# I need another workbench



## tmuir (Jun 15, 2008)

My existing work bench is too small and being it was salvaged from a butchers shop and the top is a 1 inch thick chopping block its not really suitable for a lot of work. So I told the wife I this weekend I was going to build a workbench and not build any Ikea furniture or go shopping for any more furniture this weekend. 

So of course on Saturday morning she said whilst I was building my workbench she was going out to buy a new TV and DVD player, so of course I had to stop what I was doing and go with her to ensure she actually came back with everything that was needed, also her car is too small to put a TV in the boot so we needed my work car.
Twelve hundred dollars later and a few hours we are home again (Funny how that it's ok to spend that much money on a TV for the kids but I get the third degree for suggesting I spend that much on a mill).

Anyhow it's now too late to go buy the material for my workbench so I resorted to digging through my wood pile and managed to find something suitable.

I planned to make it using tongues and slots but after making 4 slots I decided this was just too much work. I want to build something on the workbench, not spend weeks building it so will use dowels and L shaped brackets to hold the lengthways beams in place.

Here is the progress so far, not as much as I would of hoped. The lengthway beams are not attached yet, just sat in place to give me an idea of size.
As I'm in OZ and most members here seem to be from the top end of the world I've placed the work bench the correct way for you. :big:







I will probably add another beam between the rear legs so I can make a small shelf there and give added support.
Still haven't decided on whether to go cheap and use a plywood top or spend some money and make a Jarrah top for the bench.

Once the bench is finished I can then go get a vice for it.


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## itowbig (Jun 15, 2008)

its amazing how the ladies get what they want but when its our shop tools
(its why do you need that & how much is it or why do you need another tool) ha ha i like the bench its looking good . i too have to build yet another one.been saving wood for it. i almost got it all.


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## Cedge (Jun 15, 2008)

Count me among the most lucky of men. My wife has yet to say anything negative about any of my tool purchases and she even likes having my engines around the house. I guess she figures it's all cheaper than booze or a mistress, at the end of the day, but I ain't asking. The only demand she makes is that I save the receipts for taxes and accounting purposes.... lose more than one or two and she's gonna be a little hard to get along with.....(grin).(spousal gloat mode OFF)

Steve


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## alan2525 (Jun 15, 2008)

These are a nice solid and easy to use fixing for constructing workbenches:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=364429&name=dowel&user_search=1&sfile=1&jump=12

You can also save a few quid and make them yourself too. The good thing about these is if they loosen up, you can always snug them up with a spanner.


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## rake60 (Jun 15, 2008)

I don't dare look at any tools when my wife is near by.

If I do something similar, but more expensive ends up being
delivered here without any action from me.

I guess she thinks if it costs more it's better. :-\

Rick


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## Tin Falcon (Jun 16, 2008)

well back on the original subject. Work bench is kind of a misnomer. IMHE they end up being more like large storage shelves. My first several I built from scrounged lumber . then I got two steel ones with lots of storage from sears. The last one we built my son did the cutting grinding was for the shed A on legged shelf build from the steel frame of a tread mill the top is fiber board from the tread mill. the other three corners were attached to the shed walls. 
Tin


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## Stan (Jun 16, 2008)

A good bench top is dependent on the end use. In my garage I have a 1/2" steel top bench for welding, hammering and working on large, dirty mechanical things. In my metal working shop my benches have cheap 2 x 10 plank tops with 1/4" hard Masonite tacked down. The Masonite makes a smooth oil resistant surface and when it gets chewed up, it is cheap and easy to replace. 

Since Masonite is a trade name I will explain that it is a compressed fiberboard (sometimes called hardboard) that comes in 1/8" and 1/4" in both hard and soft surface.


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## bentprop (Jun 17, 2008)

Tm,if you do use plywood,it would help longevity if you seal it with a good quality coating.One of the best I've used is Everdure(Epiglass).It's not cheap,but good stuff.They use it in protecting the wooden chassis of restored trucks,trams,trains,etc.
On the other hand,if you use Jarrah,you might not need it at all.
Another thought is to use an interior door,and cover this with hardboard or MDF.Replace top when it gets grotty.That's what I used for my "dry"bench.
Hans.


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## tmuir (Jun 17, 2008)

bentprop  said:
			
		

> Tm,if you do use plywood,it would help longevity if you seal it with a good quality coating.One of the best I've used is Everdure(Epiglass).It's not cheap,but good stuff.They use it in protecting the wooden chassis of restored trucks,trams,trains,etc.
> On the other hand,if you use Jarrah,you might not need it at all.
> Another thought is to use an interior door,and cover this with hardboard or MDF.Replace top when it gets grotty.That's what I used for my "dry"bench.
> Hans.



Yes I have thought about an old door nut I think I'm leaning more towards a jarrah top, although I would prefer a lighter colour wood but Rock Maple is too expensive for me to use here as I will be doing jewellery making on this bench too so a light coloured top would be helpful in helping me see the small parts I put down on it.
I guess I'll just finish making up the frame and then see whats left in my wallet and let that decide what top the bench gets. But I thik what ever top I get it will require a good coat of heavy duty varnish on it to protect it from oil stains and minor paint spills.


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## Bogstandard (Jun 17, 2008)

I always use the cheap work surfaces they have for kitchens. A really thick chipboard with a facing of a formica type surface. Standard is 30" wide and comes in almost whatever length and colour you require, rather cheap as well.
Mine were well over ten years old, used continously, with no cracking or splitting at all, and a wipe clean surface. Given to a friend for use on his workshop benches. My new ones will be fitted with the same material.

John


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## tmuir (Jun 17, 2008)

Bogstandard  said:
			
		

> I always use the cheap work surfaces they have for kitchens. A really thick chipboard with a facing of a formica type surface. Standard is 30" wide and comes in almost whatever length and colour you require, rather cheap as well.
> Mine were well over ten years old, used continously, with no cracking or splitting at all, and a wipe clean surface. Given to a friend for use on his workshop benches. My new ones will be fitted with the same material.
> 
> John



I can see the benefit of that, something for me to look into over the next few days.
Got lots to do this weekend.
Finish my workbench, clean up and set up my mill and build the shelves for the kids playroom. :


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## tmuir (Jun 17, 2008)

Dragged my my mill into my workshop but couldn't find anyone to help me pick it up off the floor and put it on its stand so decided to finish putting together the frame for my bench.
Here it is standing in its place. That is not the real top for the bench its just some 12mm MDF with Jarrah laminate I had lying around the I put on it so I could get a better feel for the size of it.






Yes thats an X3 stand in the background, couldn't afford the X3 mill so had to just settle for the stand of it. :big:
Atleast if I ever upgrade I won't need to buy a new stand.

Now to get on and get all the tools I need for the mill.


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## Alphawolf45 (Jun 17, 2008)

I'll give you points for building an attractive workbench but appearance dont play into it much for a workstation or does it? Its your choice.I find I rather have steel benchs for couple reasons that mean something to me..One thing is they dont mind if I lay steel on top and weld it, there no heat damage.....And,,,,,if you have a vise on the table and clamp a workpiece in it and go at it with a file or hacksaw then you need solid table or you end up with workpiece/vice/table moving while your working ..Disconcerting and potentially ruinous to your closer tolerance work...Probably your bench will give good service, the only wood bench I ever built is too wobbly after these many years of hard use.My steel benchs get the hardest use and there no loosening up anywhere on'em...


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## tmuir (Jun 17, 2008)

You are correct it will be no good for brazing, I still plan on building a small brazing hearth.
My main requirement for this bench is that I can sit at it with a seat as its main us will be for siversmithing and assembling and painting the rolling stock for my live steam locos or assembling small engines once I've made the parts although it will end up with a vice on it too.

I do have a smaller bench which excluding the top is all stainless steel construction so if I ever decide I need a bench to do serious bashing on I will just change the top on that one.
I still have another small stainless steel bench I can have too if I can ever find some way of fitting it in the workshop but if I do fit a Jarrah top to this bench it should be heavy enough it could take some pounding without shifting too much.

I still need to add some extra bracing to this bench I just haven't dragged out my thicknesser to clean up the pallet pine I have collected yet.


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## tmuir (Jul 7, 2008)

Haven't quite finished it yet.
The back on the bench is not attached yet and if you are thinking why is the vice so far from the end that is due to a technical issue with how I built the frame. :wall:

I may end up modifying my other bench and putting the vice there instead.

I know some people don't like wooden benches here but I guess it depends on what you plan to use it for.
This is perfect for what I intend to do with it.


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## kvom (Jul 7, 2008)

Since your vise doesn't swivel offsetting it from the corner won't matter that much (other than using up some extra space).

My current garage workbench was put together with a butcher block top from a donated table, 4x4 wood legs, and 2x4 frame pieces, all held together with metal brackets from Home Depot and dozes of wood screws. I also put in a shelf at the bottom, since I don't sit down when working there. The top is held onto the legs with large lag screws, and the vise is through bolted to the top.

When my new shop is ready I plan to install a long workbench along one wall, based on a design I saw in a friend's shop. The wooden worksurface is framed by 2x4 lumber and supported by diagonal wood bracing toenailed into the studs. A narrower shelf can be fitted close to the ground without interfering with a chair underneath. All of the front edges are to be rounded off with a router.

I am assuming most machining work will be done standing, so I think a small table for seated assembly work will be sufficient. Time will tell. Unless I run out of funds I will get a floor lathe rather than a bench lathe. I'm still undecided as to whether I will get a Bridgeport type mill or settle for a good smaller one.


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## tmuir (Jul 8, 2008)

I probably will add a drawer under the right side of the bench, basically below the vice as I will only be doing standing work at that side of the bench as I have a feeling any extra storage space I can make for my workshop I will need.

The left side of my bench will be for my jewellery work and also when I strip down and rebuild my live steam locos as well as any rolling stock assembly painting.
At the moment I have no where to sit in my workshop which is limiting some of my work I do but the sooner I finish this bench the sooner I can get back to setting up my mill and practising on my lathe.


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## chuck foster (Jul 8, 2008)

you call that a work bench ??????  

were i live i would call that the kitchen table or fine furniture  ;D

holy smokes i would be afraid to work on it, but then i'm a bit of a slob...........just ask my wife.

that is one fine looking bench.

chuck


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## Metal Mickey (Jul 12, 2008)

Thats not a work bench! Its a work of art!


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## rake60 (Jul 12, 2008)

Nice Workbench tmuir! 

My wife wants to know if you do kitchens? 

That is beautiful wood working!

Rick


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## tmuir (Jul 13, 2008)

rake60  said:
			
		

> Nice Workbench tmuir!
> 
> My wife wants to know if you do kitchens?
> 
> ...



My wife has already put her order in I told her to expect a delivery date somewhere between 18 and 24 months. :big:

Its not quiet finished yet, it still needs one (or maybe two) coats of varhish yet and then will need to be left for a week or two for the varnish to really cure but this will give you an idea of the finished product.







And yes I am aware of the spot on the edge I missed with the second coat. :
I was about to give it its third and final coat but noticed a run and tried to sand it back and broke through the skin of the varnish to the tacky underneath so now I need to wait a few days for that to properly set so I can sand that bit back before giving the top coat.

I've decided this bench is too nice to fit the vice to now and luckily have just aquired myself a nice bit of 40mm laminated chipboard that I will fit to my small stainless steel bench and put the vice on that.


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## Tin Falcon (Jul 13, 2008)

Wow 
that is one fine piece of furniture . I may have missed your description but what is the top made of ? 
With it looking that nice you may actual keep it clear enough to work on . My work benches tend to turn into storage benches.
Tin


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## tmuir (Jul 13, 2008)

It is made of Jarrah.
This is a Eucalyptus tree local to the south west of Western Australia.
I have probably 10 or 20 of them growing in my back yard. (I have a large bush land block)
It is a very hard wearing, durable timber.
Up until recently when they changed to concrete sleepers all the train track sleepers in most of Australia, UK and South Africa were made of Jarrah to it's hard wearing nature.

It is a slow growing hardwood and as such is starting to get pretty expensive due to the fact less old growth forrest is now allowed to be cleared.

My house was made in the 1980s and all the framing and cladding on my house as well as my decking is made of Jarrah plus most of the internal woodwork. No-one could afford to do that now days.

If you would like to know more about it have a look in the wiki here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarrah

One other note, if you have ever seen the HMB Endeavour replica that was built using Jarrah below the water line and for a massive Jarrah structure look here.




I remember as a child going to see this been built several times.


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## shred (Jul 13, 2008)

Somebody once told me not to get too nice a bench so I wouldn't be afraid to put holes and drive nails into it.. they were right. I moved that bench elsewhere versus drilling it.


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## tmuir (Jul 13, 2008)

shred  said:
			
		

> Somebody once told me not to get too nice a bench so I wouldn't be afraid to put holes and drive nails into it.. they were right. I moved that bench elsewhere versus drilling it.



You can just see my smaller stainless steel bench in the left of the picture.
At the moment the top is a large cutting board as the bench came from a butchers shop but that is about to get replaced so that can become my bench for messy work.
I didn't plan on making a bench like this. I just bought the wood and it spoke to me and wouldn't let me stop until it was finished well beyond what it needed to be, but I did enjoy making it as its been ages since I've made anything big in wood but I need it finished now so I can set it in place and set up my mill which is still sitting on the floor.


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## tmuir (Jul 20, 2008)

Finally finished.

Here it is in place and finally with the bench finished I've found my home for my mill, although the mill is not set up yet atleast it is off the floor.






Another shot showing a better view of the bench. Just need to leave it for a week or two for the varnish to cure before I use it. Now to make a new top for my other bench........






I showed my wife it today and now I've been told she wants one to replace our perfectly good pine table in the kitchen. :
That will teach me for making a work bench far beyond what I needed to make.


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## Tin Falcon (Jul 20, 2008)

Wow I would be afraid of getting a scratch on that fine kitchen table LOL
And I thought I was crazy mounting my mini mill on a piece of furniture grade cherry plywood.
All of my engine bases are made from scrap. I have a pair of pine book cases that were built from salvaged packing crates. I semi joke about my packing crate modern design style. My engine display cases are also mostly salvaged lumber.
Tin


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## tmuir (Jul 20, 2008)

I'm sure it won't stay that nice once I start to use it but I enjoyed making it which is what its all about really.


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## Tin Falcon (Jul 20, 2008)

use it enjoy it!!!


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## sparky961 (Jul 20, 2008)

My god, that is a beautiful bench... 

Maybe you can make a few modifications to it and trade it with your wife as a kitchen table in exchange for some new tooling!

Like most others here, my bench has a rough, stained, drilled, painted, oily, dirty, rather flimsy plywood top.

I've been staring at the few lengths of square tubing I have on the floor here and thinking it's time to weld those into a new bench.


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## Alphawolf45 (Jul 20, 2008)

No I wouldnt want a bench that looked like that..Over my wood bench I have hung , plugged in and ready to use 2 electric angle grinders and pair of dremels and couple pnuematic grinders..To stop the angle grinders I press the wheel down into the wood table top to get it to stop before I let go of it..That table of yours would have a lived in look pretty fast if it were mine....That one should go in your house..


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## Dhow Nunda wallah (Aug 20, 2008)

Tony, that's nice work mate!

Suffering serious timber envy here. No E marginata in my yard (though I've salvaged and worked a lot over the years)
Bloody magnificent timber.
For those not familiar with WA timbers, compare with Eucalyptus diversicolor (Karri).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karri
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarrah

I'd put your bench in the lounge and keep my welding bench out in the workshop.
Mind you, that's a 10mm 304 stainless top, gotta have something to brag about


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## tmuir (Aug 21, 2008)

I don't use this bench to do heavy bashing but I do use it a lot for my more fiddly stuff and jewellery making were a clean bench is more important than a super heavy duty bench.
It also gives great contrasting colours to photograph parts one. 





Port block for my current restoration project


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## alan2525 (Aug 27, 2008)

Blimey I missed seeing that bench varnished - that's one lovely looking bench top! Personally I worry If I put a scratch on my £35 quid hollow desk top that also works as my workbench! Best Thing I made is a big tray so if I mess up a days work I can go hide it all in one go and have a nice clear space to meditate...

I do have a few benches in the shed too, one an old Emir Beech casting table that I pinched from a school, the other a welding bench with a bit of 3/8" cold rolled plate on top - too dirty and cold to work on those though, especially during the british summer!


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## tmuir (Aug 28, 2008)

I've been using the bench a bit, mainly for light work and assembly and as the weather is starting to warm up it will probably start seeing a bit more use as I've got some rolling stock I need to assemble and paint and with this bench I've finally got a space big enough to do it.


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## bentprop (Aug 28, 2008)

That bench is far too nice to work on Tony!.
I use one of those self healing cutting mats on my bench,mainly to provide a nice even surface.That would be ideal to keep your bench in good nick.
For brazing and welding,I use an old folding ironing board,a steel one,of course.They can be picked up at garage sales for a couple of bucks.Folds up and takes very little space when not in use.
Hans.


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## tmuir (Aug 28, 2008)

bentprop  said:
			
		

> That bench is far too nice to work on Tony!.
> I use one of those self healing cutting mats on my bench,mainly to provide a nice even surface.That would be ideal to keep your bench in good nick.
> For brazing and welding,I use an old folding ironing board,a steel one,of course.They can be picked up at garage sales for a couple of bucks.Folds up and takes very little space when not in use.
> Hans.



I actually found my small cutting mat the other day and have taken it into the workshop to use on the bench.
I still haven't made myself a brazing harth, at the moment when I need to do some annealing or brazing I drag out my firebricks I store under my other workbench and make myself a little harth in the middle of the floor of my workshop.

I've taken a brea from building fittings for my workshop for a little bit. I spent a year building the workshop and now I went to spend some time making stuff in it but will have to get back to finishing my second bench (This one won't be pretty) and getting some more power points put in. I put 12 in but of course need some more or in places where I didn't put them as I've shuffled some gear from my original plan.
I don't think a workshop is ever finished, it just keeps evolving.


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## Bogstandard (Aug 29, 2008)

Tony,



> I don't think a workshop is ever finished, it just keeps evolving.



Never a truer word said.

John


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## lazylathe (Jan 13, 2011)

Where do i place my order??
I need one to fit a Myford ML7 on! ;D

Fantastic work bench!!

Andrew


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