Thread: General purpose workbench

I wouldn't attach to the shed , as when you hit anything it will resonate (the shed) , have it free standing ( applies to metal shed).

With regard to the bench tops , see if you can get an off cut of solid vinyl flooring , and glue to the yellow tongue . This will give an easy clean top, that can be replaced easily .

Ensure that you have light above work area , and a moveable light , to see into those awkward areas, and holes.

jeff

Interesting. I was planning to bolt it to the shed to make it more solid. The shed is a Ranbuild and quite solid, with 140x50mm C section uprights. You think it would be a problem?

The vinyl is an idea, I would only need a 600mm piece from a 3m roll. Would that stuff react with any fluids likely to come from an engine? Oil, glycol coolant, brake fluid, etc.

Yeah, the lights are covered - I'm a big fan of lights. I have two 1200mm fluoros directly overhead, and will have movable lamps mounted to the wall above the bench for spots.

No matter where you put the vice it will be in the wrong spot.

On my (still to be built) metal work bench I am making my vice removable. It's a 150 mm Dawn offset vice and it will be bolted to a 6 mm thick steel plate which has a 65 x 5 mm SHS leg attached underneath. The leg will slide into a 75 x 5 mm SHS segment welded vertically to the table. When I don't want to use the vice I will be able to lift it off the bench. To fill the gap a blank piece of steel with another attached leg will fill the spot vacated by the vice.

The design is described here.

If your metal shed is insulated and lined you can attach the bench to the shed wall as it won't resonate anywhere near as much as an uninsulated and unlined shed when you strike something on the bench.

Vinyl is useful unless you do a bit of welding and then it stinks. I have a couple of pieces of it that I roll out when I need it

Originally Posted by BobL

No matter where you put the vice it will be in the wrong spot.

(On my (still to be built) metal work bench I am making my vice removable. It's a 150 mm Dawn offset vice and it will be bolted to a 6 mm thick steel plate which has a 65 x 5 mm SHS leg attached underneath. The leg will slide into a 75 x 5 mm RHS segment welded vertically to the table. When I don't want to use the vice I will be able to lift it off the bench. To fill the gap a blank piece of steel with another attached leg will fill the spot vacated by the vice.)

The best part of this idea is that the vise can be turned 90 deg for that strange job. You could put another RHS section on the corners so that it can be moved anywhere, I've got one set up on my bench and use it to hold a bar bender, jigs for welding and anything else that needs a decent support.I used 65X65X5 RHS on the bench which is the material that is used for towbars with 50X50X3 rhs as the support for the vise or whatever. Remember to drill a hole on the corner of the RHS to weld a bolt and nut on so that it will hold the vise steady and solid.
If possible set the RHS flush with the front so that you won't injure yourself by walking into it.
Also put a splash back on the bench so that you don't loose that little bolt or spring!!!!!!
Kryn

Hi Beetle Shirt,
The bench at my old place was attached to the (steel frame) shed posts and was good and solid. For serious hammering I've got an anvil and a wooden block.
My vice is mounted on the end of the bench so that I can get at it from two directions. In your case, where your bench is the full width of your shed, give serious thought to the suggestions by Bob and Kryn of a turnable mounting post. If you haven't already bought your vice you can get them on a rotatable mounting.
Galv' sheet is the way to go for your bench top, either permanent or as a tray that can be removed. If you bend up a back and sides on it avoid a sharp edge by wiring the edge. Edge wiring is a piece of cake to do and is discussed somewhere on this forum, maybe in metal work.

Regards,
Geoff.

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

The best part of this idea is that the vise can be turned 90 deg for that strange job. You could put another RHS section on the corners so that it can be moved anywhere, I've got one set up on my bench and use it to hold a bar bender, jigs for welding and anything else that needs a decent support.I used 65X65X5 RHS on the bench which is the material that is used for towbars with 50X50X3 rhs as the support for the vise or whatever. Remember to drill a hole on the corner of the RHS to weld a bolt and nut on so that it will hold the vise steady and solid.

Some more good ideas there, I'll be using some of those - see, sometimes it pays to procrastinate!

Originally Posted by BobL

No matter where you put the vice it will be in the wrong spot.

I don't doubt that for a moment!

I already have a pretty standard 4" engineer's vice, with the sole party trick that it rotates. Pretty sure it goes to 90 degrees, so I don't need to play with rotating mounting plates and risk having to trust my welds too much. Had it for ages and it takes a beating without objecting, so I'll stick with it for a while. Maybe I'll just drill a second set of holes for it if I want to move it, so I should probably add some RHS in strategic locations for the mounting holes. I was thinking the 50x50x3 RHS I am using was pretty solid. 65x65x5 is getting seriously chunky. And heavy!

I was planning on having the galvanised sheet run up the wall a few inches, on the bench top, and fold down over the edge and maybe even fold under a bit. Never heard of edge wiring, though the name paints a picture. Will have to look it up.

Thanks for the ideas guys!

The engineers vice I have has a rotating foot, and I've mounted it on its own pedistal, dyna bolted to the floor. It's ideal if you have a little room as it's not taking up bench space, nor is it tucked away under the bench when I need to use it. I've also welded a trailer U-bolt to the side of the pedistal where I can hang a ball-pein hammer and a spare hacksaw.

That reminds me. When I was at Melbourne Trailers we set up a 'tooling room' with steel benches, and the way we did the tops was to screw an 18mm MDF sheet to the bench, then 50 x 50 x 5mm angle iron round the edges, mitred at the corners, then inlaid a sheet of 5mm masonite.
The masonite gave a smooth, fairly hard wearing but replaceable surface, the MDF gave the structural rigidity, and the angle both protected the corners and kept the masonite in place.

BobL knows the truth = where ever you put the vise, the day will come (soon) that it is in the wrong place. My solution was to drill three sets of holes, left, right and middle for the move.
I have wondered in idle moments if it might not be a better plan to float the vise on a slab of timber which could be clamped down any dang place you like, indoors or out.

Mercedes Uni-mog have their complete control system one a slide arrangement which means you can sit any where in the cab to steer and drive with pedals and every thing. See what can be done with hydraulics.

Morning all,
I've got my vice mounted on a heavy steel bench and a pipe vice beside it. When you want to use the pipe vice you have to open the engineers vice right up to clear the tail. I rigged the block holder up with a double lap of roof strapping. To use it you open the vice up, put the block against the tail with the strap round it, then as you close the vice the tail pushes the block away thus tensioning the strap.
I bought the vice on a stand at a garage sale about 20 years ago and it's a very handy piece of gear. You can lug it around the shed or out into the yard and I use it a lot to hold things when I'm welding.
Regards,
Geoff.

Geoff: Thanks. A couple of the most useful ideas that I've seen in years.
1. The block holder. I can stand log sections that way for carving. Must toddle off down to the shop and "play around" for a while.
2. The stand-alone vise. I would do that in less than a minute if I had the floor space.
Whoever built that/thought it up, must have really been in a jam for the idea.

We get lifts of timber done up with plastic strapping that must be loaded with fiberglas.
Indestructable stuff. I'll try that junk first.

My uncle tonight suggested I put the vice on the end of the bench, oriented so I can cut on the side of the vice pointing towards the door. This would mean relocating the bench to a different wall, so will take some thought.
The freestanding vice idea is a pearler though! I have a little 2" jobbie that's not doing me much good at the moment. This looks like a very useful thing to do with it, and gives me an excuse to practice my welding.