New work bench for shop.

I may have the opportunity to use my garage as a shop and was thinking about rebuilding some things including a work table. This table cant be moved and is very worn. If I am allowed I may tear down the old table. I had a couple ideas on a “new and improved” work table and wanted to see what your guys thoughts were.

I will be starting from scratch. In the new table I would like to include casters so the table can be mobile. I got the idea of having a table with french cleats on each edge of the top. I have never seen cleats used in a work table on the edges of the top. I have seen them below the top. I thought they could be very useful. I already have a few accessory ideas. One was a flat surface with a recess for keeping small pieces like screws, nails, etc. from falling off the table. I also thought about a similar version that was magnetized somehow. Another accessory idea I had was a table top extension with 2 fold out legs on one end with leg levelers. I would need to figure out how to make the cleats more sturdy. I dont know if they could hold the weight of an extension top plus the weight of tools and my furniture projects.

Have any of you guys built anything similar for your shops?

I’ve built several work tables, outfeed tables and even in my first shop blog…

I highlighted some tables and a mobile work bench with a lift top and pull out drawers on extensions. I sold my home this August and for a variety of reasons, the only shop piece bit of furniture I now possess is the heavy duty stand for my Rikon Midi lathe. I am now starting my second shop blog “New Shop Underway…Part Deuce” as I just began framing some partial walls and running electric for a new basement wood shop. A big part of this will be a new mobile outfeed table for my Sawstop and a new bench. This time though my next bench will not be mobile. It will be influenced by Christopher Scwarz’ book “Workbenches: from design and theory to construction and use” and will feature a couple of vises. My outfeed table though will be a modern one similar to my last one with large casters, open storage bays and an extension drawer or two. Or three. Or four….. 😉

Regardless, if your going for a more power tool friendly table and you want it mobile, use large rubber casters. Don’t cheap out and buy the small hard plastic ones. I built all of my work bench / tables with the larger rubber casters and my small tables for my Dewalt contractor saw and Dewalt planer with the smaller hard plastic ones. They get hung up in sawdust, cords, wood chips, screws, you name it. Also, make sure you make or allow for power cords and don’t make the table too deep, it’ll be a pain in the butt to reach across. Hope this helps dude!

FWIW….. it may not fit the bill, however.

I am currently using 3 of the Harbor Freight 60″ hardwood workbenches on retractable wheels. Very stout, decent for the price.

under $130 with the coupon. I added the wheels from rockier (pricey but worth it)

if you use that as a base and build from that, will that be an option ?

@Foneguy may I ask what FWIW is? Also I have never shopped at harbor freight before. Is the workbench quality? I may consider it as an option. Thank you for the idea.

Jronman wrote:

6 minutes ago, Jronman said:

@Foneguy may I ask what FWIW is? Also I have never shopped at harbor freight before. Is the workbench quality? I may consider it as an option. Thank you for the idea.

For What Its Worth……  as far as quality, it’s really not bad, fairly stout.  The drawers are only ok, but the overall bench is what may be worth it. I only suggested it cuz I thought it may be an easy start and be able to customize . They work for me very well. I would definitely go by a harbor freight and check it out (if you can) they had been on display in every HF I have ever been in.

I have no idea where the nearest harbor freight is for me. haha. might have to go out of state. I may use your idea as a plan b though. I’ll probably attempt plan a and if that fails I’ll try your idea. The cost is fairly reasonable. I was surprised to see heavy duty drawer slides on it. Not something you would typically see in a table of that price.

Personally for a work table I would not build anything smaller than than a 4×8 as long as you have space for it.  My two 4×8 tables I bought on craigslist as they both had good metal frames. I figured by the time I bought all the materials to build a nice bench I could just buy one already made and modify it to my liking for pennies on the dollar. 

You can build nice drawers underneath, but again by the time you buy materials, you can buy a small Husky tool box, pull the wheels off and mount it under the bench.

Two things to think about.  Make sure you have a good edge to clamp to, and plan on space to make a router table into the top. 

At work we use plywood for the 4×8 rolling tables and we often just screw projects to the table. When the surface gets all screwed up we just slap a new sheet of plywood on top. Since they buy in such bulk, a new sheet of finished plywood is about 24.00

As Chris said, large 6-8in casters is the way to go.

Just my two cents…

Good ideas @SetBuilder I was thinking I could have the table 4×4 then if I need it to be 4×8 I can add an extension. Maybe multiple extensions with various function if I need. Possibly one with a laminate top so I can use stain and glue on top without having much trouble with cleanup, another may be a down draft table. Possibly one could have a spot for a router. I’m planing in the way future when I have honed my skills and saved a couple thousand getting a dedicated table saw with router lift. Never really thought about making a spot for a router table. Great idea. What brand of casters would you go with? 

Two Words..

Ron Paulk.

Google his work table. There are thousands of modified versions out there. Im building one for my garage in the near future.

Jronman wrote:

1 hour ago, Jronman said:

Good ideas @SetBuilder I was thinking I could have the table 4×4 then if I need it to be 4×8 I can add an extension. Maybe multiple extensions with various function if I need. Possibly one with a laminate top so I can use stain and glue on top without having much trouble with cleanup, another may be a down draft table. Possibly one could have a spot for a router. I’m planing in the way future when I have honed my skills and saved a couple thousand getting a dedicated table saw with router lift. Never really thought about making a spot for a router table. Great idea. What brand of casters would you go with? 

No particular brand comes to mind. I had no choice but to go with small ones as that way its close to my table saw height. But if building from scratch I’d go with larger ones. 

plumbfitter wrote:

1 hour ago, plumbfitter said:

Two Words..

 

Ron Paulk.

 

Google his work table. There are thousands of modified versions out there. Im building one for my garage in the near future.

I bought the plans for the Paulk table, but have not made one yet. If I do decide to make one I would have it done on a CNC machine.

I made a small version for the top of my box at work and it took me about 3 hours and killed a new router bit. 

This site has some nice bench ideas  http://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/the-english-workbench/

If I was starting from scratch instead of inheriting a workbench, I think I’d want to make a two-piece workbench, one half on wheels and one stationary, about 8 feet long. Currently I have a 8 foot long workbench and I’m constantly looking for something I can move to work on. Considered getting a toolbox with a wood top but I don’t have room for it right now.

SetBuilder wrote:

20 hours ago, SetBuilder said:

This site has some nice bench ideas  http://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/the-english-workbench/

It takes some SKILL to do what they are doing in that video.

I wish I had the time to learn all the hand skills like that. Power tools have consumed our lives!

SetBuilder wrote:

On 1/15/2017 at 10:58 PM, SetBuilder said:

This site has some nice bench ideas  http://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/the-english-workbench/

What was on the link? I was unable to go to it. I got a 503 error

Jronman wrote:

52 minutes ago, Jronman said:

What was on the link? I was unable to go to it. I got a 503 error

That site is down at the moment.

For a table that can be moved I would consider the Ron Paulk Design as well. FastCap now sells his table ready to assemble with all the CNC work done. Its a nice setup but comes at a cost.

Depending on the type of work you do will dictate your needs of course. I have a center island bench on cabinets that work great except its not quite true enough on the top to do accurate assembly on. I plan to build a torsion box top for it in the near future out of MDF with 1/4″ hardboard surface.
 

@rrmccabe I just looked at the table you suggested. It looks nice. I got some questions though. What is the space under the top for with the cutouts? Seems to me like the unique feature as to why people like the table. Are the cutouts on the top for a downdraft system or dog clamps or other purpose? Any other unique features I missed? I only did a quick look at the table. Will look more closely later tonight when I have more time.

The space allows you to store tools as you work. Gets them off the table for safe storage freeing up the top.

The holes are as you said for dogs and clamps.

If you watch some of Rons videos you will see many options. Even hanging a small jobsite table saw off the end.

That work bench is the best. Hands down, for the cost, has the most features. Can be made out of 4-5 sheets of plywood depending on the base. Can’t ask for much cheaper than that!

Here is a setup I use. We use this setup for on site work or extra work area in our shop. I had a 4×4 mft top made for it as well. It can be setup to support a 4×8 sheet or in a small 4×4 size. The part I like is it breaks down and gets stored out of the way when I don’t need it. [External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied][External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied][External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied][External image (uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com), not copied]

Very nice !

rrmccabe wrote:

Very nice !

 

I’ll second overanalyze’s table. Its a great design that can be made from 2 sheets of plywood. 

These are the simple roller tables we use. 

SetBuilder wrote:

44 minutes ago, SetBuilder said:

These are the simple roller tables we use. 

This style has always worked best for me. I tended to abuse the top and have also, like you, just changed the plywood. Mine did have 2 locking casters though. No eye candy or anything fancy but no worries of damaging it either. I miss it. 

I may heavily modify the paulk design, include my cleats idea, include casters, and add some way to adjust each legs height. Whether it’s in an unlevel garage floor it will be level or if it’s too tall/short for a table saw it can be lowered/raised. I was thinking maybe at the top of the legs drilling down 12 or so inches. I would then have a threaded rod that could easily slide inside the hole. There would be a double nut combo on each rod for adjusting the height. Was thinking 2 nuts so I could use the top nut to lock the bottom one so it wont vibrate out of place.

Anyone got any better ideas for height/leveling adjustment?

Heres a quick prototype I made in autocad. The black lines represent the top leg and wheel. The blue is the threaded metal bar. When the bar is halfway in the leg it will be optimal working height for a standard cabinet grade table saw. ie. powermatic or sawstop. The green represent the nuts that allow for height adjustment. The bottom one sets height and the top one locks the bottom one. The red is extra space cut out in the leg to represent that the top can lower around.6 inches. The drawing is very basic. I just wanted to show the general idea of the leveling/height adjustment mechanism.

Look for used adjustable scaffolding wheels. http://www.xc-hp.com/product_index.php?pid=35320&products=Scaffold caster wheels with screw stem

Does your bench need to disassemble?

If not I would avoid legs like this and go with a more traditional braced leg with a short leveling device on the bottom. Just for stability purposes.

I have a mix of castor types and leveling jacks in my shop.  The best is what they call a footmaster caster which a ratcheting pad on it. They are stupid expensive but I found 4 new ones on Ebay.

@rrmccabe it doesn’t have to be disassembled. Could be another idea to think about where my top could be swapable with various different tops with various different functions. Thanks for the link @SetBuilder

What kind of work do you plan to do on it?

when i built my main one i used 1/8 thick steel to go on top of my work bench and would highly recommmed it 🙂

For starters it will be used to build end tables. So usage would be assembly, small power/hand tool usage, staining, etc. It will eventually be used for bigger and/or more complex projects as my skill develops.

The issue I find with many tables is they have x features and only x features unless you do some modifications via cutting, rebuilding, etc. Some have too many features and others don’t have enough. I want mine to be easily modifiable without permanently changing the table. Lets say I start out with a table then decide I need a router table or table with feature y. All I gotta do is make an extension/attachment connected via the cleats. I can add or remove the attachment with feature y on demand.

Before I start my work, I can within 5 to 10 mins pull out the table, figure out what attachments I need for the day, and install them on the cleats, and I would be ready to work. At the end of the day I can remove the attachments and put then back where they are stored then move the table back in the corner where it would be stored.

Well one thing you should consider when designing this and I speak from failures :-[

If you are going to do woodworking then build something that is 100% flat and level.   I have several benches in my shop. Basically six total. Two are for metal work and two of other four would be OK for assembly of woodworking projects like your end tables. One is on wheels and I only pull it out of the corner on big projects. The ideal bench for doing this is my center island bench that sits on steel cabinets. It works great for a lot of things but the top has some twist in it. I assume its related to slope in the floor. It looks flat but the twist is there.

So when I start to assemble stuff like cabinets and am clamping and gluing parts together I end up with that twist built into the item I am building. Some items this is a huge issue.

So my plan is to rip that top off redo the base under my steel cabinets. Weld a frame with bolts with jacking screws to start off level.

Then I plan to build a torsion box top which will be 4″ thick grid with hardboard around the edge. I watched a wood whisperer video and he goes through the steps on how to build one flat.

Not sure if you want to go to this much effort but just wanted to share this as its fought me ever since I built it. If you end up doing woodworking you want something flat !

Below is a drawing of what I am building. I hid the top so you could see what the grid looks like.

Jronman wrote:

On 1/18/2017 at 0:12 PM, Jronman said:

I may heavily modify the paulk design, include my cleats idea, include casters, and add some way to adjust each legs height. Whether it’s in an unlevel garage floor it will be level or if it’s too tall/short for a table saw it can be lowered/raised. I was thinking maybe at the top of the legs drilling down 12 or so inches. I would then have a threaded rod that could easily slide inside the hole. There would be a double nut combo on each rod for adjusting the height. Was thinking 2 nuts so I could use the top nut to lock the bottom one so it wont vibrate out of place.

 

Anyone got any better ideas for height/leveling adjustment?

 

Heres a quick prototype I made in autocad. The black lines represent the top leg and wheel. The blue is the threaded metal bar. When the bar is halfway in the leg it will be optimal working height for a standard cabinet grade table saw. ie. powermatic or sawstop. The green represent the nuts that allow for height adjustment. The bottom one sets height and the top one locks the bottom one. The red is extra space cut out in the leg to represent that the top can lower around.6 inches. The drawing is very basic. I just wanted to show the general idea of the leveling/height adjustment mechanism.

The scaffolding wheels are a good idea but they may be a bit pricey. You can do a threaded insert into the wood and a nut on the very bottom so you snug that up against the base of the treaded insert…basically a double nut but with an insert instead of two nuts.

rrmccabe wrote:

57 minutes ago, rrmccabe said:

Well one thing you should consider when designing this and I speak from failures :-[

 

If you are going to do woodworking then build something that is 100% flat and level.   I have several benches in my shop. Basically six total. Two are for metal work and two of other four would be OK for assembly of woodworking projects like your end tables. One is on wheels and I only pull it out of the corner on big projects. The ideal bench for doing this is my center island bench that sits on steel cabinets. It works great for a lot of things but the top has some twist in it. I assume its related to slope in the floor. It looks flat but the twist is there.

 

So when I start to assemble stuff like cabinets and am clamping and gluing parts together I end up with that twist built into the item I am building. Some items this is a huge issue.

 

So my plan is to rip that top off redo the base under my steel cabinets. Weld a frame with bolts with jacking screws to start off level.

Then I plan to build a torsion box top which will be 4″ thick grid with hardboard around the edge. I watched a wood whisperer video and he goes through the steps on how to build one flat.

 

Not sure if you want to go to this much effort but just wanted to share this as its fought me ever since I built it. If you end up doing woodworking you want something flat !

 

Below is a drawing of what I am building. I hid the top so you could see what the grid looks like.

Great advice, that’s why I like a stationary bench or a section that is stationary. You can be sure it’s level and it should stay square.

rrmccabe wrote:

3 hours ago, rrmccabe said:

Well one thing you should consider when designing this and I speak from failures :-[

 

If you are going to do woodworking then build something that is 100% flat and level.   I have several benches in my shop. Basically six total. Two are for metal work and two of other four would be OK for assembly of woodworking projects like your end tables. One is on wheels and I only pull it out of the corner on big projects. The ideal bench for doing this is my center island bench that sits on steel cabinets. It works great for a lot of things but the top has some twist in it. I assume its related to slope in the floor. It looks flat but the twist is there.

 

So when I start to assemble stuff like cabinets and am clamping and gluing parts together I end up with that twist built into the item I am building. Some items this is a huge issue.

 

So my plan is to rip that top off redo the base under my steel cabinets. Weld a frame with bolts with jacking screws to start off level.

Then I plan to build a torsion box top which will be 4″ thick grid with hardboard around the edge. I watched a wood whisperer video and he goes through the steps on how to build one flat.

 

Not sure if you want to go to this much effort but just wanted to share this as its fought me ever since I built it. If you end up doing woodworking you want something flat !

 

Below is a drawing of what I am building. I hid the top so you could see what the grid looks like.

 

yeah I’m not gonna cut corners or go “cheap”. There are the occasional hidden gems out there but from personal experience cheap furniture tends to not hold up well so I’m not gonna take any chances. Nice design. Is the grid for making the top more rigid?

Very cool ideas, I think I like where you’re going with this modular work bench system

I built a torsion top rolling work bench with MDF topped with laminate, and yes, the proper casters make all the difference.

The interlocked supports do add strength and consistent flatness and keep it that way over time. 

SetBuilder wrote:

On 1/15/2017 at 8:58 PM, SetBuilder said:

This site has some nice bench ideas  http://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/the-english-workbench/

That site has a very cool looking bench all made by hand. Thanks for the link. Very cool

KnarlyCarl wrote:

16 hours ago, KnarlyCarl said:

Very cool ideas, I think I like where you’re going with this modular work bench system

 

I built a torsion top rolling work bench with MDF topped with laminate, and yes, the proper casters make all the difference.

The interlocked supports do add strength and consistent flatness and keep it that way over time. 

thank you