Workbenches for the Shop

Very nice blog Todd! I really liked the outfeed tables design with adding the tapered legs. That little added design gives anyone entering your shop the feel that they walked into a true woodworkers shop kind of like the Eourpean style bench does. Thanks Todd!

-- " All Things At First Appear Difficult"

great blog, indeed.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Thanks guys. I am so excited to have figured out how to get pictures into the blog so that I may share this.

I get a lot of compliments on the tapered legs and arches. Many people are a bit disappointed to see that I do not have a traditional workbench, but this does seem to be an acceptable replacement.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Great work Todd. I can see you are allot like me, you take pride in everything you build….even shop tables! I think I will be stealing your designs. I love the taper on the out feed legs …reversed from bottom to top. The melamine/laminate on the tops is great idea….I always write stuff on my workbench, and the white will make it easier to see, and remove….and the laminate is smoother than plywood making it easier to move things around and less likely to damage and scratch stuff.

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Great work, Todd,
I too, could not see the advantage of those narrow benches. So I built one the way I like to work(see my projects). It and the lift up outfeed table work as a unit when I’m ripping sheet goods. I also use the gap between the two to cut down long boards with a Skilsaw. It is the best thing I ever had to work on. I did mount traditional vises and use them a lot. Like you I needed more than one work table. Over in the saddle shop Is the cutting table which is topped with 3/4 MDF, a full size sheet. I also retopped my old outfeed table with left over laminate and it is the glue table(and other messy things). When we are finishing a set of cabinets all these get put to use. I store my sheet goods on two sawhorses backed up to the cutting table and with the addition of a piece of plastic they complete the finishing area. These three are on the saddle shop side so I can close the door and still work wood.

You have a great shop, Todd. And now you have some very impressive benchs to work on as well. It’s always good to hear the hows and the whys of projects. Thanks for sharing.

-- Thos. Angle

Todd,

Excellent work on the shop bench/tables. They look to be very functional and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the efficiencies that they bring. Great looking shop too…I only wish that I had that much space as your shop looks to be about 4 times the size of mine!

-- Mark, Webster New York, Visit my website at http://thecraftsmanspath.com

Given the room, bigger is better. Nice.

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

Bigger can be better as long as you keep control of the space.

It’s great to get feedback from you guys so that the others will have these points to consider when designing their own workspace.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Todd – Looks like nice, sturdy tables. Thanks for sharing your reasoning! Do you think the extra durability is worth putting laminate on ply, or would the cost savings and reduced replacement time make melamine a suitable alternative for tops?

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

that’s a great bench Todd. I like the design of the legs. I have also pondered in length about what bench I will build in my shop. I have a book titled “In the Shaker Style” and it features a bench made by Thomas Moser (www.thosmoser.com). I would like something like this bench but maybe just not as long. Great Job!

-- Steffen

I built my rolling bench pretty much in the same fashion only with a 2’x6’ double layer of 3/4” ply. You’re right about the tool tray being a dust bin and I omitted it for that same reason. It’s also a good place to “catch a leg” and topple the workpiece. I have installed benchdogs by using 3/4” dowels topped with rubber crutch feet (got that idea from one of our LJ’s). I’ve also installed sliding door panels to keep the dust off my toolboxes and added a couple drawers to protect my measuring tools and pencils. Mine is heavy as well but won’t be leaving anytime soon. It had to be 2’ wide to maintain the parking space needed for her car…but I just had an idea that I could add a fold down “wing” to make the surface 4’ wide! Ain’t it great when the coffee finally kicks in?! I’m also tossing around some ideas about adding a fold down wing to the end that would be lower than the top is now, which would allow placement of my planer or bandsaw. Anyone else could adopt that idea to place a contractors tablesaw or a power miter station too.

I absolutely love this addition to my shop and would strongly advise it as an addition for anyone else. The fact that it’s on heavy casters and movable makes construction of just about anything a possibility. If ya want to see it check out my workshop pics here and there’s cold beer in the ‘fridge if ya wanna stop by.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

A nice set of benches Todd. Functionality is better than the “old world appearance”. If they work and you are more productive, then that is what you wanted.

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

Peter – the laminate is definitely more durable than melamine and is worth the extra cost. The tables I made in my brother’s shop have melamine as the top surface and it is breaking down pretty fast compared to the laminate on mine. (I built his first and learned from experience.) The tops are attached from underneath and can be replaced anyway as needed. Just spend the money on laminate up front is my recommendation. Doing it right the first time costs less in the long run.

Dadoo – really good point on the problems with projects tipping into the tool tray. That actually was an issue voiced to me when I was researching tables. You also had some good variations on a theme with the drop down leaf. The idea of making the table with the tablesaw built into it would be great for someone needing to maximize space in a garage shop. That and a router table built in combined with total mobility and lots of on board organization would be great.

This is what I was hoping to spark was some great ideas for those still trying to decide. Hopefully the ideas share here will save somebody time and money.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Steffen – Thos. Moser has been one of my idols for years.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Thos. Angle – Great point about the glue. It is easily removed from the laminate surface for sure.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Yeah, Todd, we use a lot of antique compound in the leather shop and it cleans up from the laminate real well. So does contract cement from both leather and veneer or laminate. The best part was it was costed out from another job so cost me nothing. I did have to splice it in the middle but that just gave me some more practice with the filler. I routinely run the blade down on my table saw and remove the rip fence to have a huge space to work with the out feed table and the big workbench. I sometimes wind up WD-40 ing the saw top and sanding out a rust spot but I bought the thing to use not look at.

-- Thos. Angle

Oh Peter, I put the laminate on high density particle board.

-- Thos. Angle

T. Angle – I have to say that the substrate is not as important as the fact that you use laminate for durability. If you plan on drilling into it for using bench dogs, the substrate choice may become an issue. That is the main reason I used plywood.

A couple of other reasons I avoid MDF: 1. The dust from cutting this material is just horrible. 2. The weight of a sheet of this material is also just more than I can stand.

I charge enough for the extra labor of handling this material for it’s cleanup and waste that I just use ply sheetgoods as much as possible. There are times that I need it’s specific characteristics.

The modern furniture set I built was all done with baltic birch ply, It handles great and I have not had an issue with delamination or flatness.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Yeah you know it’s great to think we’ve actually helped someone else in designing their own. I used 1 1/2” of plywood for my top for the same “strength” reason you gave. I coated it with 3 layers of polyurethane though figuring that if it gets scratched or cut into (Yes, I confess that the depth of the circular saw was too deep and I’ve already goughed it good) it would be easier to repair. (Wood putty and more poly!) And eventually when it really gets really mangled, I can just flip it over for a whole new surface!

What would you advise though for fold down shelf supports? I’m gonna build a fold down shelf that will accomodate my planer, etc. What would be best for a strong support?

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Just too nice of work for shop tables! I have laminate on my outfeed tables. My work bench is particle board sprayed with conversion varnish. I’m suprized how well the conversion varnish has stood up. Next to it is a 18” high X 48” X 96” work table cover with raw particle board…and saw dust…lots of saw dust.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

The only place I’ve found that MDF is really good is on the top of my leather cutting table. It doesn’t dull the knives and there is no grain to catch the knife.. When it gets all cut up I just flip it over and have a new surface. The next time it goes on the burn pile. I’ve never tried it under laminate. You’re right Todd, it is just two heavy and the dust is awful.

-- Thos. Angle

Nice stuff as always Todd. I really like the touch of the curved stretchers. Makes a work piece look like a fine piece of furniture.

I guess I am a messier woodworker then most but I am on a kick of adding doors to most open storage in my shop. I know you’re a cleanliness freak with the shop so I guess this wasn’t an issue for you. I have plastic storage units inside the doored shelves for double coverage but there is still that little bit of dust everywhere.

Thomas, if you toss that MDF on the burn pile, please stand up wind!

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

Glad I asked. I have a router table almost finished, but I keep going back and forth on laminate or melamine. Laminate or melamine? Melamine or laminate?

Another question – how do you get your ply tops flat? Ply always has a crown. I’ve tried the trick of putting the crowns together and gluing and clamping. I end up with twist. Twist is as bad as crown – maybe worse. I guess that’s one thing MDF has over ply – it’s flat.

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

Todd and All, Thanks for the gracious welcome to your Lumberjacks site! Like your work benches. I’ve thought of doing this myself . Wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper to just laminate a new sheet of Pl to the tops when they are ready to be redone?

-- Two things to think about!..".Be careful what you want ,because you'll probably get it!"... " If you don't know where your going ,you'll probably get there."

I also built an assembly table instead of a narrow work bench, it sits in the middle of my shop, and has casters to roll in front of my saw as an out feed table. I used MDF for the top and designed it so I can replace it when it wore out. I joined this site to learn and I am learning every visit. Thanks for all the tips.

-- Ron Central, CA

MDF has its place in counter tops, desk tops, shelves, and cheap Chinese furniture. In other words; anything you want to laminate. Unless like Thos. Angle you use it as a cutting board. (Good idea by the way!) It is heavy (I swear to you that one 4×8, 3/4” sheet will damn near break your back when you lift it. It must weigh at least 2-3x what standard ply weighs).

Here’s the bad news though…MDF will suck the humidity right out of the atmosphere. So it’s not good for an area with uncontrolled humidity. As a router table it will eventually sink from the weight of the router creating real nightmares with breadboard edging. (It did just that with my desk top. The edging was 1/32” high and required weeks of scraping and sanding to make it right). It won’t hold screws for long unless you reinforce the holes with CA or epoxy glue. Bench dogs, hammers, vises, and clamps will eventually destroy it internally. And yes, it really does create a ton of sawdust!

Pete, where are you getting a “crown” in your plywood? Mine’s been in service for over a year now and it’s still flat. Are you buying that Chinese plywood? There was a blog here about Chinese plywood awhile back that everyone pretty much hated it.

I can see the want for a laminate top as it would provide easy cleanup, but poly does the same and can be repaired easily. The best top though would be made from a Maple bowling alley! I’ve seen that some of the other LJ’s have done just that and it just makes me want it all the more! The only thing that’s holding me back is the realization that I would eventually tear it up. It is a “workbench” you know and my “lab” is not just a woodshop.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Dadoo- You preach a lot of truth brother. I do use some of the chinese plywood for substructure items but it does have a lot of delamination issues and does have more curl than normal. If I had known about the chinese plywood blog I would have thrown in my negative comments as well.

Surprisingly I don’t care for the bowling alley table top we put on one of my brother’s table. It’s just not that flat and I can’t get it to stay so. I must provide this information on it; it is not the maple part of the bowling alley, it is the secondary part and my brother’s shop suffers more temperature and humidity extremes than mine.

Peter- On my shop tables I personally bought a higher grade of plywood and laminated that. I did check for crown, which was minimal, and put opposing faces together. The structure of the table is a big box and everything has stayed nice and flat.

Danny H- My brother and I were talking about just applying a new piece of laminate on top of the melamine. You would have to properly prep the surface to assure good adhesion. You might have to add on to your edging or trim it back, depending on how beat it is or how much you rounded it over.

I will have to take some good shots of my brother’s work tables so you may see them too. They were the first tables I built and I made improvements off of those based on their performance. I work out of his shop when I am in Ohio.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Todd – The flattest ply I’ve found is a “Classic Core” ply I use for some furniture. It’s made in the USA, has a traditional ply core with a thin layer of MDF just under the face veneer in order to produce a very smooth, flat surface. It’s pretty flat, but it still has some crown. And it’s awfully expensive to use as a substrate for lamination!

I was interested in your comment about Chinese plywood delaminating. Sometimes I use an 11 ply birch (I consider it “shop grade”) that is manufactured in China. Sometimes it has pretty significant crown, but I’ve never had any delamination issues.

Thanks again for the input!

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

The Chinese ply I have used, as recently as yesterday, comes from Home Depot and it costs about $25 for a 4’x8’ sheet. Once in a while they sell it for about $18 a sheet. I have never seen this product at home in Montana though.

I have seen the classic core but have not used it yet.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

I’ve had some pretty good luck with a 7 ply core Birch from Lowe’s. It’s Chinese. I’ve also had some that chipped along the edge. I’ve used a lot of Chinese Poplar from McKiliican that worked OK. I opened an account with Lumber Products just to get to the CWP American made plywood products. From what I saw in the warehouse they are getting a better grade of Chinese ply than places like HD or Lowe’s.

-- Thos. Angle

Oh, yeah, I forgot about borg ply. I’ve seen that stuff on the shelf with half the surface veneer torn off! I buy BB from my regular ply supplier. It costs a little more (I think $29), but it’s not as curly as what home depot peddles.

I like the classic core for some stuff. The veneer surface is really smooth because of the MDF, and you still have the ply core for structure and screw holding. There’s MDF dust to deal with, but it’s probably 25% of what you get from solid MDF. Is it an oxymoron to refer to MDF as “solid”?

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --