Looking for workbench photos...

A

Alan Molstad

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Aug 13, 2006
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I have to totally clean out my shop this winter and build some new workbenches to make knives on.

I would also like to see some photos of the workbenches of forum members so as to get some ideas that I could keep in mind as I build mine.

If some of you guys have a few photos that show how you built your workbench , and how you got your tools placed, I would love to see them.

Im not sure how Im going to build the workbench yet.
Somehow with 2X4s .. and plywood on top?....
 
I would show a pic of mine but you can't actually see them. I find them by looking for the places in the shop were the tools are higher up and usually there's a bench underneath.:eek:
 
Tell me about the lighting.

I would like to know what type of lighting you have, where they are located, and how they are running.

And, I would like to know of any ideas to lighting you would want me to keep in mind.
 
Built from 2x4s and a couple 2x6s in a day without any power tools (yes, i used a hand crank drill to cut the bolt holes)

workbench.jpg


In use with my best vise bolted to it

vise1-1.jpg
 
I prefer to avoid wood if it's going to be within slag-splatter range or anywhere near welding or grinding ops. THEY DO BURN, you know ... ask me how I know.:D

Built-ins are nice if you can commit to an arrangement.

I just installed a bunch or Corian in my 'clean' (haha) area. ---well it's clean compared with the rest of the place and it's away from flames and hot stuff.
Solid surfaces are nice for small assembly operations because it's easier to clean than plywood tops, which inevitably get pretty ratty. It's just nicer to handle tiny parts on a clean, smooth surface.

Years ago I worked for a fabricator/racing-motor builder that had stainless built-in counters everywhere and a giant rolling 'assembly' table with aluminum billet top. That was pretty sweet, but I actually prefer the Corian for small assembly. The aluminum would sometimes leave black smudges on stuff.
 
I also could use some ideas of how to position my gas forge?...
against the wall?..out in the iddle of the floor?..

I guess I should tell you my thoughts and ask for suggestions.

I make a knife that goes along the lines of the Ed Folwer blade .
I forge ball bearings, grind them on a Grizzly belt grinder,
Heat treat with an O/A torch,
quench in a 2-gal oil tank...
and solder a brass guard on and then add a Micarta handle.
I end with making a leather sheath thats hand stitched....

My goal is to make some new work benches along one wall, and perhaps a smaller one in the middle of the shop that will allow me to keep one step away from the mess or the other steps.

I need a way to keep my files from getting into a pile..
I need a way to have less mess with the drill press....
I need a way to be able to weld on a table and not sitting on the floor as I do now....
I need a way to have all my soldering stuff kept clean and not so close to where I file the micarta now...

and speaking of Micarta, I got to fine a way to rig some type of air fliter that will help control the dust from the 2X72, 4X30, and 1X30 sanders,,,right now the whole shop gets covered in Micarta dust...

Thus are my needs for a new shop workbench and a way to organize it better.....
 
Alan Molstad said:
Tell me about the lighting.

I would like to know what type of lighting you have, where they are located, and how they are running.

And, I would like to know of any ideas to lighting you would want me to keep in mind.
Click to expand...

I use standard florescent shop fixtures (the long ones with two bulbs each), and lots of them. Incandescent bulbs make things kind of yellow, as do halogen, not to mention the heat.

AVOID TRACK LIGHTING IN A DUSTY SHOP!!! It looks cool, but not only is it not as efficient as the big florescent fixtures, but they can sort of spontaneously combust when dust gets up into the track. I actually had this happen some years ago---burnt holes in some books--could very easily have started a 'real' fire.
 
JCaswell said:
I prefer to avoid wood if it's going to be within slag-splatter range or anywhere near welding or grinding ops.
Click to expand...

There is also the problem I have to design...
I see two areas where a wood top is not going to work.

I want to be able to do my welding sanding up at some type of metal-covered table.
Right now Im squating on the floor and its just not working very well, also when I have a ex-pert welder friend over he dont like to weld on the floor.
But I have never seen what a good welding table looks like.

I also have to have a way to stop the sparks from my bench metal cutting chop saw,,,,

I also need a way to get control of the mess thats around my bench mounted drill press thats now covering it's end of the shop in drilled steel mess,,,,,
 
JCaswell said:
I use standard florescent shop fixtures (the long ones with two bulbs each), .
Click to expand...

Ok, what about the hight?

Right now my shop is about 12 feet hight and my florrescent lights are way up there...I think this time I should hang them down closer...
 
Alan Molstad said:
Ok, what about the hight?

Right now my shop is about 12 feet hight and my florrescent lights are way up there...I think this time I should hang them down closer...
Click to expand...

I WISH I had 12-foot ceilings!!
I have the standard 8-foot ceilings and I run the light a few inches off that. I have 7 fixtures in the main shop (about 500 square feet).
 
I could still use some more ideas and photos of a bench mounted drill press, and of a welding table or area on a workbench.
 
JCaswell said:
I WISH I had 12-foot ceilings!!
I have the standard 8-foot ceilings
Click to expand...
The only time I felt lucky to have such high ceilings was when I used to keep the neighbors Backhoe in my shop.

But aside from that, it's a hassel to heat,,,and just changeing a lightbulb is a problem.

And the light is so far away from where Im looking at stuff that I always have to have other lights clamped to the tool.
 
Alan Molstad said:
The only time I felt lucky to have such high ceilings was when I used to keep the neighbors Backhoe in my shop.

But aside from that, it's a hassel to heat,,,and just changeing a lightbulb is a problem.

And the light is so far away from where Im looking at stuff that I always have to have other lights clamped to the tool.
Click to expand...

Well, feel lucky.:D When you spark a forge under a low ceiling, you gain a whole new appreciation for the stifling atmosphere that can result after an hour or so.
I combat this with a large 32-inch fan mounted near the floor in/thorugh the wall next to my Bader for dust control. (It blows directly outside). It also pulls a tremendous draft through the entire shop. If it wasn't for that, the tired-burnt atmosphere in in the low-ceiling shop would be unbearable.
My condo garage had a tall ceiling--I thought it much more pleasant to run the forge with that tall ceiling.
 
Here's a link to my shop pics: http://www.dicksworkshop.com/floor.htm

My bench is sloppy and crude but it's sturdy and suits me well. It's framed with 6x6 beams that I notched with my chainsaw, and surfaced with plywood. My welding table was one of my very first welding projects and is basically just a bunch of angle iron and 1/4" plate. I cut the top off large a C-clamp and welded that to the table surface for work-holding, which works quite well. I made a separate stand for my leg vise so I could have greater mobility and work on it from any side.

Here's a shot of the leg vise, and you can see both the bench and the welding table in the background.

legvise.jpg
 
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