Hi guys
First post here, save for my introduction post – hopefully it’s in the right place!
As title suggests, I’m wanting to build a general purpose workbench in my garage having just finished a beginner’s woodworking course. The bench will ideally have a vice, capacity to install another side vice and dog holes at later stage, have storage beneath the main space for chisels, planes etc
I've already got a full wall in the garage with pegboard for tool hangings, and a couple of scaffold board shelves up, so the bench is predominantly intended for use as a work surface.
As luck (or perhaps not – we will see) would have it, a neighbour was doing his house up and was getting rid of some internal doors which he said were solid pine so I nabbed one of those from him to use for the basis of the top. It’s 196x67.5cm and felt heavy enough, so I’ve nipped to B&Q and got some 18mm hardwood ply to attach to it, which would make it flat and give it a bit more balance.
Trouble is, I’ve just got it home and whilst moving the ply into the garage, have dropped it on it’s corner onto the door, which has made a small crack in the door (absolutely no damage to the ply though!). Having now looked a bit closer and knocked the door in various places, it seems the shallower bits of the door are more hollow sounding than the dull thud I hear when knocking the outside bits and the decorative framing. I think I've attached pictures of the door and of the damage, along with the plywood I bought earlier today, and a couple of bits I grabbed from the offcuts bin on the way out.
My question is twofold:
1. Is there much use persevering with this door or should I just look for a better base for the worktop? I know solid core doors for instance are only £90ish new, so suppose I could find something similar if I look hard enough? A lot of the old woodworking benches I see available online seem to have really thick tops (I include a picture of the workbench I used on the course for example), which lends itself nicely to the bench being used for years and over time developing it’s own story without the need to replace.
2. Assuming I use the door, will I be able to attach a record vice easy enough, or will it being (or seeming) hollow in places limit me in terms of where I’m able to attach it?
As a side note, I was also wondering whether hardwood ply was the right choice, or whether MDF would have been better? I thought ply was better than MDF because it’s supposedly stronger, but have since seen a lot recommend finished MDF for the top of benches. One obvious drawback is the fibrous nature of ply, which is also a problem I have with parts of the inside of the old door, but I presume I can fix edging on to that to prevent my clothes catching on the face edge?
In case it matters, I am completely happy to spend money on the bench, whether that be on materials for the building of it, or buying a bench from someone. I actually looked at gumtree and ebay before deciding to make my own, but when the door came up, it was a really good size and I assumed it would work out alright.
Any advice or help, or even a link to a youtube video or a guide to build one, would be really appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
First post here, save for my introduction post – hopefully it’s in the right place!
As title suggests, I’m wanting to build a general purpose workbench in my garage having just finished a beginner’s woodworking course. The bench will ideally have a vice, capacity to install another side vice and dog holes at later stage, have storage beneath the main space for chisels, planes etc
I've already got a full wall in the garage with pegboard for tool hangings, and a couple of scaffold board shelves up, so the bench is predominantly intended for use as a work surface.
As luck (or perhaps not – we will see) would have it, a neighbour was doing his house up and was getting rid of some internal doors which he said were solid pine so I nabbed one of those from him to use for the basis of the top. It’s 196x67.5cm and felt heavy enough, so I’ve nipped to B&Q and got some 18mm hardwood ply to attach to it, which would make it flat and give it a bit more balance.
Trouble is, I’ve just got it home and whilst moving the ply into the garage, have dropped it on it’s corner onto the door, which has made a small crack in the door (absolutely no damage to the ply though!). Having now looked a bit closer and knocked the door in various places, it seems the shallower bits of the door are more hollow sounding than the dull thud I hear when knocking the outside bits and the decorative framing. I think I've attached pictures of the door and of the damage, along with the plywood I bought earlier today, and a couple of bits I grabbed from the offcuts bin on the way out.
My question is twofold:
1. Is there much use persevering with this door or should I just look for a better base for the worktop? I know solid core doors for instance are only £90ish new, so suppose I could find something similar if I look hard enough? A lot of the old woodworking benches I see available online seem to have really thick tops (I include a picture of the workbench I used on the course for example), which lends itself nicely to the bench being used for years and over time developing it’s own story without the need to replace.
2. Assuming I use the door, will I be able to attach a record vice easy enough, or will it being (or seeming) hollow in places limit me in terms of where I’m able to attach it?
As a side note, I was also wondering whether hardwood ply was the right choice, or whether MDF would have been better? I thought ply was better than MDF because it’s supposedly stronger, but have since seen a lot recommend finished MDF for the top of benches. One obvious drawback is the fibrous nature of ply, which is also a problem I have with parts of the inside of the old door, but I presume I can fix edging on to that to prevent my clothes catching on the face edge?
In case it matters, I am completely happy to spend money on the bench, whether that be on materials for the building of it, or buying a bench from someone. I actually looked at gumtree and ebay before deciding to make my own, but when the door came up, it was a really good size and I assumed it would work out alright.
Any advice or help, or even a link to a youtube video or a guide to build one, would be really appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
