Workbench products / General Chatting / Forums

Forums

4hv.org :: Forums :: General Chatting

« Previous topic | Next topic »

Workbench products

1 2 3 next

Move Thread

LAN_403

aonomus

Mon Jun 30 2008, 05:49AM

Registered Member #1497 Joined: Thu May 22 2008, 05:24AM
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 801

I've been considering replacing my reappropriated Ikea desk gone workbench with either a homebuilt one, or a storebought one. Has anyone had any experience building those 2x4 + plywood workbenches like on the Instructables website with any tips, or any good experience with a storebought product?

Once the bench is built I will probably buy a drill press, and definitely a vise (sp?) which will both need to be bolted down to the surface, I looked at Gorilla rack products and I'm a little doubtful since the surface is a melamine coated piece of MDF which drops into a frame, with no retaining hardware, a drill press would likely tip over or warp the MDF, so is it extremely hard to make a wooden workbench that is square?

teslacoolguy

Mon Jun 30 2008, 06:49AM

Registered Member #1107 Joined: Thu Nov 08 2007, 10:09PM
Location:
Posts: 792

My dad has been using the 2x4 + plywood workbenches for the past 20 years and they have proven to be very rugged and sturdy.

Ultra7

Mon Jun 30 2008, 06:57AM

Registered Member #1157 Joined: Thu Dec 06 2007, 12:11PM
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 307

aonomus wrote ...

is it extremely hard to make a wooden workbench that is square?

That all depends on your skills with your tools, and what tools you have.
Id say, look at the area you want your work bench to cover and measure everything three times.
Then take a look at what you plan to mount on it.
The size of your workbench dictates what size tools you can mount to it.
The area you want to put your workbench into determines how big your workbench will be.

Home Depot has some free plans on some CD's and they have some really cool books on how to build anything from a house to a bird feeder, workbenches are always in there.

Draw out your plans, and look them over a couple of times and use all your measurements.

I used the wall studs in my garage to give me a nice solid base, and just built legs and a frame off of that. With some good quality 3/4 inch plywood, and good sturdy 2x4's you should be able to mount a good vice and have a nice sturdy place for a drill press, with plenty of room in between for your scope, power supplies, coil winding jig. . . you name it.
Like so. . .

I'm no carpenter, but I was able to build this one in less than a six pack.

KresoLiubov

Mon Jun 30 2008, 07:02AM

Registered Member #1153 Joined: Mon Dec 03 2007, 07:27PM
Location: Croatia
Posts: 213

To build my workbench and place for all i needed exactly 1 hour. Including putting evrything on place. Just a panel and wall mount. If needed i will post a photo

Coronafix

Mon Jun 30 2008, 07:46AM

Registered Member #160 Joined: Mon Feb 13 2006, 02:07AM
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 938

For a really indestructible bench, a friend of mine glued a whole heap of 2 x 4 together vertically, drilled through the sides and passed long bolts through them. He then ran it through a thicknesser and ended up with a 4" thick bench top. I've always been jealous of it.
He didn't have the thicknesser himself but sent it somewhere to be done. It was a lot of hardwood though and weighed quite a bit.

aonomus

Mon Jun 30 2008, 12:37PM

Registered Member #1497 Joined: Thu May 22 2008, 05:24AM
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 801

Holy crap Ultra7, your workbench is a mess... I can't say much though, mine is just as bad!

How much did all the wood total out to, because I know 3/4" plywood probably does cost a wee bit, although I do want to avoid MDF if I can. I'm going out to Home Depot in a hour or so, might answer my questions for me.

Just did a bit of paper napkin math, total cost might go to about $80 (CDN of course), is that realistic?

Ultra7

Mon Jun 30 2008, 03:11PM

Registered Member #1157 Joined: Thu Dec 06 2007, 12:11PM
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 307

$80?

3/4 plywood is like $20 a sheet and 2x4's are about $3 apiece for the 8 footers.
throw in some screws, sandpaper, and any misc tools you need, and yeah, $80 sounds okay for the most you'd pay.
Probably closer to $60, for the bench.
I can never get out of Home Depot without blowing $100.00 minimum. . .
Well cause there's so much stuff I want!!!

Steve Conner

Mon Jun 30 2008, 03:17PM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

Ikea sell nice kitchen counter tops made of blockboard. It's a bunch of thick pieces of wood glued together, and is about 1" thick and looks pretty strong. I got one to use as a workbench, and it's been fine. It was a bit oily to start with, but that dried up.

You could screw it onto a frame with legs made from 2x4s. I screwed Ikea table legs onto mine and wedged it between my existing kitchen counter and my fridge, but mine is a ghetto workshop in the kitchen of a small apartment. Your mileage may vary.

aonomus

Mon Jun 30 2008, 03:28PM

Registered Member #1497 Joined: Thu May 22 2008, 05:24AM
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 801

I was going for overkill I suppose, wrote down the price for 4x4's for the legs, which would mean:

$28 for the ply (3/4" 4x8)
$25 for the 4x4's
$10 for 2x4's
$20 for drawer rails, pegboard, etc (only estimated budget)

Fraggle

Wed Jul 02 2008, 10:52PM

Registered Member #1526 Joined: Mon Jun 09 2008, 12:56AM
Location: UK
Posts: 216

Lol, when I saw this thread I thought it was something about Amigas :o)

1 2 3 next

Moderator(s): Chris Russell, Noelle, Alex, Tesladownunder, Dave Marshall, Dave Billington, Bjørn, Steve Conner, Wolfram, Kizmo, Mads Barnkob