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I think it is finally time to upgrade my second workbench. The current one is a hollow core door on a pair of saw horses. There is an old industrial workbench in my late father-in-laws garage that I am going to take. It is 30" wide x 84" long x 33" high. The top is 1.5" thick plywood. Not sure if 1 or 2 pieces, but looks much better than what's in HD today. The legs are stamped steel, and is quite solid, with no racking or movement in the garage. Will this top be adequate, or do I need to add to it? I have a built in bench with a large machinist vise for pounding and heavy work. I want to add a woodworking vise to one corner, and use this for assembly and hand tool work. I plan on adding a skirt around the top to go with the vise.
Any suggestions or comments on this bench? I will take pictures the next time I am there, but I will have to clean it off first. Thanks for your comments.
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Off the top of my head (and without pics) I would say that your major headache will be adding a woodworking vise. If you are going to work with hand tools then you need to think through just how you will do that. In addition to the books by Christopher Schwarz you might want to read the Scott Landis book which is an excellent survey of wo different workbenches.
Thanks, Curt
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"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."
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08-29-2020, 09:21 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-29-2020, 09:23 AM by gov.cheese.)
Here's the post on the free download of 'The Anarchist's Workbench' (Christopher Schwarz). Lots of good reading.
https://www.forums.woodnet.net/showthrea...id=7356438
I agree with CP. Adding vises may be the problem.
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One question I would ask is how flat the work surface is. Old plywood can sag. And it really can’t be planed like solid wood. But you could always add wood to the top if you needed to, and workbenches don’t need to be surface plates. But work benches that are not flat require a higher skill level to produce good work with.
A planing stop would be the first thing I would think about. I have one that I really love, but I’ve used drywall screws. Just about anything can work. I’d start with a couple old fashioned Wooden hand screw clamps and some other woodworking clamps and see how you make out.
Woodworking vises are just difficult to install effectively, they also get in the way of more important tasks (like edge planing). I’d put it off and save yourself time and money.
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The workbench I am planning on getting is 15 miles from me now. I will probably get it this weekend. It is definitely more substantial than the hollow core door that I am currently using. I have a restored Wilton woodworking vise sitting under the door bench waiting to be used. The only bolted down vise in my shop right now is a large Columbian metal vise attached to my 10' long bench which is part of the wall of the shop. I have been trying to migrate away from DIY / home repair work and do more woodworking. It seems to take forever to figure out how to hold a piece of wood down to use hand tools.
I am not worried about how to attach the woodworking vise to the plywood bench. That is also why I am expecting to have to make an apron, at least on the one face. Not sure if the plywood has any sag in it now, but it does not have any give in it. I will try to get pictures of both my existing bench as well as the "new" bench to try to clarify where I am and what I hope to achieve.
Thanks for the comments so far.
