A quick and dirty workbench?

[Dan Hintz]

Ever since winning the Stinger CNC last year, it has been relegated to the cold basement floor... not exactly a position of honor, but moving a 350 pound piece of equipment without wheels around the shop isn't high on my list. I couldn't put it on a standard counter as it would be too high, and I couldn't leave it on the floor as constantly bending over to put stuff on it is a back killer. So what's a guy to do? Custom... sorta...

I picked up two of these 30" wide, 24" deep drawer/door cabinets from Lowes:
196422

And with a solid 3 days of work (thank you Memorial Day vacation!), I came up with these two gems:
196423

The top drawers were removed and the entire cabinet was cut down 6" to the level of the drawer opening bottom. On the drawered cabinet, the entire internal shelf was removed, one door was removed, and the four drawers were relocated to its former location. The frame surrounding the original drawer locations was chopped to provide dividers between each drawer as if that was their stock location.

Each entire cabinet sits atop a base made from 2x6s and some scrap 2x4s, with 250-lb lockable casters purchased from Woodcraft last month during their caster sale. The cabinets themselves were beefed up using 2x4s internally and 2x6s along the back, extending their footprint to roughly 30" deep.

At least one piece of 3/4" ply will sit atop the two bases (a second ply may be necessary, we'll see), and I'm considering a piece of granite on top of that for a really nice top. The cabinet with the drawers looks like it will fit both the router's control box and the PC next to each other, leaving the second cabinet to hold attachments and such. Bits and smaller stuff will fit nicely in the drawers.

I have $100 in the 8 casters and about $290 in lumber and the cabinets...

[Bob Winkler]

One of the best things about woodworkers is their creativity. "Re-purposing" is, in my mind, one of the best examples of that creativity. Excellent use of available resources. Nice work, and I can't wait to see the finished product.

Bob

[Dan Hintz]

I may paint the structural members white to blend them in a bit, but other than that I think it's done. Once the computer goes in I may make a cutout or two in the front panel for plugging in a USB drive (for customer file transfer), but I don't see the need for any further mods. I think these things can hold up a tank. I'm still debating if I want to link the two of them together so they move as one unit, some removable link, but I'm not sure yet.

[Dan Hintz]

I changed the cabinet price... I noticed a $35/cabinet price drop on the Lowe's website, so I went back and asked if they would price-guarantee. I got back about $65. So total cost for the entire shebang was <$400... and a lot of back-breaking work.

[Mike Cruz]

Great, Dan. I'm sure this isn't far off of what you had originally thought of. Glad to see you got it done. And NO, it isn't finished. Heck with the paint, but we want to see it "finished" with the top on it and everything in it. THEN, it will be finished. ;) See ya Saturday...

[Charles Wiggins]

I'm considering a piece of granite on top of that for a really nice top.

Dan,

You might want to reconsider the granite. I prefer more "forgiving" work surfaces in case I drop a edged tool (like a router bit). I'd prefer the work surface absorb the impact and abuse, rather than the tool.

[Dan Hintz]

You raise a good point, Charles, though I'm not sure if it will apply to me or not. I don't intend for the top to be much deeper than the legs of the machine (maybe an extra inch front and back?), but lengthwise I expect to make it about a foot longer to hold a keyboard, writing space, and leave enough area away from the machine to locate a monitor on a gooseneck attached to the back. If anything drops, it's likely going on the machine or the basement's cement floor. I want a more finished surface than ply, but I don't want to pay through the nose (places around here offer free granite if you pay for the cuts... $20/linear cut, so for <$100 I could get a nice top). I considered a simple veneer top, but in my size that's custom, which always equals $s. I also wondered how little flex the granite could handle with that kind of weight on top, so I would have to make sure my cabinets were very level (I already know one of them could use a few minutes with a 50 grit belt sander to take off about 1/16").

[Mike Cruz]

Oh, well, so much for that marble floor you were going to install, huh? hehe. Dan, you have a point about making sure your units are level. But since they are two units, and as of yet, you don't have them joined, make sure they are co-planer, too. I'm sure that is what you meant my level... Anyway, shimming either the cabinets or the granite should do what you need.

You know, since you don't want just a plywood top, maybe a simple solution is two layers of 3/4" ply, and a 3/4' x 1 1/2" edge banding around the perimeter. Like my work bench. Yeah, I screwed the 3/4" band on, but with enough clamps, you wouldn't need to. The bottom sheet of ply could be any kind of ply, but the top piece and banding could be something nice like Cherry, or whatever would go well with your cabinets.

That is, IF you want to consider something other than granite...

[Jay Maiers]

At least one piece of 3/4" ply will sit atop the two bases (a second ply may be necessary, we'll see), and I'm considering a piece of granite on top of that for a really nice top. The cabinet with the drawers looks like it will fit both the router's control box and the PC next to each other, leaving the second cabinet to hold attachments and such. Bits and smaller stuff will fit nicely in the drawers.

How are you providing ventilation for the PC?

[Dan Hintz]

How are you providing ventilation for the PC?
Eventually I'll throw a fan in the cabinet that holds the PC and controller. Probably no need for a filter as there's so much space for dust to roll in anyway. If I wanted to get really fancy (or it appears dust control is becoming an issue), I'll segregate a smaller portion of the PC cabinet and filter just that portion.

[phil harold]

I use solid core door slabs for tops,
fast solution, real cheap if you pull one out of the bull pen at the lumber yard...

[Dan Hintz]

thanks for the reminder, Phil... the top must be a bare minimum of 32" deep, and I'd like an extra inch or two for simplicity. Width will be in the 70" range. I'll have to see what's available.

[Mike Cruz]

Yeah, Dan, a door might be a good idea...