What to put on the bottom of my workbench legs??

[Mark Gibney]

I've googled this for a few days and can't find anything - so apologies if this comes up a lot - But what should I put on the bottom of my workbench legs?

They are 3" x 5" douglas fir, and the bench will sit on a concrete floor. There's low humidity here in Los Angeles, if that counts for anything, but I imagine it's not ideal to have endgrain sitting on concrete.

I have a fair bit of thick leather scrap, and cork flooring offcuts - any good? or I could make a square hardwood box that fits over the end of each leg?

I want to avoid ripping whatever I use if I have to shuffle the bench around now and again.

thank you.

[Cody Colston]

I would put a slight chamfer around the leg bottoms to prevent chip-out. If moisture is a concern, seal the leg bottoms with epoxy.

[Mark Blatter]

I wanted to raise my bench up a bit anyway, so I added a piece of 2x6 onto each end, connecting the front and back legs together. Each 2x6 lays flat and is screwed into the bottoms of the legs. I have no fears of dragging it around and the extra 1.5" makes it easier to work on. You could easily use 2x4 as well.

[Brian Tymchak]

Although I sealed the leg ends on both my workbench and new miter saw bench with TBIII, I used these composite shims from Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/p/8-in-Composite-Shim-Bundle-of-12-SHM1-12-TW/202807695) to level a new miter saw bench I just finished. They not only provided a barrier against moisture but they also level, which I needed in my basement shop. I found them a little difficult to work with as they don't just score and snap as easy as a typical cedar shim would. They also tend to slide a bit against each other as one side is smooth. I ended up setting the shims I needed and then cut the scrap off using an old hand saw that I keep just for jobs like that could damage the saw.

Maybe one of these days when I'm feeling extra strong, I'll go back and replace the cedar shims under the work bench with the composites. But I don't see that happening anytime soon...

[glenn bradley]

I'm in SoCal and setting on concrete too. I do this:

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T-nuts and elevator bolts. The t-nut is recessed a bit and the elevator bolt threads screw into a 3" hole sized for a snug fit. This is the second bench that I have used this method on and neither have ever budged under stress.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

My work bench sits on a concrete floor also. I used a small square of asphalt roofing shingle under each leg as shim to get the base level, then installed the top.

[John Lankers]

Hockey Pucks?

[John T Barker]

Mine sits on the concrete floor as is. SE Pa., humid as a Mississippi swamp.

[vince dale]

Hockey Pucks?


Good Ole Canadian Boy!

[Allan Speers]

Mine are directly on the concrete as well.

- However, I treated my entire garage floor with chemicals to stop water vapor. (I used the Radonseal products, but there are other good choices as well.) I cannot recommend this highly enough, as it saves your tools and cuts down dramatically of dehumidification costs.

[fred woltersdorf]

I bought a plastic cutting board from the dollar store about 1/2" thick and cut pieces to match the legs and fastened with ss screws.

[Robert Engel]

+1 on the chamfer.

If the floor is uneven I would just use shims and hot melt glue them to the bottom rather than adjustable feet.

[Rich Riddle]

I get a bit of moisture from time to time so I use Azek cut to fit on the bottom. I simply glue them on there.

[Phil Stone]

I made a chamfer all the way around each leg, then taped around the top of each chamfer, and coated the entire foot with epoxy.

[Prashun Patel]

I have sheets of rubber flooring (recycled tires) that I epoxy onto the bottoms. Less for moisture wicking, more for friction and stability.

[Jon Endres]

I like the idea of something non-skid. Prashun's idea of the rubber flooring would make a heavy bench impossible to slide across the floor.

[Prashun Patel]

I wish. In the end, sawdust turns out to be a pernicious, persistent, and effective lubricant.

[Stew Hagerty]

I have sheets of rubber flooring (recycled tires) that I epoxy onto the bottoms. Less for moisture wicking, more for friction and stability.

Prashun, I think you just solved a problem for me! A friction & stability problem with complications.

[Robert Payne]

I have used 3/8" carriage bolts screwed into T-nuts centered in the bottoms of the legs. They provide leveling and very adequate support. Here (http://dans-woodshop.blogspot.com/2012/02/bench-leveler-feet-mark-ii.html) is a significant improvement on them that provide a good cushion as well.

[Tom Giacomo]

I drill and install lag screws 3/8 or 1/2 inch into the bottom, keeps legs off floor and can act to level bench.

[Mark Gibney]

Lot of good suggestions here. I went with number one - chamfered the leg ends and coated the bottom with epoxy.

I've used the T-nut and bolt levelers on other workstations and I like them, but my shop is narrow enough that I'll have to shove the bench out of the way to get a big finished piece out, the thought of the nails-on-a-blackboard screech from bolt heads dragging on concrete doesn't appeal.

And as a couple of others said, Prashun is onto something here with the non-skid rubber.

[Charles Lent]

Instead of bolts and T Nuts for some of my lighter uses, like Scroll saw stands, outfeed table legs, etc. I used Pinball Game feet. You can get them for a very reasonable price here, but it helps to buy a bunch and save on the shipping. www.pbresource.com I don't know how heavy your bench is, but these will hold 250 lbs each with no problems. They aren't non-skid, but the shape makes them floor friendly and great for use on my smaller floor stand tools like my DeWalt scroll saw that came with a hole in the bottoms of the legs for feet, but no feet were supplied. The leg holes are large, so I just used flat washers and nuts above and below the hole. The 3" threaded post lets you adjust the leg length very easily to level your tool, bench, etc. and they are less than $2 each.

Steve is a friend of mine, but I have no financial connection with him or his business, except when I'm buying supplies that I need from him.

Charley

[John Sanford]

Mine was directly on concrete for 14+ years. I think I may have painted the bottoms when I originally built it, and I know I routed a roundover, but that's it. No moisture problems, no rot, no splintering. Of course, the majority of those 14+ years were spent in Las Vegas, with the balance up here. I suspect it won't be much of an issue in most of the LA area either.

[Marc Burt]

Mine has been on concrete in Alabama and Georgia for 13 years to no ill effect.

[Leo Graywacz]

When I moved into my shop I too worried about the 2 by material contacting the concrete floor. My floor is very smooth and at least 3500psi concrete. Some days if I have my sprayroom fan going (17,000cfm) the floor will sweat. But usually it is dry.

All I did was cut some pressure treated lumber about 1/2" thick and put it under the bench legs. It's been 12 years and no ill effects.

[Jim Becker]

The "feet" on my bench are doug-fir and they pretty much sit on the concrete. These are hefty "feet". I have nothing on them, although the one end has 3/8" plywood shims for leveling. (My shop floor slopes because it was originally a 3.5 car garage)

[Jay Radke]

I chamfered the bottoms and put the Rockler bench rollers/lifts on my Roubo. Works well and can handle the weight, its an ash bench. Almost all the years its up on its rollers so the legs are not on the concrete. Though my concrete is painted. If I could figure out how to post a picture I will.

[Larry Gipson]

Not sure about a heavy bench, but I've used leveling feet from a company in Signal Hill (Long Beach) Ca.
http://www.levelingmounts.com/ I have them on my table saw and on a bandsaw. The one's I bought screw into a hex extension block purchased at Home Depot; welded on the project. The could be driven into a hole drilled in wood just as easily.

[Erik Christensen]

I use scrap Ipe decking - countersink the screws - the wood is indestructible.

[Paul Kinneberg]

As others have said I chamfered and epoxied the bottoms. Heads up they will soak it up pretty good I just kept adding until they no longer soaked it up.

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[Leo Graywacz]

The easier way to do that is a light soak coat and let it cure. Sand it a bit and put another coat on. That one won't soak in.

[Mac McQuinn]

I have 3/4" thick, sacrificial "pads" on my bench in the basement. They're made of hardwood and attached with (2) countersunk screws, spaced diagonally. I gave the pads a good coating of wipe on finish containing linseed oil/beeswax before installing. Relatively easy to replace, they were a saving grace this spring when my sump pump switch took a hike. The pads were wet although not the bench legs. Bench is heavy and seems to stay in place on it's own w/ pads attached.
Mac

[roger wiegand]

My bench is unfinished beech, with slight chamfers. It was on a concrete floor for about 25 years, now a wood floor (Yay!) for the last three. Doesn't seem any the worse for wear. It will slide if I push it hard enough. If I'm pushing that hard I take it as a clue to resharpen my tool.