Buying a bench...

[Mike.C]

Thats ok Digizz. Neil has also stared a thread else where.

Ian you should be proud of yourself that really is a great bench.

Regards

Mike

 

[sxlalan]

I have had the luxury of both worlds, using a bought one and building one, I prefer my homebuilt one as it’s bigger and heavier all round (GWW issue 150) and better storage for me.

Is there a photo of this bench somewhere? I am looking at building a bench and want to see if I should be trying to backorder GWW150.

Cheers

Alan

 

[RogerS]

Alan

Have you read 'making Workbenches' by Sam Allen or 'The workbench book' by Scott Landis? Well worth reading if you're thinking of going down the 'build-your-own' route

Roger

 

[sxlalan]

Thanks Roger. As it happens I ordered both on Amazon yesterday!

Cheers

Alan

 

[Noel]

Alan, check your PMs.........

Noel

 

[Pineapple]

I was going to make a bench but didn't have a bench to make it on - so bought one. From Axminster, it was made in Germany, well constructed of beech and very heavy with good vices and dogs. Cost about £400 some three years ago and I'm well satisfied with it.

But now I have a bench I'll make my next one!

Cheers,

Trev.

Given that you really DO need a bench to make one on....I decided that as I will probably not have room for two; so I Bought A PAIR OF TOUGHBUILT C700 SAWHORSES From FFX (£129), because they Fold up and stash away when not in use....I can use them with either an old door or a sheet of blockboard or strong plywood. - I have the option of how wide apart I have room for and they can be thrown into the back of a van for any site work that arises. _ They provide me with a height-adjustable 8' x 4' assembly surface which is strong enough to stand up on & it's easy to put away when it isn't needed. - What Ever type of bench you are intending to build, these sawhorses will be extremely useful, even after you have made the bench of your dreams.

 

[scooby]

I opened this thread and saw a message from Alf, thinking she'd made a welcome return...then I saw the date.

 

[thetyreman]

lol 16 years late, necro bump.

 

[Sideways]

If starting from scratch, a strong and durable entry solution that will last you for decades is simply buy an 8x4sheet of birch ply, rip it lengthways then screw the two sheets together (from underneath) and optionally glue them to make a slab top of at least 2x18mm thick.
That will be very heavy and very very strong. No matter how hard you beat on it, you won't snap 36mm (about 26 plies).
Fit a record vice on the front and you have a usable bench top.
You can throw this across a pair of store bought saw horses - the metal toughbuilt ones are great - and you have a work surface that you can then use to build the frame to go underneath the bench top. Just bolt down through the top with slightly countersunk coach bolts.
The top will be flat and strong, but being only (high quality) plywood will be much cheaper than a hardwood top, much tougher than a softwood one, and you won't feel too precious about it.
The only thing that this kind of top may not suit is the use of hammer in holfasts. Those need thicker tops to work properly and would tend to splinter any holes you drilled through the plywood top to accommodate them

You can learn and buld on this for years, figure out what you like and then build a lifetime bench later