Thread: Assemby Bench Cum Vise-less Workbench

You may want the top to go past the front and sides for easeir clamping

Good Morning All

This is the second part of my above post explaining my motivation, inspiration and objectives in a little more detail.

A couple of years ago I started a thread proposing a fairly heavy workbench with a top made from 190x60 celery top pine over an MDF platform. (Celery Top is quite hard for a pine with janka rating of 4.5, which compares closely to TasOak/VicAsh which usually tests at janka 4.5 - 4.9.) Forum members questioned the stability of the MDF base and suggested that the wide CTP boards would probably move and split. Good advice, but not what I wanted so I put the idea on the back burner....

I have just made three six-drawer units for my shed as practice for a kitchen makeover, and discovered that my assembly bench (a solid core plywood door) was not sufficiently flat and it introduced minor assembly errors. A better bench is needed, as an interim measure.

A friend has been prosletising for Festool and dragged me off to a demonstration unit, where I also saw on of their multi purpose benches (aluminium frame and Mdf top with lots of holes.)

www.festool.com.au/mediandoweb/index.php?sTemplate=zoom&sTemplateFile=standard.php&sLanguage=AUS-English&BILD=http://wwwinet.my-tts.com/Festool/Kat_2005/basis/jpg_zoom/zoom__hb_mft3_495315_p_01a.jpg

This got me thinking. So I did a bit of web searching and discovered the Demmeler (extremely) heavy duty assembly benches - way over the top for my needs, but a source of ideas...

Assembly benches - 100 x 100 mm, ø 28 mm / 50 x 50 mm, ø 16 mm - DEMMELER - Work station, Bench

More to follow...

Cheers

Graeme

PS: Sorry I could only give the above links and not actual photos in this post: I am not a nerd.

Good advice from Jim Carrol!!

I have a bench that is duel purpose. One long side is flush because of the vyce.
The other sides overhang for clamping purposes. I think I made a good decision, I think, to set it up that way>

Good Morning All

Third part of my explanation. Sorry for the slowness but I had trouble posting the pictures.

By taking the retaining pin out of a small size (50 Kg clamping pressure) Quickgrip I trialled slipping the Quickgrip through a dog-hole on Workmate and then reassembling it. It worked beautifully as a hold-down. And at a cost of only $19.95 for a four-pack, against $95 each for Lee Valley Hold downs.

Assembly Bench - Hold Down.jpg

Managed to get a pair of office utility tables for $11 at junk auction, They are 700 high, with top dimensions of 1,000 x 800 mm - right in may target range. Rather poor picture - the computer in the camera insisted upon not using the built in flash - irritating little b..*#..

Attachment 148351

Thanks for your comments Jim and Artme. I deliberately did not respond earlier until I posted the final bit with my proposal for the hold-downs. Think that it will be pretty versatile. Unsure as to whether the top should extend over the apron at the front as this would affect vertical clamping on the apron - eg cupboard doors which doing hinge mortises??

Any further comments Jim, Artme and every one else.?

I haven' t got the MDF yet but was thinking of using 18mm. Or should I go to 25mm?

Cheers

Graeme

EDIT: Finally managed to imbed some photos, not the best quality but they get the idea across. We learn.

Graeme, appreciate your thoughts on vertical clamping,very difficult to do any other way.

Great minds think alike! I too put holes in my top. I use F clamps to hold stuphph down. Had to grind the little lumps off the end of the bar and that causes some inconveience when using the clamps if you forget about it.

My top is a scrounged piece of melamine covered chipboard over an inch thick. I am not averse to screwing guides to it, or jigs or means of lateral clamping. Also reasonably easy to clean up glue spils etc.

Good luck with it!

Good afternoon Graeme
Looks good to me. You might consider using melamine or laminate coated board to make glue removal easier. I would either weld another support bar down the middle of the top or go for thicker material, I have a smaller table than that with 18mm MDF top and it has a sag. Also the vertical columns of holes; you might consider offsetting adjacent columns by 50mm to give more permutations for clamping.

Cheers
Michael

Thanks Artme and Michael

I had thought of F-clamps but the bar is much thicker so I would have had to drill bigger holes. Also standardising on the Workmate size hole means that I can use their plastic dogs as well as any I make. Also I like the Quickgrip action - quicker!

I was also concerned about the potential for sag.
* First, I must note that the Festool Multipurpose Table uses 16mm MDF and does not have a central bar. And Festool would not be likely to put their name on a second-rate product.
* Second, any bar across the middle would impact on clamping operations in that area.
* Third, stiffness varies with the square of the thickness. Thus 18mm MDF is stiffer than 16 mm by a factor of (18/16)^2 or 27% and 25mm MDF is almost 2.5 times stiffer than 16mm. 25mm would eliminate worry.
* But 25mm is about 150% the weight of 18mm.

Yeah, just look at my Workmate to see effect of glue and paint spatter. Melamine or laminate finish makes a lot of sense, as long as the core is MDF or denser, not chipboard. Any guidance on suitable/unsuitable sheet material?

Keep the critiques flowing; I want this to work well.

Cheers

Graeme

G'Day Graeme,

Using the QuickClamps as hold-downs works very well, but with me being a lazy soul and finding the reassembly of the clamp under the top a bit finecky, I simply use a S-Hook under the top. Bunnings sell 6mm S-Hooks and if you then drill the the clamp holes to 7mm, and centre a S-Hook in the clamp hole this pulls flat against the bottom of the top and works like a dream!

Cheers from shivering Blighty,
Andy

Thanks Andy

A fellow lazy soul appreciates the simplicity of your method.

I had taken the other end off the Quickgrips so that the re-assembly was all above bench.

The Festool version simply had a L-shaped end to the hold-down that you simply poked down the hole and then stood vertical. I will also explore this option.

Cheers

Graeme

Good Morning All

I have been musing on the issue of melamine/laminate covered MDF versus plain MDF for an assembly bench top for a couple of days.

Are there any downsides - eg bench top more slippery? bouncier? less pretty? whatever.

What has been your experience.

Cheers

Graeme

Yes, melamine does have its problems, as you suggest.


My melamine top was not ultra glossy to begin with and after a few cleanings with abrasives it is now well "keyed" but still good in terms of glue removal etc.

Thanks Artme. And next time you will still go with the melamine??

Cheers

Graeme

Graeme,
I have a very similar frame that I use outside the shed when I want to make a mess. I have a thick piece of chipboard (about 42mm, it was an old office partition) that I throw on top and clamp as required.

I have found it very useful not to have the chipboard fixed to the frame as I can lay the frame on it's feet which means the top is about 800mm high, or I can turn it on it's side and make it slightly higher or turn it on it's end and the 'top' is then about 1200mm high, a very comfortable height to work at.

It's the daggiest bit of metal work but also the handiest 'bench' I use. It's great.

Oh, and I welded an extra piece of tube between the legs (where your legs would go if you were sitting at it like a desk) so that the 'top' didn't flex when it was on it's side.
Murray

Thanks Murray

I have now got a half sheet of 25mm MDF, a bit tougher and probably as stiff as your chipboard. Really want to use the holes so that I can use hold-downs, dogs, opposed wedges, etc. Had not thought of not securing it - will keep that option open.

Also, hope I do not have to add a bar across the middle to stop sagging - it would interfere with clamping & hold-downs. We will see what happens.

Cheers

Graeme