Workbench Photo-Op

[Erik Christensen]

my xmas present to myself last year - http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ics&highlight=

[Tony Shea]

Here is my bench that I made about 2 years ago now. So far I have really liked the bench and is plenty of bench for me. I posted it a lil while back so some may remember seeing it. And as I said I would def rather have a traditional tail vise instead of the quick release, even a wagon vise I would prefer over the QR vise. I also plan on using maple or some other hardwood for the top on the next bench. I love the doug fir in its' appearance and ease of flattening but still think a hardwood would be a bit nicer overall. I've been trying to mull up ideas on how to change over the QR vise to a wagon or tail without it being too much work. But I may just wait until I retop the bench with hardwood.


Bench vise resize.jpg Bench side resize.jpg

[Tim Janssen]

I posted the following thread on another forum some 7 years ago, but I still have and use the bench.
So here is my bench:

Another lift, the "Benchlift"

---

I built this bench and the benchlift about 5,1/2 years ago, shortly after
I bought my BT3000.
The bench is an adaptation of a bench in “Making Workbenches”, a
book by Sam Allen. The lift is my own idea.
The legs are fir, the stretchers spruce and the top is made of 3 layers
of ¾” MDF with a sacrificial layer of ¼” masonite(hardboard) with
a “skirt” around it from ¾” oak. The whole bench can be disassembled,
The stretchers and legs are held together with long threaded rods,
nuts and washers. The top is held onto the upper stretchers with
clips.
The pull-out shelf is to hold tools, I use frequently, etc., it tends to
become a bit of a catch-all though, sometimes. Just below the top is
a ¼” panel that slides out, it stops sawdust etc from falling through
the benchdog holes onto the tool shelf. I store the handle for the jack
there. The bottom shelf lifts out, it’s where I put scraps, cut-offs, etc.
The benchdog holes are ¾” and the benchdogs are ¾” dowels with a
short piece of hose around the top to keep them from falling through
the holes
The end vise is a twinscrew vise from Lee Valley. The vise at the front
is a quick release vise. The standard vise lying on top of the bench is
mounted on a ¾” piece of plywood bolted through a piece of 2x4 and it
can be clamped in the wood vise so I don’t damage the wood vise if I
want to work on metal stuff.
Because my shop is small, I need to be able to move the bench
sometimes. It’s a heavy brute. I estimate it to weigh about 300lbs.
So it needed something substantial and what you see in the pictures
and the drawings, is what I came up with.
A small car jack for ten bucks, picked up at the scrap yard, 4 heavy
duty swivel casters and 6 butt hinges, nuts and bolts of course.
The rest is basically scrap lumber I already had.
I have not given any dimensions in the drawings, not to be secretive
about it, but anyone who would like to copy it, would have to adapt
it to their own bench dimension anyway.


Attached Thumbnails


Attached Files

	thebenchlift.pdf (6.0 KB, 220 views)
	thebenchliftplanview_section.pdf (5.8 KB, 196 views)

	I hope the drawings still work, they should open with Adobe, I believe. Tim

[Brian Holcombe]

Here's my work in progress.

[Matthew N. Masail]

Started out as 1 1\2 inch plywood on a base, then got a solid wood layer on top and various reinforcements. Wagon vise doubles as a holding vise and was about 10$ in hardware supplies. planing stop is wide and tight, best addition to the bench so far. If I were to change anything it would be to build in a cabinet and add a sliding deadman. holdfasts are on the way.





bench 2 (2000x1500).jpgbench 1 (2000x1500).jpgbench 3 (2000x1500).jpg

[Jeff Heath]

Here's mine.....5" thick maple top, 24" wide X 96" long. Base is cherry legs, 3.5" x 5", with 2"X6" maple rails. End cap is cherry, and so is the sliding deadman. The wagon vise and leg vise hardware were purchased from Jameel at Benchcrafted.......love it and highly recommend it.

workbenchtop.jpgworkbench2.jpgwagonvise.jpgBracedogholes.jpgRouboworkbenchfront.jpgworkbenchplaning.jpg

[Rob Luter]

Here's one I made a few years ago. It was still "shiny new" in these shots. It's developed a bit of a patina now.

[Rich Riddle]

Here is my utility bench in the garage. I turned 50 this year and plan to replace the bench prior to the next birthday. It won't be a work of art, but it's been narrowed down to 2 or 3 designs. Strange thing is lots of things have been made on this less than pretty or practical bench. On the left side of the wooden structure is an avionics bench from an aircraft carrier. It works.Bench.jpg

[Graham Haydon]

20131103_223045.jpg

Here's mine and the whole story on it http://gshaydon.co.uk/blog/the-workbench there a few vids there if you are interested . The stock prep was by machine but the rest was hand made. I just had a wooden vice screw arrive that is supposed to be a "second and not fit for sale" by this guy. If it's a second the "first" must be awesome!

[glenn bradley]

This was built as my "next" bench back in 2007. Despite several things I would do differently and an ongoing conversation with myself about swinging this unit around to serve as a tablesaw outfeed/2nd bench and build another, I continue to use it happily.

2nd drawer unit done.jpg . Shop Tour 2011-10-19 (34).jpg . bench-stop-in-use.jpg

[Bill Huber]

Now all these benches look like they should work but now here is a real bench.....

Looking at these makes me want to build one but I just don't have a place to put it so I guess I will just have to stick with what I have..


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[Shawn Pixley]

image.jpgimage.jpg

Mine is embarassing. Laminated mdf and hardwood glue-up top on two plastic sawhorses. It has a front vise, dog holes, and recessed kreg track in the top. It weighs about 130 lbs and I lift it onto the sawhorses as i convert the garage to the shop and back again (weekly). But the top is flat and I don't worry about damaging it. It works for me at this time.

[Lee Reep]

I am always impressed with seeing the level of sophistication and detail on custom workbenches that are made by members of this forum and others. I have been saying for 15 or more years that when I "complete that next project", I'll build a custom bench. Well, I finally did, but it is pretty simple. In the past month I decided to delay the purchase of a SawStop cabinet saw. I instead decided to buy a Festool track saw, since my need is for a saw that can easily break down sheet goods. I was blown away by the type of cabinetry being done using a track saw for breaking down plywood.

However, I am a hobbyist, and so Festool's MFT workbench, while being great for its portability, really did no fit my model. I CNC-machined a 36" X 84" MDF top with 20mm holes, so I could basically have my own super-sized MFT. Since this is an experiment to see if size makes sense, I built the framework with 2x4s and the legs are 4x4s. But I did go to a quality lumber supplier in town to buy the best I could find, rather than digging thru the racks at Home Depot.

I'll eventually add a vise, maybe 2, and add some storage below, but so far, this workbench has proven to be a great platform for my track saw. I also built it to double as the outfeed table for my table saw. And after Christmas presents are done, I'll build a planer cart so I can use the workbench as an outfeed table for my planer.

Here is a picture. Shown is the 55" guide rail that comes with the saw. I also have the 75" rail, so I can join them and easily break down 4X8 sheets of plywood.

mft-xl.jpg

[steven c newman]

DSCF0023.jpgJust some scraps of wood to make a small, but just right sized , bench. 2x10 from a waterbed frame supplied most of the lumber, a couple scrounged 2x4s, an old door side piece and even an old foot board to floor the tool well with. Will try to get a few better looks, IF this site will let them throughDSCF0038 (4).jpgpipe clamp works for the leg vise. Had a few other photos, but I get that red ! message????

[Jim Matthews]

(that's red DYE on the top)

Why throw away the chance for a perfectly good tall tale?
"There I was eye to eye with a rabid honey badger with my last piece of Zebra wood in its jaws..."