Thread: The Perfect Workbench?

I dream of a purpose built workbench but am far from doing it.
I have been using mums old kitchen bench for about 6 years now.
It has pine structure with fake pine doors/drawers and lime green laminex top and pine face.
Its perfect for me as it was free and its big, about 2.5m long.
Although as I try new projects it does lack things that I read about here. such as vises(I use F clamps on the facia), and dogs(I have bored a hole in the top and put an F clamp through that), tool trays(I use a pair of ally Landruiser side steps bolted to the wall above the bench).

Dan

I found a few pics that may interest you. They were originally on Badger Pond a couple of years ago.

The first is a bench with built in shooting board. It may not be so evident here, consequently I have added another in the next post (frankly, that one confuses me more).

Regards from Perth

Derek

With shooting board raised.

Ok Silkwood, I'll bite.
You say:
"I may have to upset someone here. No matter how non-showpiece you want it, I find it hard to accept a serious workbench for a woodworker which has bolt-together joinery."

Woodworkers have been bolting bits of their benches together for quite a while. At least the bits you need to be able to disassemble for portability. You could use through-mortices with wedges - they are not very difficult to do, but they have the disadvantage of sticking out a long way and being potential shin-barkers. Both my benches are very much products of a wood-o-phile, and have lots of dovetails, M&T's and even wooden screws for the tail vises, but they also have a few bits of metal. Four bolts hold the stretchers. The top fits into a couple of slots, and two coach screws hold it there so that they can be shoved around a bit as needed. (It takes a lot of grunt to move my main bench anywhere, though!)
As Derek says workbenches are very personal items in several ways, and we al have our own ideas of 'purity'. Mainly for cost reasons at the time, I did make my own front vise (with a metal screw and water pipes) and it has worked ok for 20 yrs, but I'm getting lazy, and have decided to replace it with a 52ED for the convenience of the quick-action bit...
Cheers,

Thanks for that Derek. I wonder if the owner of that bench might be into Japanese planes? In the raised position that setup looks like a Japanese planing beam where the plane is usually pulled toward the user. There's still a couple of useful ideas there though.

Dan

I'm not going to go build a dovetailed showpiece - just a good, solid, useable bench that will serve me well for years I hope.

So what do you like & dislike about your bench? Found the perfect design yet?

Silkwood,

Darryl said that he does not aim to build a showpiece; hence my suggestion of the bolted joinery. There are some amongst us - MajorPanic and BigAl spring to mind - who have built fine benches and workshop cabinets that would look well inside the house, but most people, and I am one of them, are happy enough if their workbench and cabinets do the job, regardless of the aesthetics. As I pointed out, and Derek re-iterated, mortice-and-tenon joinery would require the use of a hard hardwood to prevent racking. It is a question of horses for courses; if cheap but effective is the requierement, then bolted joinery is appropriate.

Rocker

I wonder if the owner of that bench might be into Japanese planes?

Dan

You are spot on. The bench belongs to Pam Niedermayer (in USA), whose interest in Japanese tools is legendary.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks for the advice re: racking in oregon etc...I think as usual I am about to throw some more fuel onto the fire:

I have to make up my mind soon but would love some comment on the following!

1) Bolted joinery. Is not one of the advantages of bolted joinery that when the "inevitable?" racking happens, one can nip up the bolts?

2) I appreciate the advice regarding racking of oregon framing, and had not thought about that. I wonder though whether racking in softwood is really an issue if the mortices and tenons not being glued properly or with a rigid glue? I can only think of all the boats I have built with cedar and oregon structures which have copped a horrible flogging, but no movement in the joints? Comments here would be appreciated...maybe time to consider epoxy construction?

3) If we are looking to the ultimate workbench, should we not consider "T" slots/tracks and "Sturdee" hold downs instead of dogs and holes? It seems to me that we have a heap of new technology since the traditional methods were invented and there could be a number of advantages in jigs, hold-alls etc which could be flexibly located. (Inspired by the Black and Decker "Workmate".)

4) Is the density of the top really an issue? There seem to be a goodly number of benches in magazines etc with pine tops, and notwithstanding aesthetic considerations, I wonder if we get carried away a bit because we can get hardwood which is only slightly more dense than cast iron? I know my father would only build benches out of 4 X 2 hardwood, but he used to like bashing bits of steel on them!

5) How heavy is heavy enough? Up until now I have used two workmates in tandem with a size 11 boot on one (complete with leg and body attached). If I really get energetic or have a biggish job, like planing oars or spars, I hold them down with a sandbag each, so a total weight of about 50kg's seems adequate for my purposes.

Is there any consensus on this, other than the heavier the better?


Thanks again,

P

Okay, already, I give in! Not only did I find a couple of posts which quite adequately support bolting on workbenches but, after discussing my post with a few friends they bombarded me with pictures and examples of excellent benches made with skill and aesthetics well beyond my own.

Does anyone have a good tool they can suggest for removing this foot from my mouth?

Cheers,

P

I think that confusion has set it because we are talking at cross purposes. The thread was begun by Darryl, who said "I've been contemplating it for a while, but I think it's time to build myself a decent workbench. Since I discovered handplanes, the old bench just doesn't cut it any more". So (certainly in my mind) I thought we were talking about the "The Perfect Workbench", and also as applied to handtool use (planing back-and-forth, sawing back-and-force, hammering chisels, holding boards down to do this stuff).

It is certainly not necessary to build a heavy bench otherwise (one that will surfice for the occasional thump, etc). In fact you can use oregon - just make sure that you enclose the sides with ply and bolt it to the wall (which is what I did with my pre-handtool era bench). Use the oregon for the frame and build a top out of a few layers of MDF and then seal it with shellac. It would work well. But it would not be my "Perfect Workbench" for handtools.

Regards from Perth

Derek

As was said earlier the design of a bench is personal. My bench was made with cheap materials and as I have worked on a few benches that ended up with racking in them I overcame this problem in my own design with proper bracing and screwing it together with coach bolts.

See my post in woodwork pics.

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ight=workbench

I will later on add some draws and shelving to it.

Silkwood

Maybe a shovel will help.

Always fond of a bit controversy me

Nope, I don't want to build a showcase - but I do want it to be something I feel good looking at and working with. And I want it SOLID. Which means good traditional joinery and good weight.

My current bench is heavy (not massive), and bolted together. It's a POS My first project, so I can't complain too much. It racks a couple inches. Useless.

I figure on using traditional joinery, but using bolts (especially for the stretchers) to reinforce it and take up the slack if the wood moves later.

I am certain I could have built something heavy and stable with man made materials, a bunch of bolts and the right structure - but I want something that looks & feels a little more like a REAL workbench. Nothing wrong with the alternatives, they're just not what I want.

I don't think I like the idea of t-slots in a workbench I can't see it lasting the distance - and I can't see an issue with the traditional dog holes.

I can't see too much of an issue using pine or oregon for a bench, assuming sufficient heft and good joinery. BUT pine warps like crazy (at least the standard of pine required for it to be significantly cheaper than hardwood). Oregon is knotty as hell mostly - and lots of knots doesn't make for structural strength.

Considering I got rose maple and yellow cedar at prices similar to reasonable softwoods, I think I made a good choice. The maple has staining from an odd mould this wood is prone to - no structural issue, just a little discolouration that means it's not suited for most other things. The cedar has a number of small, tight knots - and the boatbuilders who usually use it like clear wood.

Keep the ideas coming guys

OK, so I've been doing more hunting around on designs...

I went through the timber I bought last weekend and started to work out dimensions etc.

My current bench is roughly 2400 x 600mm. It's not deep enough, and it's too long really - stuff collects on the end and then gets in the way. I'm thinking 1800 x 750 - any thoughts?

I am seriously contemplating a tool well. I have the saw bench and extension table in the middle of the workshop for larger assemblies anyway, and I think it will help to keep the bench as clear as possible while I'm working. But I'm thinking make it say half the width of the bench by around 120mm and say as deep as the benchtop is thick. Also thinking seriously about the tool holder strip at the back edge - so chisels & saws can be dropped in the slots for temporary safe storage.

I have enough rose maple to make the top at least 55mm thick. If I buy say some bluegum boards for the front apron and end caps etc, I could go 65mm thick, perhaps a little more. Most of the international pre-made benches have maple etc tops at 50mm thick, but the US sites talking about home made benches are pointing towards 75mm. I've never worked with American maple, but I'm fairly sure it's a whole lot less dense than the rose maple I'm planning to use. Do I need to go for any more than 50mm thick? This stuff is not exactly light - there is absolutely no chance I could lift all 8 of the rough boards I bought at once

The rose maple in question seems quite well seasoned and very stable. One board is cupped - due I think to one large knot in the middle (the only knot in any of them). Other than that they're all dead straight. It was, I'm told, at least 10 years old. Rough thickness is 38mm.

Heavy is good I know, but I don't want to get stupid about it. So what's the general consensus on top thickness with Aussie hardwoods?

Any thoughts on the length & width of the top?

Hi Darryl

Is this going to be freestanding (so you can work around all 4 sides) or positioned up against a wall? I think that this would influence the positioning of your tool well. My bench is against the wall, so the tool well is at the far side (nearest the wall), about 6" wide. However a freestanding bench could have a tool well down its centre, leaving the sides free and clear.

Regards from Perth

Derek