here's my new benches. excuse the mess, things are still in disarray . i'm in the process of getting things back on schedule with my workload, getting things arranged in the shop & still have numerous boxes & a storage container full of things from the fire that need going thru & cleaned up. it's been a long road...
i just finished this yesterday. these were some of the kitchen cabinets from my mother in law's house that were removed after some flooding last year. the contractor was padding his bill as there was absolutely no damage on these & was going to throw them away. i bought 16 ft of this countertop new from lowes for $40 after an "insider" tip that they were rearranging their countertop aisle & marking down the leftovers. i still have to build a sliding base for the sewing machine to bring it up level with the top & can slide it out & insert the cutout piece & have a large sewing area. total price= $40.
i picked up two of these 4 ft steel lyon benches off craigslist for $90 each in like new condition. right now, one has bolt bins stacked on it until i build a steel base to hold them permanently. the other is a "marshalling point" for items from the fire to come in, be sorted & cleaned etc. total price= $180
this will be my welding table. before the fire, it was the stand for my milling machine. i sold the mill cheap but kept the table. my new mill has a stand so will add another piece of 1/4" steel tp the top along with some casters & paint the lower part. total price= FREE!
this has to be my most used workstation & best investment to date. its a jet 3'x5' hydraulic lift table. it's great for unloading heavy items from a truck to the ground & doubles as a workbench to do bodywork on motorcycle tins. got a deal on this for $400 new (retail avg $600-$700) when i bought my other equipment. it was new in the box, but had been left outside in the weather until the box fell apart. after some cleanup & a little steel wool to the chrome handle, it was perfect!