[Project 24] Workbench Overhaul

[RustE]

[member=67555]mattbyington[/member] , have you given any thought to the casters and how much of a beast this will be to move?  Perhaps my assumption is not correct, as the initial post appears to have storage on both sides of the workbench.

 

[mattbyington]

[member=63201]RustE[/member] I may or may not do casters. I might build it with just regular leveling feet.

I think it'll be around 700-1200 pounds or so.

Matt

 

[macrutt]

Hi Matt ,

These might be what you are looking for .
https://benchdogs.co.uk/products/fence-dogs

Take care. George

 

[mattbyington]

[member=690]macrutt[/member] those are awesome. I own 3 sets

Matt

 

[mattbyington]

Few shipments for the build in today:

1) 2 sys drawers (I was two short for the new build)
2) Woodpeckers parallel guide system - very excited for this, to help me break down all the large plywood pieces required for this build.
3) got the pieces [member=17453]Hal M[/member] specified for the rear hinge in his thread:
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/mft-3-ideas-for-small-shop/

Hal that was a great idea and I thank you for posting the parts needed.

Almost time to begin the build!

Matt

 

[mattbyington]

[attachimg=1]

 

[ear3]

[member=3192]rvieceli[/member] We will have to meet up at some point and compare notes -- I'm 6'5".  I'm actually the short one in my family though, as my Dad is 6'6" (or at least used to be prior to age and gravity), and my "little" brother is 6'7".

Matt

Two things:

The Rockler benches seem like overkill and an unnecessary expense. You should be able to build a plywood cabinet that would do what you want.

A 4 by 8 foot bench is awfully large and unwieldy. I'm 6-4 with a 37/38 inch sleeve length and I find it uncomfortable to reach to the far side of a 4 foot length constantly. 36 inch is about the limit for me. That size table is also a pain to physically get around unless you have a huge shop. YMMV

You could perhaps take a couple of sawhorses and a sheet of plywood and mock up a table in you shop. Live with it for a bit and see if you find it workable.

Ron

 

[mattbyington]

Ok team. It has begun!

Yesterday I cut all 8 of the 3/4” side panels, as well as all 4 of the 1/2” side panels, and both bottoms. It was a LOT of cutting haha.

Matt

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[mattbyington]

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[reidbailey]

Progress! Keep the pics coming Matt [emoji1303]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mattbyington]

Thanks [member=67723]reidbailey[/member]

Made good progress this weekend. Both bottoms cut, and all 12 panels for the 4 sides cut and laminated together. It’s definitely overkill each one is super super heavy. Haha.

[attachimg=1][attachimg=2]

 

[mattbyington]

First dry fit last night. Pieces aren’t sanded, finished, no edge banding yet, but wanted to do a sanity check.

The height was perfect but the width was a tiny bit tight. Sanding will help. It’s maybe 1/16th off.

This might give you guys an idea of the final shapes.

This is of course 1/2 of the workbench. I did finish the SketchUp document now. Will happily provide to anyone interested.

Matt

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[nclemmons]

Progress!  I get what you are doing more clearly now.

Seeing this now, you could have gone 3x ply formed post strips at the corners but inset the full ply sides 1 1/2" with spacers at the corners. Would save a lot of weight and materials.

Look forward to seeing how it turns out - thanks for sharing the build process.

BTW, great floor in your garage!  Wood rack coming up as a future project it looks like!

 

[mattbyington]

Thank you, [member=167]neilc[/member] !

I absolutely could have made the side panels way differently and with way less wood. Totally agree with you there.

I think the weight is actually a positive since I want the bench to be very stable and sturdy, although the material cost is certainly a negative.

In any case, all 12 sheets are already glued up into the 4 sides (1/2" ply sandwiched between 3/4" ply) so it's done now

Thanks! The floor is awesome - I love it.

Here's a full cut list for the project in case anyone wants it.

I'm hoping to make a lot of progress this weekend, more pictures Sunday night!

Matt

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[mrFinpgh]

Thanks [member=67723]reidbailey[/member]

Made good progress this weekend. Both bottoms cut, and all 12 panels for the 4 sides cut and laminated together. It’s definitely overkill each one is super super heavy. Haha.

I'm pretty sure I threw my back out just looking at that.

I think you won't ever need to worry about the bench moving when you plane something.

 

[mattbyington]

Haha true !

Well team, FINALLY got all the pieces cut. Now time to sand and start on the joinery!

Matt

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[mattbyington]

A lot of progress this weekend. 

[attachimg=1]

 

[mattbyington]

At long last, first glue up!!

PS - I have a Lot of plywood off cuts of considerable size.

It’s all the top of the line Baltic birch ply, probably more offcuts than I would like to store after this thing is over.

Anyone in the Bay Area need some plywood? Sorry, I won’t ship it. If you’re local you can swing by to pick it up when I’m done.

Matt

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[Bob D.]

Looking good Matt. You should look into CutList Plus, or one of the other cut optimizing apps
so you can reduce the amount of waste you generate and make use of offcuts you hang on to.
https://cutlistplus.com/Features
http://festoolownersgroup.com/other...native-for-cut-list-plus/msg206220/#msg206220

 

[mattbyington]

Thanks [member=60461]Bob D.[/member] !

I do use CutList in Sketchup, the challenge here I think is that a lot of my pieces are 47 or 48" square based on the nature of what I am building - and the sheets of baltic birch are 60" square, so there's just inherently a lot of leftovers.

It'll be super useful for future smaller projects though!

Matt