Work bench build

[Mainiac Mat]

15 years ago, they were scrapping an industrial bench with a solid maple top and stainless steel metal surface at work and I bought it from the owners for $20. I've used the maple top bench in my basement woodshop ever since, but I saved the metal all these years, knowing it would come in handy some day.... that day was today...



Vise is a cheap China clone bought at a tool auction long, long ago (anyone else old enough to remember Homier Distributors truck auctions). I'll make better use of this style vise in the garage than the woodshop.



Leg's are milled from rough Maple 4x4s I had sitting in the barn loft forever...







The rails are from a stash of 2x, shelf is 5/8" CDX, and top is two layers of 3/4" Advantek laminated together... all left over from the garage build.

Decided to make the shelf pretty using an old can of ebony stain, Walnut gel stain, and rattle can poly.



The whole thing is from scrap materials I've been accumulating/hoarding... $0 out of pocket

 

[craftsman creep]

Nice

 

[dfiler2]

Looks great, you have some nice tools there.

 

[captain14]

Very nice and almost free too!

 

[jfoster]

Cool to see the stuff used. I have friends who either pay to store stuff for so long, that the rent cost more than the value of the stuff.... or that have dragged stuff from residence to residence, parking cars outside to allow them to store this stuff...that they've never used.

I'm mostly tried to switch to disposing of stuff that has been in the way more than a year or 2 - so far, so good. I've only re-bought stuff I've thrown away a couple times

 

[Kuma601]

Is that a Jet bandsaw? That looks like the same miter fence that is on mine. Have you made an mods to yours? Mine doesn't glide as smoothly as I'd like it to.

I wish my table was that clean.

 

[Mainiac Mat]

Yes…. Jet band saw. Purchased new over a decade ago. Fence is stock. Any tracking problems I used to have were solved when I learned to center bottom of blade gullet on the tire.

BS is the only large woodworking tool in the shop I paid >$100 for. The TS, jointer and planer were all purchased covered in rust and refurbished.

 

[LryFx1]

That bench looks real nice ! I've got that same vise on mine, and mounted on a corner just like yours is - very handy in that position. My vise was acquired the same way, from the same type of truck sale. I think I only paid 20.00 or so for it, and did not expect it to last real long. But it has served me well for 30+ years now. FWIW, the paint covered Bondo is chipping off of mine in the same places as yours is. For a cheap China vice though, it has performed way better than I have expected over the years. First in my former truck repair shop, where it got Used and Abused a lot, and now in my retirement shop.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Work bench looks nice and strong.

I remember those Homier tool truck sales, still have a few things from them.