Building a solid workbench

Kiwifr33

Legs and rails. Rails are dovetailed / lapped flush with the legs. Top left is the first half of the laminated top. Everything is recycled.

Cutting the dovetails at the top of the legs that fit into the top with my Xmas present. Haven’t touched my jigsaw or barely the circular saw since I got it.

Frame assembly, only the shelf is screwed in. The end rails are double tenon & mortised into the legs (one triple 'cos I found a nail). Estimated weight so far: >100 kg. The laminated mdf shelf is 30mm thick, the top 85mm and that’s only about half of it. There’s a drawer that takes up the whole space between the shelf and bottom rails and two vises to come.

Brad

Have you decided on a dog hole size and spacing?

Kiwifr33

The plan has every 100mm but that depends entirely on vise travel. Still tossing up with tail vise vs. big enough moxon vise to put a dog hole in the jaw. Depends what hardware I can find too!

Brad

I am working on 96mm as I have a 32mm spaced router guide rail and that matches Festool system as well.

19mm holes for me as it fits Kreg, Armor and my Axminster Panel Clamps. I think I can get away with no vice if I run the top down one end as well and dog hole that too.

Plan is to box underneath for dust collection similar to @Wayne down draft sanding table.

I also have one of these that I need to put legs on -

I have extra t-tracks in mine and it's not a genuine top so for glue ups I will use a BBQ liner as I don't trust the anti-glue properties of melamine.

Kiwifr33

I’m all timber on the top, saving the t-track for a clamp-on router table and a drill press table if there’s any left. We’re a loooong way from Carbatec and really, I’m just way too cheap. The plan with the dovetails on top of the legs is to mitre the top pieces, screw for guide holes and glue them up so they’re reasonably tight with no fixings.

It's only construction pine, so I’m planning on finishing with floor seal oil - basically tung oil plus resin hardener.

Wayne

That sure is a solid bench and a project to be proud of for many years.

Wood Working with Wayne

Kiwifr33

Thanks Wayne - can you please tell my kids that? Every time I tell them it’ll be around for their kids to use, it’s 'whatever'...

LePallet

Great work, i love seeing all different style work benches.
I feel your own work bench is always different from the rest.

Kiwifr33

Main assembly time. I’ve used floor seal tung oil as a finish to try and stiffen up the three plywood legs. Admins, I seem to be missing the 'add photo' button though...

EDIT: it reappears when you edit the post. I’m on iOS.All 'finished' up. And a bonus peek at an oak crotch I picked up on the way home the other day. Just hoping a larger log is still there when I go back with a trailer.Vise hardware. Had to buy the threaded rod and connectors / nuts. The rest is junk though. No weld by necessity - it will be housed / run through hardwood set in the square tube.

Jason

@Kiwifr33

If you want to include photos in your post and use other functionality of the text editor, make sure you click on one of the reply buttons to access the full editor. The quick reply box found on the thread itself is for text-only.

Thanks,

Jason