Introduction, Insert Coffee and buying help please

[EightBySix]

Hi everyone.

Stumbled across this forum whilst looking for a timber supplier near me. Found the google map - brilliant!

I'm near Chesterfield and conduct my hobby from an 8x6 shed when time off from work, 2 kids and a baby permits.

I recently bit the bullet and replaced my B&Q kit workbench with one I made myself. When the table racks so much that you cant saw wood because the top moves with the blade, you know it's time to do something!

Here's the plan I made:

And here is how it turned out:

The observant may have noticed the vice is on the wrong side. I forgot to reverse things when I flipped the top over to make the recess to hold it! Luckily the cockup gods were with me - I like it better this way :wink:

I made the holes the same diameter as those used for black & decker workmates - I have a pile of those plastic stops they use, so I thought they would come in useful. I also made them all equidistant, so I can make utilities for it that fit using dowels. Currently testing my plan building a shooting board.

The reason I needed a "proper" workbench was so that I have a fighting chance with my latest project... "Insert Coffee". Do you remember those video games they used to have in the pub, built into a table so you could sit opposite your opponent to play and put your beer/crisps on? Well I aquired one, but quicky realised that even if I restored it to its former glory, it would be unlikely to get SWMBO approval. The idea was born to make a coffee table with sliding leaves to hide the screen, and joystick/buttons etc hidden within a drawer.

Many hours of sketchupping later, I have a design.

Found a supplier (thanks again for the map!) and sent a cutting list. They came back with an estimate (beech - to fit the decor) of £270 + vat!!!

I'm so dissapointed - there is no way I can afford that. I was so hoping to make my first project in something other than pine.

So at last, here are my questions.

1) Any feedback on the design? There is loads of techie computer/electronics stuff going on, but there is a whole forum for that kind of thing elsewhere (here's my thread for the curious) but I think this is the right place to put myself at the feet of the woodwork masters for advice about the overall design.

2) Is that a reasonable quote? I asked for the parts to be cut to size as there is no room for norm-type tools in my shed to cut up big planks, which will add to the cost. I got a sketchup plugin that produces layout diagrams etc which focused me on adjusting the sizes a bit to improve the usage of the boards. I could buy a beech coffee table for less than that though Any advice on how to design my project to reduce costs? I suppose I could use veneered ply for the top panels, but I'd rather not.

Thanks for reading. This looks like a great forum, I used to be a member of something called 'badger pond' and have been looking for a replacement since it's demise.

 

[Chems]

Beech veneered MDF with hard wood lippings would be my way for the top. You can use it for the rails as well. I bought a panel of beech and it was £48 with vat, a nice board it was too:


Where abouts in the world are you, a nearby forum member might be able to help.

 

[EightBySix]

Where abouts in the world are you, a nearby forum member might be able to help.

I'm in Chesterfield. Guess I might be looking for some decent mdf suppliers then. I just cant believe it cost so much for solid wood

 

[big soft moose]

Where abouts in the world are you, a nearby forum member might be able to help.

I'm in Chesterfield. Guess I might be looking for some decent mdf suppliers then. I just cant believe it cost so much for solid wood

you might want to check whether the price includes cutting out the list you sent , as if it did you could save money by buying sawn boards and cutting and planing them yourself

good timber have got beech at 37.5 per cu ft for 1" boards slightly more for 2" (which seems fairly typical) and its hard to see your project taking 8+ cu ft. You might also want to check that your yard havent priced for steamed beech which is more expensive

that said you'll be better off with veneered mdf for the top anyway as you wont get movement issues

 

[OPJ]

Welcome to the forum.

That does sound expensive although, that is the consequence of buying PAR (planed-all-round). If you don't have the facilities to machine all the wood yourself, perhaps there is a forum member local to you who would be happy to assist? If you have a jigsaw or circular saw, you could probably rough most of the sawn boards out yourself and then use their machines to plane it up.

Nice bench, by the way. I also have my front vice near the right-hand end and, yes, I am right-handed! It works very well for me, also. Your dog-hole spacings look good, too (...has anyone shown you the range of Veritas bench accessories yet??? :shock: :wink. I like the fact that you've 'peppered' the front as well.

 

[OPJ]

good timber have got beech at 37.5 per cu ft for 1" boards slightly more for 2" (which seems fairly typical) and its hard to see your project taking 8+ cu ft. You might also want to check that your yard havent priced for steamed beech which is more expensive

If that's sawn then I still think that's expensive - I can buy 1in English oak for less than that! :shock: I'd expect to pay something in the early-to-mid twenties for sawn beech. Though, I appreciate that imported timbers may have increased in price, recently...?

---

A note on your design - as Pete says above; veneered MDF would be your best bet for those panels, or else the expansion and contraction of solid wood would cause the mitres to open up at the corners! :? There's no reason not to use solid beech for the outer frames, though.

 

[big soft moose]

good timber have got beech at 37.5 per cu ft for 1" boards slightly more for 2" (which seems fairly typical) and its hard to see your project taking 8+ cu ft. You might also want to check that your yard havent priced for steamed beech which is more expensive

If that's sawn then I still think that's expensive - I can buy 1in English oak for less than that! :shock: I'd expect to pay something in the early-to-mid twenties for sawn beech. Though, I appreciate that imported timbers may have increased in price, recently...?

.

according to the website thats for rough sawn boards but its inc vat so maybe not as expensive as it appears (as many places give it ex vat)

I dont actually use good timbers I just picked that as an easy website to illustrate price - I usually use eynsham park sawmill who are competitive, but only give prices by phone ( I dont usually buy beech either 99% of what we buy is english oak)

 

[EightBySix]

Beech veneered MDF with hard wood lippings would be my way for the top.

Ok, I'm warming up to this now. I'm familiar with wood movement and was going to have loose slats inside a frame, especially as it will be in a conservatory where the heat and humidity range is pretty wide.

I was going to buy some veneer anyway, to go around the opening for the monitor. Should I get enough to veneer my own MDF, or is it better to buy it pre done?

Nice bench, by the way. I also have my front vice near the right-hand end and, yes, I am right-handed! It works very well for me, also. Your dog-hole spacings look good, too (...has anyone shown you the range of Veritas bench accessories yet??? ).

Thanks! It's rock solid - such a luxury. It was racking loads until I realised it was the shed floor that was moving. Turns out some soil had build up underneath the shed and rotted the rails it was sitting on. After hammering some wood underneath, it'll last me another winter or two I reckon. I have drooled over those acessories... If I start actually making stuff, I might be able to justify some to myself :lol:

The woodyard near me that I got the pine for the bench will actually machine wood for me that I bring in I think. I asked if they would put my laminated bench top through their thicknesser, but they were a bit reticent, in case of nails etc. Fair enough I suppose.
I'll get another quote for the same cutting list, and also some for non-machined wood to compare.

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[OPJ]

I was going to buy some veneer anyway, to go around the opening for the monitor. Should I get enough to veneer my own MDF, or is it better to buy it pre done?

Personally, unless you have an AirPress kit or some other conveinent method for veneering your own MDF, I'd just buy a sheet of the pre-veneered stuff for this - otherwise, there's a lot that can go wrong, if you don't have a god enough set up... :?

I asked if they would put my laminated bench top through their thicknesser, but they were a bit reticent, in case of nails etc. Fair enough I suppose.

Do they have a wide belt sander? That would be the better machine for the job, as workbench tops tend to be too wide most thicknessers.

 

[EightBySix]

unless you have an AirPress kit or some other conveinent method for veneering

Gulp :shock: I think I'll steer clear of that. Sounds like a whole new learning curve. Premade it is for me then!

Do they have a wide belt sander? That would be the better machine for the job, as workbench tops tend to be too wide most thicknessers.

I ended up using a jack plane - First time I've used one for anything of that scale - It was really satisfying! Would it be naive to try truing up my own parts, roughed out with a jig/circular saw? Looks like one of those skills that needs a lot of practice.

 

[Chems]

You could do it that way, theres lots of info on the web about hand dimensioning stock. But realistically you need to buy a fair amount of kit to get good results.

I have this PT. It cost £170 but vesus buying PAR stock for all your projects you'll make your money back. Ideally good to use with a dust extractor but I've used mine once or twice with out and it just fires the chips out onto the floor no problem so you'd be good to go.

Defiantly still worth looking into a veneered MDF centre of the tops regardless, lot easier to do, cheaper and you will be ensured a flat top. Just remember when you buy your beech, there is steamed beech and normal beech, the veneered variate is normally the whiter normal beech not steamed so get the right one for the hardwood you'll be buying.

 

[Benchwayze]

I was going to buy some veneer anyway, to go around the opening for the monitor. Should I get enough to veneer my own MDF, or is it better to buy it pre done?

Personally, unless you have an AirPress kit or some other conveinent method for veneering your own MDF, I'd just buy a sheet of the pre-veneered stuff for this - otherwise, there's a lot that can go wrong, if you don't have a god enough set up... :?

I asked if they would put my laminated bench top through their thicknesser, but they were a bit reticent, in case of nails etc. Fair enough I suppose.

Do they have a wide belt sander? That would be the better machine for the job, as workbench tops tend to be too wide most thicknessers.

I have this problem too. My planer is a 12" and whilst it's wider than I normally need, I still need a wider one!

I decided to make the benchtop in two pieces 11.75" wide, with a loose central 2" thick strip down the middle,- as a central strip would be, like? - Duh!

(Strip is removable, for clamping purposes). I saw this on a bench maker's site, but I can't recall the name of the guy, or his site! (Double Duh!)

Thus, problem solved for flattening my benchtop.

Regards
John

 

[Paul Chapman]

(Strip is removable, for clamping purposes). I saw this on a bench maker's site, but I can't recall the name of the guy, or his site! (Double Duh!)

I think this is the one, John http://www.rm-workbenches.co.uk/default.htm

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Benchwayze]

Yes indeed it is Paul,

Many Thanks. Bookmarked... Mostly for interest's sake of course, as I'm making my own bench!

Regards
John