Thread: WIP - Pine bench

My workbench frame was made from the same timbers as yours, although I did chuck it through the thicknesser to remove the ribs.

Not sure how the dowels will hold up under heavy use though; I cut half-lap joints for mine because I wanted good rigidity and the ability to take all the abuse I can throw at it.

For the top how about using glued layers of MDF; say 3 thicknesses of 19mm? This will be quite solid and heavy. Use some more of the pine and give the edges a seriously thick lipping and coat both sides with quick drying poly. If you use the bench for fixing the bike as well grab a bit of 3mm MDF to use as a sacrificial surface on the top.

Good luck with it! My first "temporary" bench is still in almost daily use; I hope yours lasts forever too

Thanks, for the tips. I would have loved to remove the ribs but don't have a thicknesser or a vice to use planes with.
The dowels are mainly to stop the rails and stretchers spinning around the bolts, we'll see how they go for starters, I don't plan on gluing them until it's had a test run so if they don't work it's only $10 worth of pine to make some longer ones with a tenon on the end.
As much as I'd love the top to be some nice jointed boards I don't have the requisite 29 Groggy clamps to make it with yet. That can be for bench 2.
The bike doesn't need fixing, it's a KTM

Wood for the base is finally done, still isn't glued yet. Still waiting on the vice to be delivered before fixing the top in place.

Any suggestions on what to finish the base with, should it be left natural, stained or protected in any way?

Originally Posted by Talorien

Wood for the base is finally done, still isn't glued yet. Still waiting on the vice to be delivered before fixing the top in place.

Any suggestions on what to finish the base with, should it be left natural, stained or protected in any way?

Many will shudder, but I used Cabots Floor varnish. Tough as nails

Looks good to me and that Cabots will do the job.

Looks to be already well protected in the first photo.

Originally Posted by stevemc32

Looks to be already well protected in the first photo.

He's more likely to fall asleep than do any protecting. Perhaps I should give him a coat of Cabots too so he fits in under the bench.

Now is it a kennelbench or a benchkennel?

That bench is going to rack for sure.

Two ways to prevent this ..

1. screw a sheet of ply to the rear side.

2. bolt the frame to the wall.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

That bench is going to rack for sure.
Two ways to prevent this ..
1. screw a sheet of ply to the rear side.
2. bolt the frame to the wall.
Regards from Perth
Derek

I did wonder, is there any other ways to prevent the racking or is it just a design fault that can only be resolved with tenons?

will the weight of the top make any difference?

Excuse my ignorance but what is racking?

When you are doing something on the bench like planing a board it will tend to move with the plane.

Originally Posted by Talorien

I did wonder, is there any other ways to prevent the racking or is it just a design fault that can only be resolved with tenons?

will the weight of the top make any difference?

Racking will occur as soon as the area joined is too small to prevent twisting. The area of your joints is small.

You can prevent twisting by bracing the rear (long) side with a ply sheet, and even better to box the entire bench in with ply. The latter is not necessary, but if you boxed in the rear and the sides you would end up with a strong bench. (You could then add a cabinet inside the box).

I have an old bench that I built about 18 years ago. It is overdue for renewal. I have it bolted to the wall. This has resulted in an extremely rigid structure that resists any racking when I plane.

Regards from Perth

Derek

The recommendations above will provide a very stable bench. A quick and dirty fix is to brace the base in both directions, (front to back and side to side) by adding a diagonal brace accross the back and one at each end. You could put two each, like a cross but it should not be necessary. Only need some 3x1 inch pine to do the job. Is same principle as bracing stud walls in housing with strap iron, stops the wall turning into a trapezoid.

Have done this with an old bench and it did the job,not perfectly but good enough. I only used an old bit of floor board.

Cheers
Pops