Thread: Drop saw bench

Good concept Andy.

I was thinking about the permanent sharpening station that you mentioned, which I think goes to the right of the drop saw?

The waterstones etc would get a lot of dust, so a way around that (and get quick access to bench space) would be to set up the stones on a board so that you can pick up the whole board and put it into one of those shallow drawers.

The adjustable cabinet legs appear to be to far in from the ends and the bottom of you drawer carcass will deflect over time.

Also, the weight in the drawers will sag the middle of the carcass down as well so I would suggest extra legs under the middle as well.

Other than the above, your concept is good.

Ray - I thought this may have been a problem so when I built it I added a support piece accross the length of the base which I've screwed the adjustable legs to. I do plan on adding more legs and I agree they need need to be in the middle.

I also plan on strengthening the whole carcass by screwing a back on and attaching a support under the top make it stronger especially when I use my router for the t track on the top.

Brett- not a bad idea and I have considered this. I do want to have a dedicated spot where I can set up my grinder etc and have my stones out. Maybe I'll build another little bench with one or two drawers for storage of stones etc?

But the workshop is coming along nicely. I've just about sorted out all my storage issues and now it's just the smaller details that I need to work on. I often wonder if I would have even finished the plywood lining by now if I did it on my own?

I just need to save up for my new dusty from hare and forbes and I'll be on my way. I got lots of box orders to fill so I'm best to get going soon!

Cheers.

great looking job there, just wondering what is the thickness of the draws & how thick are the bases of the draws
regards Michael

The drawers are 12mm thick with a 9mm rebate to fit a 9mm mdf base. I used loose tenons for the joinery and all seems pretty strong so far.

how wide & high are the draws and thanks for posting the pictures you give others ideas I am looking at your system & working out hoe I can copy it and also include both m y table router and also my bench mounted drill
regards Michael

The left hand drawer sets are the same both sides. They're all 500mm deep by around 550mm wide. The heights are 200mm, 150mm, 100mm and two 75mm.The right drawers are the same except the heights are 300mm and two 150mm.Let me know if you need more pics and I'll upload them. As I've mentioned it's not finished so I'll post more pics as I progress through the build.Cheers.

Well done Andy, looks like you are getting nicely set up, and soon will be able to get back into production

I like the timber flooring.

Do you have a heater in the workshop? I imagine it gets pretty cold up in them thar mountains.

Nice work Andy. It's been ages since I've seen a drop saw bench WIP on here. I love the adjustable dropsaw section. It's always hard to get a fixed shelf perfect. I think I will be borrowing your idea. Thanks for the post.

Danny

hi Andy
are the frames out of the 12mm mdf the same as the draws or are they thicker
regards Michael

Dengue - Thanks for the post. Yeah I got a heater in the workshop it gets rather cold up here. The flooring was dirt cheap from bunnings and is helpful when I drop things. I initially planned to do the whole workshop but have now just done around the bench. I'll put rubber mats on the other side.

Michael - the whole carcass is 15 or 16mm, I can't remember but I will confirm tomorrow. If I had my time again I'd use 19mm. But I'll be adding some support pieces to the top to strengthen amongst some other upgrades.

Cheers

Michael- the carcass is in fact 18mm so should be strong enough.

Drawer fronts attached on first set of drawers. 12mm ply from ebay at $25 a sheet.
The gap at the top is where I'll attach a hardwood strip.