying to move the bench very much. That said, the forces of loading a large piece of lumber may be transferred to the bench and it's annoying to have the bench roll away as you're loading the board. I guess the bottom line is that there is no single answer; it depends on what you're trying to do. I would certainly vote for having a way to move a bench should the need arise, but that doesn't mean that everything needs to be permanently perched on wheels. For smaller machines, the "wheel barrow" approach is a good one with the machine having a couple of wheels on one side and a suitable pair of handles (removable) on the other side. The wheels don't touch the floor until the machine is tipped a bit. Note: for this approach choose non-swiveling casters. Hope you can find the best solution for your situation.

 

[Zeke]

I have most all shop machines on casters. I agree that sometimes that makes for a less than perfectly stable machine. Depends on the work. The trick is to have as much as possible at the exact same work height so one can be used as an auxiliary to another such as a table saw outfeed.

 

[kbs2244]

All my power tools are on wheels with assigned parking spots along the wall.
My tool box is actively rolled around.
I have two 24x48 roll around work tables.
My bench is so full of stuff I cannot find the top.

 

[Thumper68]

Here is a video on 2 of my mobile work stations

 

[Thumper68]

Here is a video on 2 of my mobile work stations