could i build a workbench with only £300??

[shim20]

right wanting to build a good bench for home when doing bits and bobs, and want it to last the rest of my life, about 50-60 years........i hope :lol:
but havent got loads of money and want to build it from beech or some other hardwood that will last the time. also its going in my workshop at home (an 8*4 shed tiny i know) so the size i was thinking was 5ft by 2ft not sure on height yet. already got a vice so thats a big wedge of money saved(an old record one). just thought id see what you lot think about this also any pics/advice would be great thanks.

 

[wizer]

The short answer is YES! If you went for a combination of Ply/MDF and Softwood it would cost half that and will still last for 30-40yrs. IMHO. I don't understand why you want to put lovely hardwood into something that will get abused for the rest of it's life.

Hardwood is more work, but if you have the tools and the time, go for it. You might have to shop around for the timber, but 300-350 should be fine.

 

[shim20]

but the hardwood would take the abuse more, thats the reason for wanting to use it, plus beech isnt that rare so i would not be using up valued resorces if you see what i mean.

 

[MikeG.]

With a substantial frame of soft-wood and a beech top I reckon you could make your small bench for £70 - £100. The most important thing isn't what it is made from, but how robustly it is made.

Mike

 

[shim20]

good idea that would keep the cost down quite a bit if i made the underframe from softwood. then put a 2"-21/2" beech top on it.

 

[wizer]

Yeh you could do that, many people do. But I still don't see why people use hardwood in workbenches. An MDF/Ply sandwich will take a load of abuse and it's easily replaceable. I'd wince every time I dinged a lovely Beech worktop. It comes down to money I guess. I'd rather buy another tool

 

[shim20]

yer so would i, i will think about it because i sopose it would be cheaper than solid anyway

 

[Gary]

yer so would i, i will think about it because i sopose it would be cheaper than solid anyway

It may also be more stable too. I take it your shed is unheated so prone to large temperature and humidity changes.

 

[shim20]

yer so would i, i will think about it because i sopose it would be cheaper than solid anyway

It may also be more stable too. I take it your shed is unheated so prone to large temperature and humidity changes.

yer it is and gets cold in there in winter. what about iroko thats would be more stable, but more expensive :?

 

[GrahamH]

Another vote for a softwood frame.

Built the basic frame using some 2 1/2 by 5 or 6 in a L shape for the legs. Cross pieces using CLS ex 2x4 (doubled up in places) - half lapped, glued and pegged. Rock solid with no movement.

I also made the top using CLS but put a beach front to it.

Can't remember the cost but somewhere around £75 wouldn't be far off. The advantage with this bench is though it's rock solid and will probably out live me - if I want to change it, replace the top or put in a tail vice I've not got a lot of money tied up in it.

I've since bought a book on benches and it recommends building a cheap bench to find out what works for you.

Graham

 

[davebray]

Re using Iroko
I've just finished making and fitting a door frame (100x70) out of Iroko for my outhouse. I used this wood because I made a garden bench out of it about 6 years ago and it sits direct on the ground and there is no evidence of any rot in the end grain of the legs.
But I forgot how tough this is to work particularly when hand planing it as I don't have a planer/thicknesser. It dulls plane blades rapidly so I got plenty of sharpening practice.
The dust is an irritant when sawing and routing and a facemask is strongly recommended.
For my door frame I bought 5 metres of 115x75 of the stuff last weekend for £70 from my local timber yard.

Cheers
Dave

It's a bad day if you don't learn something

 

[dickm]

I'd support the softwood underframe idea - my bench was originally made from large section waste timber scavenged off the Lancaster University building site in about 1968, and is still as solid as a rock. Top is now a 3" thick slab of beech, bought green for a few pounds some years later and stored a while before planing up. So you <can> do it for a lot less than £300! But it does need luck and patience........

 

[ByronBlack]

Yes. I built my workbench out of beech for around £300.00.

 

[TheTiddles]

£300 is loads if you are buying plain sawn boards, mine cost £240 including vices. I was going to use douglas fir for the base but it was more expensive than beech at the time from that supplier. Ash is about 60% the price of beech and is a good timber so maybe use that. Workbenches are a very personal thing, spend the time designing it then commit to it with vigour as there's a lot of wood in them to convert. However, if you want it to last, don't compromise on the little things as there's plenty of time for them to annoy you.

Aidan

 

[shim20]

£300 is loads if you are buying plain sawn boards, mine cost £240 including vices. I was going to use douglas fir for the base but it was more expensive than beech at the time from that supplier. Ash is about 60% the price of beech and is a good timber so maybe use that. Workbenches are a very personal thing, spend the time designing it then commit to it with vigour as there's a lot of wood in them to convert. However, if you want it to last, don't compromise on the little things as there's plenty of time for them to annoy you.

Aidan

good advice there thanks, found a picture of your one earlier looked very nice like the iroko top im tempted to go that way top wise, how is is holding up?

 

[TheTiddles]

It's a thing of beauty that puts a smile on my face every time I go into the garage - it was definitely worth the effort. It's only 4'x2' and the top is still only resting on the legs, however it does not move a millimeter even if I jump up and down on it, and to confirm, I have done this.

I'm still working on the tool cabinet, 6 months later...

Aidan

 

[shim20]

sounds good, thanks again

 

[wizer]

That's a good point, if you want to build something beautiful out of hardwood for the workshop, make a tool cabinet. You're less likely to gouge a chisel into it or spill danish oil on it.

Take heed to the prior advice on Iroko, it scares the hell out of me. Someone here once posted about about a very uncomfortable reaction from Iroko.. below the belt line :shock:

 

[The_Stig]

I've been pricing my bench up and I've decided to go for a beech top and a softwood frame although as previously mentioned it might be cheaper to buy some ash out of our yard... I've been thinking a lot about my bench over the past few days and have decided to build a little cabinet to hold my table saw first, something that will allow for the extraction to connect to the saw but give me a bigger table to work on... I don't know how my saw compares to most peoples but it is one I was brought a few years ago:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp? ... =1&jump=44

It looks like the one in the link but without the stand hence why I'm looking to make one since sawing on the chest freezer isn't proving too easy.

 

[OPJ]

Ash is about 60% the price of beech and is a good timber so maybe use that.

I agree that £300 is plenty for a budget on a solid hardwood bench but, I think ash would only be suitable for the framework, due to its open-grain. You'd be better off still with beech for the top, which is a close-grained timber.