Let's see it.....your bench

[NOTW]

I may have to add some feet to mine and it's a bit late to cut tenons after everything is glued up. Was hoping lag bolts would work. I may give it a shot anyway.

If you inset the heads of the lag bolts I don't see any reason it wouldn't work


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FredP]

Nice Fred! is that a NEW bench being built on top of the old bench?

I need to build a bench some day. I'm currently using a $120 Harbor Freight bench... UGH

I did this one a while back. yes I used the old one (an old school teachers desk with a solid core door on top) to build the new one. the old one was given away to another member.

 

[Jeff]

Nice Fred! is that a NEW bench being built on top of the old bench?

I need to build a bench some day. I'm currently using a $120 Harbor Freight bench... UGH

UGH too or two? I doubt that your woodworking is shabby based on a shabby base to start with?

Fred does not use "woodworking altars" as far as I know.

 

[Mike Davis]

The problem with the lightweight benches is the wobbly, scooting, flimsy way they work. I have one that originally sold for over $1000. I think they even now sell for that price. And they are almost worthless for real bench plane work.

It's not that they are cheep or ugly, it's that they don't work.

 

[FredP]

UGH too or two? I doubt that your woodworking is shabby based on a shabby base to start with?

Fred does not use "woodworking altars" as far as I know.

:rotflm:absolutely not! the HF bench can be beefed up and made serviceable but it is light and a bit flimsy if you do a lot of hand work. I did without a proper bench for many years with no complaints. you just have to be creative with the workarounds.:gar-Bi I put a lot of time thinking through what I wanted before I grabbed the first chunk of oak. It is personalized for the kind of work I do most. Yours should reflect your style. Plans are OK but they are just a starting point. Don't be afraid to modify them to suit you're needs.:icon_thum

 

[CrealBilly]

:rotflm:absolutely not! the HF bench can be beefed up and made serviceable but it is light and a bit flimsy if you do a lot of hand work. I did without a proper bench for many years with no complaints. you just have to be creative with the workarounds.:gar-Bi I put a lot of time thinking through what I wanted before I grabbed the first chunk of oak. It is personalized for the kind of work I do most. Yours should reflect your style. Plans are OK but they are just a starting point. Don't be afraid to modify them to suit you're needs.:icon_thum

Is that bench made out of those 8/4 red oak boards we cut out at Jim's?

 

[donald.woolley]

Yellow Pine, 3 inches thick, with an English style apron and a crochet on the front. I have an assortment of fixtures for workholding, including the Moxon under the end vise. My shop is extremely small, so it is only about 6 1/2 feet long. The green trunk is filled with the backup,backup planes and can be rolled out.

 

[Mike Davis]

Good sturdy bench and a nice assortment of tools.

 

[Chris C]

Yours should reflect your style. Plans are OK but they are just a starting point. Don't be afraid to modify them to suit you're needs.:icon_thum

Amen!

 

[FredP]

Is that bench made out of those 8/4 red oak boards we cut out at Jim's?

:wwink: uh huh.

 

[Chris C]

My bench was from a plan in Fine Woodworking....

http://www.finewoodworking.com/woodworking-plans/article/rock-solid-plywood-bench.aspx


All constructed with laminated 3/4" plywood. Top is 3 sheets of 3/4 ply with a piece of 1/2" MDF floating on top. Netted out to about 2 3/4" thick. All exposed oak plywood was covered with oak veneer.

​

Wayne

That's the same plan I used....with way different results. Yours is much nicer...

 

[Rwe2156]

Section of bowling alley lane SYP (cost = $0). Ringed in 4x4 heart pine. Eastern pine/SYP base 5x5 legs (Dunnage at sawmill = $0).
There is a 20" wide quick release vise on the end. Dog hole strip is oak. Its a massive sturdy beast.

 

[chris_goris]

Here ya go…. its portable!:nah:

 

[MarkE]

Here is my work bench. Just finished a couple of mods to the vises.



The frame is 2x4 and the top is a double layer of 3/4" plywood, edged with 3/4" thick oak with laminate top. My shop floors are wood (Advantech) so I drilled a pocket hole in the outside of each leg and screwed them to the floor. The bench doesn't move.

And here is another workbench/assembly table.

 

[ehpoole]

I have enjoyed everyone's photos of their workbenches so far. :icon_thum

I still have not gotten around to building a workbench for my shop, though I have all the required materials on hand -- most of my assembly and finishing is presently done on my tablesaw. Hopefully when I feel up to spending some time in my shop again (it has been a few years) I might actually get a chance to build my workbench once I complete finishing the existing project that was in the works when I was last in my shop. I keep thinking we will be moving back to Florida in the near future, but their leadership still seems to have their heads buried in the sand creating a perpetual nightmare for those who need to be able to get their (Scheduled II/III/IV)) prescriptions reliably filled in a timely manner each month and that simply is not a game that those of us who need those medications can afford to be playing every single month (my heart goes out to the many sick, terminal, and disabled in Florida who are paying dearly for this mess).

To N4KIT, what you actually see in the photo of my electronics and radio workbench is HDSDR, which is displaying the complete 40m (7MHz) band and is tapped into the IF stage of my HF radio (FT-950) to serve as a panadapter. I do a fair bit of digital modes work, though not for the past few weeks as my digital modes interface (an SCU-17) is in for servicing after the SIL/CP2105 USB-to-Serial Port chip burned out in the interface -- I am letting Yaesu handle the repair since it was still under warranty (barely), otherwise I would have added the part to my next DigiKey order and repaired it myself (which would have been much faster). My call, should we happen to cross paths down the road (which would be fantastic), is KW4EK and you can find all my info on QRZ. I have had a lifelong interest in radio, but only finally decided to get my license last year (Sept 2014) as a birthday present to myself (along with all the requisite gear to get up and running on HF). I then went ahead and took my Extra exam in January of this year (I was, briefly, KM4EDA prior to upgrading), which was not especially difficult for someone with a significant electronics background. For my birthday this year I went ahead and added VHF/UHF capability as well to help round things out. For the past few months I have been rather sparse on HF, however, as we have been busy remodeling and repairing our finished basement (where this workbench is located) after moderate flooding damage due to a crack in a foundation wall this past July...which has been taking an eternity to complete!

 

[ste6168]

To N4KIT, what you actually see in the photo of my electronics and radio workbench is HDSDR, which is displaying the complete 40m (7MHz) band and is tapped into the IF stage of my HF radio (FT-950) to serve as a panadapter. I do a fair bit of digital modes work, though not for the past few weeks as my digital modes interface (an SCU-17) is in for servicing after the SIL/CP2105 USB-to-Serial Port chip burned out in the interface -- I am letting Yaesu handle the repair since it was still under warranty (barely), otherwise I would have added the part to my next DigiKey order and repaired it myself (which would have been much faster). My call, should we happen to cross paths down the road (which would be fantastic), is KW4EK and you can find all my info on QRZ. I have had a lifelong interest in radio, but only finally decided to get my license last year (Sept 2014) as a birthday present to myself (along with all the requisite gear to get up and running on HF). I then went ahead and took my Extra exam in January of this year (I was, briefly, KM4EDA prior to upgrading), which was not especially difficult for someone with a significant electronics background. For my birthday this year I went ahead and added VHF/UHF capability as well to help round things out. For the past few months I have been rather sparse on HF, however, as we have been busy remodeling and repairing our finished basement (where this workbench is located) after moderate flooding damage due to a crack in a foundation wall this past July...which has been taking an eternity to complete!

I know, not directed at me, but :swoon:

 

[striker]

l

 

[CrealBilly]

:wwink: uh huh.

That tickles me to see you made a bench out of those boards.

 

[ehpoole]

I know, not directed at me, but :swoon:

Like every hobby or technical pursuit, radio comes with its own vocabulary as well...not unlike woodworking where we also frequently use terms and acronyms that are not likely to be understood by those outside the given area of interest. That is why we always try to go that extra mile to help out beginners as they have a lot to take in as they learn a new hobby and all that goes with it and sometimes they need a little help with the translation!

After all, as woodworkers we all know that ROS stands for Random Orangutan Switch, because sometimes those darned Orangutans act up and you have to keep them inline lest the monkeying (errr, aping?) around get out of hand and the next thing you know your perfect finish is ruined!

 

[W Burton]

Wow!! There are some really great looking benches out there!

I built my current bench about a year and a half ago to replace one that had evolved over time from a sheet of particle board on sawhorses into a multi-ply particle board and MDF creation with real legs. Though it finally became fairly sturdy after about 3 or 4 modifications, it would still walk and wobble when planing, etc. So, my plan was to build a new bench and retire the old one. But, I haven't been able to let the old one go. It has turned into an assembly/finishing table, with one end dedicated to sharpening.

Here's the original bench:



My new bench has been a real improvement, and after using it awhile, I am so glad I built it. If you want more info on the build process, here's a link to an article from when I built it: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/content.php?r=244-The-Big-Ash-Workbench-Build

My current bench: