Workbench advice...

[Clisby Clark]

I'm getting real close to beginning my first bench to be used for traditional hand tool work as well as some power work. My plans so far are to laminate approx. 3" sticks of YP 2x stock for the top-24 inches wide. The base will be four legs and stretchers flush with the front edge of the top.

Since I'm working in limited space, I'm thinking about a six foot length for the top. Has anyone found this length to be too short for most uses?

I'm not sure about vises yet. If I build the bench before buying the vise(s) much should I let the top overhang both sides to ensure easy installation of common vises?

Any reccommendations for vises (besides finding an Emmert at a yard sale for ten bucks.) ? Thanks a bunch

[Bill Houghton]

Sounds like my space is even more limited than yours - I could shoehorn just five feet into my shoplet. Mostly, it's been OK. I did have some longer work to shape a couple of years back, and made a planing beam from a 2x4, cantilevered off the bench (and out the door) and supported at the free end with some legs from an old laundry tub, clamped together. Not ideal, but the porch rails I made on that planing beam are holding up fine. If I were doing it again, I'd try to find a 4x4 instead.

Decide on vises before you build, if at all possible. My bench overhangs on the left end by about 10", to allow room for the small Record vise I use as an end vise. I never would have known, had I not had the vise, how much room to leave.

[Heather Thompson]

Decide on vises before you build, if at all possible.

I am no pro by any stretch of the imagination, but I would second the total plan before you build, also I would suggest a trestle style base that would allow the ability to use clamps to hold items to the bench top. I use bench dogs but also find times that clamping over the edge can be real handy. Just my .02

Heather

P.S. A good vise is well worth the investment, my first bench was store bought and it came with a great boat anchor, PITA to use and I increased my vocabulary many fold every time I used it... :cool:

[John Goodridge]

What kind of vises are you planning on? A traditional tail vise will probably require the most overhang. If you go with a twin screw vise on the end, you would likely need less overhang; but the mechanism may extend under the top for quite a ways. Maybe you do not want a tail vise at all. How big of a front vise do you want?

Basic point is if at all possible get the vise hardware before you design and build the bench. You can guess at dimensions and decide later; but it will limit your options.

I am currently building a bench that sounds similar to yours: SYP laminated from 2"x10" construction lumber ripped into 4" widths with the legs flush with the top and the stretchers almost flush. I am going with a Lee Valley QR front vise and an LV tail vise. I am going to have a 12" overhang on the left for the front vise and an 18" overhang on the right for the tail vise. The overall bench will be 7' long (unless I find that I my overhangs are too short and I add to the end caps). I just finished the base. I haven't started installing the vises so I don't know what mistakes I might make there. Hope something in this rambling is helpful.

[glenn bradley]

If I give no other advise, listen to Heather. Get your vises or have a technical drawing of them before you finalize your design. Trying to build them in after the fact could prove challenging.

[Dan Forman]

Definately leave some room all around the top for clamping!

Dan