Workbench Top Upgrade

[Wilmingtonian]

I have only been dabbling in woodworking for a couple of years. My workbench began as a six foot folding table. From there I began researching work benches. A friend of mine bought a home and found a workbench left behind. (in the back ground)

He had no need for it and gave it to me. You can see from the picture, the edge of my well used folding table.

I decided to build cabinets along the wall (still a work in progress) and mount my bench to a rolling platform along with my table saw.

After a couple years of use, it looks something like this:

This setup has served me well. But I am sure that several are like me, and want the craftsman ship of a traditional workbench. Additionally, my current setup has no vise.

So, I have been researching and researching everything I can find on the many styles of workbenches. I have probably looked at every single one displayed on this site.

Well, I found this article:

The article mentioned a more economic version using MDF and hardboard, enclosed in wood. So, I went about checking prices here and there, and even solicited the advise of my fellow ncwoodworkers, thanks so much.

I have decided to taylor it to my needs, which is to simply replace my current top.

Here is the first picture, as today is the start day!

Here you see 1/4 hardboard and 2- 3/4 MDF sheets being glue together with a sophisticated pressure system..... Any guesses?

Here is my pressure system:

:rotflm:

Anyway, this will be a long process for me, since I only get a day here and a day there to spend in the garage. However, I will keep this thread up to date with new photos.

Here is the vise I will be using. There is no tail vise, since my table saw lives at that end.:dontknow:

Thanks for looking.

 

[RandyJ]

Looks like a great start so far, David:icon_thum
I wish I had the room for a WWing bench....Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[DaveO]

Man I love that GREEN clamp. You could even fire it up to get rid of all the MDF dust after your done :icon_thum:icon_thum


Dave

 

[Wilmingtonian]

Update #1

Well, since my last post, I have trimmed the glued top:

Glued up the rails:

Sanded the rails:

As you can see, the rails are made from your typical 2x4. Even after I jointed the edges and planed them, there was still a gap. I experimented and decided to fill the gap and stain the finished product.

This is a test strip:

And here are the rails, pre-sanding of the filler.

For the vise front, I glued two 2x6s together and used a 1/2" roundover on the front, these photos are before sanding.

Now the plans call for a 1/4" spline down the length of the rails, however after using the 1/2" roundover, my 3 year old Hitachi would not give it back. Somehow the collet seized up...router and bit were lost.

No fear, I purchased it from Lowes, who gladly took it on return. They did not carry that model anymore, so I was upgraded to a brand spanking new Porter Cable and new bit!:gar-Bi

Anyway, I decided to join the rails to the top with biscuits every five inches:

I am also planing on using Kreg pocket screws between the biscuits. Thanks for looking and stay tuned for more updates!!!

 

[ptt49er]

Re: Update #1

Dude, that's looking like a serious top!

Please keep us posted!

 

[toolferone]

Re: Update #1

It is coming along well. My only thought would be to line the front of the vise face with something hard or you will be gouging it very quickly.

 

[MrAudio815]

Re: Update #1

Very Nice,

I don't know if I should post my first work bench now.... I like the biscuits every 5" should hold up very well, especailly with the kreg pocket screws in between. I need to get a biscuit jointer and the kreg pocket hole jig. Hum I will look into it.

Thanks and keep us posted,

 

[Douglas Robinson]

Bench is looking good. Matthew, I have a very lightly used PC 557 biscuit joiner I am considering selling. Send me a PM if you are interested.

 

[Sealeveler]

Gonna be a sturdy benchtop.Wish I had a vise like that but my table is 3'x3':rotflm:.Tony

 

[Bas]

Re: Update #1

Looks good David. Very practical and rock solid. Biscuits AND pocket hole screws? That thing will outlast you

 

[Wilmingtonian]

Re: Update #1

Thanks for the tip! In an earlier thread I was trying to decide between dimensional lumber (pine) and hardwood. The point was brought up that the pine would give a little and be less harmful (in terms of dents and marks) to any projects that I would be working on. Thanks for the input!!!

 

[Wilmingtonian]

Update #2

Welcome again! Today I drilled the pockets for the Kreg screws.

I glued up the side rails.

Once the glue dried and I filled in the 26 pocket screws, I turned it over for a test fit. It was a little snug. I had to trim the bottom of the vise back, but other than that, everything fits nicely.

By the end of the weekend I hope to have the end rails and vise mounted. Then all that will be left is to drill the dog holes, conduct last minute sanding and apply the finish of stain and poly. Thanks for looking!!:icon_thum

 

[MrAudio815]

Re: Update #2

Man that is going to be one crazy strong joint! Glue, Biscuits, and pocket screws! That is awesome!

:icon_thum :icon_thum
Nice way to capture all the pocket holes!

Thanks for sharing,

 

[flatheadfisher]

I knew I couldn't cut a board straight. But, when I drilled my dog holes, I learned that I couldn't always drill a perpendicular hole!!! I did them all at once and the last few are not straight. Now, my bench dogs are dog-legged :BangHead:. The next mistake I made was to put a short dog in the dog hole immediately over the bench leg and push it all the way down when it was in the way. Now, it is stuck there - right in the center of a 6" x 6" leg :BangHead:. Two of the darker moments in my shop activities......

 

[Donna Wynne]

Ah, but the bench dog holes are supposed to be angled.

When I built my European style workbench based on a modified plan by Tage Frid from an old issue of Fine Working about 15 yrs. ago, I cut my dog holes on a 3 degree slant using a dado blade set up to match my square dogs and then doweled and glued up the hardwood pieces butcher-block style to make the top with a row of square holes.

Alas, I built the top using white oak rather than rock maple simply because I had a surfeit of oak but it's still pretty gives good service even though I used the non-traditional stock.

I cut the dog holes in the tail vice 3 degrees opposite. Even though the dog holes are square, I can still use the round shank hold fast which Roy Underhill likes, but I really like to use square dogs, especially when using the hand plane.

Because the dog holes have a recessed shoulder, it allows the dogs to be pushed down partially or completely below the level of the tabletop, and since they extend through the bottom about 3", it's easy to pop them back up when needed.

When I clamp a board between a dog on the table and a dog on the tail vice, it holds very nicely, and it's ideal when using a well-honed and correctly set-up hand plane. There is almost no more satisfying feeling than that you get when hand-planing and running the entire length of a board held securely on the table between those dogs and producing a long single, almost transparent, ultra thin curl of a shaving.

Smiles,
Donna

 

[Wilmingtonian]

Thanks Donna, I will keep that in mind as I am laying out my dog holes!

 

[Wilmingtonian]

Re: Update #2

It is really tight! As I was doing a test fit the top became wedged due to the offset of the addition for the vise. It took me about 45 minutes to get it off so that I could trim it. I was worried that I had ruined on of the side rails, but all is well, straight and square.

 

[Wilmingtonian]

Michael, I went with the bench dog "pups" which only require 2". My reasons were two-fold. First, I don't really have the clearance for them to hang below the top since I use that space. Second, with the "pups" you can drill holes on the side rail for vertical clamping. Thanks for the heads up on the hole alignment, I will keep that in mind when laying out mine.

 

[JimmyC]

David,
You shouldn't have to worry about a 3 degree for your holes, the pups are designed for your holes to be straight. Lee Valley has a slight angle on the pups to off set the holes being straight.

Good Luck.

 

[Wilmingtonian]

Update #3

Not much to report, but I thought I would drop a couple pictures. Today I had a chance to mount the front vise.

After doing a test fit the other day, I decided to leave the existing top as added support and just slip the new over top.

I think this will work well, but it took me hours to chip out all that wood for the vise. It broke my heart after all the gluing, filling, and sanding.:BangHead:

I still have some work to do, but at least it is starting to look like more than just a mess. :eusa_danc

As always, thanks for looking!