Tom Clark FL
09-13-2007, 7:22 PM
On a recent thread there was a very popular discussion on whether to build your own or purchase a workbench. Of course there were many opinions with different circumstances for everyone, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about my own reply to this very basic woodworking question. In my own case, one of the best parts of taking up the hobby of woodworking is the fact that you get to design and build things, and build projects exactly the way you want. The very best part of my shop is the dozen or so workbenches and cabinets that I built myself!
My first two workbenches were purchased, and this was before I took up woodworking for a hobby. They were just two 36 x 72” shop workbenches for my workshop, purchased from Grainger. In no time at all I found that they required modification in order for them to become useable. Both started sagging within a year, the laminated maple top sagged a little and the laminate covered mdf one sagged a lot, so much so that tools would roll to the center. I bolted angle iron to the bottom of the mdf bench to help keep the top flat, and added a third center leg to the maple top bench. It wasn’t long before the maple top bench had drawers added, a large shelf was added to both stiffen the bench and make a place to set tools, and finally a large shelf unit was added to the top of the back of the bench, so there would be a place to put all the things that you never put away, even though they are always in your way.
I started learning cabinet making 20 years ago. Like everyone else, I bought a book on building kitchen cabinets and started reading. After seeing how the writer went about building his designs, I decided it was way too complicated for me, and started to simplifying the process to better suit my tastes. I just wanted strong, solid, easy to build shop cabinets, ones that could be sketched out and built in a weekend.
My shop is filled with projects that mostly were started on Friday evening after work, and put into use that Sunday. My ideas are not for everyone, but you can easily change anything you like. I use plywood for face frames for shop cabinets. For office furniture and other house projects, the same construction is used, other than solid oak is used for the face frames.
I started out building cabinets out of 3/4” BC plywood, and ended up building every project out of oak ply. I just like the lack of voids, the looks, and the way it takes a simple polyurethane finish. The better wood looks great and doesn’t cost all that much more! I do occasionally use mdf for workbench tops if it is doubled two layers thick, like shown in the photos below.
My first cabinet project was built in the “European” style. That is to say that it had no face frames. The sides bowed and the drawers fell out of their tracks. Of course the design was bad and it was my fault. Even so, I have only built face frame cabinets since then. The very simple structures are extremely strong and light - until the top is added. I use a 16 gage nail gun with 1.25 -2” nails, and fill the holes with Famowood putty. The only other fasteners used are 1/4" crown x 3/4" long staples to hold the 1/4" plywood back on.
The cabinet shown below has a minimum of parts, uses a minimum of wood, and goes together very fast. The cost for a typical eight drawer workbench is around $100, if you use standard 22” drawer slides. You could build two or more for the cost of almost any purchased bench. Some of the cabinets shown in my shop tour thread have 500 or more pounds sitting on them, and all are built the same simple way. I no longer build shelves/doors below the height of the workbench top. Doors and shelves at eye level are fine, but below the top of workbench height, only drawers are used. I find that drawers hold twice as much as shelves, and they are easier to find things in. It’s just a personal preference.
The construction photos are self explanatory. Just notice the small blocks already mounted to the face frames to center the center drawer support.
Additional small blocks are in place to help locate the horizontal back stringers. You can build these cabinets any size you choose, and no drawings are necessary. I use a simple hand sketch to write down a few sizes, and start cutting out the parts.
The first photo shows a finished cabinet, and it does not look all that simple to make, until you see how few parts it takes to make the assembly.
When the 1/4” plywood back is stapled flat to the back, it squares the assembly.. Stand the cabinet up, use a carpenter square to see that the sides are square to the back before all the glue joints dry. The edges of the 1/4” back are are rounded over with a 1/4” round-over bit, and the edge of the back visually disappears: You will never notice it.
Notice the extra supports added to help keep the top from sagging. Another possibility is there are now some very nice laminated maple tops in the Grizzly catalog at reasonable prices. (A 30x60 is $160, or the 36x72 is $230.)
Normally I have already added the drawer slides before assembly starts - except when using full extension slides. (The full extension slides keep sliding out and getting in the way when rolling the carcass over.)
My first two workbenches were purchased, and this was before I took up woodworking for a hobby. They were just two 36 x 72” shop workbenches for my workshop, purchased from Grainger. In no time at all I found that they required modification in order for them to become useable. Both started sagging within a year, the laminated maple top sagged a little and the laminate covered mdf one sagged a lot, so much so that tools would roll to the center. I bolted angle iron to the bottom of the mdf bench to help keep the top flat, and added a third center leg to the maple top bench. It wasn’t long before the maple top bench had drawers added, a large shelf was added to both stiffen the bench and make a place to set tools, and finally a large shelf unit was added to the top of the back of the bench, so there would be a place to put all the things that you never put away, even though they are always in your way.
I started learning cabinet making 20 years ago. Like everyone else, I bought a book on building kitchen cabinets and started reading. After seeing how the writer went about building his designs, I decided it was way too complicated for me, and started to simplifying the process to better suit my tastes. I just wanted strong, solid, easy to build shop cabinets, ones that could be sketched out and built in a weekend.
My shop is filled with projects that mostly were started on Friday evening after work, and put into use that Sunday. My ideas are not for everyone, but you can easily change anything you like. I use plywood for face frames for shop cabinets. For office furniture and other house projects, the same construction is used, other than solid oak is used for the face frames.
I started out building cabinets out of 3/4” BC plywood, and ended up building every project out of oak ply. I just like the lack of voids, the looks, and the way it takes a simple polyurethane finish. The better wood looks great and doesn’t cost all that much more! I do occasionally use mdf for workbench tops if it is doubled two layers thick, like shown in the photos below.
My first cabinet project was built in the “European” style. That is to say that it had no face frames. The sides bowed and the drawers fell out of their tracks. Of course the design was bad and it was my fault. Even so, I have only built face frame cabinets since then. The very simple structures are extremely strong and light - until the top is added. I use a 16 gage nail gun with 1.25 -2” nails, and fill the holes with Famowood putty. The only other fasteners used are 1/4" crown x 3/4" long staples to hold the 1/4" plywood back on.
The cabinet shown below has a minimum of parts, uses a minimum of wood, and goes together very fast. The cost for a typical eight drawer workbench is around $100, if you use standard 22” drawer slides. You could build two or more for the cost of almost any purchased bench. Some of the cabinets shown in my shop tour thread have 500 or more pounds sitting on them, and all are built the same simple way. I no longer build shelves/doors below the height of the workbench top. Doors and shelves at eye level are fine, but below the top of workbench height, only drawers are used. I find that drawers hold twice as much as shelves, and they are easier to find things in. It’s just a personal preference.
The construction photos are self explanatory. Just notice the small blocks already mounted to the face frames to center the center drawer support.
Additional small blocks are in place to help locate the horizontal back stringers. You can build these cabinets any size you choose, and no drawings are necessary. I use a simple hand sketch to write down a few sizes, and start cutting out the parts.
The first photo shows a finished cabinet, and it does not look all that simple to make, until you see how few parts it takes to make the assembly.
When the 1/4” plywood back is stapled flat to the back, it squares the assembly.. Stand the cabinet up, use a carpenter square to see that the sides are square to the back before all the glue joints dry. The edges of the 1/4” back are are rounded over with a 1/4” round-over bit, and the edge of the back visually disappears: You will never notice it.
Notice the extra supports added to help keep the top from sagging. Another possibility is there are now some very nice laminated maple tops in the Grizzly catalog at reasonable prices. (A 30x60 is $160, or the 36x72 is $230.)
Normally I have already added the drawer slides before assembly starts - except when using full extension slides. (The full extension slides keep sliding out and getting in the way when rolling the carcass over.)