# What DO you do on it?



## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Your workbench, of course. So many posts of benches get comments that include 'too nice to use,' or 'I wouldn't have the heart to pound on that bench.' Which got me to thinking (always dangerous), what's the roughest kind of thing you do on your bench? Use it when chainsawing? Brazing and welding? Mini-sledge (percussive maintenance) work? I'm curious how abused a bench can be…

Also, what kinds of woodworking project do you consider 'too rough' for your bench / you move to a pair of sawhorses, or workmate, to not damage anything?


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I put a 25 ton jack on top of mine and jacked up the house once.

Otherwise, the usual, saw, chisel, plane, drill, route and sand. Then glue assemble finish. I set my lathe on it and turn stuff until I get my lathe cabinet made. Also, carve wax patterns for jewelry, and solder and work on electronic or electrical repairs.

Took a nap on it once as well.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

25 ton… good choice! Clearly wouldn't want the jack to fail before the bench!


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

I think Crank wins! I do anything and everything on my bench. It's so impregnated that I often ruin pieces that I drag across it. My new bench will subcscribe to Dan's philosophy: wood only.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Hadn't seen The Dan Philosophy, but I think I'm a subscriber; aka: I keep single-fold length of carboard that fits over the entire benchtop. It goes on whenever I change out the kid's flat tires, or do glue-ups, or apply stains / finishes, etc. Non-wood, in other words.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

My main work bench is 42" wide x 101" long… It has a 3" MDF top that is dead-flat, and takes anything I throw at it…no matter what it is. I don't try to abuse it, but I'm not going to baby it either. If things looks like I need some protection on it, I've got a 1/4" hard board I use to protect the top as much as possible, but not over-kill. I built it to be used, and that's what I do….I didn't build it to set in the shop and look pretty….. If necessary, I've got 5 other benches I can put to use for abuse…..


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## cranbrook2 (May 28, 2006)

I haven,t been able to find my work bences for months now ;-)


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## DaddyZ (Jan 28, 2010)

amen - John !!!


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## reggiek (Jun 12, 2009)

Luckily, I have room for two benches. One is specifically a woodworking bench…the other, with a big heavy industrial vise I use for general fixing and as a repository for tools prior to being put away. My goal is to have a place for every tool…and every tool in it's place (nice dream eh?).

My WW bench though is specifically kept from being used for anything but WW….I do not want to tear up the dogs, vise or surface. My neighbor asked if he could use my grinder to sharpen his rototiller blades once. I said sure, as long as he cleaned up after himself….I came into the shop while he was there and darn near had a heart attack on the spot….He had the blade mounted into my WW vise….and was using my diamond sharpener on the edges of the blades…..Needless to say…I have never allowed that again..and the rototiller blades get sharpened by me on the other workbench when necessary.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

I have 2 benches. The woodworking bench, and the strong tie bench. The strong tie bench has holes in the top for attaching a machinists vise. I have in the past used it to hold a half shaft from the car while I drove apart the CV joint with a 5lb sledge..

I have burn marks on it from brazing. and more drill holes from the "I don't care if I drill through the top of the bench" incidents.

FWIW, that bench top is made of 2 layers of 3/4" CDX plywood. It was built to be beat on. And it does a dandy job.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

@reggiek - no doubt that's heart attack material… (!)


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## nate22 (Jul 12, 2010)

My bench I do everything on it. A few times I didn't get the plywood off the edge once and I cut into the top of my workbench with the circular saw. So now when people come and they see it I say I didn't on purpose to make it look like I do something when I am in my shop. But I do everything on it.


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

Same as Rick D. Use it, and use it up if necessary.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Well, my bench is certainly not the bench of my dreams but for the present it's the best bench that I have because I don't have time to stop and build a nice one right now. I use it all the time for more things than I could probably think of. I don't really abuse it but neither do I baby it either. I have the wood waiting for a new one already but I just can't afford to stop what I'm doing to build a new one.


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

I try not to bury a hatchet blade in my bench top, but beyond that I think I do just about everything else.

I need to build s second bench for metal work as the really tends to mess up my bench top.


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## Dcase (Jul 7, 2010)

I used to do everything on my workbench but I went ahead and built a new one so that I have two main benches.

On my nice bench I do most of my woodworking. I am not worried if I put some marks in it or scratch it up. However my nicer bench is just for working wood. I don't do any of my cleaning or metal work on it, I don't glue up anything on it and no finishes are done on it.

All the dirty jobs are done on my old bench.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Having a hack-about type of bench seems pretty common. Even if the secondary 'bench' is just a countertop. As long as it's a place to do that nastier stuff, not directly blade-to-wood activity.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

I bought a nice birch butcher block bench top from Rockler a few years ago. I decided that it was going to be a work bench. Everything from rebuilding carburetors to carving, dovetails to drive shafts wood working to welding. It's tough to get the grease out, though, so for the greasy stuff, I'm going to have to start putting a barrier down. I also have an 8 foot by 4 foot bench that I usually use for my big ugly stuff, but it's covered with my new/old Record lathe and kinds of other stuff. I need to clean that thing up.

reggiek, that ain't heart attack material, that's (justifiable) homicide material. That guy sounds like my ex- brother in law. He makes galoots look refined.


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