Groaty Gloat

[Andy Hoyt]

So we've all seen these great photos of brand new work benches that shine and glisten under 49 coats of hand squeezed tung oil. But I'm more interested in what they look like a few years down the road.

My approach has always been to build them solidly so they'll perform properly like the tool they are. And I don't care what they look like; either when new or old.

So here's my six month old all purpose tool bench. Warts and spills and gouges and all. Pretty ugly, but I'm sure someone out there has better/worse?

[Corey Hallagan]

It does look well built Andy! But it looks like you are a very messy person...LOL. I take it is built with mortice and tennon joints, beefy leg posts etc. The kind you could dance on top of and not worrry! If I built one like that, I would tend to freak out if i spilled something all over it.

I do most of my actual work (drilling, staing, finishing, jig sawing etc.) on a old luan fiber core door that spans over 2 saw horses. I can drill thru it saw thru it and I just don't care. It is flat and sustantial. When I get tired of it, I just pull one of the bedroom doors off and start new ,,, just kidding... I got buy a blemished door at HD and off I go. One will last me several years. Thanks for the photo Andy.

Corey
P.S. they sell those box of rags, possibly you should pick up a box so you can wipe up after spills :)

[Vaughn McMillan]

Ooooh...a dirty bench contest...I could give everyone a good run for the money. ;) But I'd bet just having it piled with junk and scraps doesn't really count, huh? I tend to agree with your philosopy about using them instead of admiring them, but the bench I'm using now used to belong to LOML's dad, and he had used it a lot prior to me getting it. It's not really a woodworking bench - it's too low for my tastes and wimpy back - but with a 2" thick x 7.5' x 3' oak top and heavy oak frame, it's a good starting point. Until I get a chance to re-do it with longer legs (Adjust-A-Bench?) and a decent woodworking vice, it gets used as a horizontal surface to put things on, and as a glue-up table.

LOML's dad also built a poor man's disk sander into the bench. He bolted a 1/2 hp electric motor to the top, and vertically attached a 12" or so abrasive disk (some type of metal disk with very coarse, maybe 30 grit, diamond-looking medium) that goes through a slot in the table top. No angle adjustment, no shields, just a very scary and dangerous disk rotating at WAY too many RPMs. I plugged it in once just to see if it worked, but I can think of much cleaner ways to kill myself.

- Vaughn

[Andy Hoyt]

Ooooh...a dirty bench contest...I could give everyone a good run for the money. ;) But I'd bet just having it piled with junk and scraps doesn't really count, huh? - Vaughn

Oh sure, it counts if that is its natural state. Post away.

[Dale Rodabaugh]

Hey! what goes here?A while back everyone was talking about what kind of finish they had on their workbenches,tung oil,etc.So I took the belt sander to mine then put about 5 coats of tung oil on it.Man it really looks great,now I lay a piece of cardbpoard over it when I am gluing something up or doing finish work.now were looking for the dirtiest workbench,I might have won an award if I left it alone.:confused: :cool: :eek: Just kiddin of course.,:D :D :D

[Jim Becker]

My bench gives me the opportunity every once in awhile to practice with the Rotex... ;) ...and savor the aroma of BLO.

[Michael Burton]

I used tung oil/BLO/Turps on mine first and then keep it coated with Johnson's Paste Wax when I do my machines. It keeps the glue and epoxy from sticking to it and works great. It is a 6'x6'x2" Maple top bench/table that I got from a high school woodshop after they unfortunately shut down their woodshop program. It originally had four bench vises on it so four kids could work off of it. I only have one vise on it now. At least the bench is getting good use for what it was intended instead of a junk pile. I don't know what happend to the michines they had. Nice compliment of equipment at one time. I worked off of it when I was in school there. Sure wish I had it. I found out about the auction about 3 days too late.:(

[Wes Bischel]

What - you can see the top of your bench!!? The WHOLE top!!!? :eek: :eek:

Wes

[Lee DeRaud]

LOML's dad also built a poor man's disk sander into the bench. He bolted a 1/2 hp electric motor to the top, and vertically attached a 12" or so abrasive disk (some type of metal disk with very coarse, maybe 30 grit, diamond-looking medium) that goes through a slot in the table top. No angle adjustment, no shields, just a very scary and dangerous disk rotating at WAY too many RPMs. I plugged it in once just to see if it worked, but I can think of much cleaner ways to kill myself.First decent opportunity for a Creeker to win the Darwin Award...and he wimps out on us. Sheesh. :eek: :D :cool:

[Andy Hoyt]

I take it is built with mortice and tennon joints, beefy leg posts etc. The kind you could dance on top of and not worrry!

Nope. I used half laps, yellow glue, and very coarse threaded screws on scrounged 2x stock from whatever pile was closest. The top itself is 2x's on flat every 12 inches or so with a layer of 3/4" CDX followed by a layer of 1/2" something or other, followed by a layer of 1/4" hardboard.

If I wanted to pretty it up I could flip the hardboard over and sand the perimeter. But why bother? I figure all that spilled glue is just as good a protective finish as anything else. Then again - what's there to protect?

Come you guys, post some pics of your bench top. I want to see "use".

[Philip Glover]

Andy,

The simple fact that the top of your bench is visible, and that a considerable amount of work has been done there, is proof positive that entropy is a reversible process. This is a principle that woodworkers defy - at least that is what the LOML claims.

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Phil

[Scott Donley]

Thanks Andy, you made my day! I would post a pic of mine if I could find it! As Mulder would say"you'r not alone"

[Dave Harker]

Here is my bench, under the window. I made it to hold tools/stuff, not for holding wood for planing, etc. Note the wonderful bookmatched plywood drawer fronts! :-) Those are my first (and only) rail and stile flat-panel doors as well. I made this before I finished the garage, cold Oct/Nov. Minnesota weather, using a space heater, huddling close to it.

I used a 7' hunk of countertop that the previous owner left in the rafters of the garage - getting that down without breaking it (or me!) was fun.

I am glad I created a "nook", that open shelf above the hinged doors in the middle, real handy place to put things when the top is too full to hold them :-)

Construction technique = build 2x4 legs to hold it up, attached to a 2x4 ladder frame under countertop (for strength), add plywood lower shelf, resting on 2x4 stretchers, then think: "Hmm, maybe I should wrap it in plywood and build drawers" - it evolved and grew as it was built, no pre-planning, it was quite fun actually. I wish I had a series of pics, but had no digital camera then...

http://webpages.charter.net/harkerhome/images/shopoverview/ShopOverview.JPG

[JayStPeter]

Here's mine
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=10434

Jay

[Vaughn McMillan]

OK, I think I might have you all beat for messy benches...it's a little worse than normal, but not too far from the norm.

Keep in mind I don't really use this as a workbench, but more of a horizontal place to set things down. (I use a Workmate quite a bit for "bench" stuff.) I do clean it down to wood every once in a while, and if I'm doing a glue-up I clear off room for the work. You can see the cardboard that I use to keep glue off the pristine table top. The bench is in the middle of the garage, and you can see some of the tons o' junk behind it that's in the garage until we work out a better storage place.

The second pic is the Darwin-O-Matic power sander that LOML's dad built into the bench back in the 60's or 70's. (I moved some things out of the way to get the picture. Usually, there's a little Sears router table stored over it (you can see a bit of itin the bench pic). I was wrong last night when I said it was a 12" abrasive disk...I think it's closer to 10".

After looking at these pics, I'm sure there will be a huge collective sigh as other Creekers realize that their bench really isn't all that bad in comparison. :D

- Vaughn

[Lee DeRaud]

After looking at these pics, I'm sure there will be a huge collective sigh as other Creekers realize that their bench really isn't all that bad in comparison. :DLemme guess: these are outtakes from your audition for "Clean Sweep".:eek: :D :p

[Andy Hoyt]

OK, I think I might have you all beat for messy benches...After looking at these pics, I'm sure there will be a huge collective sigh as other Creekers realize that their bench really isn't all that bad in comparison. :D- Vaughn

Way to go Vaughan! Now we're getting somewhere. You've set the standard, and now let's see how real all those dream shops really are.

Note to John Milunias. --- We'd like to see the spycam shots from your visit to the left coast. You know - the ones that he's threatened to sue over if they ever surfaced. And while you're at it, what's your bench look like?

[Vaughn McMillan]

Lemme guess: these are outtakes from your audition for "Clean Sweep".:eek: :D :p
Your deductive prowess is uncanny, Lee. The producers of the show left my shop visibly shaken, screaming something about seeking mental help, or something like that. :p

It really won't be this bad once I get some of the tons 'o junk moved into another storage solution. (Keep in mind we merged two FULL households into one about a year ago, so we're still winnowing out the unnecessary stuff.) LOML won't budge on the idea of adding a shed in the back yard, so it looks like I'll be paying rent on a storage locker in lieu of paying rent for a shop. It's not ideal, but worse things happen to people every day, so I guess it's not too bad. :o

- Vaughn

[Michael Burton]

I was telling ya'll my table is clean, however I didn't mention my bench along the wall. Hah! you can hardly see the top of it, most of the time. Sort of like Vaughn, I use it more as a horizontal place to set things than as a work bench. :-)

[John Bailey]

Here's my version of a "make do with what 'cha got" bench. While building my shop I needed something long to work on. So, I took a 24" wide piece of 1/2" plywood that was left over from building headers, scrap 2x4's for legs and frame, and scrap 6" t&g for bracing. I bolted a $12 vise on one end to hold wood for the hand work I had to do while fitting boards. When my old Craftsman RAS went south just after I started my siding, I pieced together a jig of scraps so I could use my circular saw. Just screwed it to the table. That worked better, quicker and more accurate than the RAS anyway. Finally, I needed a short extension to clamp some t&g to for some odd angled cuts, so, you guessed it, I used a piece of scrap and screwed it to the table.

It's not rugged, pretty or meant to last. It's just useful and cheap. It is usually cleaned off because I use it most days for an hour or two while I work on my shop. It is more useful if it is kept clutter free.

I really think we need an "Ugly Bench" picture contest!!

John

[Jules Dominguez]

All-purpose bench

[Vaughn McMillan]

John and Jules, those are both great examples of real "user" benches. (Jules, I know what you mean about all-purpose. You can see the iced tea and ashtray in the pic of my bench.)

You can tell lots of stuff has been created, fixed, and probably broken on those benches.

- Vaughn

[Steve Clardy]

Well I'm not gonna show my two benches. They get used. One for that piling mode I do sometimes!! The other is my main bench. I clean it ocassionally to get the dried spots of glue off with a sander. Thats all the treatment it gets. No finish. Usually build them with two sheets of 3/4 on top. When the surface gets super nasty, full of holes, I turn the sheet over. I think I'm on my last turnover with this bench. Next bench I have in mind is a 4x12, double PB top with laminate. Drawers on both sides. One end [2x4] will house a down draft sanding section in it.