Workbench advice

[riverfever]

Hey everyone, I feel silly asking this but I was hoping to get some input for my workbench. I have a 2 car garage and one bay is pretty much full with bicycles, some patio furniture, and a canoe. Because it gets cold up here, I always want the other side to be able to work on our vehicles if need be. I built the current bench right after moving in and no longer like it all that much because I don't think it's very efficient.

About half of the bench now gets used for fly tying and I'd really like to keep that area separate from the other half but still as one bench. I would love to have a height difference between the two sides but I'm lucky to get the end result actually even to where the legs don't wobble. For this bench I basically made a big rectangle out of 2x4 with 2x4 bracing in it for the top and covered it in MDF. I then put some cleats on the wall and then screwed in the legs several different times before it all seemed solid. It did not win any awards. The tv is a beat down and I should probably invest in a small flat screen or at least make some kind of corner mount for it above the compressor. I hate the backboard because it's a complete waste of space. I would love to have some cabinets or shelves above the bench. I've seen loads of pics on here of other benches but I can't figure out how to start. Are there any resources I can look at? Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[Syndicate]

Re: Workbench advise

Check out the 12GA garage and PM Mr. Jack Olsen. He is the Bench Guru here as far as I am concerned. Search threads for 12GA garage it will come up, after all he is world famous!

Here you go http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55006

 

[kbs2244]

The best thing I ever did is build 2 work tables on casters that slide under my workbench for “parking.”
I rarely use the workbench any more.
I bring the tables to the work instead of the work to the bench.
I can roll them outside if I need the light or air and they are real handy to set heavy things on after they have been wrestled out from under the hood.

 

[regguy1]

This might not be exactly what you want, but perhaps the concept could be modified for your needs. I built a bench from plywood and 2x4's. It has drawers and doors for storage.

See my post (No. 268) on this page: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50406&page=14

Also see it in the first video link here: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140674

 

[Krash Kadillak]

Seems to me you need 2 benches - one shorter one (sort of a craft table) where you can sit down to do your fly tying. Should have lots of light available. Other workbench for everything else.

Also, what about moving your fly tying to somewhere inside the house?

 

[riverfever]

Regguy...those are really nice but you'd laugh if you understood how hard it was for me to build the current bench. The ones you did are outta my league.

Krash...I'll think about the benches with casters. The layout of the house is odd and small. It's a 2 car garage with living quarters above it basically. It's perfect for my wife and I but the tying is done in the garage because I worry too much about what would happen if my dogs got into the hooks.

 

[gonefirefighting]

sounds like you may be better off with getting a roller tool cabinet from harbor freight.

I ended up getting 4, took off all the handles and rolled them together nice and tight end to end. it gave me plenty of storage and tons of work top space. and I can move them around for any project I have.

looks like your current tool cabinets can go to the way side and give you room for two roller cabs. and you can ditch the wood bench.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you stroll through my refurb thread,you can see my workbenches. I also hung my TV (older CRTtv) up on a corner shelf to keep it out of the way. Putting some facing and doors on the bench will keep the stored items out of sight and give it more of a clean look.