Thread: My workbench thoughts - will this work?

Oregon, although easy to dent ('soft') is actually one of the strongest of the softwoods - which is why it was used so much in building. Recycled oregon if sound, and recycled pine, should be fine for a bench if you use solid construction techniques - mortise & tenon or lap joints, galvanised screws, draw bolts (for the legs & stretchers at least) & a good glue that is not affected by moisture like Titebond 2 or 3, or a polyurethane glue.

If you don't already have a particular design picked out, go to a library (or bookstore that lets you 'browse') and have a look at 'The Workbench Book' by Jim Tolpin or some of the more recent workbench books by others such as Chris Schwartz, and have a good look at the construction techniques they show - and heaps of their benches are made from pine. There are also a huge number of plans & how-to pages on the internet too - for instance Taunton have a video on line at their 'getting started' site on making a basic bench.

I'd buy a sheet of 32mm ply and use that for the top. Just a reject would be fine. wouldn't focus on the bench being pretty, cause uno its a workbench. plys good cause its flat already and hardy. you drill into it, screw into it for stops, and it wont crack....and its pine, so its generally freiendly to your work. and when its stuffed just replace it.

for a quick strong base I'd go to the mill and buy 4x2"'s for legs...3x1and 1/2 's for stretchers. dress them. Line all the legs up clamped and cut out halving joints with a circluar saw. Tight joints. hammer tight. then batton screw each joint together with a single screw.

And put a big quick action vise on it.

Thanks for the responses. I'll go and have a closer look at the oregon & see what the condition is like then start to settle on some plans.

Where can I buy a piece of 32 mm ply (or mdf for that matter)? Everyone seems to talk about laminating up a couple of thinner sheets for workbenches.

Gonty,

Try looking for pallets (hardwood variety). They will have some decent size timber in them that you can use for stretchers (shorter ones anyway). You may be lucky and pickup a decent size pallet.

Check around any industrial complex and ask them. Most of them have to pay to have large pallets removed.

Where I work in Sydney the guys downstairs are importers of large printing machines and they come on pallets that are 5 foot x 8 foot. Some are hardwood and others are softwood. Some of the pieces that make up these pallets are 5" x 6", 2" x 3" (yeah I'm old school).

Happy hunting.

Steve

Gonty,
My whole bench is pine and all recycled. The legs are 100x100mm the spreaders are about 90x45 and the top is made of 150x38 planks. It is just a quick fix bench to get by until I build the dream bench but it is now about 8 years and quite serviceable. Pine is a soft wood but the hammering and chisel work are supposed to be on the workpiece not the bench surface. Pine is OK for a bench. A solid core door would make a good top. I sometimes use one on trestles as a portable work surface. Another option for a top is particle board and will be more stable moisture wise than MDF. Flooring sheets are quite cheep and some are moisture resistant. use as many layers as required to get the thickness for the top.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by gonty

Thanks for the responses. I'll go and have a closer look at the oregon & see what the condition is like then start to settle on some plans.

Where can I buy a piece of 32 mm ply (or mdf for that matter)? Everyone seems to talk about laminating up a couple of thinner sheets for workbenches.

Hi Gonty

The oregon should be fine for the legs; for the rest of the frame why bother about getting rid of rounded corners - make it a design feature. Remember you cannot add strength/stiffness by removing material. You cannot reduce strength/stiffness by adding material.

One standard sheet of 18mm MDF cut in half lengthwise and laminated will give you a 36mm thick bench top 600x2400mm. Similar with plywood. No waste. When you price the sheet material check the price of the 25mm stuff as sometimes there is not a big difference. An extra $20 could give you a 50mm benchtop.

Cheers

Graeme

One design I saw in a workbench book... Making Workbenches by Sam Allen, used three sheets of chipboard laminated for the top. nice and thick. attach the vice, by recessing the back jaw into the edeg of the bench and countersinking the bolts. and then finish the top and sides with an 18mm hardwood ply or melamine, so that bolts are covered and back jaw is covered.

base was douglas fir, which i'm pretty sure is oregan. used long thread bolts to keep it stiff. (no sniggering or jokes about viagra!)

tom

Wow. Lots more good suggestions there. I've also discovered some lengths of hardwood sitting in the shed too. haven't taken the rule to them, but probably something like 140 x 19 or thereabouts.

I was also thinking that 1500 x 600 would be an ok size for me. I have a bit of space now, but within a couple of years plan to move house and I doubt I will have anywhere near as much room.

So, the plan in my mind now is...

Build a frame of the recycled pine (30 x 75), maybe with lap joints so the stretchers are flush with the outside of the legs. Probably a bit shorter than 1500 to allow the vise to sit outside the legs. I picked up a big Groz from Carbatec when they were on sale.

Put a top made of laminated mdf, ply, or something, or a solid core door on top overhanging the left end just enough to fit the vise. Recess the back jaw into the top.

Then use the 140 x 19 hardwood as an apron all the way around. it will cover the edge of the top and also fix to the pine stretchers adding some bulk there and serve as the back face of the vise. I guess then use some more of the hardwood for the front of the vise too.

Originally Posted by gonty

So, the plan in my mind now is...

Build a frame of the recycled pine (30 x 75), maybe with lap joints so the stretchers are flush with the outside of the legs. Probably a bit shorter than 1500 to allow the vise to sit outside the legs. I picked up a big Groz from Carbatec when they were on sale.

Put a top made of laminated mdf, ply, or something, or a solid core door on top overhanging the left end just enough to fit the vise. Recess the back jaw into the top.

Then use the 140 x 19 hardwood as an apron all the way around. it will cover the edge of the top and also fix to the pine stretchers adding some bulk there and serve as the back face of the vise. I guess then use some more of the hardwood for the front of the vise too.

It's a good idea to recess the back jaw of the vice into the top, it's also a good idea to have the face of the legs and front stretcher flush. It's a bad idea to put that narrowish apron around the top because it will hamper easy clamping with f-clamps should you be using them instead of dogs and some kind of end vice (which I think you should do if you want to keep thing cheap). Better to edge the top with timber ripped to the same depth as the top. It's also a good idea to have at least the front edge of the top and the legs in the same plane so you have one big clamping surface when the need arises.

If you don't have Chris Schwarz's book, have a look here for some further explanation of what I've said above:
http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com...rkbenches.aspx

Cheers
Michael


Cheers
Michael

Thanks for pointing that out Michael. It makes perfect sense and is obviously a good idea.

I imagine I could have happily gone and built it the way I said then got to the end before realising the problem.

Think I need to figure out exactly what lengths & sizes I have and draw up some plans.

The way things stand at the moment, I can hopefully get by with the only purchase being the top (not counting the vise that has already been purchased)

Thanks for that link Michael.