I recently bought a 67 year-old house where the previous owner had
converted the two car garage into a nice work shop. It has French doors
and windows, a tile roof--looks like a little house. He had an old Model
T and a bunch of wood working tools (planer, joiner, etc.). I think he
primarily was a wood worker.
Anyway, although I would not have put all the work/money into it that he
did, the wook bench I "inherited" is 10' long by 28" deep. The top is
made of planed and joined 2"x4" doug fir laying flat on the 4" sides
running front to back the short (28") length of the bench--you would
have to see this--it looks like a tongue and groove hardwood floor that
is 2" thick.
The main "rails" of the top support are a pair of 2"x12" doug fir which
he cut open for pull-out draws and placed cabinets underneath. It is
bolted to the shop walls on both ends and across the back (it is built
into a sort of a "U" section of the garage). It has a combination of 4x4
and 2x6 legs--this thing is absolutely rigid.
It is 41" high with the top of the 5" vice being 53" high (I'm 6'1", and
the height has been perfect for me). The greater height of the vice puts
things at elbow/lower chest level and I can get very good leverage when
working on "stubborn" items.
To indicate what a perfectionist he was, there is a trimmed sheet of
thick aircraft aluminum (he worked for one of the local aerospace
companies here in Los Angeles) that has a piano hinge along the back of
the bench where it attaches to the wall. It is cut out around the vice
so you can raise it up and attach it to the back wall or lower it down
to create a "clean top" for engine/detail work. I like this part as
there are times when you need to hammer the he*# out of something, or
drive a punch through something, and I can do it without damaging the
aluminum deck. He also has several holes of varying sizes though the
bench top with steel inserts that are perfect for driving out bearings
or the like.
Again, I would not have put this much effort/money into it, but I'm
really glad he did. I'm also thinking how I could take it with me if I
sell the house....
doug
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