Thread: Jarrah Workbench Top Thickness

forgot to mention something not to do.


There's another option. Go to the demolitions. Buy a stuffed dinning table with big thick pine legs and bolt jarrah extensions to it to get it at the right height. That way you don't have to make much at all. And drop your ply on that. If its thick ply your dog holes won't bruise. Then dynobolt it with brackets to the ground.

And when the local retirees come around to inspect for a laugh, RESIST the urge to HIT BACK at them with viagra and incontinence jokes. DON'T offer them tea (even if you drink it). That implys there old. Stay away from religion and DEATH, and tell them their right. …..just talk about frigggin football or something.

Just remembered something Don't forget to paint your workbench. The thicker the paint, the less movement. But I'd go for a brownish colour so the rub off marks aren't noticed on your work. uno.

Yes you can use ply on top but a better option if using a sacrificial top is a sheet of masonite fitted into an edged recess to give a nice flat quick and easy replaceable top. It won't splinter around the dog holes and ply can't be made flat easily again as it's thin laminates aren't consistent thickness.
Ply is a big mistake IMHO and I do have a half sheet of 30MM ply complete with splintered dog holes etc. if anyone wants it for free.

I'd kill for some dirty old free 2.5" x 5.5" jarrah boards to make a bench from but it's a bit scarce around here.
I do have some nice thick blue gum boards drying for the next build though. With the 4" square Ironwood legs it probably won't move too much either and I'm sure the people who have to move it when I'm gone will be cursing me
Just my 2c
Cheers, Ian

Originally Posted by Mooncabbage

...... once constructed, my workbench will never, ever leave the basement. I couldn't get it out the door....

I guess a bench made of recycled material costs little but time, and we always think the next bench will fix any faults in the present one, but I'm glad I didn't have to make a new bench each time I moved in the last 30 years. Co-incidentally, my bench was made in a basement, but it was easy enough to remove, because of the knock-down construction. It traveled from Canada to Australia in that move & has had several moves since; more moves than I'd anticipated! Life is what happens while you make other plans, as they say.

I maintain that no matter how well thought-out a bench is, there are always compromises & things that could have been better. Some you can add retrospectively (like my wooden hold-downs, which I only 'discovered' recently, thanks to a couple of other Forumites). However, some you can't. If I had my time over, I would make my bench just 100mm longer - someday I just might make a new one for myself, but don't hold your breath! Fortunately, there are usually workarounds that allow you to get the job done, and when you are not doing it for a living, solving a problem is often just as just as satisfying as doing a job the quickest way.

The bench I just made for my brother has legs that are 65 x 75mm in cross-section, which are more than adequately stiff - Chook, you may get to work on this bench in a couple of weeks, so you'll be able to verify this. They are also weighty, since Forest red Gum has an ADD of >1. As I said before, for me it's all about adequate mass & stiffness, but I'm finding I can do with less of the former as my body gets stiffer...

Why an apron? Actually, I'm asking myself that! There are two reasons: one is to act as a girder, to add some stiffness to the front the bench, which cops most of the heavy pounding. But 100mm depth would supply more than enough stiffness, with any of our heavier hardwoods. The other reason to have an apron is to allow convenient mounting of some types of vise. The common Record style woodworking vises mount about 75-90mm below the surface, so that's all the depth you need for them (you don't even need that depth, of course, if you use packers), but the vise style I favour needs a much deeper apron to take the hardware. However, I'm thinking of taking the easy way out on my brother's bench & just using an old Record I happen to have available, so I may even end up lopping a bit off its apron.

As to whether or not to have the legs flush, I'm afraid I think it's more fashion than anything. It does allow convenient mounting of a leg vise, which is another recent fad, but the argument that it's for clamping long boards held in the face vise doesn't hold water for me, because you are restricted to a single spot, which isn't always convenient, or even possible, with short heavy boards, so some sort of sliding 'deadman' is better in that respect.

As Chook says, a bench is as personal as it gets, so you make it according to your own tastes & needs. It's good to question the function & need of each bit, but in the end, material on hand & space available often dictates the results as much as wants & needs. It's just another tool, so as long as it doesn't bounce or walk away from you when being used, and you can use it to hold the stuff you regularly work on in ways that allow you to attack it conveniently, it'll be a success. If it looks elaborate & wonderful & gives you bragging rights, that's a bonus!

Cheers,

Just a personal data point. My bench has a top 1840 x 800 x 50 - because that is how I bought it from DGI in Silverwater, laminated vertically and horizontally out of Tas hardwoods, a reject (gum pockets) executive conference table for Civil & Civic. Very heavy, and cheap at the time which I why I purchased it - for its current purpose.The base is 4" x 4" recycled Brushbox for the legs and cross members, with sled feet (this feature really makes the base rock solid). The bottom stretchers are 6" x 2", no top stretcher. The whole thing is bolted M & T and never moves in use, I have never needed to tighten the bolts. If I take all the tools off the bottom shelf, I can just drag it around. The entire base can be disassembled for moving. If I build another bench I do not think I will be going for a whopper - not at my age, and I experience no problems with rigidity or movement.

What to change? The wide top is a boon and a problem. A boon because I can/do work from both sides and plenty of room on the bench. A problem because too much stuff can/does accumulate on top. Sometimes, but not often, longer might be handy.


Cheers
Peter

This is just begging for a response.....

Originally Posted by Heavansabove

...not at my age, and I experience no problems with rigidity or movement.

So, life's pretty good then Peter? No need to brag though.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

This is just begging for a response.....

So, life's pretty good then Peter? No need to brag though.

Only on the bench...

Not sure how a sliding deadman or similar would work without a flush front. That said, if I was to add a short apron along the length of the front, so as to have it flush, what would be the best method to join it? I can see tenoning a middle piece into the legs, but not sure how I'd fix it to the top. Also, not sure how I'd fix any kind of apron past the legs, since I'm planning on having the left and right ends of the benchtop overhang the legs substantially.

Originally Posted by Mooncabbage

Not sure how a sliding deadman or similar would work without a flush front.....

This is one way: Sliding support.jpg Support1.jpg

Originally Posted by Mooncabbage

....if I was to add a short apron along the length of the front, so as to have it flush, what would be the best method to join it?

Glue. Given the surface area, even a moderately accurate joint will be immensely strong. A series of counter-sunk coach screws would be a little less aesthetic, but would also do the job. Either will suffice on its own, but if you're the type who likes belts and braces, you could use both .....

Cheers,

Originally Posted by Nanigai

Yes you can use ply on top but a better option if using a sacrificial top is a sheet of masonite fitted into an edged recess to give a nice flat quick and easy replaceable top. It won't splinter around the dog holes and ply can't be made flat easily again as it's thin laminates aren't consistent thickness.
Ply is a big mistake IMHO and I do have a half sheet of 30MM ply complete with splintered dog holes etc. if anyone wants it for free.

Well, I haven't had any problem with any of things you've mentioned.

Why can't ply be flattened easily if its attached to a true frame ? Its flatterened easily because its soft. Shaves well.

I just use round dog holes, and its fine. If they get a bit loose, just fill it with something and re drill.

The concept is very good, because repair is quick and easy. Have more stability and options because the grain alternates.
And if your worried about 30mm being too thin…..thicken it ! say 2 sheets !

Its just that it doesn't LOOK pretty.

I'd take the ply from you. Ply that thick, imo, no matter how badly beatup, could be cut up and redressed. Make good jig making material.

Sorry I disagree with you. I'm sure there be plenty other things that I would agree with you about.

cheers.

Originally Posted by apricotripper

The concept is very good, because repair is quick and easy. Have more stability and options because the grain alternates.
And if your worried about 30mm being too thin…..thicken it ! say 2 sheets !

I gotta say that there is merit to this idea. Given that you'd have to buy a full sheet when purchasing 30mm, you could split it in half to yield two 600mm wide sheets to make a 60mm thick top. Screw the top to the bottom from underneath (so that the screws stop say 10mm from the top surface).

Think about it - for the truly lazy, or short of time, you could split the undersheet into two 300mm wide and run it through a big boy's thicknesser to get that part flat (if it needed it). Indeed you could do the same for the top sheets when they need to be flattened (because it's held with screws), although not having the edges of the two top sheets glued together may be a problem. Just finish of the flattening with a plane. Pretty easy to re-register the sheets together via the dog holes. Need a new top sheet? Take off the bottom sheet, flip it, drill the top dog holes with the bottom ones as a guide.

You could screw a trim around the edges to prevent them being easily chipped out (and it would look better).

Put plenty of weight into the chassis to compensate for the lower density of the ply.

Not so silly.....

Yep, makes perfect sense. A lot of time, material and money gets ploughed into workbenches. We all may desire a bench top of lovely 50 or 60 mm material, lovingly laminated and flattened by scrub plane. For me, I just want it to be fit for use and easy to rehab as the need arrises.

Whatever makes your boat float I say, however, if it can be made, and kept flat who really cares what it is made from?

Just my 2 bobs worth.
Cheers
Bevan

I have to agree with the sentiment. Any workbench is better than no workbench, which is pretty much what I've been working with for a few years now. Not looking forward to trying to flatten and level my boards after I've trimmed them though, cause it's going to be a hand tool job, and I don't have a workbench to make my workbench on :P

Originally Posted by Mooncabbage

...and I don't have a workbench to make my workbench on :P

This is maddening isn't it? Every time I make a tool, THAT tool is supposed to be the primary tool in use for it's construction. I think I'm developing a tick from it.

At least one can clean the outside of a vacuum cleaner with said vacuum cleaner. Buggered if I can work out how to clean the inside.

What's that? You don't clean the inside of your vacs? Tsk tsk tsk.

I tried planing them on a pair of bunnings sawhorses.... They just fell over. Then I tried planing it on the floor, but my knees gave out.

As for vacs, I usually pick the insides up, stick 'em in the bin, and hammer them against the sides till it's clean.