What's new
What's new

• Work Bench - Build or Buy

Access Db Guy

Hot Rolled
Joined
Mar 16, 2005
Location
Norfolk, VA
Have a good work bench? I would like to compile basic information on work benches before either building or buying.

It was home/shop built?
It was commerically purchased?
If so, Brand, Model, When, Cost?

Please provide basic stats:
Height, Length, Depth.

Material of top surface?

Any power outlets?

Other interesting details (draws, back racks, lighting, etc.)

Thanks!

Stan Db
 
Here is my workbench...buried in there... :D

I think I built it around 2001, before the latest runup in steel prices (lucky).

Few details, 4" channel "ladder frame", 5/8" A36 plate top which is sheared to 40 x 96. I used the 8" drop from the shearing process sawed into squares, and 4" box tube was welded to the squares. The idea here is that the legs were bolted to the ladder frame for possible disassembly someday. I have yet to properly bolt down the plate to the ladder although if I ever get it clean enough, I now have a magnet drill press too. There are 1" swiveling leveling mounts too, a hex nut is welded to the bottom plate of the leg tube (internal).

I have the height setup so three things fit underneath it...Miller 251 welder (rear wheels modified for track width), "short" Vidmar cabinet, and a rolling Greenlee "gang box".

On edit, since this shot, I added a "plugmold" to the front face of the channel frame, for several low-profile 110vac outlets.

gantry_hoist_01.jpg
 
I have one much like Matt's- 2" X.120 wall square legs, 4" channel top perimiter frame and 2 4" channel feet, except with a 1/8" thick top. It has brackets welded to the 4" channel to support a vise without flexing the top. The 1/8" top has broke edges front and back like a commercial Hallowell bench.

Another has all channel legs and frame, with an offset front edge like a woodworkers bench. The front edge is supported by angle facing out, which allows easy clamping to the edge. This is my main welding bench.

Used the most is one I bought at a fab shop auction - 4'X 8' X .750" thick top with 2 X 4 tubular legs and a full shelf underneath. I have a big vise mounted to it and I have yet to make the bench move by heaving on something clamped in the vise. It takes up an awful lot of room in the shop though.
 
My most used is a home-built bench. 24"X84" top of 2" oak. the legs are laminated 4X4 oak with the table apron out of 6/4 oak. I have four large drawers under the bench. The drawers are ex-Kodak and look like Lista, but were made by Republic Steel and are very heavily built. The oak is all air-dried and came home from an auction. My total expense for materials in the bench was <$70. With empty drawers, the bench weighs about 300 lbs.. The vise on the bench is a Prentiss Bull-Dog I found at a farm auction.

A second bench that I like is a ~30X30" steel bench with a 1" thick top and 2X2 steel tube frame. I have a 6" Athol vise which will be mounted on this bench. I picked up this bench for $20 at an auction where the auctioneer had described it as a foreman's desk. I'll be using this bench for welding and for when my youngest son does some blacksmithing.
 
Shucks - at first look I thought you were groping for WOODworking bench ideas. I'm tickled with mine, built from scratch and published, to my delight, in last year's Fine Woodworking magazine. The story is here. It's the same bench I use in my avatar.
Maybe a metalworking bench will be next. I'll be watching for ideas on this thread;)
 
My good workbenches have HEAVY cast iron legs, they must weigh 150 pounds each. With the heavy wooden top and cast iron drawers its a good bench for a vise to be bolted to. It doesn't move much.

I also have three of the newer stamped sheet metal workbenches. They were $25 each at Niagara so I brought home a trio.
 
I'd like to build the kind of benches I have built for my work place for my home shop. They are not a heavy duty kind. Just a good solid bench.
I use 24" deep by 36" wide industrial shelving, like Edsal, as the base. I cut the uprights to the height I want using one of the shelves as the base for the top. Using 2 units I can make a bench 12' long. Or any multiple of 36".
The top consists of 2 layers of 3/4" CDX screwed to the top shelf. It is then covered with a sheet of 10 gauge sheet steel with a band of 1/8" X 2" flat bar welded around the edge to cover the plywood.
Using these shelving units allows adjustable storage space underneath the top. They have worked quite well if I do say so myself.
TS
 
I saw a nifty bench that a customer built with pallet racking, bench top was a custome cut butcher block set in the recess on the 8 ft load bars, the rack above and below was storage, the above level had 2, 2 x 4 4 tube floresents, enough light to fry and egg. lots of places to hang stuff, heavy duty and no loss of floor space and all adjustable.
 
Shucks - at first look I thought you were groping for WOODworking bench ideas. I'm tickled with mine, built from scratch and published, to my delight, in last year's Fine Woodworking magazine. The story is here. It's the same bench I use in my avatar.
That is a seriously beautiful piece of work! Getting a piece on Fine Woodworking is quite an accomplishment! You must be very proud.

I always wanted to build something along the lines of a woodworkers tool box for my machinist tools.
 
I've looked at pallet racking for benches, will do that soon. They make some smaller-scale racking that would be ideal. Set the worklevel at the right height for some roller tool boxes to slide under.

I bought a nice bench for cheap from HD to mount my smaller tools on. The first will take my minilathe and minimill at the house. I will buy a 2nd to move my 9" logan lathe.
http://www.homedepot.com/cmc_upload/HDUS/EN_US/asset/images/eplus/615268540627_4.jpg
 
I have one bench in my shop made out of a solid door for the top. I used 2 x 4's for the frame.

I got the door used and did not cost very much if IIRC.
 
Used work benchs have to be the hardest things to sell I once bought 5 nice steel benchs 1/4 " tops all 5 where well made 3 where 6' long 1 was 8 ' long I only sold 1 gave one to a freind & I still have three. Ken
 
I would be interested in hearing how others have built their frame for their workbench.

Angle, channel, pipe, tube...they all have their places in a bench.

How about the pros and cons of welding versus bolts for holding it together? In today's world of high metal prices, the ability to be able to reuse a bench makes economic sense.

Has anyone made a good quick mount attachment for mounting vises, anvils, benders to a bench? I am thinking of something like a trailer hitch but with no loose fitting.

TMT
 
TMT, that's an interesting idea.

Seems like you'd need pressure screws to remove the lost motion (backlash), a tapered device ala Morse taper (or similar alternative) or a simple flat flange that would attach with tapped holes.

I see a tradeoff between welding and bolting...that you pay up front for the extra work of setting up bolted joints (as opposed to quick welding job) but you could pay later for the weldment if you ever had to cut it apart.
 
My metal working bench is 1.5" x 36" x 96" steel plate welded firmly to 4"x4" x .375" tubing for legs. Some cross bracing for the legs (not needed). Very stout. I could hammer, weld or load it up without notice. I think a metal working bench should be as stout as you can afford. I could put 300amps of arc welding heat to it all day and it wont get warm. Or I could beat on it with my largest sledge hammer and not have any movement.

Weldtable.jpg


My wood working bench is acting more like a horizontal storage area now. It is about 15' x 27" deep. It is two by four construction with a high density particle board top of 1" thick. There are storage cabinets under the bench (don’t forget yer toe kick). The bench was designed to accommodate my dewalt sliding compound miter saw. When not in use the saw can be slid back and sideways to take up less room. In use it slides out on wooden slides to allow for the additional room needed at the back for the saw's slides.

Simple and inexpensive. JRouche
 
Thanks for the compliments. The bench sees hard use almost daily; I do not pamper it. Threw some metal up onto it the other day and shot the MIG to it, for lack of any other horizontal surface. I wish now I had protected it better :rolleyes: - got a few tiny splatter burns in it.
 








 
Back
Top