Let's See Your Workbench
- Thread starter El Wood
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JF needs to ship me some of those grey boxes with the green latches. Full of course.
I'll pay the shipping one way.
My experiences: all surfaces need to be the same height. That includes the radial arm saw, the table saw, the router table, shaper, jointer, and the miter saw table. Most of them on wheels (if you have a solid floor). It makes it SOOO much simpler when/if you need infeed and/or outfeed tables, or supporting a piece of wood, steel, etc. You will never regret having everything the same height (well, if you do, make a cart for that thing).
I made mine with some curb side finds -- old cabinets. I forgot to leave enough overhang around the top, pain to clamp things down. Corners are not your friend -- you will always have something that you wished was hanging off the ends (so you can work on either end, or one end has some other 'thing' attached to it, etc). Some folks put a little door in the wall if in a corner -- lets a piece of wood stick out or be inserted from outside, etc .
Oh, and you WILL want a toe kick. I stuck a board along the front of my cabinets for some forgotten reason (strength, mice, room for stuff to roll under it, ?). I miss having a toe kick.
Then there's lighting. Like power and space, you will never have enough. Fluorescent tubes and several of them (to keep shadowing away).
And counter tops: old doors (smooth solid core); old formica (if it doesn't have bull nose); melamine. Light/white colors help. Slightly rough surface (like melamine) keep the reflections down.
Good luck on the 'perfect' $olution. Still working on mine!
I'll pay the shipping one way.
My experiences: all surfaces need to be the same height. That includes the radial arm saw, the table saw, the router table, shaper, jointer, and the miter saw table. Most of them on wheels (if you have a solid floor). It makes it SOOO much simpler when/if you need infeed and/or outfeed tables, or supporting a piece of wood, steel, etc. You will never regret having everything the same height (well, if you do, make a cart for that thing).
I made mine with some curb side finds -- old cabinets. I forgot to leave enough overhang around the top, pain to clamp things down. Corners are not your friend -- you will always have something that you wished was hanging off the ends (so you can work on either end, or one end has some other 'thing' attached to it, etc). Some folks put a little door in the wall if in a corner -- lets a piece of wood stick out or be inserted from outside, etc .
Oh, and you WILL want a toe kick. I stuck a board along the front of my cabinets for some forgotten reason (strength, mice, room for stuff to roll under it, ?). I miss having a toe kick.
Then there's lighting. Like power and space, you will never have enough. Fluorescent tubes and several of them (to keep shadowing away).
And counter tops: old doors (smooth solid core); old formica (if it doesn't have bull nose); melamine. Light/white colors help. Slightly rough surface (like melamine) keep the reflections down.
Good luck on the 'perfect' $olution. Still working on mine!
Code54
Elite Member
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Here is mine - it is 8 foot long, 3' deep with a 1' "backsplash". It is made out of 1/2 Steel so it is a bit heavy (somewhere close to 1000lbs) but I have some rolling tables for stuff I don't want to put on the main bench. Now I finally have a nice heavy duty vice on the left most corner but after 2 years it still looks the same.
Like everyone else, I need a workbench! Going to build one that is 16ft in length with 4x4s for the legs and 2x6 for framing and surface base. I'll put some laminate on top to make a smooth and liquid resistant worktop.
My question is ... Is there a "good" way to cut the 4x4 smoothly? Spinning the wood on a tablesaw almost always leaves a minor lip where the cuts come together.
My question is ... Is there a "good" way to cut the 4x4 smoothly? Spinning the wood on a tablesaw almost always leaves a minor lip where the cuts come together.
sld
Veteran Member
Big band saw or big chop saw...I think my 10" chop saw cuts a 4x4 cleanly.
My FIL was really good with a chainsaw for bigger stuff.
On my benches, I like to put a T nut and a big bolt in the bottom of the leg to adjust for an uneven floor. There doesn't necessarily have to be a perfect cut for this.
My FIL was really good with a chainsaw for bigger stuff.
On my benches, I like to put a T nut and a big bolt in the bottom of the leg to adjust for an uneven floor. There doesn't necessarily have to be a perfect cut for this.
forgeblast
Elite Member
10" chop saw cuts a 4x4 cleanly, Yes it will.
Turbys_1700
Elite Member
My workbench spans the entire width of my shop...
I believe that it is 20'...
I am not the neatest person in the world but I get by...
Last year I purchased 4 storage racks from Northern so I am working on it...
If I ever get the shop cleaned up I'll post a picture...lol
I believe that it is 20'...
I am not the neatest person in the world but I get by...
Last year I purchased 4 storage racks from Northern so I am working on it...
If I ever get the shop cleaned up I'll post a picture...lol
Xfaxman
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- Toolcat 5610 G - Bobcat V417 - TORO+Loader
I got rid of my table saw, replaced it with a 12" Sliding Miter Saw. It will easily cut a 4x4, better yet, a 2x12, which a normal non-sliding Miter saw won't do.
Damifino
Gold Member
Egbert, I built mine with 4x4 pt legs, then 2x6 syp top members to support the 2x12's for top. If you are going with laminate, I would get a sheet of mdf to place on top of your 2x6's to provide a solid gluing surface as the dimensional 2x6's will be rounded on edges, a sharp object or edge of something dropped in that area would pop a hole through the thin laminate thus making it non liquid resistant.
NS Gearhead
Veteran Member
Wooohooo! A thread I can contribute to! : ) I had to dig through the archives.... but this is what I started with when we first moved into our new home in 2010
Dug this out of the dumpster at work. It adds up to 3 3/4" layers of plywood and the SS is somewhere in the 1/16"-1/8" range.
Dug this out of the dumpster at work. It adds up to 3 3/4" layers of plywood and the SS is somewhere in the 1/16"-1/8" range.
Gem99ultra
Elite Member
I went a little heavier duty 
But then, I always over-do everything I build - to the point of excess.
But then, I always over-do everything I build - to the point of excess.
troutsqueezer
Veteran Member
I have lots of crap in mine and it spans several rooms.
Mickey_Fx
Veteran Member
Still a work in progress. robbed a 10X24 ft area in the shop to build a small work area for my wood working tools. Shop not heated and sometime during the winter weather conditions cause massive amounts of condensation inside and I end up with instant rust on all my cast iron tools.
Can't do a lot in this small area but just outside the wall are (3) 12X30 bays that can be used for big projects.
In the pic there is a small bench in far right corner but I'm thinking about replacing that with a larger work bench that is currently in another location. Wouldn't exactly call it a bench but there is the 12' long "bench" for the radial arm saw with some storage space below. Not seen in the pic are a band saw, scroll saw and a large wood lathe. Small area and all the tools doesn't leave much room for a large bench.
Can't do a lot in this small area but just outside the wall are (3) 12X30 bays that can be used for big projects.
In the pic there is a small bench in far right corner but I'm thinking about replacing that with a larger work bench that is currently in another location. Wouldn't exactly call it a bench but there is the 12' long "bench" for the radial arm saw with some storage space below. Not seen in the pic are a band saw, scroll saw and a large wood lathe. Small area and all the tools doesn't leave much room for a large bench.
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Dr_Zinj
Veteran Member
I'd show you my workbench, but it's buried beneath a ton of stuff.
bandaidmd
Platinum Member
I resemble that remark. I'm even careful when i post a pic of a project not to show certain areas of my shop. lol
RxRatedZ71
Gold Member
Ill post a pic of my benches when I get out to the barn later. I found some 8' x 42" solid core construction doors at a habitat for humanity resale shop for $10 each. I snatched them up quickly and used them to make my workbench in the corner and then an 8' rolling workbench that is the same height. Really handy to have everything on wheels. Im still working on some pegboard for the back wall. It appears that it would collect sawdust badly....
Gem99ultra
Elite Member
Bench? What bench??? You don't have a bench - you have an 8,000' storage area [Too many toys and spare parts...]
I certainly like your cubby-hole storage shelf by the a/c. Did you build that? Or re-purpose something to make it?
[Too many toys and spare parts...]I certainly like your cubby-hole storage shelf by the a/c. Did you build that? Or re-purpose something to make it?
brin
Super Member
I noticed that...I also think I saw some welders in some shops...that and gas fumes not so good....but really any spark given enough pent up fumes and Kabooom....You're right.
