Medium BF/MFT Workbench Build

[MikeGE]

I have the cart a bit ahead of the horse on my medium version of the BF/MFT workbench designed by @AtomicRyan . My workbench will be one meter wide and two meters long. My shop is in a fully enclosed basement with no external doors and everything coming in or going out must pass through a hallway door and flight of stairs. I would have liked a workbench using a full sheet of MDF, but it would dominate the assembly area of my shop.

I ordered a lot of long lead time items for this and other projects, which included the Dash-Board guide rail kit for the T-track. The Guide Rail Bracket Bundle from Rob Schumacher arrived and it is a nice piece of engieering. Rob makes them by hand and builds them in batches, so expect to wait for them.

I don’t have access ot the U.S. 8020 site for aluminum extrusion, but there is a similar source in Germany called item24 that has a great assortment of material, as well as an online engineerning tool to design anything from their inventory of parts. The engineering tool is cumbersome to use at first and lacks the sophistication of AutoCAD, but it works. I was able to design this workbench in about an hour and rotate it around in 3D space before going to the next step and creating engineering drawings.

This is a screen shot from the engineering software.

As each piece of aluminum is added to the drawing, the software automatically identifies the drill points, adds the hardware to join the item, and builds the bill of material. The parts count was updating as I added new material, and I was able to make quick QC checks during the design. In a couple of places, the vertical sections didn’t register withe horizontal section, and I could verify this because the mounting hardware count didn’t increment as it should. A quick digital jiggle of the part, and it joined correctly and the parts count incremented.

When I was satisfied with the design, I went to the next step to create the build package that would be used by item24 to develop the cost. The output of this process was a 26-page PDF created by the engineering software. I downloaded the file to perform a thorough QC of the workbench and found two more areas that had not correctly joined each other. It was easy to go back, make the correction, and continue. The PDF included the manufacturing sheets for each piece of 40x40mm and 80x40mm extrusion, dimensions for the CNC cutting and drilling, an exploded view of the workbench, and step by step assembly instructions unique to my design.

My cost for the complete kit as shown is just under €1,200 (about $1,413 today), which includes shipping. I could have bought the extrusion in 3-meter sections and done all of the cutting and drilling myself, but this is something I am quite comfortable paying for. Prices aren’t available on the website, so I don’t know how much each 3-meter section would cost. This does not include the cost for the 19mm MDF top, 15mm MDF or plywood shelf, plywood for drawers, shelves, and partitions, or the drawer slides and other assorted hardware.

I have the UJK Parf MK II Guide System to make the 20mm dog holes in the MDF. After the holes are drilled, I’ll prepare the top for a strip of HDPE like Ryan did and coat the top and bottom surface with a 50/50 mixture of poly and thinner.

I won’t be duplicating Ryan’s video log of his build, but I will update this thread during the build.

 

[mkasdin]

If your using regular series 10 then the price is roughly $2.30 a linear foot. The top rail is double that about $2.50. It seems your spending a lot to have it shipped and fabricated. You could get a machine shop to cut it for you assuming you have a drill press? How did you settle on 1 meter x 2 meter for the dimension? I think I see wheels which means it might move and even with the wheels locked have a little play?

 

[johnredl]

Looking forward to reading more about your build. How long before you start?

 

[MikeGE]

If your using regular series 10 then the price is roughly $2.30 a linear foot. The top rail is double that about $2.50. It seems your spending a lot to have it shipped and fabricated. You could get a machine shop to cut it for you assuming you have a drill press? How did you settle on 1 meter x 2 meter for the dimension? I think I see wheels which means it might move and even with the wheels locked have a little play?

You might have missed my location under my avatar, but I live in Germany, so buying from a German distributor is better for me.  [laughing]  I know I am paying a premium to have the extrusion cut and drilled, but as I stated, I am quite happy with this.  I do have all of the tools necessary to do the cutting and drilling, and if item24 didn't offer this service, I would have purchased enough 3-meter sections and done it myself.  Based on previous metal work I've done, having a machine shop do the cutting would be more expensive than having item24 do it.  This is one of the reasons I'm not considering having a shop prepare the MDF for the 20mm dog holes.

The 1 x 2 meter dimension was driven by the size of my shop.  I have a 4.5 x 5 meter area with large machinery with dust collection, and an adjacent 4.5 x 5 meter area for assembly and work that doesn't required a fixed dust collection system, such as my Festool equipment.  The door between the two areas is just over a meter wide, so the workbench has to fit through the door.
The casters are double-locking, and are common here.  Not only does the lock secure the wheel from turning, but it also locks the pivot, which keeps the castor from rotating.  I use double locking casters on my bandsaw and jointer/planer and it takes unrealistic force to make them slide on the floor.  With three of the four corners locked on the 600 x 800mm base, the bandsaw will trip over before it moves on the floor.  My workbench has double-locking casters on each corner and normal casters in the middle.  I'm confident that it won't move when locked.

 

[MikeGE]

Looking forward to reading more about your build. How long before you start?

I'm waiting on the invoice from item24, which I should have today or tomorrow.  I won't know what the delivery time is until I receive invoice.  However, I will start the assembly the same day the shipment arrives.

 

[Mortiser]

Thanks [member=70363]MikeGE[/member] . I'm following this as I've already bought my 40mm extrusions from 8020 but haven't finalized a design. Thanks for posting and keeping us updated.

 

[Peter_C]

Great work bench! I have wanted to get the Dashboard parts since I first saw them, and an 80/20 table offers so much customization. MFT's are great for site work, but for home your version blows it away just in the size of it.

Are you going to do a wood vise setup on it?

After the holes are drilled, I’ll prepare the top for a strip of HDPE like Ryan did and coat the top and bottom surface with a 50/50 mixture of poly and thinner.

Excellent idea to put finish on the top. I would recommend pre-finishing the top before drilling or even cutting though, as the wood absorbs the finish the hole sizes WILL change, and there is not much clearance in the dog holes to begin with. Finishing the underside would even help with a consistent moisture absorption, depending on your environment.

If the castors aren't retractable, make sure to get them locking so not only do the wheels not roll, but also don't rotate.

 

[MikeGE]

My item24 order arrived today in four packages.  Three were delivered by a freight forwarder, and the smallest package came through the mail.  The long package was the heaviest at 66 KG.

After unpacking everything for the inventory, I was happy to see labels on each machined piece that included the order number, part number that matched the assembly sheet, and the item description.

As expected, the shipment was complete and the items are ready for assembly. 

 

[waho6o9]

"I was happy to see labels on each machined piece that included the order number, part number that matched the assembly sheet, and the item description."

Nice to see that level of customer service! Good job

 

[MikeGE]

I spoke too soon on the content of the labels. I thought one of the reference numbers on the label corresponded to the assembly sheet, but it wasn't. The number referred to the machining process. It doesn't matter, since the assembly page has plenty of detail to start the assembly.

 

[Bugsysiegals]

I've build an 8020 outfeed table and will be building some workbenches in the future ... it seems extrusion is way more expensive in Germany or that they charged you $700+ for the cutting/tapping of the extrusion which is just crazy!

 

[bertv]

I've build an 8020 outfeed table and will be building some workbenches in the future ... it seems extrusion is way more expensive in Germany or that they charged you $700+ for the cutting/tapping of the extrusion which is just crazy!

Well, there are also six castors and loads of connecting stuff to consider...

 

[MikeGE]

I've build an 8020 outfeed table and will be building some workbenches in the future ... it seems extrusion is way more expensive in Germany or that they charged you $700+ for the cutting/tapping of the extrusion which is just crazy!

It's apples to oranges when comparing prices between the U.S. and Germany for similar items.  To give a point of reference, a 3-meter section of the 80x40 extrusion that I selected is €107.70 (about $119.14), or about €10.94 ($12.10) per foot, in quantities less than eight pieces.  A 3-meter section of the 40x40 extrusion I selected is €61.80 (about $68.48), or about €6.28 ($6.95) per foot, in quantities less than eight pieces.  It really doesn't matter to me what 8020 in the U.S. costs, since the surface shipping, VAT, and import duties would be too prohibitive for me to consider.

If I bought the two sizes of extrusion in 3-meter sections, I would need three sections of the 80x40 and seven sections of the 40x40 in order to minimize waste.  My cost for just the extrusion would be €755.70 (about $836.00).  Assuming shipping would be the same at €57.83 (about $63.98), the cost for just the extrusion delivered to my door is €813.53 (about $899.98).  I don't have a quote for the six castors and all of the attaching hardware, but based on buying smaller castors locally, I do not doubt that the cost would easily be another €150 (about $165.94).  This means the cost to cut, drill, tap, break all edges, and clean up is about €250.10 (about $276.67).

The extra cost for the CNC work might be crazy to you, but not to me.  As I stated in my first post, I am very happy to pay for the machining.

 

[mkasdin]

That’s not that much considering that the pre-fabrication is done right and tight tolerances. You have a lot of parts. I might have designed a smaller work surface myself and winged it myself  That way if I fouled up, I’m just replacing a $30 part, not wrecking an entire build $$. Then you have the confidence to do the larger build. I do have a lot of 80/20 sitting around, so there’s something to be said letting someone else do the (heavy lifting) work. Now you have a big erector set, ready for assembly. One and Done.

 

[Bugsysiegals]

I've build an 8020 outfeed table and will be building some workbenches in the future ... it seems extrusion is way more expensive in Germany or that they charged you $700+ for the cutting/tapping of the extrusion which is just crazy!

Well, there are also six castors and loads of connecting stuff to consider...

I'm using dual lock swivel casters which I suspect would cost more and also using all the 8020 official connectors.

 

[MikeGE]

I assembled everything this evening.  From start to finish, it took me about and hour and a half to complete it.  Nothing is torqued to specs yet, and I have to take about half of it apart to install the partitions for the shelf and drawer sections.  In typical German engineering, there were no parts left over.  I dropped one of the frame attachment screws and it rolled under some shelves along the way.  I thought this wouldn't be a problem because there would be a spare screw in the parts bag.  I had to retrieve the screw from under the shelves.

I assembled the workbench so I could verify all of the internal dimensions before I start cutting plywood sheets.  It's a good thing I did, because somewhere in my SketchUp plans I was off by 20mm in three places.  I forgot to account for the center offset of the 40x40mm extrusion.

I was considering not using the center wheels on my tiled floor, but there is no rocking.  The double-locking casters on the corners do a great job and it takes a lot of force to make the empty chassis to slide.  Once it is weighted down with tools and wood panels, it will be more difficult to move.

 

[johnredl]

Did you take any pics of the semi completed bench yet?

 

[MikeGE]

Did you take any pics of the semi completed bench yet?

Well, since you asked, but please disregard the clutter in the basement as well.  It is still a work in progress.  [smile]

 

[j.wendell]

Any updates?

 

[MikeGE]

Over the weekend I found another mistake in my design and ordered more material.  I'm on a different computer now, but when I'm back in my bunker, I'll post an image of the design I made in SketchUp to help with the partitions and drawers.  It was this process where I discovered that I had put the two top cross pieces that support the MDF in the wrong place.  While working on a paper version instead of CAD, I laid out the grid for the holes in the MDF, and then promptly ignored the placement when I designed the workbench in the item24 CAD application.

The two top cross pieces that will support the MDF panel go right through two columns of dog holes, so I have to move them.  this is an easy process and all I need to do is drill 7mm holes in the center of the channel to access the fastener so I can tighten it.  In the process, I decided to add two more cross pieces to support the MDF (more is better?), so I ordered two more pieces of 920mm extrusion and the drill guide so I can accurately drill the holes in the extrusion.  All of that will arrive tomorrow.

I bought the 12mm and 15mm plywood for the partitions, drawer slide support slats, and the three drawers on the end.  I will be using 10mm plywood for the shelf under the MDF panel and will work on the side drawers later.  The 400mm and 500mm full extension drawer slides arrived today, as did the carbide end mill for the router so I can make slot in the extrusion for the clamps.  Now I have to make a template for the router copy ring and test my skills at milling aluminum with a hand router. 

I hope I can do this with the OF 1010, but I have the OF 2200 if the OF 1010 isn't adequate.  I had briefly considered using my router table for this, since I wouldn't need to bother with a template, but don't want to risk getting aluminum shavings in the inverted router.  I am open to suggestions for this if anyone has tips on milling aluminum with a router.  I plan on making slow and shallow cuts to reduce the likelihood that the cutter will be clogged up with aluminum.

In the next couple of days, I will cut and assemble all of the inner partitions, disassemble the workbench so I can enlarge the channel in the ends of the vertical pieces, and reassemble the workbench.