work benches... from scratch

[q20v]

Thanks for the info, Crizzle.

I like the idea of using 2x'whatever' for the top. Cheap and easy to replace, like you said. Did you do anything to help reduce the groove where they meet up? Know what I mean? For the main bench in my garage I laminated 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood, 30"x96". I want to rebuild it with a reduced depth and a new top (and a few other changes...), so I think I'll try your idea.

 

[Crizzle]

Yeah, I ripped the 2x stock on both sides with my table saw so that it mated together fairly well. There is a bit of a groove like you said, but that is more due to the natural warping of the 2x stock. I actually got the plans from here:

http://www.plansnow.com/wbenchplank2.html

And was really happy with how it turned out.

Edit:

I also made some tweaks to the plan that you can see in the photo. I added the two cross members on the bottom so that I could add the intermediate CMan chest to store some of the tools and files I use less regularly. The plans just call for cleats and the 1x stock stretched across front to back for the length of the bottom.

I pulled the drawers from the chest and drilled two holes on each side and then secured it to the two supports, so it isn't going anywhere. I also tweaked the height of the workbench just slightly so that I can use it as an outfeed table for my tablesaw.

 

[MN4x4]

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.

What did the refrigerator do wrong that it has to stand and face the corner?

 

[carwash]

Hi there... first post by the way.

I built this one in our new shop last week. 36" x 36" x 32'. It's solid, not going anywhere. has an undershelf that is 24" deep to allow leg room, etc.

Not shown is the last build shot before the finished product, there are supports running under the top longways, 22" out from the wall to help support the 36" plywood span. I didn't trust the 3/4" ply to not bow in that kind of span over time.

 

[rmousir]

that's a big bench!

 

[ishiboo]

4'x8' table, excuse the mess. Legs to most of my benches are a 2x4 joined to a 2x6... VERY strong and cheaper than a 4x4. Construction screws with fender washes were used for most of the "structural" joints. Casters are an absolute necessity I thought a 4x8 table sounded too big, but once I built it I quickly realized I could consume all available space in minutes

Two drawers below are as big as my slides would allow and have a ton of space. Drawers are 1x8" boards with 7/16" OSB bottoms.

The top is just a 4x8 sheet of 7/16" OSB, at times I have different things on it. There I have several sheets of 1/4" and 1/2" plywood I have clamped down to straighten out. I was doing upholstery work on the boat when this was taken, and soon used the wood and stapled a sheet of vinyl to the top so I could easily slide upholstery/etc over the top.

 

[carwash]

A 4x8 bench would do nothing but aggravate me... ha.

 

[waltmcq]

A 4x8 bench would do nothing but aggravate me... ha.

I've found that the longer the bench the more **** I have piled on it

 

[ishiboo]

A 4x8 bench would do nothing but aggravate me... ha.

Probably not if you had stuff that took up the whole 4x8 bench to work on

 

[alutig]

Built this one with a sink in it, this summer.

 

[chief ben]

 

[JTG]

The wall of wrenches is great!

 

[BerBer5985]

The wall of wrenches is great!

AGREED^^

I wish my workbench looked like that.

Has anyone thought of using Hardwood flooring, like oak, maple, ash, etc, connecting them tongue and groove and using that a workbench top? We own a flooring store and we get random leftover boxes of wood, mostly oak, but sometimes maple and what not and I'm thinking about building a frame and putting down a thing layer of plywood with the 3/4" hardwood flooring installed on top of the plywood. Sort of a "free" hard surface to work on.

 

[DrZero]

Did somebody say pictures?

I posted this in another thread, but it seems to also belong in a 'work benches... from scratch' collection.

I got a little break in my work schedule the other day, so while the kid was in school I knocked this bench together.

Here's the rough sketch I did at breakfast:

Nice look, but I needed to figure out how to bend the 2"x2" tubing. So I finally unpacked my cheapo Harbor Freight roller bender. Without dies for square tubing, it was slow going. I ended up having to make a series of cuts to help it along:

Then I just cut the rest of the pieces to match the sketch. I used a total of 33' of square tubing:

My assembly on this had to be quick (since the kid's only in half days of nursery school), and I'm still enough of a novice so that the welds are pretty ugly. But that's what grinders were invented for, right?

Here it is in its basic shape with the butcher block sitting on top of it. At this point, I still need to do the grinding, filling and paint:

My garage is still a complete mess from tearing out most of the old cabinets and putting some steel units in. But if you squint your eyes and look through all the clutter, the bigger picture of the new look is starting to come together:

As you can see, I stained the tops of all three wood benches a dark brown. It's kind of shiny in this picture, because it's drying -- but it will have a satin finish and be almost an opaque stain kind of look. I didn't want the tops to look like nice furniture, but I didn't want them to look like raw lumber, either.

(The lumber resting next to it is for an unrelated project.)

An amazing table. You could build furniture for a living. Maybe you do? Excellent design and fabrication.

 

[BlueSOG]

Crappy pictures but here is mine. The base/frame is 2x6's on 18" centers with 4x4 post legs (6). The top is 2 pieces of 3/4" MDF with a piece of 1/2" MDF in the center all glued together. The skin is 1/8" Stainless. It's the most solid bench I've ever seen (for wood) and HEAVY! It's also bolted to the wall. It sports a reciever hitch for various tools.

 

[swharris]

I built this for my garage:

parts and cut lists here

OK, what's your VW list? Mine is:

'62 DC
'65 Westy(poptop)
'67 Westy(hardtop)
'66 Fasty (recently sold)

 

[rmousir]

Has anyone thought of using Hardwood flooring, like oak, maple, ash, etc, connecting them tongue and groove and using that a workbench top? We own a flooring store and we get random leftover boxes of wood, mostly oak, but sometimes maple and what not and I'm thinking about building a frame and putting down a thing layer of plywood with the 3/4" hardwood flooring installed on top of the plywood. Sort of a "free" hard surface to work on.

That is a good idea. I have a bunch of hard wood from when we removed it from my entry way when we installed the new floors. I have only used a small amount of it. I guess it would do very well for a bench top.

 

[BerBer5985]

That is a good idea. I have a bunch of hard wood from when we removed it from my entry way when we installed the new floors. I have only used a small amount of it. I guess it would do very well for a bench top.

My only concern would be stuff getting between the cracks, but I guess if you're feeling froggy, you could sand the prefibished tops down square and then recour with a couple layers of poly to help seal it better. I'm gonna try using just prefinished on my top because it'll be hard and it's free so why not.

 

[Jack Olsen]

An amazing table. You could build furniture for a living. Maybe you do? Excellent design and fabrication.

Thanks very much.

It means a lot to me because I write fiction for a living; I really shouldn't be building anything. But I was raised in a family of engineers -- so even though I squandered my youth studying a lot of useless nonsense, some stuff got through.

Just enough for me to be dangerous. I'll post some pictures.

The bench is still holding up well.

It was nice to have the surface at the opening to the garage when we were swapping the motor for the race car last month.

My sissy-boy literary fingers also put together a cool wall unit for the nursery when my son was born:

And there's usually a curve in whatever I build.

Don't really have a name for this one -- 'shade canopy,' I guess.

$#*! My Engineer Dad Says: If you can't transform the physical world around you, you're not really living in that world.

 

[Krokodil]

Awesome work as always Jack!

 

[koister2001]

Jack, I want to register myself as a big fan of yours. Kudos on the creativity in design workmanship.

 

[Hubb]

So meny good ideas, but sadly Im still not sure how I want to do mine

 

[thomfr]

@Jack: How did you make that cure in the roof of those sheds? (=how did you bend that plywood?).
Sorry for poluting this topic.

Thom

 

[jerseywild]

I didn't even see the dog the first time.

 

[jerseywild]

An amazing table. You could build furniture for a living. Maybe you do? Excellent design and fabrication.

Jack did you leave the cuts in the arched tubing when you painted or did you fill them?

 

[PassnThru]

What did the refrigerator do wrong that it has to stand and face the corner?

I'm betting that it's old enough to have a door that only opens from the outside and since he isn't using it right now and possibly has kids around that he did it for safety. Good job

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

No pics of the build because it predates my discovery of this site but here's my "homemade" workbench. It started out as a resturaunt prep table I got from a metal recycling place...

 

[Jack Olsen]

Awesome work as always Jack!

Jack, I want to register myself as a big fan of yours. Kudos on the creativity in design workmanship.

Thank you.

@Jack: How did you make that cure in the roof of those sheds? (=how did you bend that plywood?).

I cut the curve on the front and back pieces, and then connected the front and back with joists every foot. Then I used my weight to force the wood to conform to the curve as I screwed the piece down.

On the tighter of the two curves, I had to use two layers of 1/4" sheet, since the 1/2" MDF that worked on the other (less-severely-curved) roof broke when I first tried bending it.

Jack did you leave the cuts in the arched tubing when you painted or did you fill them?

I used filler -- but just regular wall-type filler, not bondo. I knew there wouldn't be much bumping against that part of the bench. It's actually pretty ugly, up close. But I was learning as I went.

Now... back to the work benches.

 

[Zengineer]

Like this. I drew lines where the 2x4s would lie next to each other, and the dots are where I might put fasteners.

That looks familiar!

 

[toytech40]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I finally took the time to go through this thread from beginning to end and wonder why I waited so long, there are alot of great ideas, plans, and solutions from alot of talented guys out there. From building their own idea, to using plans, or repurposing another item to use as a bench. using metal, wood or a combination. Getting me motivated to do more to my bench I started and work in progress for the past 20 years, upgraded as ideas and materials came along. I will try and get some pics and story of my bench.

Again WOW and kudos to each of you who shared pics and info about their benches.

 

[BerBer5985]

Here's my workbench. I was inspired by you guys. I made it out of all leftovers with a solid oak unfinished top, which stills needs to be sanded and finished, but I haven't gotten to that point yet. I may add another shelf. There are are 4 heavy duty casters on the bottom so I can roll it around as needed.

 

[BerBer5985]

Any idea on what I should finish an oak top with? It's an unheated garage and I was thinking a spar finish since it's good for outdoors.

 

[ddawg16]

Any idea on what I should finish an oak top with? It's an unheated garage and I was thinking a spar finish since it's good for outdoors.

I would go with Watco oil stain....I've found it to be one of the best at repelling stuff. Follow up with a good water based clear coat.....like about 4-5 coats....just make sure you give the stain several days to dry before you apply the clear.....otherwise, it will just peel off.

 

[ChrisMc45]

Cletus66, I like the benches your bride made, the corrugated galvanized doors are a great look for the shop, they give it more than custom but almost artistic look....in the good way.
Cheers

 

[larry4406]

Here is my contribution.

The work surface is a 90 minute fire door from a commcerical building (3'x7"). The underside tube steel is set up such that I have 5 receiver locations on the front of the table, one on each side, and two on the back. The support frame was held back from the table edge 6" so I can clamp directly too it. The legs are nested with cinch bolts so that it can be dismantled (top, two legs, shelf assembly). There is a lower shelf frame that I still need to install the welded wire mesh on. The caster wheels have both brakes and swivel locks. I held the front long tube steel down (receivers above) so that welding clamps can be hung from it. I plan on attaching a 6' power strip to the front of the table and some power cord cable management to one of the legs. I built two of these and the fire doors have a female pocket on one end which I will install a male into so that the tables can be butted tight and held together with a latch making one big table.

 

[shocksystems]

Here is my contribution.

.... The caster wheels have both brakes and swivel locks. ..

Nice job with the table.

Any more details on the casters? What brand, what weight rating, where did you get them?

Cheers!

Jim

 

[wilb1976]

Larry - Great job on the table, I really like all the box tubing and all the options they provide!

 

[larry4406]

Nice job with the table.

Any more details on the casters? What brand, what weight rating, where did you get them?

Cheers!

Jim

I bought the casters from Grizzly - the are H0685 - 5" Gray Rubber Swivel Caster w/ Double Brake and were $8.95 each. They are rated 220 lbs each.

The brake and swivel lock work concurrently, not independently.
http://grizzly.com/products/5-Gray-Rubber-Swivel-Caster-w-Double-Brake/H0685

 

[heathkiks]

Just thought that I had better through my work areas up. The wood one is not by me, but it was from scratch. The top is 4" thick by 24" deep.

I built the metal one some years ago because I had (and still do have) limited work space. My benches always lacked surface in one direction or the other, so I came up with a remedy that helps a lot of the time. I can position the extra table on either side, adjustable to about 3' away from the main table and up, down, swivel.

P.S.

Please disregard the mess... just moved in.

 

[Victorymike18]

A question for those building a bench from wood:

If fastening with wood screws do you like to drill a small pilot hole for the screw? I like to do this, as I feel it helps prevent splitting the wood. It also helps ensure the screw finds the right path.

What's better for a workbench, coarse thread or fine thread screws?

I'm building a bench soon, and appreciate the advice.