work benches... from scratch

[evil_twin]

What great work benches. 1 thing I HATE about work benches is that things end up piling on there that don't need to be there.

 

[Jack Olsen]

That's why you can never have too many of them in the garage.

 

[brats.n.harleys]

Built a new one friday night. needed the room, and with my new vise, there was no way my older one would have supported it plus beating on top of it. 11'x33'', 2x6's for the top. Some rusto enamel on top with the garage floor specks.

heres my big boy

and the little guy

 

[brats.n.harleys]

Not sure if you can see in the pics, but also re doing the floor paint, Never again will i use that stuff, tiles are up next.

 

[scarrylarry]

This is the plan I used when I made my work bench,but I basically just followed the first part and as the bench progressed I used a few of my own ideas.It would have been sturdy enough using the 2X material but I went a little heavy with some custom cut lumber.You could incorparate anything you like from the basic plan including the benchtop of choice.Just an idea for someone starting out.





http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Woodworking/Workbenches/modular-workbench/Step-By-Step

Here's another one that impressed me as well.
https://www.finewoodworking.com/Workshop/WorkshopArticle.aspx?id=29507

 

[juicegoose]

Heres mine

All big box store framing lumber with a top built of a solid core door from the local habitat for humanity store and a piece of hardboard on top. it's worked well for my needs.

 

[scarrylarry]

Re: work benches... from scratch juicegoose

Nice looking bench juicegoose.When you say solid core,what material are you talking about, solid wood or an MDF type product/chipboard?
scarrylarry

 

[juicegoose]

The solid core door is exactly that SOLID core. Basic construction of this type of door is some sort of exterior flat panel(ex. plywood veneer) then they laminate long strips of filler wood in the center then another layer of thin plywood o the outside. It's crazy strong and will stay flat as all getout. I put the tempered hardboard top on it for the smoother surface and if when the brown hardboard gets all tore up from drill bits and such i can peel it off and stick another piece on it. Total I've probably got about 100 bucks in the bench material not including the vise. The framework was straight as I could find Kiln dried 2/4's from a big box store. The joint are half lap or through tenon and I backed up that with bolts. The rollers are nice and I've got it setup at the same height as my tablesaw but in retrospect the rollers allow the table to rock to much for planing and sawing.

If you want some more info let me know I can send you my autocad file i created when designing the bench and take some pics of the joinery.

As a side note because I made my bench top roughly as wide as a sheet of plywod and as long i had some extra left over solid core door. I made this cart to go under that useless space below a drill press and filled it wit drill press related items and my disc sander. It's great And I use it all the time toput my planer or other things on it. Here are some pics of it. In the first picture I had just thrown a scrap piece of plywood on the drawer front since then I've put on a nicer front

 

[juicegoose]

opps lets rotate those bad boys here ya go.

 

[Printer Mike]

Thanks for all the ideas!

 

[river1]

As a side note because I made my bench top roughly as wide as a sheet of plywod and as long i had some extra left over solid core door. I made this cart to go under that useless space below a drill press and filled it wit drill press related items and my disc sander. It's great And I use it all the time toput my planer or other things on it. Here are some pics of it. In the first picture I had just thrown a scrap piece of plywood on the drawer front since then I've put on a nicer front

flippin brilliant, i'm going to add that to my project list.

later jim

 

[padronanniversary]

My garage has eight work surfaces in it. Three are steel and five are wood. I built all of them.

#7 and #8 work like this:

#1 is a solid-core door on a structure made of paired 2x4s. It's faced with some old (water-damaged) roofing stock.

#2 is the strongest of the bunch. It weighs close to a thousand pounds.

Where did you get the top for the #2 ? Solid steel I assume ? (SS ??)

if you do not mind asking, where do I find something like that, and how much should I expect to pay ?

 

[kursplat]

this was built by my grandfather (cir. 1950?) out of used shipping crates. lucky me got to inherit it

 

[jakeb]

This thread is great...I know it is in the sticky for stickys but it needs a bump.

What height is everyone making their benches? I have one at 38" right now but I am going to be re building a lot of things in my garage and would like to have my boxes under a bench. My boxes are right around 41".... Is that going to be too tall?

Also...wood or metal for the base?

 

[evil_twin]

I think my bench is 36"x72"x48"?

I want to build another one though...

 

[dcovey]

opps lets rotate those bad boys here ya go.

I like that under drill press cabinet.. I think I'll steal it if you don't mind...

Dave

 

[brokenknee]

This thread is great...I know it is in the sticky for stickys but it needs a bump.

What height is everyone making their benches? I have one at 38" right now but I am going to be re building a lot of things in my garage and would like to have my boxes under a bench. My boxes are right around 41".... Is that going to be too tall?

Also...wood or metal for the base?

It would be for me, but then I am only 5' 8". My bench is 36" which works out good for me.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Where did you get the top for the #2 ? Solid steel I assume ? (SS ??)

if you do not mind asking, where do I find something like that, and how much should I expect to pay ?

Sorry. I just now saw this when the thread came back to the top. The top piece is 1" steel plate. It weighs 410# and cost me just under $300, if I remember right. But this is the sort of piece that will reflect steel price variations, and it definitely pays to talk to a handful of steel suppliers to get the best price on it. I remember someone saying they could get the same size piece for $150 at the time, but that was in Canada.

If you can get a piece like that as a remnant (or from a scrap place) it can save you some money.

 

[R6 Racer]

vvv Man I luv this! vvv What a great idea! Definitely gonna steel this one... thanks!

Originally Posted by padronanniversary
Where did you get the top for the #2 ? Solid steel I assume ? (SS ??)
If you do not mind asking, where do I find something like that, and how much should I expect to pay ?

Reply by Jack Olsen
Sorry. I just now saw this when the thread came back to the top. The top piece is 1" steel plate. It weighs 410# and cost me just under $300, if I remember right. But this is the sort of piece that will reflect steel price variations, and it definitely pays to talk to a handful of steel suppliers to get the best price on it. I remember someone saying they could get the same size piece for $150 at the time, but that was in Canada.
If you can get a piece like that as a remnant (or from a scrap place) it can save you some money.

^^^+1 on that^^^. I picked mine up as a remnant for $100 (In Canada) it's 29"x60"x.75"

Steve

 

[rickycobra]

What great work benches. 1 thing I HATE about work benches is that things end up piling on there that don't need to be there.

Tools should always be put back away but stuff like paper could be fixed have organizational space on walls for important documents and what not. I have one surface in my garage where I allow stuff to accumulate but it usually gets cleared when I'm done for the day.

 

[c_mccann]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77066

My workbench...

 

[bugdust]

Mine is simple. It is 24" x 10', don't remember the height. The top is 3/4" plywood with rounded edges and a couple coats of clear.

 

[gordsgarage]

I built a couple benches framed out of 2 x 2 square steel. I had a local fabrication shop bend the steel tops for me. I then sheeted the steel frame with 3/4" G1S plywood. I wanted casters on them so I could move them into the middle of the shop in case I needed more room for the projects. I also made them so I could bolt them together either side by side or back to back in order to double my flat surface work area. I made sure that there was a 2 x 2 steel frame inset around the perimeter just under the steel top so that I had something solid, and square, to bolt my work to (the welding clamps contact the steel on the underside of the top). I don't hesitate to weld jigs to the tops of them. I built them to abuse them. I have had them now for 5 years and they are working great. I'm not sure I would change a thing.

Gord

 

[JOHNMAN]

Curious what is used here for the top layer? Looks like sheet metal bent around? If so how was this accomplished. Looks great. Im building my bench this weekend, top will be 3/4" mdf. I need something to protect it from oil. Might even epoxy it

It's been a while since I looked at this thread.

Thanks for asking.

The top material is 16 GA 316 Stainless. I brought a few pieces from when I moved away from Kansas City 2 years ago. Our shop at work fabricates large washers and tanks from stainless and formed more tops to match my existing pieces. I'm lucky and could get the material at cost both in Kansas City and now in Southern Indiana.

I absolutely love the tops. They wipe down easily and I don't baby it either. It gets it's fair share of abuse. The scratches it gets just gives it more character like a fine patina and it should not rust. I screwed the top pieces down with stainless flat head screws so it can come up and I can take it with me if i should ever have to relocate.



Anyone have any suggestions on how to make nice cheap doors for cabinets?

 

[thomfr]

Wow! lovely stuff (and ideas) here!

Is there something of a general accepted rule for the height of a workbench compared to the length of the man working on it normally? I,m 1,78 meter long.
Preferably in metric system, but I can convert if needed.

Thom

 

[thomfr]

Anyone have any suggestions on how to make nice cheap doors for cabinets?

I always look first at Ikea (don't know how well there network is in the USA).
Cheap and a quitte wide selection of stuff. If thst does not work, try a flea market.

Thom

 

[Crizzle]

Finally my submission. Took me way to long to build it as I was working at it off and on over the summer.

 

[Crizzle]

Oh, and it isn't quite finished, need one more piece of 1x to finish it up.

 

[rmousir]

those are great!

 

[oldgoat]

Crizzle that looks almost exactly like mine. It works pretty good for me. A good solid workbench is too handy to do without.

 

[Crizzle]

Crizzle that looks almost exactly like mine. It works pretty good for me. A good solid workbench is too handy to do without.

Oh I know. I'm happy to finally have it done. And it is super solid. I was standing on it last night hooking up a second set of speakers to my receiver and it felt as sturdy as the ground.

 

[Crizzle]

One more thing, that I neglected to point out. You can kind of see in the pictures, but I have some of my equipment hanging from storage hooks under the back edge of the workbench. Finish sander, jig saw, router, and one open hook go from left to right. Still need to figure out how best to arrange everything to maximize space.

 

[Zengineer]

2x4's and a solid core door... less than $100 and uber strong. Took me about 4 hours to build and should last a long time.

 

[q20v]

Hey Crizzle, what are you using for your top?? How have you fastened it to the base?
And, that's probably one of the nicest benches I've seen!

 

[regguy1]

I built a couple benches framed out of 2 x 2 square steel. I had a local fabrication shop bend the steel tops for me. I then sheeted the steel frame with 3/4" G1S plywood. I wanted casters on them so I could move them into the middle of the shop in case I needed more room for the projects. I also made them so I could bolt them together either side by side or back to back in order to double my flat surface work area. I made sure that there was a 2 x 2 steel frame inset around the perimeter just under the steel top so that I had something solid, and square, to bolt my work to (the welding clamps contact the steel on the underside of the top). I don't hesitate to weld jigs to the tops of them. I built them to abuse them. I have had them now for 5 years and they are working great. I'm not sure I would change a thing.

Gord

Nice clean look

 

[SteelArt]

Hi Guys, here is my main work bench.

It is 1800 x 1600 with 100 x 100 x 6mm legs and crosses and a 12mm steel top. It has box hitches all round so I can put tooling in there as required.



You can see a vice fitting on the far side.



I have made mounts for most tools that need to hold solid, here is the hand sheer in place. Doing it like this means it has good overhang and access.

I have also put trailer jockey wheels on it so to move it aboiut I simply wind them up and move it then put it back down. Table weighs in at about 500kg so I can bash stuff without worrying about it moving.

It has two large draws on each side to keep jigs and weld tooling in and soon will have cupboards under it for more space.

 

[Keep]

That thing is huge, nice looking bench.

 

[DaMaN]

I built a couple benches framed out of 2 x 2 square steel. I had a local fabrication shop bend the steel tops for me. I then sheeted the steel frame with 3/4" G1S plywood. I wanted casters on them so I could move them into the middle of the shop in case I needed more room for the projects. I also made them so I could bolt them together either side by side or back to back in order to double my flat surface work area. I made sure that there was a 2 x 2 steel frame inset around the perimeter just under the steel top so that I had something solid, and square, to bolt my work to (the welding clamps contact the steel on the underside of the top). I don't hesitate to weld jigs to the tops of them. I built them to abuse them. I have had them now for 5 years and they are working great. I'm not sure I would change a thing.

Gord

Gorgeous workbench. Looks store bought.

 

[Crizzle]

Hey Crizzle, what are you using for your top?? How have you fastened it to the base?
And, that's probably one of the nicest benches I've seen!

Thanks! I am actually just using two 2x10's and a 2x12 that I ripped and sanded. I used the spax self drilling wood screws throughout the bench. Two inch to secure the cleats and planks on the bottom, 4 inch to secure the top planks to the runners and the cross beams, and 4 inch lag screws that you can see the tops of the secure the frame. The legs are half lapped 2x4's that were ripped to size and then the cross beams for the ends were dado'ed down to make sort of a mortise and tenon joint, but without the difficulty of cutting the mortise in a 4x4.


I'm going to seal the whole thing next weekend with spar urethane. I really didn't want to spend the money on a solid core door for the top in case I did something to ruin it. This way I can simply swap out one or all three planks from the top if I damage it or put too many drill holes in it or whatnot.

The thing is super sturdy and heavier than I expected it to be. I was standing on top of it swapping my speakers around on the stereo and it didn't even blink at my weight, and I'm about 250.

 

[fergus]

2x4's and a solid core door... less than $100 and uber strong. Took me about 4 hours to build and should last a long time.

Hey I'm gonna do the same thing. Did you do anything special for mounting that face vise?