Workbenches revisited

[Kevin54]

I've seen two benches of all the benches on here (I know about the Sticky above) that have the supports angles back to the wall. I believe Cobra4B built one for his father and another was Ex-Pat that built his out of 2x6 framing he had left over.
Now the question is....why does everyone else's bench have 4 legs? I am thinking about building a bench along one wall almost 24' long but I really don't want anything on the floor due to times I wash out the garage, or snow and slush off of cars. How do others deal with water issues? Just let items get wet or just mop?
I know that building one with four legs is easier but I guess I am wondering why others do not build them so nothing touches the floor? If any other members besides the two I posted have built benches the way I have described......post them up. I'm hoping to start today on it but I have to clear some other things out of the garage first. One thing I am going to do though is build it tall enough that I can roll my roll-a-round underneath it when not in use.
I have a plan in my head and hopefully it will work out Pics will follow when I get started.

 

[little d]

kevin, theres nothing wrong with what you are planning as long as you keep in mind the load factor. on a regular bench with 4 vertical legs, the load is transfered to the floor vertically, through the legs. on a bench like your planning, the load will transfer from(pulling) from the wall diagonally back(pushing) to the wall through the legs. in other words, where your bench is attached it will want to pull your wall in, and where your legs attach it will want to push your wall out. as long as your wall is stout enough, and you attach it right, you should be good to go. hope this helps, little d.

 

[vdubnluvn]

my buddy has some nice benches ,,, he uses his shop as a wash bay so the floor is always wet.

he built a lower frame for the benches, using 4+ legs and anchored to the wall, but then supported them on red bricks with holes in them turned on their side so the water could pass through, he used some sort of fastener to attach the frame to the bricks, i wanna say a hose clamp but it was something a little sexier. each bench has bricks about every 4 feet, and they are very very sturdy.

 

[BioHazard]

My barn has built in workbenches like that for about 20' along one wall and maybe 24" deep. Very simple scrap 2x4 frame. I can get up there and jump around and it's solid as a rock. The angled supports are just 2x4s and I think there's only 6 of them holding the whole thing up. (and screwed to the wall)

Right now I have a big old truck transmission up there and it hasn't complained.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Practically speaking, I think the only differences are that it's a little more difficult to build the kind that are attached to the wall, and that -- since it doesn't have to be attached to anything -- a four-legged bench can be moved.

 

[cobymedic]

Hard to see from the picture but my bench is only attached to the wall. The black side with the square and level on it is only to dress up the end and a place to hang things.
Been there a year now and so far no problems with it. I used a support on both ends of the bench and one next to the two base cabinets which can be seen in the pic.

 

[ddawg16]

Here is a pic of one bench I have built....it's about 9" off the floor....
I figure if I need a bit more support I could always run a SS rod with a plate to the floor.

I'm still working on the actual work bench....nothing is touching the floor....but on that one it's easier....it's L shaped and in the corner....the adjacent wall provides quite a bit of support.

One of the keys to getting the stiffness is having at least two retangular panels that attach to the wall....on the redial arm saw, I have 4....and those attach to a 2x4 that is bolted to the wall using 1/4" wood bolts about 6" long that go into the studs.

There is another discussion about using offset 2x4's to increase wall thickness for insulation....I'm glad I have 2x6 walls....much more rigid than 2x4.