Bench Complete

[alex grams]

Well, almost complete, minus two dog holes in the end vise. Top dimensions are 27x72, top is 2.5" thick, 5" skirts. Height is 33"-35.5". Took about three weeks to build, which several days were lost deciding on casters/levelers, and LV delivering the wrong vise (normal, not the Quick release).

My first true bench to work on, and when i raise the levelers it sits nicely on the casters. The base breaks down and the stretchers come apart from the pedestals on each end, so if/when I ever need to move it, I can break it all down to lay flat.

It moves around very easily, and when sitting on the levelers is sturdy to the ground, and will be even more-so when I add cabinets below it. The stretchers are made out of ash to save a little money, and boy what a pain in the rear it was to chisel into ash.

It was a fun project, and I hope to add cabinets on the stretchers soon, and will leave about a 6" gap below the underside of the bench on top of the cabinets to clean dust/items and such that gets through the dogholes.

[Richard Magbanua]

Sweet bench. Great job!

[Alan DuBoff]

Now it's time to make some sawdust, get busy! :D

Nice job on the bench Alex!

[Wallis Hampson]

Very nice job. Now do what I did and run the edge of a random orbital sander with an 80 grit disc into the middle of the top while sanding something and cut a big gash in it like i did on the 2nd day. :-(

You are gonna love that bench.

[Bob Noles]

The design is perfect for my needs and I am saving your pictures as reference for when my day comes to build a new one. Thanks for posting and sharing it with us.

[John Keeton]

Very nice job Alex. Lot of mass and great design layout. Gotta love the vices!

[Bruce Page]

Great looking bench!
How much weight can the levelers handel?

[alex grams]

Thanks for all the comments.

Bob:
I have the rough layout in sketchup if you want it, just pm me your email address.

Bruce:
The levelers were from Rockler and are rated at 600lbs each, so no worries about overloading them. The casters are rated at 125lbs each. I would guess the bench weighs about 250-300lbs, and will cap at around 400 with the cabinets on it and some tools in em.

[Johnny Kleso]

Thats the nicest mobile bench I have ever seen..

Nice Job!

[Todd Hyman]

That is one nice bench. What kind of wood did you use on the top?

[alex grams]

Thanks again for more comments. I wanted a semi mobile bench to be able to move around when/if needed.

Everything was maple (excluding the ash stretchers. In hindsight I would have done the entire base in ash to save some money and for visual consistency.

Todd, I will send you the SU file in the morning (it is on my work comp), i did get your PM.

[Bob Noles]

Alex,

PM sent and thanks!

[Zahid Naqvi]

Alex, nice bench. How stable are the levelers while working, as in hand planing etc. Is there any raking or "flex". I am contemplating making a bench myself and this combination of levelers and casters looks very useful.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Well done Alex. I agree about it being the nicest mobile bench I've ever seen. It should serve you well for years.

[Greg Cole]

Zahid,
Nope, not Alex and didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night either. :confused:
I too have my bench on leveling feet like Alex does. The feet on mine are M16 thread with a jam nut, and once you level the bench and use the jam nuts, there is no wiggle or racking. My bench has a stainless steel tubing base, so the jam nuts can be torqued tight to the flat on the bottom of the legs to eliminate any potential for wiggle.

[alex grams]

I have no noticeable racking when planing, and I laid into an end grain cutting board last night to level it and the bench stayed put.

[Hank Knight]

Great bench, Alex. I really like the leveler/caster set-up. That's the best solution to the mobile bench problem I've ever seen. Very nice job.

Hank

[Yuri Sadykov]

Guys, sorry for reviving old thread.
I see that bench and like it a lot, great one.
I have a question. You put vises in mirror position from what I usually see. Standard vise on right and end one on left. Are you left handed?
I am in early design stage for my future bench and though that such layout would be beneficial for me, though I am right handed. My rational was to have standard vise on right side, so one can clamp something in it for cross cutting by hand saw. Having the vise on left side does not allow for that, because bench top get in they way.

[alex grams]

Yuri,
I was shocked to see my old thread bumped, but you made the same observation that Greg did about my clamp location.

I honestly did not consider a right/left hand arrangement of the vices and just laid them out how I thought they would work best for me. (I am right handed). The idea of left or right handed never crossed my mind until Greg mentioned it, i just did it how it made sense to me.

I am sure someone else can further elaborate on the pros/cons of vice positioning, but I am happy with mine and find no faults in its use for planing/clamping/sawing.