First Bench

[steve b]

Hi guys, Im starting to get together some ideas for my first workbench. I'm no woodworker, this will be mainly for doing jobs around the house as its in need of renovation, and for the time being at least, mostly simple jobs but maybe more in the future. Ive just bought this book for the kindle http://www.amazon.co.uk/Workbenches-Des ... 1558708405 but ive yet to read it.

The area ill be working in is a new wooden shed thats 12 feet by 8 feet which ill be insulating and securing as best as possible. I was thinking of running a worktop all the way down the length of the wall, however for future proofing and allowing me to remove the bench I was thinking of creating two 6 foot benches that ill bolt together.

My first main question is about the legs and support. The floor isnt solid, its tongue and groove. and im unsure that legs in each corner wont put to much pressure and weight in one area, I was wondering if i built the main structure out of 100 x 50, if i could use 100x50 to spread the weight. Its probably easier to see in the quick mock up I did in sketchup attached, no finished design just an idea for the legs.

do you think i would be ok spanning a 6 foot gap with 100 x 50 as in the images? the chances are ill fit a shelf or something else below but I want to read the above book before i plan too much. thanks

 

[steve b]

Also getting a head of myself, I like the idea of having a modular space in the bench, I could create a lower area as pictured, that allows me to fit a mitre saw, my table saw, perhaps an empty section to fill the gap, and maybe even a rail for the circular saw.

could make all those door frames and architraves easier to cut...

 

[DiscoStu]

I have a single garage as my workshop - so similar size. I also have two work benches, one with machines on and another as a bench to work on. I used a mixture of 2x2 and 2x4. I am fortunate that I have solid walls so they are screwed to that and that makes them really solid. I am 6'2" so I made my benches high for two reasons -

1 it's a better working height for me
2 I can get other tools under my bench.

Where I have my machine bench I have my table saw and router table on casters underneath we so I can just pull them out as required.

You see I have around a 2m span on the machine bench and with a single 50x50mm support in the middle the bench is very stable (but it is screwed to the wall).

I used 2 x 18mm MDF for the top and that's been absolutely fine. It also means that as and when it gets damaged its easy and cheap to change.

My work bench for my work is similar but has more 100x50mm as this was the first bench I did and to be honest it's more likely to have hammers hitting it etc. I put a sheet of MDF on the wall behind so I could screw anything into it and that's proved useful. I found some cheap peg board type solutions on eBay and Lidl and these have also proved useful for putting all of my hand tools - to hand!

 

[DiscoStu]

My work bench

Sorry it's not a better photo of the construction.

As you can see I did have a flap on it, this was for when I wanted to use my CSMS on it before I built my machine bench.

 

[steve b]

looks like a really useful work area, what kind of depth is the bench? I have about 70cm to the door on my shed, probably less when ive insulated it and im not sure it will be enough.

did you glue the two 18mm MDF panels together or use another method?

 

[jumps]

Would look to space pads rather than full beams in contact with the flooring. Design their positions relative to the underlying floor beams (or even fit reinforcing areas if you haven't finished the floor yet!)
Definitely consider any storage as integral to your build.
Wood working benches are designed to use mass - from your description you might be better off all round using a lighter material build with careful bracing - your design seems to fall a little between the two. As already highlighted, you also have to consider to what extent you are going to be freestanding - or utilising the sheds walling in your design and build.

 

[DiscoStu]

I think (I'd have to check) my top is around 700mm deep. I think the machine bench is around 900mm.

The MDF was glued and screwed. I slightly regret gluing as I think it might have been useful to unscrew the top lyre and replace it, but it's very stable and I'm not sure it would have been with just screws. I have a metal vice on the bench as well as a wood working one as I do sometimes do some car stuff on the bench, but in an ideal world that wouldn't be there.

I am currently working on bench 3 which will be a MFT type bench.

I agree with the comments regarding storage. Storage and dust collection seem to be the two big things for making the workshop enjoyable and useable. Under my bench I have an old school chest of trays. So I have around 15 trays with different things in. I also have a set of shelves that I have boxes of tools in. This is things like Fostner bits, and sanding drums etc. I have all ryobi battery tools and these are on a shelf with a big 6 battery charging station next to it, so these are always ready to go.

My advice would be to really try and think about what you need.

 

[rafezetter]

That book, going by the many posts I've read on bench builds is THE goto reference for bench building - just be careful you don't get carried away and end up wanting to make a roubo bench (you'll see what I mean ) I think the modular centre section could well be a good idea for your renovation needs as I've seen many people use that centre section for mitre saws, and even more that have slotted in a site saw so that it becomes almost a panel saw giving it more versatility.

a few examples:

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/table-saw-station/

Given careful planning it could well become a very versatile workspace. I'm making something fairly similar (the bench is built aready), but I'm also adding a sacrificial top that folds on top of the saw area so that I can hammer and glue and nail with no fear of damaging the saw table surface underneath - it's going to be like a dining table side flap extension but folds right over using bar flap hinges.

Having said all that try to keep in mind what core uses you'll need the bench for - speaking from experience (and why my bench isn't finished yet) it's very easy to over think the whole process - it could be you simply need the basic design in your first picture which could be built in an afternoon screwed and glued.

There are thousands of pictures available under "homemade work bench" which may help you decide or get inspiration.