show me your work bench and i will show you mine LOL

[moparmat2000]

hi Y'all

i wanted to show you my workbench i built for my shop. i'm not much of a woodworker, i prefer welding steel together. just seems to work out better for me. clamp it, zap it, paint it, done.

anyhow, my shop workbench measures 10'x3' and is 3' tall i used 2" square thin wall tubing for the legs and the frame , and 1" square tubing for leg cross tie stiffeners and table top supports. this sounds cheezy thin, but is plenty strong. the workbench has 5 legs, the one in the middle is at the back leaving a 10 foot span open across the front.

i also bought a piece of 1/16" thick 4'x10' steel sheet from my local metal supplier. i asked them to have it bent in a brake for me before i picked it up. i wanted the first 2" lengthwise bent 90 degrees down as a smooth front edge, and the 10" on the other end bent 90 degrees up as a backsplash. the 1/16" thick table top is plenty strong as well, because of the framework under the table supporting it. the metal top is only tack welded at each end, but didnt need to be as it was pretty heavy and would probably have stayed put by itself. i also set the height so my tool box fits perfectly underneath.

i also used some 2&1/2" thick wall tubing "think truck reciever hitch tubing" and made 3 recievers i welded these to the workbench framework. i made a reciever base for my vise and bench grinder to slide into these. there are holes drilled into the outer tubing, nuts welded to the outer tubing over the holes, and screws on the bottom to pin the vise or bench grinder in place so the vise and grinder dont move when you are using them. i did this so i didnt have these 2 things permanently attached to the bench, they can be attached to the workbench in 3 different locations when needed, or removed and gotten out of the way when they are not needed. the set screws to lock the vise and bench grinder arent shown from the angle of the pics.

i also used some 1" square tubing and made 2 shelves i welded attached to the back of the workbench. these are 1'x 10' each and as you can see store everything from my shop manuals, to my stereo, and misc crap.

this took some time to make, and i am very proud of how it all came together. i have some other future plans for it including one of those long industrial outlet strips, and running a compressed air manifold line to it with short hoses for workbench use.

maybe this can give some ideas to others who are getting ready to build a workbench, or even wanting to modify theirs

show me your workbench i just showed you mine LOL
matt

 

[plum crazy dart]

Wow, pretty damn nice!!! I'm jealous. The vise idea is great

 

[moparmat2000]

thanks for the kudos plum crazy the sucky part is in the summer whan its hotter than hell out there. even in the shade the table top is warm to the touch.

i wanted to tim taylor it to make it last, and fix all the shortcomings of all my other old work benches including my last one i made, an old wooden 3X6 with .100" thick aluminum top on it. the old 3x6 is now in my garage thats attached to the house,

i removed its vise, which is now in the pix of my new workbench. which is in my 31' wide 27' deep shop in my back yard.

my old work bench i now use for a pit area for slot car racing at my house on friday nights.

my lincoln weld pack 100 flux/mig welder was the best tool i ever bought. the runner up goes to my chop saw, and 60 gallon air compressor. wire welders are a little tricky to learn to use, but once you learn you will never go back to making stuff with wood and nails.

 

[draginmopars]

we built counters, down both sides
legs are built into the walls,
more floor space
also tall enough, for engine stands
parts washer, rolling tool box, is leaning on, height too

laminated cover is trimmed tight
to keep items from falling down behind it

gotta have a coffee/break area

to the left of the break area, is the specialty tool rack (Was a shoe rack)

the work table, is in the pic below, on right
it's a framed in tool box, with steel caster added, on the bottom
3/8 plate steel, with a vise mounted to the right

 

[moparmat2000]

i love the aircraft fuselage workshop. if i didnt live in the city limits i would have one of these. i like the "galley" i need to put a fridge and microwave in my shop

 

[seabee]

Showoffs. Here's my pitiful little work bench. It's a scrap countertop from Home Depot that was mis-colored.

It does, however, dispense cold beer.

 

[briankaplan]

I'd take a pic of it. But I can't find it right now. To much stuff stored for
the winter.

 

[clhyer]

Moparmat, I like that bench!:cheers:

 

[6pk2goDemon]

Nice job on the workbench & great idea adding the add'l tubing to mount your vice or grinder.......Really well done :thumleft:

 

[subcom]

Awesome job! That workbench will survive a few generations or more.

 

[R4Sedan]

Nice job Mat!

 

[memike]

I think everyone has seen mine 8-) and like seabee, mine will dispense a beverage :happy1:
Wow !! some great caves in this thread along with some great work benches :glasses7:

In the beginning :glasses7:

 

[moparmat2000]

i love the fridges incorporated into some of them. since it gets way hot out here in west texas, startin to get jealous of that LOL. i need to maybe install a fridge in my garage. i have an older whirlpool fridge/freezer with ice maker, its starting to weird out in the kitchen, i may have to break down and get a new one for the kitchen, and put this one out in the shop along with my old microwave i have in the attic.

i need my cave to be more mancave friendly in the drinks and eats department, although my wife is very cool about that, and is always bringing me something to drink, as well as food to keep me alive during my all too rare lately all night thrash sessions. still nice to be able to wave some waveable food when i want it and not bother her.

great shop ideas guys, i will be using some of your ideas in my shop too. glad i started this thread.

matt

 

[draginmopars]

Showoffs. Here's my pitiful little work bench. It's a scrap countertop from Home Depot that was mis-colored.


Not showing off...

Maybe showing, what CAN be built with scrap

DC-10 was being scrapped

post for garage doors- from a machinery crate

man door-used , being thrown out-
2 garage doors- built from 5 trashed doors (tornado)
sheet metal- from someone left over job site Free, (for cleaning up site)
angle iron, Red material, 2 x 12 ( from a tornado site) gas station
Paint- from home depo/lowe's, returns, mis matched (1dollar a gal Sale)

 

[moparmat2000]

Now thats freakin awesome recycling. Its so cool too. Bet the cost of the slab was more than than the cost of rounding up the materials to build it. Your shop is very clever, and the coolness factor of it being an old aircraft fuselage tube cant be beat. Still say i like your galley the best lol.

 

[seabee]

That is way awesome!

 

[earthmover]

great ideas here will be using some of them soon ..I hope...rayer:

 

[RangerRick]

my shop/ workbench in a 2 1/2 car garage, small but workable

 

[moparmat2000]

Ranger rick
Yours looks cool. I wish mine looked a bit more lived in, like it had been there for awhile. Thats pretty hard to do with steel. I love the look of the older shops with Oil stained workbenches old licence plates, and old speed parts decals. Everything in order but you can tell its been used for years. I look at the "this guys garage" section of car craft and love the patina of the older shops. I know i'd feel at home in your shop.

Great looking shop

 

[ramcharger]

Here's a few of the workbenches I built last summer:

 

[moparmat2000]

Wow that looks slick. I love the cabinets over the bench too. The varnished wood looks great. Have you ever thought about putting some speed parts decals on the wood and varnishing over them, would that work? Im not a wood worker so i dunno. Is it just me or do the wooden ones look so much warmer and inviting than my steel one.

I did mine from steel for 3 reasons. 1 i suck at wood working projects, 2 the steel in my area of the country is cheaper than wood, and 3 im a pretty good welder.

Can mine look warm and inviting to stay and wrench? I want my shop to have an old feel to it, or does it just have to age on its own to get its own unique patina?

Any ideas?

 

[69DARTS]

:happy1:

 

[moparmat2000]

Now thats got patina. Im sure mine will age and aquire its own lived in patina. Great workbenches guys. I like em all.

 

[Woods74]

 

[ramcharger]

Wow that looks slick. I love the cabinets over the bench too. The varnished wood looks great. Have you ever thought about putting some speed parts decals on the wood and varnishing over them, would that work? Im not a wood worker so i dunno. Is it just me or do the wooden ones look so much warmer and inviting than my steel one.

I did mine from steel for 3 reasons. 1 i suck at wood working projects, 2 the steel in my area of the country is cheaper than wood, and 3 im a pretty good welder.

Can mine look warm and inviting to stay and wrench? I want my shop to have an old feel to it, or does it just have to age on its own to get its own unique patina?

Any ideas?

Nothing beats wood for a warm look, but it's more maintenance intensive than steel, no doubt. I used marine spar polyurethane for a few reasons:

1. It's really, really tough stuff.

2. It's fuel, alchohol and carb cleaner resistant.

3. It lays on really thick.

4. It looks absolutely great.

5. After a few years (3 or 4) when it gets really beat up, all you have to do is scuff the surface with 120 grit and lay on a few more coats and it's good as new.

You can apply poly over stickers, no problem BUT.... it makes the bench look cluttered and it's harder to find that e-clip or retainer ring you just dropped.

Here's another work bench I did years ago that is now my reloading bench, it's a mix of wood and metal. Before and after pics...