"Traditional" Workbench Design

[Tom Miller]

quote:Originally posted by LarryG

I have thought about leaving 4" to 6" of clear space between the underside of the benchtop and the top panel of the storage units below, and then having essentially zero overhang for the top. This free space would provide room for the clamps fixed head while maximizing the amount of storage below, and clamps could be "staged" close at hand by placing them within this space, where they'd be easy to grab during a glue-up. The downside is the same as the above: the bar would have to point up, rather than down.

Leaving 4-6" underneath is a good idea -- I personally can't keep myself from putting a drawer in every conceivable nook and cranny, but that's a personal problem. [:I]

Come to think of it, I did design the bench so the top drawer is low enough to clear an-upside-down clamp head. But after snagging myself on clamp bars for the hundredth time I started to put them right side up.

quote:Originally posted by crokett

I solved the problem of the clamps blocking the drawers by only putting the stuff I never used in the drawers.

Yes, but blocking the drawer is what makes it the drawer you need to open, by definition. At least that's how things work in my shop.

Regards,
Tom

[Mainemarc]

quote:Originally posted by LarryG

Do bench dog holes typically go all the way through? I guess I just assumed they'd only be a couple inches deep.

Hi Larry:

The answer is a big fat "YES". Otherwise you'll find them usable for the first day or so and then they'll fill up with saw dust and wood chips and henceforth be forever useless.

These are the sorts of things that you just can't fully appreciate until you actually start using a bench with some of these features.

When I was designing and building my workbench, I didn't give too much credence to the old adage that woodworkers are forever designing their "second-to-last" workbench. Now, I'm beginning to see why.

[LarryG]

quote:Originally posted by Mainemarc

you'll find them usable for the first day or so and then they'll fill up with saw dust and wood chips and henceforth be forever useless.

Lemme tell you about this amazing new invention they've just come up with. It's called COMPRESSED AIR.

I've yet to build even my FIRST workbench, but I think I know what you mean about that second-to-last thing. In the two short weeks I've been thinking about this, I've already come up with three or four ideas I thought were utterly brilliant -- only to realize, a few days later, that they weren't anything of the sort. Hence this thread. I don't know how many of the ideas I take out of here will actually get used, but they're sure enough making me think.

(Rest easy: I will drill the bench dog holes all the way through.)

[crokett]

quote:Originally posted by LarryG

So maybe David's "stuff I never use" approach has more merit than I realized.

Yep. That is how my last shop was organized and how the new one will be. All my hand tools are on a pegboard and the stuff I never use is stashed in the back of the bottom drawers. Then I know where to look for it if I ever need it.

Another consideration for no drawers is unless you leave a couple inches of overhang for clamping which hinders access to the drawers, you are trying to clamp something to the tabletop on top and probably the faceframe under the drawer. This means you are putting a clamp on a potential weak point.

[Brian G]

Larry, some of your questions are the same as what I mused over before I built My Workbench.

I don't regret going with the face-glued lumber for the top, although it was more work than laminating sheets of MDF. It's not perfectly flat, though, and at some point I'm going to resurface it. Right now, I have other things more pressing than fixing the flatness. I use glue-up risers anyway, and they span the width of the table and effectively eliminate the slight ridges from the slightly uneven glue-up of the slabs.

I use the dog holes and Quick-Grip clamps for hold-fasts often. I don't use the bench dogs and vise as often as I thought I would, but that's partly because I have not had a project where it was really necessary. I may drill some more dog holes in the other side. I swear, though, that I could toss 100 1.5", #8 screws on the top and not a one of them would fall through a dog hole, but the one time I'm trying to drive a screw into a board the screw would fall off the bit and drop cleanly through the dog hole.

I still keep my All-In-One clamps that I bought from the now defunct The Woodworkers Choice in the opening below the top. Here's a better photo of the side view that I didn't include in the previous thread.



The top has incurred a few dings and dents, but I accepted that it would happen. I use a shower curtain liner to protect the top when I'm applying stain or finish to a project.

[mr.g]

You may have already looked at other plans available, but if not this might help with some design ideas: http://www.plansnow.com/workbenchplans.html
I built the weekend workbench for my garage/shop as it was fairly easy to build and fit my needs.

From what you have mentioned the "heavy duty", "european", and "classic" workbenches may be closer to what you are looking for. It was interesting to see the laminated mdf type top on the heavy duty bench as opposed to the glue-up hardwood top of the european and classic styles. Both types have bench dog holes and end/tail vises.

I the have Shop Notes issue that has the under bench cabinets that can be used with the "heavy duty" bench. The plans seem to be a very nice design and would go well with the bench. The design does leave a gap between the bottom of the bench top and the cabinets, I don't remember exactly how much but 2"-3" seems to be about right.

Hopefully this will help with some of the design ideas you are considering.

[germdoc]

I missed out on a chance to get an antique WW bench for $200 from a neighbor. I think it was maple, though hard to tell with the finish and grime. Downsides would have been the thing is massive and in fact too big--8' long--for my garage shop, also would require major renovation and repair to use. However--I now realize the bench top alone would be worth $200. Oh well.

I'm still planning to build my own. I have a table I cobbled together out of some furniture pieces I had lying around--now realize it's way too high to be useful. I need something about waist high for what I do, especially with handtools. There were a couple of different styles featured in a WW mag a couple of months ago--either FWW or WWJ. One was by Ian Kirby.

If I take my WW class this fall at the local TC, then I will glue up some maple boards and be able to run it through their wide planer and sander, which will save me a boatload of trouble.

[axio]

I've also been working on a workbench. Mine needed to be portable, orginally, as I have a 2-car garage that actually does house all my tools and two cars... but that has since changed as my car now sits outside for the time-being while I have all these projects to do. When they're all done, the workbench needs to be able to be put away, so I ended up going with the sawhorse method... probably not the best but it works for my situation.

What I did was go to HD, and get that crappy Do-Able laminated pine top, about 1.5" thick, the size of a door. I reinforced it with 2X4's underneath for more support. Placed on top of the sawhorses, it works great. I can sit on it in the middle (185 lbs) and it doesn't flex at all. I've been using it for a project I'm working on currently, and it suits my needs.

I've yet to attach the vise yet, nor have I drilled out bench dogs.

Speaking of dogs, do you guys buy them, or are you able to make your own out of wood? Or is making them out of wood a bad idea? Secondly, being that the top is 1.5" of pine, will this not be strong enough to support dogs?

I guess it works for me in the meantime, and I can always lean it up against a wall for storage when it's done. When I need more weight, I just put on my HF Drill press and it holds it down pretty steady.

[Jim-Iowa]

on the dogs. I went down to Woodsmith store and found that the 3/4" Veritas round dogs were about $8.95 ea. So sized my holes for them.
Sure I can swing that, but have not got back to pick them up.

I did buy a 3/4" wood dowel and cut off some 1 1/2 " square blocks.
Drilled a 3/4" hole down about 1/4" and screwed them into the end of the dowel.
So far I have not felt like I needed to torque on the vise enough to find them lacking.
But will be buying some of the Veritas.

[LarryG]

quote:Originally posted by axio

my car now sits outside for the time-being

"For the time being." Nyuk nyuk nyuk ...

For bench dogs, it'd be pretty low-tech and decidedly non-traditional, but why not just use a 3/4" hex-head bolt? Too much risk of hurting a tool, maybe?

In the meantime, I find that the plastic ones that came with my WorkMate work just fine when I'm using it.

As for wood, Lie-Nielsen sells wooden dogs, so I don't think they'd be a bad idea at all. But as with anything made by L-N, bring your biggest checkbook:

http://www.lie-nielsen.com/tool.html?id=wooddogs

[Brian G]

I had some wooden dogs. I had to get rid of them.
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They wooden hunt.