# Workbench completed(ish)



## Matt1245 (10 Sep 2005)

Finally got my workbench completed(ish) this afternoon. Not much to look at and not as impressive as some on here, but it's solid and better than i had before (nothng). Will be adding some shelves and drawers to it in the near future, but at least now i can get some projects started.

Here's the pic of the beast, with my ever growing collection of planes (some still to be fettled). 







Try and ignore the mess under then bench :lol: 

Matt.


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## Gill (10 Sep 2005)

There's no need to be so modest, Matt, that's a lovely bench. Well done!

Gill


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## Travis Byrne (10 Sep 2005)

Hey Matt
Looks good to me. Must be strong enough, to hold all those "things" on top of it.  
Is the top as thick as it shows or is that a wide apron around the edge? And judging from the pic, you may need some drawers.  And they will give the table more mass, which is a good thing, I think. :wink: 

Travis


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## Matt1245 (10 Sep 2005)

No, the top is just over 2" thick, with a hardwood skirt around.

Will give it some action tomorrow, see if i can ruin it. :lol: 

Matt.


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## Chris Knight (10 Sep 2005)

Matt,
It's a nice looking bench and will serve you well I am sure. It's worth actually writing stuff down as it occurs to you, when you find yourself thinking " in my next bench I will do so and so.. I always forget such injunctions and it takes me three goes to get anything right!


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## Philly (10 Sep 2005)

Looks good Matt!
Whats the top made out of?
Philly


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## Alf (10 Sep 2005)

Proper job, Matt. And that's just the plane parade. :wink: :lol: Nice bench; we want details. Length, breadth, height, materials, vice model number, the works.  

Cheers, Alf


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## Matt1245 (10 Sep 2005)

Thanks for the nice words guys.

Phil, the top is 3 pieces of 18mm ply glued and screwed together (pinched bugbears idea  ) Probably will damage pretty easily, but have got some 6mm ply to put on top when i start chucking chisels around etc. And after all, it's a workbench, not furniture.

Good idea waterhead, i'll do that. I'll probably use this bench to make the first of my perfect benches :lol: 

Also i will be adding a tool shelf on the left hand side to store the tools that i'm using at the time.

Matt.


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## Matt1245 (10 Sep 2005)

[/quote]we want details. Length, breadth, height, materials, vice model number, the works. 


> Your so demanding Alf. Ok then :
> 
> Top is Ply, legs etc pine (did my first M & T's, and bolted through) skirt and vise jaws are sapele (my first dovetail on the corner), Tail vise record 50, front vise record 52 quick release (both my grandad's) Top is 2' x 5', 34" high (can easily be adjusted tho). No glue used, apart from on the skirt and top, so it can be dismantled if we move, and i get a proper workshop.
> 
> ...


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## Scott (10 Sep 2005)

Nice one Matt. Looks good


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## Matt1245 (10 Sep 2005)

whoops, don't know what happened there.


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## PowerTool (10 Sep 2005)

Looks good - does this mean you can get rid of the "L" plates on your avatar now ?


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## trevtheturner (11 Sep 2005)

Very nice job, Matt. Well done. =D> =D> And what a nice home for those inherited vices.

Yep, I reckon you should ditch that 'L' plate now. :wink: 

Cheers,

Trev.


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## Waka (11 Sep 2005)

Matt

Really good looking bench.


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## MikeW (11 Sep 2005)

Nice one Matt!

I think you'll find this bench will last you as long as you want it to. Many a bench (mine included) started out as a "temporary" one--you know, just until a "proper" bench is built.

If I ever get around to building that bench, this one will still find a place in my shop. If nothing else, the top will be used for an assembly table.

But again, it looks really good. Now you get to put it to good use!

Mike


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## Anonymous (11 Sep 2005)

Lovely bench Matt - well done!!

I see in my crystal ball that there is plenty of rust removal in the near future :wink:


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## Matt1245 (11 Sep 2005)

> I see in my crystal ball that there is plenty of rust removal in the near future



Hmmmmmm, just a bit. Few blades to polish and vises to clean.

Got a pile off 200+ year old oak from church pews just begging to be made into some boxes.

Matt.


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## Howjoe (11 Sep 2005)

Matt1245":3hjl24ku said:


> Got a pile off 200+ year old oak from church pews just begging to be made into some boxes.
> 
> Matt.



Do the Clergy know you've got all their Oak?!

Nice bench. Looks the business!

Cheers

Howard


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## Matt1245 (12 Sep 2005)

They will do by now. I should say the backs out of the pews, they'll still have something to keep there bums cold. :lol: 

Matt.


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## Jaco (13 Sep 2005)

Great job Matt!


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## syntec4 (5 Dec 2005)

Good job. Looks Solid and more fancy than mine. You have skirting in you're workshop  

You must come from the posh end of town :wink:


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## OPJ (5 Dec 2005)

I think the very least we can all say about this bench is that it looks an awful lot better than nobbly little thing Tommy Walsh had put together in his "Ultimate" Workshop!

Nice one, well done. A decent workbench is never quite as simple a project as it may at first seem. I inherited mine from the previous owners of our house who left it here and that suits me fine for now. But there are so many different ideas, each person will have to find their own preferances - quite frankly, I think I'd find the task quite daunting at first! But it also seems you're not going to neccesarily find a good quality bench at an easily affordable price either (flicking through the Rutlands and Axminster catalogues...)


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## devonwoody (6 Dec 2005)

Best wishes to your new bench    

I put a back on the last bench I built to stop tools dropping off the lower shelf. (it was only cardboard from a large carton) it also works by soaking up any dampness and hopefully dries off just as quickly.


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## Matt1245 (9 Dec 2005)

Thanks for the kind words.



> You have skirting in you're workshop
> 
> You must come from the posh end of town



I wish, my workshop is the spare bedroom.



> put a back on the last bench I built to stop tools dropping off the lower shelf. (it was only cardboard from a large carton)



I now have a couple of shelves on the bench and some drawers, but i do need something to cover the back, fed up of my tools disapearing over the back and crawling through shavings to find them :lol: 

Matt.


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