Best Workshop/Bench Design Concepts

[Bird]

Doug, I can certainly understand that happening./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I've thought about taking mine off and putting it on a steel stand that Tractor Supply Co. has for about $35, but instead, so far, I just try to watch and be careful.

 

[pdxman]

My workbench is not worthy of a picture either until I do a litttle 'houework' around it. But, one thing I can add that I have found helpful: My experience with particle board for a surface hasn't been too good. You can try to keep it dry but over time moisture in the air breaks it down. What I did was I put a thick piece of particle board as an underlayment in the same manner as you would for kithchen countertops. I then took my dimensions for the surface material to a sheetmetal shop and had the heaviest gauge galvanized sheetmetal formed to fit it. In my case, they bent a 1" lip in front so I didn't have an edge to catch things on. I fastened it down the same way you would with formica by using contact cement. So far it has been bulletproof, easy to clean, rust free, and held on tight.

 

[TerryinMD]

One must be careful where you use particleboard. If it is in a moisture prone area, chances are that it will deteriorate over time. To prevent this, you could seal the material with a coat of poly or something similar, then cover the surface with sheet metal or plywood.

Terry

 

[Branch]

I picked up this bench from Sears several years ago for about $100. It has really been great. I've mounted a sander, grinder, and cut-off saw to the rotating center section. To switch between tools you slide the side tables away, pull a pin, then rotate the tool you need up. I put wheels on it so I could roll it outside for messy work or when material was too long for it's normal resting place.
I rarely need even two of the tools at the same time but when I do it only takes 30 seconds to change.

Branch

 

[Knight9]

I don't have a photo of my workbench, but the top is made of 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood. Then on top of that I nailed down a piece of 1/4" hard fibre board. That way when the top gets too gummed up, oily etc...I can just swap out the top 1/4" of hard board. Always looks fresh /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Kevin

 

[P.K. Burke]

Todd:
Here is a workbench that I just finished. It is twelve and a half feet long, 24" deep and 32" high. A friend of mine had a whole bunch of brand new cabinet bases and uppers so I put six of the bases together and set them on a 2x6 frame with the 2x6 on edge. The top is made of 3/4" particle board with a 1/8" tempered masonite on top of that. I had a cabinet shop build the face frame and drawer and door fronts. I built the face frame and doors for the upper cabinet and it turned out fairly good. The upper cabinets are 7' 6" long and 30" high by 18" deep. The only problem with the description of the upper cabinets is that I ain't got no picture. Duh!

 

[Bird]

Terry and pdxman, there is no doubt at all that particle board will deteriorate from moisture. A rustproof metal covering would certainly be better, or even a totally metal workbench, but I built mine nearly 7 years ago right after I bought this place and needed them right now before I bought a lot of the tools I now have.

If you look closely at the picture of mine, you'll see a layer of cardboard on the entire surface that I didn't mention before, and then I also do most of my work on a pretty thick layer of newspapers on top of the cardboard in an attempt to prevent any moisture from water, oil, or grease from getting to the wood. Certainly not the best arrangement, but it's cheap and it's worked for 7 years./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[looch]

I haven't built it yet, but I ordered the video and plan from this site: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.newyankee.com/GetProduct2.cgi?1201>http://www.newyankee.com/GetProduct2.cgi?1201</A>.

 

[Bird]

I forgot I had this old picture, too, that shows those two workbenches from a distance.

And Mike, at the near end of the workbenches are the ramps I built to run the front wheels onto to change oil in the car (next to the creeper) and just to right of the far end of the benches is my parts washer and then my Cyclone Blaster (glass beads instead of sand in that blasting cabinet).

 

[RobS]

I built Norm's woodworking bench several years ago and have been very happy with it. Not the prettiest thing out there, but very functional.

In my garage I've got a simple homemade bench with 4X4 legs, 2X6 rails and stringers and a 3/4 inch oak faced plywood top. Nearly 20 years since I built it and it's holding up just fine. Again, not too pretty, but very functional /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif