need a workbench...

Workbench/toolchest, in progress. Mounted a slab of acacia butcherblock with t-nuts located for three positions for the vice, and one for the rock chucker (not pictured). Can add more later. First, need to finish lag bolting it to the main chest, and figure out how to more effectively chock the wheels.
20220120_233445.jpg
Another day, I can post the mess that is the rest of the home lab/office
 
Cut blocks 1/2” bigger than your wheels in height, lift the ends up with a fulcrum and place the blocks along the lower frame next to the wheels. Then they are there still if you need to move it, but the weight is transferred to the floor better thru the blocked corners, use 8x8 square scewed together plywood if you don’t have blocks bid enough.
 
Built mine back in the summer when I realized I needed an actual bench to use in building my daughter's crib. The plywood on sawhorses was no longer doing the trick.

Used the roughly 4' long cut off from a 12' long maple butcher block countertop from when we put a floating L shaped countertop in our kitchen this past spring, 4x4 legs, 2x4 apron and blocking, and 3/4" birch ply for the bottom shelving. Lapped in the 2x4 aprons and lagged it all together with 4" structural wood screws. Used hinged castors for portability and stability. I still haven't attached the top, but I have a ton of figure 8 fasteners that I will probably use eventually. Probably going to be lazy and stick with the clamps until I have a need to change it, though.

Probably mount a press to a piece of plywood and clamp it down when I'm ready.

20210821_153616 (1).jpg

Being used for it's intended purpose: someplace I could mount the mortise & tenon routing jig:

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Shameless self promotion of the final result of the reason for the bench build:

20211113_123803 (1).jpg
 
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Built mine back in the summer when I realized I needed an actual bench to use in building my daughter's crib. The plywood on sawhorses was no longer doing the trick.

Used the roughly 4' long cut off from a 12' long maple butcher block countertop from when we put a floating L shaped countertop in our kitchen this past spring, 4x4 legs, 2x4 apron and blocking, and 3/4" birch ply for the bottom shelving. Lapped in the 2x4 aprons and lagged it all together with 4" structural wood screws. Used hinged castors for portability and stability. I still haven't attached the top, but I have a ton of figure 8 fasteners that I will probably use eventually. Probably going to be lazy and stick with the clamps until I have a need to change it, though.

Probably mount a press to a piece of plywood and clamp it down when I'm ready.

View attachment 567391

Being used for it's intended purpose: someplace I could mount the mortise & tenon routing jig:

View attachment 567393


Shameless self promotion of the final result of the reason for the bench build:

View attachment 567394
Great work! It looks like the bed is designed to shift down as she gets more mobile, is that right?
 
Great work! It looks like the bed is designed to shift down as she gets more mobile, is that right?

Yeah, exactly. I built the mattress support with three heights. This is at it's highest. Once she can roll over, we'll drop it to the middle position, and when she can start pulling herself up, we can drop it all the way down to sit on top of the cross members at the base. That's a good 32" from the top of the mattress support, so it should keep her from climbing out like I used to as a kid.

Built from solid 10' long x 30" wide x 2" thick, locally sourced red oak slabs I milled down myself. It's rock solid and heavy as hell, but built to be taken apart for moving and storage. I'm super happy with how it turned out! And thank you!
 
so, i have accomplished an impossible feat.
i have managed to make a space in my house for a workbench, where the reloading station will be positioned, as well.
the space can fit a 70" by 36" workbench. i started looking around and see nothing of a kind.
i would like something like this, perhaps:
View attachment 533208
View: https://www.amazon.com/Olympia-Tools-410-327-0111-Workbench-Capacity/dp/B09FXPPQDT

but bigger. i will use it for some minor woodwork, tinkering, whatever can be done - any ideas of where to find something inexpensive?
I dont think you will find something much bigger.
I used the Harbor Freight Tool one for a few years
The draws are shit but back when I bought it you could get it on sale $120 could not buy the wood and hardware that . It served its purpose.
Trying to fit a bench to a space usually ends up with just building it.
I was looking at building one of these.

View: https://youtu.be/AtyrGlVWiTA
 
there is a guy on facebook marketplace in Northampton Ma that has 3 maple butcherblock lista benches for $175 a piece, if I had the room for them I would already own them.
they are $600 a pop new
Those are nice , i had to leave mine at my moms when I bought my house. Its huge!
 
Workbench/toolchest, in progress. Mounted a slab of acacia butcherblock with t-nuts located for three positions for the vice, and one for the rock chucker (not pictured). Can add more later. First, need to finish lag bolting it to the main chest, and figure out how to more effectively chock the wheels.
View attachment 567364
Another day, I can post the mess that is the rest of the home lab/office
Remove the wheels. That is what I did with mine.
 
I am sure a million people have said this, but anyone who actually needs a real workbench would be best served by building their own, especially if the space you have to work with has any restrictions. If you are retired and your kids are gone and you have $3g to blow on a stock one you have a huge space for, have at it, otherwise build your own. I just threw together a table the other day to store Halloween props using whatever scraps I had lying around. It is exactly the height and size I wanted.
 
so, i have accomplished an impossible feat.
i have managed to make a space in my house for a workbench, where the reloading station will be positioned, as well.
the space can fit a 70" by 36" workbench. i started looking around and see nothing of a kind.
i would like something like this, perhaps:
View attachment 533208
View: https://www.amazon.com/Olympia-Tools-410-327-0111-Workbench-Capacity/dp/B09FXPPQDT

but bigger. i will use it for some minor woodwork, tinkering, whatever can be done - any ideas of where to find something inexpensive?

I built this:

1660660745047.png

A couple of years ago. Basically, a pile of 2x4's. Solid, sturdy.
 
You could never to that with Home Depot or Lowes 2x4s because of warpage.
Lowe's

I didn't have a planer, but shaving 1/2" from one edge with the table saw and a gate got them "flat enough" for a general purpose bench.

Considering I push bytes for a living, I was surprised how well it came out.
 
I like the 2x4 idea - isn't really practical labor wise compared to say 1.5 inches of plywood or hardboard, but I like it.

If you screwed and glued them together, once cured you could plane the surface reasonably flat in a hurry with a sander. Not cabinet making flat, but good enough for the hammering and drilling, cleaning and assembling parts, sort of stuff I do on a workbench.
 
My work in progress. 2 8’ long work/reloading benches. I mounted a sheet 3/4 Maple plywood on top of a base of 2x6 boards biscuit joined together. Will have pegboard behind the right hand bench. I’m still planning where to mount my vices. I also need to run electrical for more lights and outlets. Of course now the benches are covered in junk. 6078BC40-CB59-4BE2-B211-E921EEC56A08.jpeg
 
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