building a work bench

[stewart.leach]

I have read this series three times, and keep seeing mods I want to add to my current or next bench!

 

[vintovka]

At the current price of lumber these may be a good deal. Do be careful and look for embedded metal we may have "gifted" the producing country.

 

[rp77469]

I needed a workbench now and didn't have the time to make one from the ground up so earlier this week I bought one at Harbor Freight on sale for $120. Just finished putting it together today. It will work for the time being and I'll add to it as time goes by. As you can see in the background I'm still clearing out the garage and organizing a little bit at a time.

An acquaintance of mine in the local woodworking club had one of these and had to screw a sheet of 3/4 ply to the back legs to keep it from racking. Bill Raby added the same or similar bench early on in the Lancaster Flintlock Rifle Build video series. A vew episodes in you can see he used L brackets to lag it to the wall. Once stiffened up it seemed to work pretty well in the vids, and the guy in the club said he was satisfied with his.

 

[kje54]

An acquaintance of mine in the local woodworking club had one of these and had to screw a sheet of 3/4 ply to the back legs to keep it from racking. Bill Raby added the same or similar bench early on in the Lancaster Flintlock Rifle Build video series. A vew episodes in you can see he used L brackets to lag it to the wall. Once stiffened up it seemed to work pretty well in the vids, and the guy in the club said he was satisfied with his.

I'm looking at adding an apron to mine that will serve two functions, to eliminate the racking and as an extra work platform. All I have to do is put in a little time because I already have the wood. It's not a bad workbench as long as it can be sturdied up.

 

[WyomingWhitetail]

I'm a big fan of paul sellers so eventually I'm planning on building something borrowing from his design. Real no nonsense working bench made of cheap softwood. He has a you tube series of building one in his backyard with basic handtools. He has other websites that are a great resource for woodworking. Currently I just got some 2x screwed together into a short little bench that resembles an English style in the basement. It to short so moves with heavy use but it's pretty solid and works for right now.

 

[rp77469]

I built my first kit long ago using a bench top workmate clamped to an old table. No heavy duty woodworking was required on the stock, so it worked out ok. It held the barrel just fine to draw file. I still have that little workmate somewhere around here, but have not used it in years.

 

[rp77469]

I bought one of these a few years ago very cheap when tossed in with a Delta drill press. I have used it very little as it is too light for hand planing and other heavier work. It makes a good mini-lathe base. It has been used for demonstrations by our club since it is so light to transport. Length is about 51", width about 10.75" made in Denmark so metric. Height 31.75. It is surprisingly sturdy for its size and weight. The top lifts off, and the legs fold sideways for storage. I am going to try it as a gun building bench. Should work pretty well for that.

https://blog.lostartpress.com/2016/12/17/factory-fresh-levard-workbench/