| Project by Nils | posted 402 days ago | 1064 views | 3 times favorited | 16 comments | ![]() |
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
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16 comments so far
Bill
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2524 posts in 699 days
posted 402 days ago
Nice bench Nils. It should serve you well!
-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com
Thos. Angle
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3432 posts in 500 days
posted 402 days ago
looks good
-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon
Nils
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121 posts in 402 days
posted 402 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
Bob_B
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24 posts in 584 days
posted 402 days ago
Nicely done. Should last a long time.
-- Bob B - Warwick, Rhode Island
bryano
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541 posts in 471 days
posted 402 days ago
looks like a job well done. and very sturdy also.
-- bryano
Kerux
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384 posts in 421 days
posted 402 days ago
Looks like a bench that is going to see a lot of good projects come off of it!
-- http://www.LanierandSons.com
cajunpen
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5345 posts in 603 days
posted 401 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/
miles125
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992 posts in 543 days
posted 401 days ago
Nice bench Nils
-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""
Dadoo
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1557 posts in 528 days
posted 401 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!
SPalm
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742 posts in 420 days
posted 401 days ago
Smart looking bench. Good job.
-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon
Karson
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13833 posts in 938 days
posted 401 days ago
Nice bench.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
oscorner
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4573 posts in 848 days
posted 400 days ago
Nice, heavy bench. I like the raised cloud design in between the legs.
-- Jesus is Lord!
Quentin
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34 posts in 684 days
posted 400 days ago
Very nice bench.
mot
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4859 posts in 574 days
posted 399 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)
Damocles
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135 posts in 366 days
posted 364 days ago
Nicely done! Excellent detail, and maybe some room below for storage?
-- Living on the square...
jeanmarc
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1753 posts in 254 days
posted 126 days ago
Nice bench Nils.
-- jeanmarc manosque france