Work bench?

[tq60]

Old office desk is an option as many are steel and have full extension drawers and steel top.

Where the vice goes you place plywood under top as a backer.

A bit low but you can work in a chair.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[andrewgr]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I wound up going with a 48" wide, 24" deep, 1.75" thick butcher block surface, on a steel body with a shin-high back shelf. It has adjustable height. It comes already assembled, and it was within budget. My reasoning is that when I buy or build something more substantial someday, this will be small enough that I can still put it somewhere and continue getting use out of it.

 

[WobblyHand]

If you were to purchase exactly what I showed in my last photo, the legs, lower shelf and back brace would run about $170 and comes flat packed but very easy to assemble. Depending on what top you chose figure $100 -300 bucks. Shipping is extra. The items I got were all made in the USA and are very sturdy.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

McMaster stocks very high quality stuff. I buy a lot from them. They ship really fast as well.

Good catch Wobbly. We buy these benches at work from time to time. They are good quality for the price point. We always get the stiffner kit for the metal tables.

From the picture, one would think the stiffner comes with it. Wow, not a true photo of what you get. For the record, the stiffner sold by Grizzly for my table top doesn't fit, it's 2" longer than it should be. One has to do some creative work and drill holes in it. Guess who found out about this after the table was fully assembled and in position? Left a complaint on their website about that. If I had to do it again, (buy another table) I'd fab my own stiffner. A 2x6 would work.

 

[DavidR8]

< snipped>
My most specialized and custom bench just for interested parties:
View attachment 341443
I have seen others use a salvaged solid core door and a set off saw horses to great effect so don't hesitate to do what's needed to produce what is arguably the most important tool in the shop!
my last photo to bore you with is a mail order purchased new bench like I originally suggested. Not inexpensive but something to be used for a lifetime or two.

Very clever, I presume this is dedicated to servicing forks?

 

[NC Rick]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I wound up going with a 48" wide, 24" deep, 1.75" thick butcher block surface, on a steel body with a shin-high back shelf. It has adjustable height. It comes already assembled, and it was within budget. My reasoning is that when I buy or build something more substantial someday, this will be small enough that I can still put it somewhere and continue getting use out of it.

okay, awesome! What about a vise? I have no idea what it takes to make a light saber, it sounds very technical. I hope we get to see some of your efforts and more importantly you really enjoy it. Remember, social distancing is a terrible misnomer which is somewhat poisonous and what we need is PHYSICAL distance. No chance of spreading human pathogens over the internet or phone.
be safe, be happy!

 

[andrewgr]

okay, awesome! What about a vise?

I went with a Yost 750-DI.

 

[NC Rick]

Very clever, I presume this is dedicated to servicing forks?

Yes, that was designed specifically for working on Shocks and Forks. I use it for anything that's going to leak oil when being disassembled. I can't take credit for building it. A good friend built it for me from sketches I provided. 2" square 304 stainless everything including custom formed perforated drain surfaces. He literally is an artist! Now that I do have a Tig welder I'd try it but it would take forever and not turn out near as well. I love it and that my friend made it adds much to that feeling.

 

[NC Rick]

I went with a Yost 750-DI.

The blue vise in my one photo is a 7 year old Yost, made in the USA and it is a favorite. The one you bought is also ductile cast iron which is an enormous benefit over other gray cast iron vices. That is a nice investment. I have 3 Yost vises and many vices but I am impressed with Yost. Nice castings and super hard jaws.

 

[projectnut]

Over the years I've tried a gazillion different benches, and none seemed to hold up to the weight and abuse. When we built our current house I wanted a substantial bench in the basement workshop. I ended up building one 14' long and 36' deep out of treated lumber. The top is made of 2x6's the legs (3 sets) are mortise and tenoned 6x6's. It has one shelf about 8" off the ground and another 8" below the top. I have no idea of the weight, but I do know the only way I can move it is a dolly under one end and a floor jack under the other. Right now it's more or less permanently anchored in place with about a ton of round and flat stock on the upper shelf and another ton or so of hex stock and multiple sections of angle and extruded stock on the lower shelf.

It was originally built to hold multiple V8 engines for rebuilding. As time went on there was less and less engine work and more and more machine and woodworking. For the last 20 years or so it has primarily been used for machine work and assembly. It has had more than it's share of abuse and keeps coming back for more.

 

[silence dogood]

Benches are more than a chunk of flat wood on four legs. First question is what are you going to use it for? An electronics bench is very different from a woodworker's bench which is very different from a metal worker's bench. Even the height of the bench will vary on what you do. So there really is not such thing as a general purpose bench. I have four benches. One for electrical and electronics. One for wood working. One for metal working. And one for sort of general work. The last three are very solid and rigid because they have vises on them and have to take side motions such as using a hand plane or a cold chisel. The metal one has the end anchored to the wall so I have more access around the bench. Even though I don't have much room, the general bench (in the basement) and woodworking bench (in the shed) go the full length of one wall. Two other things. No one touches my benches without my permission ( the wife is an exception). The other is the hardest. After a project is done, I put away the tools and clean up the mess.