# railway sleeper workbench. wip



## sparkymarky (5 Jul 2011)

hi everyone so i`ve finally got around to building the workbench out of some solid idigbo railway sleepers which i picked up from a agriculture merchants. i`ll try and take as many piccys as i can.

the style of the bench i`m going for is the traditional cabinetmakers bench with a table top of 25" x 150" x 5" deep. i have already bought a woden quick release vice and a york tail vice screw for the tail vice.

this is my work so far. 

i first re-sawn the sleepers into sections for the legs assembly.







then sent them through the planner to get the correct dimensions (there`s a good review thread in the general section on this model).











finally ended up with two base sections which have been built using through mortices.






i then started on the top. starting with a solid 5" x 10" sleeper i cut down to size to 150" long and under cut the tail vice end to leave a 2" thick top. i then built the tail vice with help from tage frid book 3 to work out how the tail vice works, i didn`t use his dimensions supplied but worked to my own using his designs (i did modify the design a bit as i thought i could add extra strength).











i will now start on the rest of the bench top firstly fitting the stretcher across the front which is 2`1/2" x 5" and will have 3/4" dog holes every 5" down the front i will also mount the woden vice into the other end.


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## condeesteso (5 Jul 2011)

this will be a cracker! Weight approx 200Kg at a guess?? The last shot of the tail-vice component with the current bench under it puts things in perspective 
Keep us posted, I am very interested in benches as I am close to starting my ultimate bench (ultimate as in maximum; decisive; conclusive... last).

And - is that a Coronet I spot in the background??


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## Pvt_Ryan (5 Jul 2011)

WoW, out of curiosity what did you pay for the sleepers and how many did you get. (I ask as they are selling sleepers down the road from me for £10, not sure what wood though, and I had considered using them for my bench.)


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## sparkymarky (5 Jul 2011)

thanks for the replies, yerp the bench is going to be a heavy un each base leg assembly as shown in the pictures weighs in at 25kg. the sleepers cost around £20 to £25 pounds i bought 3 of them they measure 5" x 10" x 2.5 meters, apparently they were national rail rejects, they havent been tanalised however are a pain to cut as the timber has so much resin in it, the wood gums up the bandsaw blade. (a bit of mr mussel oven cleaner soon sorts them out though) as far as what wood they are i think they are idigbo but still not too sure (see the wood-id-please-t51754.html post)

condeesteso this is supposed to be my ultimate bench but in a few years that might change , not a coronet but one of the first records its a cl3, great little lathe now i`ve anchored though the wall with some threaded bar to stop the base vibrating, hence the concrete blocks under the bench.


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## sparkymarky (21 Jul 2011)

i`ve had a busy few weeks so haven`t had very much time to put to the bench (or to tidying the workshop   )

i`ve now finished the front end of the bench build including mounting the woden vice + fitting the 2 1/2 x 5 inch rail down the front with the dog holes built in.

a little bit of tidying on the front of the bench to do, then i`ll move on to building the back end which will be in 5 inch wide x 1 inch thick sections.

to anyone who has looked at the axminster 8" bench top planer thicknesser thread in the gw section all of the bulk of the work has been done with this and has performed really well (still on my first set of blades as well)










cheers 

mark.


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## tisdai (21 Jul 2011)

Keep the pics coming Mark, your doing a cracking job m8


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## condeesteso (21 Jul 2011)

I have a problem re benches... always dreaming of the next one. But seriously this is looking very good indeed. Excellent jointing on the tail vice. And looks like you don't have loads of space to work in, so very impressive. More pics as it goes please.

and re lathe, my Coronet is also anchored to the wall - best way I reckon!!

And, by the way, as the tail main block looks solid (not laminated) - how did you chop your dogs out??


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## sparkymarky (22 Jul 2011)

thanks for the replies.

tisdai - ill keep the pictures comming.

condeesteso - re the tail vice. the strecher with the dog holes is laminated, a more clearer picture perhaps is the 5th photo down in my original post if you look at the end grain you will see a line about a inch in from the outside. i cut the dog holes using a bandsaw and pairing out with a chisel. all very simple carpentry here .

some advice would be great, as far as building the base goes i`m thinking of either using a simple frame to keep the bench stable or to build a set of drawers so that i can utilise the space under the bench in a way something similar to the bench on this website http://www.diefenbachworkbenches.com/ any thoughts on doing this??

cheers

mark.


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## condeesteso (22 Jul 2011)

OK Mark, got it. That's how they are normally done but I didn't see the join. Re drawers etc - I'd say ignore for now - build a really solid structure to support (it'll need it of course!) - no possible racking etc... then at the end design in drawers or shelves, but completely non-structural and not cutting into legs etc. But that is just my view, that the functional structure is paramount. I think shelves etc can be (and were) softwood, thinnish (typically t&g), nailed on to battens etc, i.e. very secondary, plus you can change the configuration of them easily later if you want to.


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## sparkymarky (28 Aug 2011)

some progress has been made!

i have now finished the main assembly of the bench, lots of securing to do and a fair bit of tidying up to do this is the bench so far.

to date the bench has cost approximately £140 to build including the vices and all.







cheers, mark.

p.s. still need to tidy the workshop


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## Blister (28 Aug 2011)

That bench looks very nice 

You must be well pleased :wink:


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## tisdai (28 Aug 2011)

Hi Mark 

Looking good m8  and I like the Sound of keeping the costs down. Are you going to put leveling bolts / screws what ever they are called I can't remember lol or is it leveled ok where it is finally going to stay. 

Thanks for pics appreciate it

Cheers

Dave


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## Mcluma (28 Aug 2011)

Very nice and looks very sturdy

however are the legs not going to be in the way
you cannot put it flat to the wall
you constantly going to kick the front lip of the legs
and is it really needed to make the bench more stable


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## woodbloke (28 Aug 2011)

sparkymarky":3q619ybp said:


>


Good job so far, but without question you're going to trip up :twisted: over those two sticky-out bits on the floor! - Rob


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## condeesteso (28 Aug 2011)

Cracking!! - might agree re the forward projecting sleds (feet), but the legs look flush to the front of top, loads of mass and probably really stiff . Do consider dog-holes down the right leg, just 3 or 4 is enough. 3/4 round to take holdfasts or round dogs.
re budget, amazing - you did very well getting the wood the way you did, but a bench this solid and well thought out - under £200 is ridiculous.
p.s. anyone seen the new Lie Nielsen maple bench?? in the US it's $2k, doubt it will even ship to the UK due to its weight, but it's good, not stunning. I'm sure it was designed by Chris Schwarz... and of course he raves about it. Call me cynical.
Anyway, v nice bench WoodB, love it.
(my ash 8-footer with twinscrew face vice will be along shortly, that is when I am good and ready


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## Corset (28 Aug 2011)

That is one monster of a bench! Very nice. You won't be wearing that out in this lifetime.
Owen


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## devonwoody (29 Aug 2011)

I also looked at your bench thread and was impressed. Its amazing that you were able to work those sleepers on your benchtop P/T, their weight alone must have been a handful. I can only dream about having a bench of that calibre these days, 200kgs wow.


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## sparkymarky (29 Aug 2011)

thanks for the replies everyone.

i do agree that the sled feet extending from the base of the bench could be a trip hazard they wont get trimmed down until i trip over them :lol: as the bench is front end heavy i wanted to eliminate any chance of it falling forward. 

the sled feet dont extend beyond the rear of the bench as the leg assembly is shorter than the bench, allowing it to sit flush with a wall.

when the bench is finished i will take more pictures showing this.

in the mean time however i have uploaded a quick sketchup sketch roughly showing the bench design and proportions. it can be downloaded here http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/ ... revstart=0 (i will do a better model nearer the time showing exactly all measurements and cuts).

cheers, mark.


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## alan2001 (3 Sep 2011)

lovely job, I'm jealous. 


sparkymarky":2o6a9hlu said:


> i do agree that the sled feet extending from the base of the bench could be a trip hazard they wont get trimmed down until i trip over them :lol: as the bench is front end heavy i wanted to eliminate any chance of it falling forward.


but I cannot in all conscience say nothing here. I think eliminating the chances of YOU or other people tripping, falling, and cracking their skull on something should be a much higher priority than the _bench _falling over. for most of my career I've had the mantra 'what's the worst that could happen?' drummed into me, and in this case it's you or someone else, dying, from a brain haemorrhage.

the timber of that bench was designed to survive being run over by trains all day. people aren't. if it's 'front heavy', add more weight to the back to counterbalance it.

you've got me in a health and safety mood and I am tapping furiously on my clipboard. :evil:

sorry for being a dick, but you just pushed one of my buttons. :!:


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## TheFunkyMonkey (11 Sep 2011)

Awesome bench!

Re the balance issue, could you not fix it to the wall with a couple of straps or bolt it to the floor with a couple of anchors?

The strap would need to be fairly strong, but the ground anchors wouldn't need to be mega strong


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## bexupnorth (13 Sep 2011)

Awesome bench, soon as I saw the railway sleepers bit I knew it would be interesting. They really are incredibly versatile and a lot of wood for little money. Hope you're able to enjoy using it soon.

Ade.


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## abuccellato (16 Jan 2012)

I was cruising the web looking for ideas to build a sturdy bowling alley or railroad tie bench and I came across your amazing project. Unfortunately I'm having a hard time finding people with as much enthusiasm on my side of "The Pond" as you all are. Your bench is truly nice and has inspired me to go all out with my bench. Keep up the good work!

Anthony


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## sparkymarky (26 Feb 2012)

thanks for the replies everyone.

the bench has now had some considerable abuse over the last few months however the only thing i would change would to of been a little more refined making sure all the dog holes were the same size.

the latest addition to the bench is the shelfs under the top, constructed with 12mm sterling board, some 40x40mm pine and the last remaining sleeper of cuts which i had lying around it makes the useable space ideal for power tool storage and the excess of clamps i seen to have acquired from car boot sale`s over the past few years. 

i did in the end cut down the sled feet (front and back) as i found the weight of the bench kept it stable enough also allowing the bench to sit flush to a wall.

so some pictures, the last one being my tool wall beside the bench. a work in progress and never complete  


















cheers, mark.


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