Machining work bench

Hey Guys, so I finally got a decent tool box to hold my machining tooling...

Craftsman 41inch tool chest...

To house the tool chest I decided to build a nice sturdy metal work bench. It will be really nice have to have a bench near the Mill and lathe.

So the plan is to build a sturdy metal frame around the tool chest and then put a 1/4in steel top on it. This is just a work bench NOT a welding table, so a really thick top isn't required.

I'm also going to incorporate a system so that the bench can have wheels that raise/ lower if I want to move it.

Here's all the steel that will soon become a bench...



I used my mill to drill out holes in the front and back pieces of the frame.

The holes on the bottom frame will be for leveing feet...


I cut to length some 3/4in steel round stock and pre-drilled to size the ID for threading.

Next the round stock was welded in place and threads cut through the whole 2.5in length...


pre-fit of leveling feet...

I used the same process for the top frame. The threaded holes in the top frame are to allow attachent points if the bench needs to be hoised in a truck etc... 1/2-13 bolts can be used.

Now that that was done it was time to start building the the frame for the top out of metal 2x2 and 2x4 (1/8 wall). Yhe dimensions for the top is 28in wide × 50in long.








Next up was to build the bottom frame that supports the tool chest...

I ran out of welding wire, so that's as far as I got for now.

 

Durn! Them thar's some mighty purty welds. Wish I could do even half as good.

 

Durn! Them thar's some mighty purty welds. Wish I could do even half as good.

Thanks, i'm trying my best!
Actually that was part of the reason I wanted to do this project, was to practice my welding, i've hardly welded at all over the last couple years and was worried I was getting 'rusty'.

 

that is going to be a stout work bench. looks nice

 

Great job - what a beast of a bench!

 

that is going to be a stout work bench. looks nice

Great job - what a beast of a bench!

Thanks guys! Ya the bench should be pretty sturdy.
I hope to be using the bench for a long time so figured might as well build it to last.

 

Nice job. I wish my welding looked that good. Did the top stay flat after you tacked it to the frame?

 

Nice job. I wish my welding looked that good. Did the top stay flat after you tacked it to the frame?

Thanks.

I'm not sure about the top just yet as I haven't turned it over yet. I tacked the whole thing to the frame yesterday and did the finish welding today. I tired to move around the table while welding so I didn't get to much heat in one spot, but we'll see. Hopefully it didn't get to warped.

 

So today I got some more welding wire and after reloading the miller 211 and adding a new tip it was time to get welding again.

I got the whole top plate finished welded to the frame, I also ground smooth the welds that will be facing down, just so the tool chest doesn't get scratched when it is pushed in.



Next I spent a lot of time trying to get the legs installed squarely. It took time measuring and using a square but in the end I got them dead on. Once they were in place I finished welded them in.



Legs installed!


The next challenge was figuring out how to get this beast on the ground so I can weld the base onto it...Luckily I had made the 4 mounting points on the top frame, I had planed to use and engine hoist and shackles, the chains for the engine shackles ended up being to short. I should have planned ahead better, I had to spend and hour looking around the shop to piece together enough chain and connectors to make the rig to lift it (at least I did manage to find what I needed) Anyway in the end I was able to use the hoist to put it down on the ground nicely.




Next time, I will be welding this bottom frame onto the legs...

Just as I was congradulating myself for a good afternoon's work I started planning out how I was going to install the 1 ton sizor jacks on each end to lower the wheels...


It was at this point I got that sick to your stomach feeling and realized I should have milled some access slots in legs before I installed them so the sizor jacks could be raised or lowered from the front of the bench. Sort of shot myself in the foot on that one No way those legs are coming off now, so I'll have to re-think a new way to raise and lower the legs. I'm not going to be putting this bench in a place were I won't be able to access the jacks from the side so it's proabbly not a big deal, But in my original design I had tried to allow for that posibility. I'll have to see what I can come up with to salvage the situation.

 

Very nice!

Regarding the access slots... what about drilling 2 holes for each and cutting the length with some type of cut off wheel?

I like your idea (at least what I'm interpreting it to mean), and am encouraging you to go for it still.