Hi all,

I've recently started setting up bit of a workshop in our single car garage so I can get into some woodworking. My first project was a slot together plywood reindeer which I posted about in the Toys forum. While making this I really noticed the lack of a good work surface. Unfortunately, I'm trying to set things up on a fairly tight budget. Crowie came to the rescue and suggested getting some solid core doors for use as a bench top (cheers crowie!) So, after searching gumtree for a few days I managed to grab these 2 off a very nice chap who lived just around the corner from me and dropped them off. I used one door on a couple of sawhorses as a temporary bench. (click thumbnails for full size)



Not long after I got a hold of a large pallet (free) that used to sit underneath a spa. It was about 2m x 2m, so I pulled it apart to get a stack of really rough pine. None of it was flat or straight which was a bit unfortunate.


I glued some together for the legs. I also picked up a cheap electric planer from bunnings which gave the wood a new lease on life. It couldn't do much about the twists and sever cambers in the wood, but it looks a lot better.


The bolts I had weren't long enough to go through the legs and the long stretchers (I think that's what they are called) so I had to cut a 20mm notch to suit the size of the legs. I'm not sure how much impact this will have on the structural strength of the bench, but it seems fine for the moment.


Progress shots:



Bench in it's final position:


I'm going to screw down some 6 or 10 mm plywood to the top for the sake of durability, and also add another cross member between the bottom long stretchers so I can put some plywood or slats for storage. I've also got a cheap bench vice that I will put on the front. Not sure if it will be any good, but I will replace it down the track when a bit more cash finds its way into my woodworking kitty.

It certainly isn't pretty and no one would ever call it precision engineering but it is surprisingly sturdy and heavy, not to mention cheap. It was also a great learning experience, being a complete newbie to this, I made a lot of it up as I went. I'm hoping it will last me until I have more room and my skill level has advanced enough to make an awesome workbench like most of the other ones that are posted in this forum.

Regards,
Cam

Cam: it's perfect. While some benches are things of beauty, mine is not. bunch of 2x6 x 8' with bolt holes all over it now for temporary mounts of things like a scroll saw. I didn't even attach the top to the frame. Until they repeal the Law of Gravity, I doubt that it will waft away in the breeze.

I didn't add any plywood: sawdust from the top sifted through the cracks onto everything stored below. Fed up with the mess, I filled all the cracks with silicone caulking. Done.

Looks good to me. Nice work.

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'Handsome is as handsome does', as the old saying goes. It's a very good start, & it's refreshing to see a good, simple bench made from available material. My first w/working bench was made from the salvaged bits of the fence I had to replace soon after moving into my first house - it was a bit rougher than yours, but did the job for me at the time. I think it's a really good idea to start modestly, and get on with your woodworking. If you get seriously bitten by the woodworking bug, and find you want a more ambitious bench, you will have learnt a lot about what you need, and you'll have a bench to work on to craft the masterpiece....

Cheers & happy sawdust-making,

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A bit like mine which consists of 2 cutdown formboards with 4x4 legs 2m x 1m with an 4inch Dawn ofset jaw vice bolted to it which has seen heavy service for the last 25 YEARS.
It has seen V8 motors rebuilt on it and any other thing that has needed repairing around the house.
Now I am forcibly retired (73) I will propably build a REAL woodworking bench and keep the other one as a storage place for heavy tools and things.

Bob

Cam,
That looks like it will do the job and is all a bench needs to do. With a vice attached you are all set. Those solid core doors are a ready made bench top and I use one as a mobile bench set up trestles.
As you solve all the problems of bench stops, dogs, clamping and the rest on this one you are building a plan in your head for the ideal bench down the track.
Regards
John

Cam built a "production bench." Stuff will get built, stuff will get repaired, much to his satisfaction. Plus, a lot of the material was someone else's junk.
No fear if you need just one more hole for another eye-bolt.
My only caution is to promise yourself never to use the bench for storage.
Actually, if you can find a bit of 12mm slate, say 30 x 60cm, you have a fireproof mat for the hot stuff and the simple torch work.

Hi Guys,

Thanks heaps for all the replies!

I do need a bit of advice on fitting the vises I have to the bench.
I have this el-cheapo vise that I got from the big B for around 30 or 40 dollars. It has the 4 holes for vertical fixings into the bench. It also has 2 threaded holes in each of the jaw faces. I'm assuming these threaded holes are for attaching wooden jaw 'covers' so the metal doesn't mark the work.



My plan is to remove the benchtop (awesome!) and cutting out the area shaded red in this photo:

Then dropping the vise in and using screws through the vertical holes to fix it in place. The holes are at 25mm centres and my stretcher is only 40mm thick so the back one might not have enough edge distance. Will I be able to get away with a) 40 or 50mm long screws instead of bolts b)Just 2 screws/bolts - 1 in each side
Or will I need to attach a backing block to the stretcher so I can get all 4 vertical fixings in?
I hope I've explained it clearly enough, I can take more photos otherwise.

I also have this bench vise which I would like to attach, but I'm worried it will get in the way with larger work pieces. Does anyone have any advice for the positioning of this vise or tips on how I could make it easily removable?


Thanks,
Cam

Excellent work on the bench. You might have already thought of it but you could put a shelf on the bottom and if you need more space you can have some flat boxes slide under the shelf.

Not sure on the vice mounting option.

I bought a bench vise that looks the same as Cam's. Bolted it down on a bench corner and it is not in the way very often. No big deal to take it off. Perhaps I could have made it more secure but I won't need a hitching post for elephants or Cape Buffalo. Stability was foremost and it certainly does that.

One thing that I did do was to hang the vise so that the static jaw is about 6mm over the edge of the bench. . . . meaning I can't rest long bits on the bench at the other end. Trash ply counterweighted with a bit of railroad track (aka the anvil) works OK.

What top job Cam,
Looks great and will do the job for you.
I added a set of centre supports and a sliding shelf in one half of the lower section, giving more useable space.
I still have trouble viewing the photos [thumbnail size only] on your threads but eventually worked out how to view them off your website.
Keep up the good work.
cheers, crowie

Congratulations Cam,
You have a functioning and functional work bench.
I did the same as you, and used a solid core door for my benchtop.
I have had it for years and it will be my benchtop until I no longer need a bench.

I wouldn't mount the engineers vice on the bench. It will get in the way of your longer jobs.
I solved this for my bench by bolting the engineers vice to a short piece of 4X2 (100X50mm), and holding this in the woodworking vice when needed.

Here is a pic of part of my workbench - you can see the door-top quite clearly.
More info on my blog.

Attached Images

DSC00322.JPG (232.7 KB, 51 views)

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Nice functional bench

I'd bolt the vise through the benchtop (I like over engineering) and I'd use all four bolt holes. You could get a fair bit of leverage on the vise.

Make sure the top of the jaws are below the benchtop, you may need to pack the underneath of the benchtop. If the top of the jaws is not a smidgeon below the top you will catch everything on the vise and learn a few new cusswords

If you are going to put a plywood sacrifical top on the bench (masonite id good), screw it down with brass screws - then when you accidently cut, scrape or whatever one you won't chip the saw, chisel, plane or whatever

unless you do a lot of metalwork I'd have that vise as attachable on a temp basis as SG says

Happy woodworking or whatever on your new bench

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veni, vidi, tornavi

Hi Cam,

Top job all round. A quick, cheap and functional bench. Well done.

Like others, I have used old doors for a variety of bench applications, even got some extra tall trestle legs to make the top come up to a workable height and all portable.

I am with SG and Sawdust Maker on the engineers vice. Mine has a round swivel base and I just use a big F clamp to hold it on the bench. Is quickly removed when the full length of the bench is needed. I also have the anvil feature on mine, (tis a cheap vice though), very handy I can tell you.

Cheers
Pops