# Multi-Purpose Workbench Top for Small Condo Workshop



## scottkeen (Nov 12, 2015)

I'm going to convert the 2nd bedroom (11'6" x 12'6") in my 2-bedroom condo into a workshop. It's not a big space, so I've been getting small tools, like the DW745 table saw, a wall-hugger sliding miter saw, bench drill press, etc.

Along ALL the walls I want benchtops with storage underneath. The benchtops need to be multi-purpose. Some where tools will be bolted semi-permanently (like a sunken miter saw station). I'm imagining the benchtops will have dog holes to hold-down work and a front vise. I'd like all the bench tool surfaces and benchtops to be on ONE level plane, so that they also become the outfeed support for other tools. Like the bench with the miter saw station doubles as the outfeed for the router table station, etc.

In the middle of the room would be a movable island workbench with table saw station in it and the island workbench doubles as a a glue-up and assembly table. It would also be the same height plane as the wall benchtops so that they can be support for each other with larger work pieces.

The depths of the benchtops along the walls I'd like to keep to 24"-26".

I know that making a workshop out of a spare bedroom is nuts, but it's all I've got.

OK, with all that said…

*What kind of multi-purpose workbench top would you use for the wall workbenches and the mobile island workbench?*

My initial thought was laminated 2×3 for all the tops.
Then I thought about a glued stack of 4 sheets of MDF for the wall benches, and a glued stack of 2 sheets of plywood with a hardboard top for the island bench/assembly table.

Sorry for the long post. I've been agonizing over this for awhile and I'm at the point where I need to make the right decision and do it.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

How wide is the hallway door. This will be an absolute limit on sizes. Can you get 4×8 sheet goods in? If no, then rethink.

Center the ts in the room (on paper) and that sets the max infeed and outfeed. Instead of putting everything in the main room, i'd store power tools on interchangable plates in the closet and just use what is needed.

Sound & dust will be issues. Carpet needs to be remove before or it will be after. You can NEVER get *all* the sawdust out of carpet.

No 220vac limits the size tool you can run. You will also have outlet issues.

In a complex your neighbors might have issues.

Good luck.

M


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## scottkeen (Nov 12, 2015)

Thanks for the concerns. Was hoping for ideas for bench top materials for multipurpose use, but I'll address the concerns of having a small workshop in a condo 

The condo is a garden style building, there are 3 floors, 5 units total (2 up, 2 mid, 1 down). *15" thick concrete slab* floors and walls between units.










The hallway door is 30" wide. The room also has a large french-door style window to the outside. When opened, it's a 64" wide opening into the room. I'm not going to build anything large in this room, it's mostly to make small stuff I need for myself or for family. A bookshelf, an end table, etc.

As for wrestling a 4×8 sheet in the room, that's not going to happen. I've already decided that I have to break down the 4×8 into smaller pieces I need either at the lumber yard or outside the condo before I bring it inside. A couple of folding saw horses and a battery powered circular saw kept in my 4Runner for trips to the lumber yard. Yes, the 4Runner fits a full 4×8 sheet.

The table saw would be on a movable bench island, as I mentioned in my post. I figure that a 5' long piece is about the maximum I can deal with. Any larger, and I have to take the table saw outside. It's a DeWalt DW745 so it's very portable.

Sound and dust will certainly be an issue. For dust control, I am going to run 2-1/2" dust collection ports to each tool station with blast gates, and PVC all running to a shop-vac. My shop-vac has a 2-1/2" hose and I'll store it under one of the workbenches.

Sound control won't be perfect. Fortunately the floors and walls are 15" thick concrete slabs. I *never* hear my neighbors, they never hear me. I used to have poker games all night long with 20 guys over and my neigbors said they never heard us! To be kind, my workshop closes at 7pm.

I'm ripping out all the carpet flooring throughout the condo and putting in laminate flooring. For the workshop, I'm considering putting in that hard dense rubber flooring they use in gyms. That should also help with some of the sound.

I have no problem limiting myself to 110 AC tools. All my tools are small. I've already run the shop-vac and the table saw simultaneously and the breaker doesn't trip. The electrical panel is in the same room, so if I must have another circuit added, it doesn't get any easier. There are 2 circuits unused on the panel if I need them.

Neighbors. My neighbors love me. I'm on the condo Board. We keep their condo fees low


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## dyfhid (Jun 4, 2015)

I think you'll be able to use the 2 sheet lamination with hardboard top for everything. I would use hardwood plywood - even poplar ply from HD - my son built his desk from one layer of that, and it's pretty strong. I think it would be plenty strong for bench use as a double layer with cabinets under it supporting it every couple of feet.

I like the idea. If my son (who is 21) had moved out before I built my outbuilding shop this past year, his bedroom was going to become my shop, with a lot of the same ideas. I'm in a separate house, so I wouldn't have the condo issues, but it sounds like you mostly don't either.

One thing to consider I just thought of, if you do have to do work outside, will the condo association be a problem?


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## scottkeen (Nov 12, 2015)

Thank David.



> I think you ll be able to use the 2 sheet lamination with hardboard top for everything. I would use hardwood plywood…


With 2-sheet lamination and hardboard, would that be deep enough to have dog holes? These benches have to be multi-purpose. The same bench that has my 90-lb drill press on it also has to be the bench I use for sanding and planing.



> One thing to consider I just thought of, if you do have to do work outside, will the condo association be a problem?


Nah. I am the condo association. I've been on the Board longer than anyone. I was the Board president for 7 years, currently just a member (3 member Board). Also, I often hear a table saw running somewhere on the property. People are having their units remodeled and we're in an ongoing cycle with having the wooden walkways rebuilt for the buildings. I'm cutting off the power tools in my workshop at 7pm.

I used to build and sell poker tables, I probably built 2-dozen of them in my condo. They were 8' x 44", too big to shape the arc ends inside the condo. I used to drag my router and sawhorse outside and make my cuts. I did all the upholstery inside in the living room.


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## scottkeen (Nov 12, 2015)

Current *temporary* setup. Everything is on sawhorses. Everything is at the wrong height.

Let's call this the *"Before"* photo, before I build workbenches and put in flooring.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

My work bench is also the outfeed table for my table saw (3hp cabinet saw style). It also is used for evrey project I build. Staining, assembly, whatever.

I have my saw positioned just inside of the overhead door. Anything longer than 48 inches requires the door to be raised. The table is 30×40 something inches long. T Tracks work great for holding stuff while I work on it.

Good luck with your shop build.
Note: Maybe some wall cabinets hung on a French cleat would help.
Check out my garage makeover. You might get some ideas that you can incorporate.
http://lumberjocks.com/MT_Stringer/blog/36520

My mobile workstation…
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/92907

And my work bench.



























I have a helper for the tight spots!  Love that girl!


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

How are you planning to cut the oval top? Your ts certainly doesn't have the cojones or the fence. Or do you cut the whole top & rounded ends with a jigsaw? It sure looks like a single piece sheet of goods to me.

M


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## scottkeen (Nov 12, 2015)

> How are you planning to cut the oval top? Your ts certainly doesn t have the cojones or the fence. Or do you cut the whole top & rounded ends with a jigsaw? It sure looks like a single piece sheet of goods to me.


I've built and sold at least 2-dozen of these 8-foot poker tables in my condo.

I rough cut the arcs with a jigsaw, then use a circle jig with a router and trim out the arc. I plunge cut the straight inside cuts of the top rail with a circular saw.

I'm not building poker tables anymore, and if I did, I would make the cuts *outside* on sawhorses on my balcony. My *inside workshop* is for *smaller items*, items no longer than 4-5 feet.

I guess this discussion is about what I can and can't build inside my condo. I was looking for workbench top suggestions. Oh well.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Benchtop, buy a 2nd hand fire door. They're solid core, dense & stable. Use the knob hole as a wiring chase. Screw 2×4 on both sides of corner where bench goes with 3-1/2" #10 woodscrews. Support front edge with 2×4 legs. It'll hold a ton, be stable as a rock and cheap on the budget.

M


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## paratrooper34 (Apr 27, 2010)

The space you have is pretty small for putting in a full size bench. You can make a bench that is rather generic to perform multiple duties. This Japanese planing board would give you some flexibility for hand tool work yet would leave the bench open for other tasks to perform (assembly, finishing, etc). I am actually considering making one of these myself as they are pretty handy.


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## dyfhid (Jun 4, 2015)

The two sheet lamination with hardboard works well with dog holes I have Gramercy holdfasts that I used in my old bench for years that was exactly this kind of build.


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## scottkeen (Nov 12, 2015)

> Benchtop, buy a 2nd hand fire door. They re solid core, dense & stable. Use the knob hole as a wiring chase. Screw 2×4 on both sides of corner where bench goes with 3-1/2" #10 woodscrews. Support front edge with 2×4 legs. It ll hold a ton, be stable as a rock and cheap on the budget.


I like that idea. I'll have to cut it down to 24" wide (I think they're mostly 30"-32", as the garage entry door?).


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## scottkeen (Nov 12, 2015)

> My work bench is also the outfeed table for my table saw (3hp cabinet saw style). It also is used for evrey project I build. Staining, assembly, whatever.
> 
> I have my saw positioned just inside of the overhead door. Anything longer than 48 inches requires the door to be raised. The table is 30×40 something inches long. T Tracks work great for holding stuff while I work on it.
> 
> ...


Thanks. I will check out your garage makeover and mobile workstation. I think hanging cabinets would be a good addition. I have an outside storage shed on the balcony and put in a french cleat system to hang shelves and tools on custom brackets.


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## scottkeen (Nov 12, 2015)

> The space you have is pretty small for putting in a full size bench. You can make a bench that is rather generic to perform multiple duties. This Japanese planing board would give you some flexibility for hand tool work yet would leave the bench open for other tasks to perform (assembly, finishing, etc). I am actually considering making one of these myself as they are pretty handy.


Thanks. I'm watching the Japanese planing board video now…


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## scottkeen (Nov 12, 2015)

> The two sheet lamination with hardboard works well with dog holes I have Gramercy holdfasts that I used in my old bench for years that was exactly this kind of build.
> 
> - David Taylor


Excellent. Thanks.


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## scottkeen (Nov 12, 2015)

I know it ain't much, but this is my first build in my little condo workshop. My friend needed a cabinet for his industrial postage label printers with shelves that would slide out so he can reload the printers. It's 46" tall by 13" wide by 20" deep.

I gave it an oak face frame and oak edging (that I ripped from stock) and oak drawer fronts. I made mistakes and would do some things different next time. I don't really like the all-in-one cherry stain/varathane finish, and think next time I might try linseed oil.

Things I've learned from this build:
1. The stock blades that came with my miter saw, table saw, and circular saw are horrible. The circular saw had a 16T blade and it shredded the ends of the plywood when cross-cutting. I bought a 40T Freud Diablo and it made pretty perfect no tear out cross-cuts.
2. My sliding miter saw when fully extended was off by 1/16". I didn't think it would matter. It mattered big-time. I've fixed it.
3. I have no idea how to use or tune a bandsaw properly. Every straight cut I make is wavy.
4. I think I would like a micro-jig gripper.
5. I would like a 2nd router, so I don't have to take the one I have out of the router table.
6. I need a cross-cut table saw sled.
7. Do not trust the squareness of the panel saw at Home Depot. It is definitely not square. It was a mistake to assume that. Over a 72" distance, it was off by an inch.

I wouldn't want to build anything much bigger than this in the condo workshop. I found that some tools should be fixed on benches like the miter saw and drill press, while other tools would be better used on rolling stands or a movable bench. The bandsaw should be on a rolling stand. The router table and table saw should be on a movable bench and could be on opposite ends of the same bench.

That said, before I build anything else, I definitely need my benches and stands, and do something to improve the dust collection.


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## Putttn (Feb 29, 2012)

Festool MFT tables and system?


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