New shop, new workbench question

Nice size shop bigdog. I bet you will enjoy starting (and finishing) a number of projects there.

I like the idea of the movable table, so you can change it around when needed. Some heavy duty locking casters should work great. I would say buy a woodworking book, as most of them seem to have a workbench design in them. Then you could adapt it to what you are looking for.

I have heard of a number of people using doors for benches, but not actually seen one. Of course it would have to be solid. And you will probably put another layer of MDF or something on top to absorb the dents, drill marks, etc. At least you would have the top of your bench already completed, and can spend the time on the support and storage parts instead.

Good luck and let us see what you come up with.

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

Also make sure you have places for some clamps, maybe some bench dogs, etc to hold your wood while you are working on it.

Also, make sure the height it correct for you. Some people make their workbenches to serve as outfeed tables for the tablesaw. Others make them slightly higher or lower to accommodate how they work (standing, sitting etc). I have also seen recently on here someone had made a workbench with a built in dust collection, to aid in their sanding projects. A number of good ideas floating around out there. You will need to decide what you want the table to do, and then build it for that purpose.

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

I believe that Todd did a blog or project on making a bench of assembly table that was made as a torsion box. You might do a search on this site. for it.

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I’m not a fan of the caster idea. Even the locking ones creep a bit. A real headache with hand planing. If you aren’t planning on doing any hand planing, then the casters are a good idea. There is an ultimate workstation that is pretty neat that can save you a lot of space and clutter. Might be worth building something like this.

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

if you want to be able to move it around buy one of adjustable tool cart thing like you use for your machines thats what i did on one of my tables its way more stable then a set of casters so plaining isnt a problem and i can still move it around to get it out of the way the one on the link is way more expesive then the one i bought but it was just to give you an idea as to what im talking about.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11473

-- I buy tools so i can make more money,so ican buy more tools so I can work more, to make more money, so I can buy more tool, so I can work more

I built one using a 1 1/2” thick plywood top. I’m quite abusive to mine and it’s holding up real well. Also, once it’s really picked, I can flip it over and have a new top again. Todd Clippenger did a good blog on his and there were some others here as well. Surf around the site a bit and feel free to come visit. We’re all happy to answer any questions you might have.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

My advice would be skip the wheels. You want that bench to stay put, and I found that when I tried to make stuff movable, it became more of a hassle because I had to move it around all the time. Just plant it. It will be easier to work with anyway.

As for the solid core door, that is exactly what I have. But I used two solid core doors which I glued and lag-bolted together from underneeth. My bench is solid as a rock and doesn’t sag at all. I don’t believe one door is enough. It will sag quite a bit and bounce when you pound on it. But two seems perfect. After I “laminated” the two doors together I finished the edge with 2×4s and added a vise.

I put the benchtop on a set of metal legs. But here is the other key: add a piece of plywood vertically from one set of legs to the other for sheer strength. This will keep your nice, solid, heavy bench from swaying when you use hand tools.

-- Happy woodworking! http://www.blakeweber.us

I built my bench as a traditional type bench with front and tail vise and tool till in the back on a very traditional undercarriage and I too wanted it to be mobile as I work in a two car garage, what I did was to purchase some 2” angle iron and added 4 non locking casters to the angle then hinged the angle on each leg end and then when I want to move the bench (this thing weighs about 220 lbs) All I need do is lift the end and flip the angles down go to the other end and lift and flip with my foot and I am mobile. The angle is hinged to the leg assembly in such a way as to not place any of the weight of the bench on the hinges but it all ends up on the casters. The only thing I would do differently would be to have used wider angle as the 2” stuff has a high center of gravity and can rock over while pushing the bench around so I have to put a small clamp on the narrow angle at each end of the bench to prevent them from rolling and dropping the end of the bench back down on its feet. When the casters are rotated so the bench sits on it’s feet there is no movement while working.

I can post a picture if interested…..........

-- So Much Wood - So Little Time! --

Yes, a picture would be helpful Chris. It sounds like an interesting solution.

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

Great Bill!

I will need a couple of days to get them taken and I have never posted photos to the site….ect ect excuses I know but I will drop a picture or two real soon. I have ben building some base cabinets for my shop and I am pretty unorganized currently. Have a great day!

Used to live in Atwater…....enjoyed the area quite a bit….I miss the almonds when they harvest, not to mention the heavy smell of garlic from Gilroy….odd I never thought I would say that

-- So Much Wood - So Little Time! --

Here are the photos of my “Mobile Bench” as requested Bill

The picture above is of the casters in the “Mobile” position with the small clamp I use to secure them there. The need for the clamp kind of negates the user friendly aspect of fllip the casters up and go, and had I realized in time that the 2 inch angle would tip so easily I would have either used wider angle or extended the lower portion with the casters a little, which would effectively shift the center of gravity more inboard and prevent them from tipping while in use. I will probably correct this issue someday but for now I just use the small clamp which prevents them from flipping while I roll it around the shop,.

The picture above shows the caster flipped up so the bench sits on it’s own feet, I thought about a rare earth magnet to hold them up off the floor but find it to be unecessary as they are easier to reach with your feet when putting them up and they are not in the way at all in this positon.

This last one (sorry about the quality but the idea is clear) shows how I hinged them to the bench, the no visible portion of the hinge is tack welded to the angle iron and then attached with screw to the bench, I attached it so the weight of the bench is actually on the casters and not the hinge. Hope this helps I resised these to smaller files and they might be missing some detail but it is basically all there.

-- So Much Wood - So Little Time! --

Great idea, A moveable castor.

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Nice work Chris. Now I have a better idea of what you meant.

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