-> New shop, new bench - I've always built benches out of wood and
-> attached them to the garage studs, so they don't move with me.
I have two wooden benches. I went nuts when I built them - 8 feet
long, 2 feet deep, 36 inches high. They have six 4x4 legs, 2x4 braces
under the top on 16" centers, and the tops are 1" chipboard. The bottom
rails are stepped in to clear my feet and high enough to run the floor
jacks underneath. The backs are covered with 1/4" plywood and the
bottom shelves are odd scrap plywood. They're held together with big
screws and construction adhesive. The original plan was to put cabinet
doors on the front, but every time I've acquired the plywood for the
doors it's been reallocated for something else.
I wanted the cabinet doors to keep metal and Bondo dust out of whatever
was stored there, to keep prying eyes out, and to generally neaten the
appearance of the shop. I still want those doors! I also have some 7"
tall shelf units I intend to add doors to sometime.
-> I'll be taking my "rolling bench" with me - this is an old chest of
-> drawers that I mounted on 3" casters and added a 1" top (3/4 ply and
Yes! I used to use a short night-stand type cabinet to hold my Sioux
valve grinder. I'm looking for an appropriate sized one for my
Craftsman belt sander now. The sander has one of those universal
Erector-set stands. A cabinet would give me storage and take less floor
space too.
Flea markets, garage sales, etc. are good sources for this stuff. Look
for solid wood or wood-framed stuff. Some cabinets are stapled together
and won't carry much load, but if it's otherwise suitable just take it
home, knock it apart with a plastic mallet, and put it back together
with glue and screws.
-> The main bench has the 4-1/2" Wilton vise
I have a cheap Taiwan 5" vise and a cheap Taiwan 3" vise. Granted
they're not the best in the world, but they've been worth their weight
in money for holding stuff for welding, punching pins out of
distributors, installing rod bolts, you name it. A vise is one of those
low-glamor tools that's much more useful than I thought it would be.
My two benches are about 18" apart. The Shop-Vac and a trash can sit
between them. The vises are on the corners. It's amazing how many
times I've had a part several feet long clamped securely in both vises.
I'm not sure it would be worth buying an extra vise and allocating bench
space for, but if you wind up with two somehow, by all means mount them
both!
-> have tool storage shelves underneath, for all those tools that are in
Rubbermaid used to sell a nice add-on drawer. It had roller slides and
a stop. I've been looking for a few, but either they don't sell them
any more, or they don't sell them around here. For some reason some
products are regional.
Okay. I admit it. I'm a tool junkie...
====dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us========================DoD#978=======
can you help me...help me get out of this place?...slow sedation...
ain't my style, ain't my pace...giving me a number...NINE, SEVEN, EIGHT
==5.0 RX7 -> Tyrannosaurus RX! == SAE '82 == Denizens of Doom M/C '92==
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