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My workbench

Project by Nils posted 761 days ago 1515 views 5 times favorited 18 comments Add to Favorites Watch

This is the supposedly ”$100 workbench in a weekend” from a Shop Notes article last year. It ended up costing about twice that, even at about half the size of the bench in the article, and built with redwood rather than hardwood. The original was 7 1/2 feet long and just under three feet deep. I modified all the dimensions so my bench is 4’ 4” by 2’ 4”, since it has to fit in my very small one car garage with a lot of other stuff. It’s built with redwood and MDF. After I finished it, I was able to find a good deal on a quick-release woodworker’s vise, and installed that as well. (The first picture shows the vise in the process of being installed – the jaws are poplar, which I’ll replace with a piece of maple I have since bought.)

I’m most proud of the “cloud lift” pattern I made on the end pieces of MDF – it was the first time I’d done pattern routing. (With my router I got for Christmas 2006.)

The bench has wheels attached to one set of legs that I can use by tilting up the other end. However, it’s so heavy that this is not really feasible (the top is four layers of MDF!) so my next workshop project is to add an additional set of wheels ala the ones Norm Abrams showed on a workbench project on a NYWS episode, where the wheels drop down when you lift the end of the bench and get locked down with some hinged pieces of wood. I haven’t quite figured out how to attach them yet, and they’ll probably hide my cloud lift, sadly.

-- Nils Davis, Menlo Park, CA


18 comments so far

View Bill's profile

Bill

2561 posts in 1059 days


posted 761 days ago

Nice bench Nils. It should serve you well!

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

View Thos. Angle's profile

Thos. Angle

4013 posts in 860 days


posted 761 days ago

looks good

-- Thos. Angle

View Nils's profile

Nils

138 posts in 761 days


posted 761 days ago

Thanks for the nice comments. It’s definitely already been an asset, and it was very satisfying to make, especially since I did so much customization on it.

-- Nils Davis, Menlo Park, CA

View Bob_B's profile

Bob_B

28 posts in 944 days


posted 761 days ago

Nicely done. Should last a long time.

-- Bob B - Warwick, Rhode Island

View bryano's profile

bryano

546 posts in 831 days


posted 761 days ago

looks like a job well done. and very sturdy also.

-- bryano

View Kerux's profile

Kerux

513 posts in 781 days


posted 761 days ago

Looks like a bench that is going to see a lot of good projects come off of it!

-- http://inhisgrip1.blogspot.com/

View cajunpen's profile

cajunpen

5968 posts in 963 days


posted 761 days ago

Really nice bench – should make life easier for some great projects.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

View miles125's profile

miles125

1434 posts in 903 days


posted 761 days ago

Nice bench Nils

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

View Dadoo's profile

Dadoo

1723 posts in 888 days


posted 761 days ago

When I first saw it I had wondered if you used red cedar. It’s very nice.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

View SPalm's profile

SPalm

951 posts in 779 days


posted 761 days ago

Smart looking bench. Good job.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

View Karson's profile

Karson

25805 posts in 1298 days


posted 760 days ago

Nice bench.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

View oscorner's profile

oscorner

4572 posts in 1208 days


posted 760 days ago

Nice, heavy bench. I like the raised cloud design in between the legs.

-- Jesus is Lord!

View Quentin's profile

Quentin

43 posts in 1043 days


posted 760 days ago

Very nice bench.

View mot's profile

mot

4903 posts in 934 days


posted 759 days ago

I love a good bench! Nice!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

View JasonH's profile

JasonH

137 posts in 725 days


posted 723 days ago

Nicely done! Excellent detail, and maybe some room below for storage?

-- Living on the square...

View jeanmarc's profile

jeanmarc

1751 posts in 613 days


posted 485 days ago

Nice bench Nils.

-- jeanmarc manosque france

View Todd Thomas 's profile

Todd Thomas

4831 posts in 346 days


posted 304 days ago

nice looking bench….

-- Todd, Oak Ridge, TN, Hello my name is Todd and I'm a Toolholic, I bought my last tool 10 days, no 4 days, oh heck I bought a tool on the way here! †

View Mark Shymanski's profile

Mark Shymanski

1555 posts in 610 days


posted 274 days ago

That’s a good looking bench.

-- ...it's rennovation time!!!

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