Lets get the ball rolling...

[The_Stig]

Okay, I went for my interview today and I've been accepted onto a carpentry/joinery course at Moulton.

When I got home I had a clear up in the garage since the House Martins have finally flown the nest. I then got thinking about having a new workbench. I had a look in the Axminster brochure and decided that £600 was a bit steep for a few bits of PAR beech so I'm open to suggests or plans... any help is welcome...

 

[Rich]

Hi Stig, click on search and type in Workbench and then click on search, the list is endless, Lord Nibbo's is something else. hth.

Regards,

Rich.

 

[The_Stig]

Your right Lord Nibbo's bench is something else, its made my almost afraid to look at the Beech in the yard, lol.

 

[MikeG.]

Stig,

build your own.......its the only way to get something solid enough. It will need to be a lot stronger than you think. 4"x4" legs, 6"x2" (or bigger) rails, diagonal bracing (or solid infil....back and ends) would be the minimum I would consider. I would use bolted halving joints (not halved, though)......remember, this isn't furniture, your priority is robustness.

If you haven't anything to make it on, you first project should be a pair of saw horses.

Good luck........I look forward to seeing the photos!

Mike

 

[Waka]

Stig

There are plenty of forum members that have built their own, so you should have no end of advice, go for it.

 

[bugbear]

Stig,

build your own.......its the only way to get something solid enough. It will need to be a lot stronger than you think. 4"x4" legs, 6"x2" (or bigger) rails, diagonal bracing (or solid infil....back and ends) would be the minimum I would consider. I would use bolted halving joints (not halved, though)......remember, this isn't furniture, your priority is robustness.

Agreed. A commercial bench as solid as you want is a lot of money.

I don't think monster rails are needed though; diagonal bracing or "filled" sides provide more strength for less material.

I have a page of links to bench designs

file:///home/bugbear/geocities/bench.html

but it pretty much predates google and people having digi-cams, so it's a little dated.

You do need to consider your clamping preferences/requirments - vice choice and placement affects bench design a lot.

BugBear

 

[The_Stig]

Aha, saw horse's now theres a job for the weekend... I think its time to have a look in the off-cut shed

 

[mr]

oops

http://www.geocities.com/plybench/bench.html

Cheers Mike

 

[Woodmagnet]

I like this design Stig.

:wink:

 

[OLD]

I suggest a book 'workbenches from design & theory to construction & use by Christopher Schwarz you should find all the answers there.
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/WEBSITE/WWW/WEBPAGES/showbook.php?id=1558708405

 

[MikeG.]

Bugbear,

each to their own of course, but my big rails (mine are actually 8"x2"s) are not about bracing......they remove any possibility of flex and bounce from the top. I want to be able to hammer, or chisel with a mallet, at any part of my bench. Some people have to do this over a leg.

I suppose I ought to post some pictures for a workshop tour some day......

Mike

 

[The_Stig]

I've just having a look on Amazon and they've got quite a few books on there so I'll have a trawl, the bench that is on this books front cover is nice:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Workbench-Compl ... pd_sim_b_6

Its maybe not the best thing for a first attempt... aim high, lol.

This is also quite interesting:

http://plansnow.com/wwrkbnch.html

Its simple yet I guess if I wanted at a later date I could add some wide drawers below it, or merely change the design a little as I was building.

 

[beech1948]

Hi,

You could also look at tyhe following from Bob Keys

http://www.oldtoolsshop.com/z_pdf/shopImprov/BobAndDavesGoodFastAndCheapBench-ne.pdf

about 20 pages

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/projectplans_display/?planid=11098

http://www.clubwielder.com/art/Bench.html

I found that Bob Keys web site( now discontinued) on work benches was the best I had found for a quick cheap very very good bench.

Have a look.

regards

Alan

 

[beech1948]

Hi again,

Heres what I was looking for.

http://web.archive.org/web/20041119011737/www.terraclavis.com/bws/

Its very good.

regards

Alan

 

[The_Stig]

Argh!! So many conflicting ideas, I don't know which one to choose now!! I think I'm going to have to sit and mill through them all over a cup of tea during lunch...

...we've got plenty of beech in the yard at least I've got the material side of it sorted

 

[The_Stig]

This is probably going to seem like a daft question but on Lord Nibbo's bench is the top biscuit jointed together or just glued and clamped?

 

[bugbear]

Bugbear,

each to their own of course, but my big rails (mine are actually 8"x2"s) are not about bracing......they remove any possibility of flex and bounce from the top. I want to be able to hammer, or chisel with a mallet, at any part of my bench. Some people have to do this over a leg.

I suppose I ought to post some pictures for a workshop tour some day......

Mike

Ah - you have rails directly under your top; I understand. I find this approach precludes several clamping options. I prefer a thicker top to solve bounce and flex, which avoids the need for supporting rails.

If timber or money is short, it's easy to build a 24" deep bench where only the front 12" is super thick; you don't tend to hammer the rear of a wide bench, so put the mass and rigidity where it's needed and save your money.

In other words I would prefer a benchtop 4" thick at the front and 2" thick at the back to a uniform 3" benchtop.

If you can afford (or lift!) a uniform 4" benchtop, that will work nicely, of course.

BugBear

 

[MikeG.]

Bugbear,

I'm not sure that a 4" top would be enough, unsupported.

My rails are set back quite a way back from the front edge and don't interfere with clamping.

Mike

 

[filsgreen]

You could build this one Stig, but I wouldn't consider it to be the ultimate workbench. You can register for your free book while your at it.

http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/page.asp?p=461

Phil

 

[Lord Nibbo]

This is probably going to seem like a daft question but on Lord Nibbo's bench is the top biscuit jointed together or just glued and clamped?

No biscuits, just pva and clamps. I state pva because I bought a gallon of it from a builders merchants at about 1/10th of the price it would of cost to use something like Titebond, and it's just as good. At 4" thick the area glued won't benefit any added strength using biscuits although they would help line up the surface.