Hi all, I’m planning to build a new workbench soon and I would really like suggestions about how to build it, the design, the wood, vices, dog holes, the whole kit and kaboodle, pics are a great touch also.
p.s. I may mention some featured suggestions on the next TWT
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Perfect spot for me to shamelessly plug a book "Workbenches" by Christopher Schwartz, editor of Woodworking Magazine, that is illustrated by my friend Louis Bois.
I'm not quite sure anyone should be as interested in workbenches as these guys, but they are.
I use solid core doors for the tops - scrap from old offices and stuff. Durable and flat and cheap. I have five in my current shop.
Forrest
Double 3/4" ply top. 2X frame with 1X trim. Rollers on the back legs so you can pick up one end and roll it around. Cheap and durable. Knock down benches for assembly can be made from cheap luan slab doors set on fold up sawhorses.
This bench is about 25 years old.
For the tops I use the post form, stock, counter tops that HD carries. 10' =$100.00.
As others have suggested, a solid core door on sawhorses is a good place to start. I have 3 setups like that, and move them around to suit whatever project I'm working on.
If you're thinking a REAL workbench for long term use, I'd suggest either buying the book that someone brought up or finding a workbench you like and copying it.
Don't make the top too thin if you build one. My permanent workbench top is only 1.5" think, and that's not enough. When I pound on something everything laying on the workbench bounces around. REALLY annoying.
I think a tail vise would be a nice addition, and wish I had one. I'd want it to have matching peg holes along the top so I could clamp boards in it when I was working on them.
Hi
Maybe something along these lines
I know this is a builder's chat site, but, Geez, the guy did say, "...the design, the wood, vices, dog holes...â€So I think you got a little closer to the mark than the sawhorses and particle board guys did!AitchKay
AitchKay
I think you are right. Andy wants to build a woodworking bench.
I dreamed of that one time too.
But it's like my old boat. I was fishing with my brother. We had to get the boat real close to shore and touching the rocks in order to cast under this bridge. And we caught fish.
He said I would never take my boat (nice) into this place. Sometimes you can have a tool that is too nice to use. Too nice to drill into or too nice to drive screws into it to set up a jig.
Yea I want a tail vise, but for the work we do now and the abuse the table top gets I am better off with a disposable top.
So Andy needs to weigh what kind of work he envisions doing on the bench, because that will determine how it gets built.
This is a fun conversation.
Rich
One of the first woodworking books I ever bought was, "The Encyclopedia Of Wood," by Ernest Joyce.And the one quote that jumped out as most important was the one about "the overly-fastidious craftsman" who would refuse to pound a couple of nails into his bench if that was what it took to do the job.And I also remember an article by Tage Frid in which he recounted forgetting to rout in a dado before assembly:He didn't bat an eye, he simply sawed off enough of the router base to get it in to do the job, and routed his groove.The lesson to be learned is that the problem is not the tool, it is the attitude. We all will wince when we have make these irreversible cuts, but these are the actions that separate us pros from the tool-fetish jack-offs.We get the job one, and don't look back!So build that bench! Tweak out! And then go ahead and buzz a few dozen drywall screws into it to hold that jig!AitchKay
AitchKay
You got that Andy.
Go build that bench and use it hard.
Well spoken.
Rich
What is this "us pros v tool fetish jack-offs" didactic? What is that supposed to mean?Don
Try reading cargin's post and my reply... I'm not sure what you're puzzled about.AitchKay
I have many different styles of workbenches, but my go to bench is an assembly bench that I built 12 years ago.
Steel frame with 3/4" melamine top. 4'x8'x30" high
I basically stick welded 2 frames from 1/8"x 2"x2" steel stock. Used a cheap harbor freight horz band saw($149). Then welded up rights between the top an bottom frame. The horz saw is a POS, but serves it's purpose
Amazingly(first time welding), the frames are flat, square and not twisted. The table will not sag for anything.
The table has 3/8"x2" connector bolts wells in the bottom corners and the middle. Adjustable casters thread into them and I use a drill with a 1/4" socket to raise and lower them.
I do everything on it, including more welding, which I'm getting a lot better at it. Specially since I have upgraded to a MIG system
You can buy a piece of glulam any size you want. I have some leftovers from a project I am going to use.
Here's what I built mostly using materials found at surplus store and flea markets. IT seemed that all the workbenches I saw, the European designs, and the Early-American designs had a tool tray. I have $850 in it, mainly because of the two Vertias twin-screw vise kits for end vises. The Wilton vises were cleaned and painted for a cost of $20 each, and new Columbian vise was 50% off...
The "T-shape" allows for both a work area and an assembly table. It is about 12' long and 3' to 4' wide. It has locking casters so it can be mobile and provide storage for both tools and materials. The height is built to where the benchtops touch the flat of the palms of my hands as they are flared out and extended out front. Others prefer a height that comes up the the back of your knuckles as you clench your fists, which makes it roughly 3" lower.
Bill
Okay, yer disgusting. And so is yer benches and vises. They look like furniture.
I'm gonna go hang myself now...
Every time my shop is THAT clean and you can actually SEE the bench..folks say " no work huh?"
I hate him too.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Now, Tom and you other fellers',
If it wasn't for flea markets, garage sales, and the surplus store that finally went under, I wouldn't have the parts and materials to use.... To take into account that the workbench is really an all-round workbench, I added a thin shelf below the major storage area and between the casters. I store thick Masonite, the kind that is slick on one side and has a rough diamond pattern on the other. When something greasy, like a gas mower, or something that heavy steel like an electric motor, the Masonite takes the abuse and lets me save and use the benchtop for woodworking.
The "T-shape" could be resized for a smaller workshop, in a 2 to 3 ratio of top of the "T" to the length of the "T"... but it's the "Hybrid" part that makes it; combining steel and wood. You see, underneath all the Oak trim and doors, and under the Walnut stripes and Hard Rock Maple bench tops, it's how you blend them that makes it useful. There's a steel skeleton to which the Oak is bonded with countersunk and plugged self-drilling screws. From building this workbench to building the two-story shed using Lowes' cull-cart lumber, it's how you use what's you've got that matters....don't hold it against me... ;>)
Bill
Bill
I second what Tom said.
Rich
thats just wrong on so many levels...
p
P-
What's your opinion?
Bill
LOL dude... IF i ever had a shop area that looked like that.. it'd be useless to me... I wouldn't want to scratch or ding it... what you have is functional artwork... but i might be welding one minute and rebuilding a carb the next...
btw... i resawed some heart pine today... hand planed and sanded to a gloss then linseed oiled it... WOW... so cool... i have to stop toss'n even the small boards away... looks like gold...
P
Thanks for the kind words, Ponytl.
I'm always learning...and changing when it's economical and better.
Heart Pine surely is gold worthy. Opening up an old beam or tree trunk can be like opening a treasure chest.
Just remember a clean shop is the first step to a happy person in dirty shop.... ;>)
Bill
Getting into this conversation....I am getting ready to build a workbench mounted to my garage wall.
1) I was planning on gluing up two 3/4" panels of MDF for my bench top. Then I read a post above that it is not thick enough. What is the general opinion of how thick a workbench top should be?
2) How about height? I am 6'1" and was considering having the top at 39" off the garage floor.
This workbench is going to be a general utility bench with a 9" vise mounted underneth. Also I putting this in my garage at home."Projects beget projects and projects beget the need to buy new tools and that is what the cycle of life is all about."
Workbenches are as varied as the tasks performed on them, and the folks using them.
Standing erect, measure the height off the floor of your wrist and elbow. If you're doing ordinary or detail work, elbow-height is about right. If you're doing grunt work - like banging on that vise - then lower, about wrist level, is better.
Tops are another issue. Generally, it's more important that the top be flat, straight, and rigid, rather than heavy. Most folks benefit from a sacraficial layer of Masonite on the top. Adequately supported, even a single layer of 3/4" plywood would work fine.
I'm not fond of attaching benches to walls. If you're planning on being able to fold the bench out of the way when not in use, you're limited to a fairly light-duty bench. Rather than plywood, I might use a wood hollow-core door as the top - light weight with plenty of stiffness.
For a basic bench, the kits HD sells, of the appropriate Simpson Strong-tie connectors, and a few 2x4's is pretty hard to beat.
For special-purpose benches, the Time-Life Home Improvement Library book "Home Workshop" has several good ideas.
Oops.Posted that last before I viewed your pics.Vises, dog holes, etc. are all very well, but I'm with the other guys, and I think you deserve a good spanking.Aitchkay
Holy smokes, I ain't going to talk to you any more. Great looking setup. DW's comment when I called her over to see was "I bet Norm does not have anything like that"!!
Great work and workplace.
Cheers, BobFor those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
Puke.
Actually very beautiful.
Some day... sigh...
wow... that is one of the most beautiful benches I've ever seen. Amazing!
andy
I built a frame with 2x4 on 16" centers. Laid a piece of 3/4 particle board over it.
Then we set it on sawhorses. If we need the space we can knock this down quickly.
I built the frame so that the particle board overhangs by 2-3" so that it is easy to clamp to the surface for routering or pocket screw assembly.
We do alot of staining, varnishing, painting , cleaning on the bench, in addition to the woodworking.
Every so often we go out and spend $15 on a new piece of particleboard when the old one gets too disgusting.
If we are going to spray lacquer then we cover the bench with building paper.
There is another workbench book out there, I read it years ago by Scott Landis. I loved the book.
$24.95$18.96Edited 2/9/2009 7:43 pm ET by cargin
Landis. Scott Landis.
Ahh you edited and included it..great book.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Edited 2/9/2009 7:44 pm ET by Sphere
Sphere
I couldn't stand it, I had to go to Amazon and find out what my memory lacked.
I thought it was Landis, but it must have been 10 years ago I read that book and Landis is a current author. I thought my mind was just playing with me.
There was an old workbench in there. I think it was a Shaker workbench.
The thing was 12-16' long. I just loved that bench.
In the real world a bench can be too long or too wide. You need to able to move around it qucikly.
For spraying I would like a work surface about 24" wide.
Rich
I got a low bench at 3'x7' solid core oak door slab, a higher bench that is made out of old PT 2x6 deck planks that is 3'x8'..and what do I use most? My table saw..LOL.
I have two portable table saws so if the main one is covered up, I can still saw. I have the sister door slab on an old metal kitchenette table for the lathe and router table. My shop is SO small ( 2 rooms about 16x16 ea. with a woodstove in the middle) that I have to go outside to change my mind. And the 'shop' is where we live, I mean, IN the house, just on the other side of a blanket curtain from where I am sitting.
Kinda cool actually, but not for neat freaks.
I spray outside, but shellac and brushing primer is pretty common indoors, I have a very understandng wife.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Sphere
Are you married to the Mother Teresa for carpenters?
She must be very understanding.
The noise and the dust would be a problem for my wife.
It's cold up here. Too cold for things to dry 5 month out of the year. Not to mention blowing dust.
Rich
Yeah, she has her sewing room and jewelry set up and sometimes needs my shop for her stuff..so it works out.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Might I suggest a couple of things. First, there is a three part book published by Taunton called Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking. The books themselves are gems by one of the early contributors to Fine Wood Working (don't know if he wrote for FHB). You'll learn alot.
To address your question, in book #3 (Furniture Making pg.24) there is a plan for, and the reasoning behind, the workbenches that Mr. Frid would have his students make when he taught woodworking at the Rhode Island School of Design. I can't recommend these books strongly enough.
After saying that, I think the perfect bench design depends on your space, situation, budget, and the kind of work you plan on. Actually a low bench is good for some things, light portable bench for others, and a heavy Scandinavian style for others still.
Here ya go, Andy.
This one was on Google's 3D Warehouse for Sketchup, and is modeled fully to scale. Very easy to build, and the pipe clamp elements make the vises effective, and at lower cost than screw components.
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
Andy,
These are all good suggestions and you just have to come up with your own design.
A couple of things to keep in mind.
Think about what it is that you are going to be doing most on the bench and design it around that. Include vises where you think you'll want them (right left?), do you want a sunken section where people often put tools etc? Maybe a shelf just underneath the top. Drawers for tools etc. An outlet strip that's on the bench but out of the way. Against the wall or out into the room. If against the wall, maybe a tool pegboard, small shelves or cupboard above it.
Height? That's up to you, but the rule of thumb for woodworking is to stand straight, hang your arm down and level your palm out horizontal. That should be your height.
Absolutely do what BossHog said and make it out of thick heavy stock. I would use solid hard wood and not a veneered door like some have suggested. Beech and rock maple are the traditional woods Anchor and support it well so that it doesn't move when you have to pound things. Make sure you plane the top flat as you can and give it a good penetrating oil like Danish oil to help solidify the top.
I have the Scott Landis book and I recommend you get it and read it before you start so that you can get some good ideas.
If you're going to do it, think about the kind of bench you'll want when you're 40, 50 & 60. Then take the time to make it. Don't do what I did, and that was 25 years ago I made a fairly nice "temporary" bench out of strong saw horses & plywood complete with shelves, outlets vises etc. It has served me well but never was the bench I wanted. Life got busy and the years went by. I'm still using it and will be for a few more years until I get the time to build the bench in my head.
When you're finished, do with it as suggested, use the hell out of it.
When you do make it, please post some pictures. We really will be interested. Good luck
http://www.amazon.com/Workbench-Book-Craftsmans-Workbenches-Woodworking/dp/1561582700
I used this book to build a few benches for people. It covers a range of bench types and gives you good ideas.
After recycling a bowling alley lane for a workbench, I firmly believe the woodworker's bench sold by Lie-Nielsen is a bargain. :-)
I no longer have it, but ....
Didn't FHB or FWW, maybe ten years back, detail a bench made of laminated 2x4's and Pony pipe clamps?
I loved the design, as the clamps made the entire bench into an assembly of vises.
I think you're referring the bench in FWW from 1999. You can see a video of it at - http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/Workshop/WorkshopArticle.aspx?id=28530. It's also the bench Gene showed above as a SketchUp image.Also check out http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/Caliper/blog/1477 where you can follow someone building it.
That's the one I was thinking of! Thx! .... Now, maybe I'll actually make one!
You can buy a piece of glulam about any size you want . Finish the face and there ya go.
Bob & Dave's Good, Fast and Cheap Workbench. PDF file available here (I personally don't like tool trays):
http://www.oldtoolsshop.com/z_pdf/shopImprov/BobAndDavesGoodFastAndCheapBench-ne.pdf
Having gone thru this a few years ago, I'll warn you now that this is very easy to over-think. After lots of research, I ended up using common pine 2x4x8s
1. glue up 2x4x8s into 6 or 8inch thick sections (depending on width of jointer) Make yourself 3 or 4 of these.
2. When making the last section, after you glue 2 boards together, take that section over to your radial arm saw and cut out the dog holes. Make sure they slope towards your vise. Clean up with a chisel.
3. joint and plane your sections
4. glue your sections together. smooth with a hand plane. voila