Spec me a man bench!

kaiowas · 17 Mar 2020 at 10:41

I went for full overkill, but then I wanted to be able to do metal fabrication, welding and gearbox builds etc on it.

Welded up a frame from 50x50 steel box then put a 10mm steel worktop on it. It's absolutely bomb proof, it's heavy enough that it won't move when smacking stuff with the big hammers.

Have moved house since making it and I could do with some more bench space so I'm looking at making a couple more in the same style with a slightly less heavy duty worktop.

ttaskmaster · 18 Mar 2020 at 14:37

bainbridge said:
That looks ideal, what was the cost of materials?

£78 for all the timbers including a load of spares which, together with the offcuts, will be used to make additions, a few end shelves, a drawer or two, and so on...
Couple of quid for a big box of wood screws and the four coach bolts that hold it all in place (yes, it's a takedown). Vice was £35 off the 'Bay.

The best part of this design is the aprons on either side, which keep it solid by preventing the legs from racking and give you a massive, solid platform to which you can fit pretty much anything - Shelves, tool holders, extensions, or whatever. Drill out a load of dog holes for work holding, or something.

SPG · 18 Mar 2020 at 23:01

Euro pallets make a great bench pop off the tops, cut in half put back the tops without a gap and whatever you want as legs.

Abyss · 19 Mar 2020 at 00:01

Marvt74 said:
Interesting idea that.

For those with sliding mitre saws. How do you cope? My workbench is 60cm deep but i've found that i can't slide it all the way back. It's very annoying. Think i'm going to have to build a little shelf to extend the depth!

I picked up a portable stand from Lidl which is a godsend when using the mitre saw.

Martynt74 · 19 Mar 2020 at 08:17

If I had a garage that big I’d probably grab one too!

My shed is 14x8 so by the time I have a workbench down one side and storage the other it only leaves around a 3ft walking space down the middle.

Puzzled · 19 Mar 2020 at 11:40

I picked up a heavy duty kitchen table for next to nothing second hand and just added a bit more support to make it rock solid.

I wanted mine to be moveable though not bolted to the wall.

Martynt74 · 20 Mar 2020 at 11:10

@Abyss

I went the easier route!

Oh and for the OP, here's mine. Probably cost about £30, just some CLS 2x3 and 18mm ply.

Shawy · 20 Mar 2020 at 12:27

kaiowas said:
I went for full overkill, but then I wanted to be able to do metal fabrication, welding and gearbox builds etc on it.

Welded up a frame from 50x50 steel box then put a 10mm steel worktop on it. It's absolutely bomb proof, it's heavy enough that it won't move when smacking stuff with the big hammers.

Have moved house since making it and I could do with some more bench space so I'm looking at making a couple more in the same style with a slightly less heavy duty worktop.

I welded mine too, mainly because I wanted to learn to weld. Used a kitchen work top though.

Showboat · 20 Mar 2020 at 13:36

https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-sturdy-workbench-inexpensively/

2x4 (38x89mm) is a bit overkill, you can save a fair bit of money by using 38x63mm

bainbridge · 20 Mar 2020 at 19:41

Marvt74 said:
@Abyss

I went the easier route!

Oh and for the OP, here's mine. Probably cost about £30, just some CLS 2x3 and 18mm ply.

That is exactly what I want! What is cls? Is it lengths of 2x3 of a certain type of wood?

Martynt74 · 21 Mar 2020 at 08:13

It’s just construction timber.

If you go to any b&q/wicked they’ll have loads of it.

Usually costs about £3/length of 2.4m.

NickK · 21 Mar 2020 at 22:10

Marvt74 said:
It’s just construction timber.

If you go to any b&q/wicked they’ll have loads of it.

Usually costs about £3/length of 2.4m.

that’s exactly what I did - bonded two lengths to make the legs etc. It’s little soft and may warp as it ages but cheap.