Questions tagged [workbench]
Use for Questions about building, buying, using workbenches as well as features to look for/build into it.
66
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workbench with lattice top
Thinking about building workbench 2.0 it seems that instead of a table-like top, what would make more sense is a lattice — 2×4s spaced a few (like 4?) inches apart, reinforced underneath with a few ...
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How flat should bench aprons be?
I'm building the Christopher Schwarz Knockdown Nicholson bench. This is my first foray into handtool building. I'm working on the aprons now and have cleaned up the boards and made them mostly flat on ...
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Possible to remove twist from the framework of this bench?
I was building a new bench and I was hoping that I would be able avoid any warping in the wood. Unfortunately, after everything was completed I have an overall twist in the bench. (Images below)
Is ...
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144
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Simple MFT base (that isn't a workbench)
I've made the plunge to buy a CNC'd MFT top, but it's just a sheet of MDF.
I don't currently have my shed set up to have any sort of proper workbench, so I'm thinking of making some sort of low base ...
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609
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How to solid-edge plywood and hardboard for top of workbench?
I am building my workbench, and I have a couple of Arauco softwood plywood that I glued together. On top of them, I want to place a hardboard that I can remove when its beat up.
I am considering ...
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Workbench Leg Spacing
I am planning on building my first woodworking bench based on Rex Kreuger's Quick-stack design. This is a knock-down Roubo style bench where the base is stiffened with wide stretchers instead of ...
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Pressure-treated lumber for workbench base?
I am planning on building my first woodworking bench based on Rex Kreuger's Quick-stack design. Since I live in Hawaii, the only dry untreated construction lumber available are DF 2x4x8's. The local ...
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What are the defining features of a Holtzapffel workbench?
While studying workbench designs I read a 2007 article by Chris Schwarz in Woodworking Magazine about the Holtzapffel workbench. He describes it roughly as an eclectic bench with French, German and ...
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How to secure bench top equipment to a mobile surface
I wrote the title generically, but the specific case I have is a bench top porter cable band saw.
I was a bit disappointed with how flimsy and unlevel the base was, but I figure they expect you to ...
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How to face joint board longer than bench by hand
Project: Bed frame from hard wood (still deciding between cherry, oak, walnut, ash, beech)
Question: What is a good method to face joint a board (approximately 15 cm / 6” wide) by hand with a shorter ...
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DIY table saw installation
I am resurfacing my workbench with 25mm hardwood ply. I am inverting an up/down router and tablesaw into it (between tracks).
I want to use thinner insert plates (for the zero clearence saw and so ...
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289
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Leg vise - Planning for toe-in clearance on leg/chop vise screw holes
I am building a workbench with a leg vise using a traditional parallel guide/pin board. The vise screw is an off-the-shelf 18" metal vise screw, the legs are southern yellow pine and the vise ...
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381
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Fixing skew dog holes
I'm working on a workbench and I have started drilling the dog holes using a drill guide and a 19mm (3/4") forstner bit.
I'm not exactly sure what went wrong, but a couple of the dog holes are ...
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223
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Best finish for an outdoor woodworking bench
I'm building a workbench with a beech countertop.
Originally I was going to finish the countertop with varnish on the bottom and linseed oil on top.
However, I noticed that this workbench is too big ...
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604
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Does a door make a reasonable workbench top?
I want to build a bigger workbench than the one I have now, and in my basement are several old doors (flat hollow-core doors, no panels or windows or anything) left by the previous owner. My idea was ...
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What are the pros and cons of MDF as a workbench top?
I've been watching videos on building workbenches, and there are a lot of varieties, including one video where they glued a couple of sheets of 1" MDF together for the top.
In this coronavirus era, ...
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In what direction should the screws go on corner braces with two 45-degree angles?
I am making a workbench for the shed and cut a couple 45 degree angles on some left over beams to create corner braces for the legs of my workbench.
I was wondering in what direction I should screw ...
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Recommended finish for workbench vise
I made a small tabletop Moxon vise and after some research decided to finish it using a 3-part mix of equal parts polyurethane, boiled linseed oil, and mineral spirits. Sounds okay to me, but I'd like ...
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466
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Let pine dry or use it right away for building a work bench?
Woodworking newbie here.
For fine woodworking, I understand you should let wood dry and get accustomed to your shop (or ideally wherever the finished product will live). Okay so of course that make ...
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Why is 48" too deep for a workbench?
One article on workbench design said the following was a basic mistake of first time builders:
Building the DIY workbench too deep
There are many reasons that workbenches plans aren’t 48”...
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214
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Mortise before or after glue up (laminated legs)?
I am gluing up the legs of a workbench. I'll be laminating the legs together using 3 planks and the lumber is all the same dimension. My question is do I glue up the middle plank with the gap for the ...
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Support for solid wood tabletop with galvanized tube frame
I need to build a few workbenches for my office at work. They won't be used for true "shop" work but will need to be fairly strong, as there will be equipment and tools on them. I am planning on ...
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Repurpose solid beech flooring
I potentially have a large amount of solid beech flooring 20mm thick, 85mm wide and various lengths. I'd like to repurpose some of it to make a work bench entirely from the beech.
I'm inexperienced ...
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How to clamp very thin wood for planing
I have some 1/8" plywood that I use to make small boxes, organizers etc.
Since it is rough, a fast and neat way to smooth it is with a smoothing plane. Only a few light passes, of course.
Using ...
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356
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Wood selection and thickness for a laminate workbench top
I am planning a proper woodworking workbench for my shop in a Roubo style with a laminate top. The top will be 2 1/2' x 6'. As I will likely have this bench for the rest of my life, I do not mind ...
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440
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Strength of oak versus maple
I am planning to build a heavy duty work bench from a custom end grain butcher block table. The maker offers five different woods: maple, oak, cherry, walnut, and industrial maple.
I know that oak is ...
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What supports do legs need on a very short workbench
I'm in the process of building a knockdown workbench, following the general design of a short bench (similar to roman bench seen here).
Most of these use dowel style legs, which I am not confident in ...
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466
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Can breadboard ends hold together a tabletop without glue?
I'm in the planning stages of building a simple workbench, and I'm a bit stuck on the bench top itself.
One of my goals for this bench is to be able to disassemble it as much as possible, to make it ...
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Best way to mount bench vise for my particular bench?
My bench has a 2x4 edge and if I line up the vise where the inner claw is flush so I can mount things vertically, then a little of the vise overhangs a little. Would this not be proper?
If I push it ...
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Securing long boards for edge jointing
What strategies are there for clamping long boards to a workbench for hand planing their long edges? My bench doesn't have a leg vice but does have a tail vice and bench dogs. However, the bench dogs ...
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Using a Jim Miller Tenon Jig
Has anybody built the tenon cutting jig from this article (video here). I bought the issue of Popular Woodworking issue that it came from and it says the curved support (on the left in the picture) is ...
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Tabletop attachment apron slots buttons tightness
Thinking about attaching a workbench tabletop (800mm x 600mm) made out of a 40mm oak panel (or probably 2 20mm oak panels glued together if I cannot find a 40mm one) like on the image below with ...
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Workbench out of plywood, will it deform significantly with humidity changes?
Thinking about making a workbench (80 cm long, 60 cm wide, 85cm high) out of 21 mm plywood, CNC-cut.
Gluing 10cm by 10.5cm legs out of 5 layers and making the tabletop out of 2 layers.
Will this be ...
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Name for threaded workbench receptacles?
I was given a portable wooden workbench with several holes drilled into it, and on the inside of each of these holes is what I would call a "screw receptacle"; essentially metal, threaded "female" ...
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Workbench better against or away from the wall?
A few days ago I asked for opinions about my ideas for construction of a workbench that would be mounted against a wall. I now have another question. I have seen many different videos of great ...
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Need Advice on Building Workbench
I'm trying to plan out my first workbench build! Right now, my plan is to laminate a bunch of 2X4's together, smooth them down with my #62 Stanley Sweetheart low-angle jack plane (the only one I own), ...
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Garage work bench compound miter saw position
I'm planning a garage work bench, watching a lot of YouTube for inspiration. I have noticed a common theme - a lot of people sink their miter saw below bench level which I plan to do, but have seen ...
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Can a workbench survive outside in a shed with seasonal temperature variations?
I live in south eastern Canada. Where I live we have relatively high humidity and temperatures from -40°C to +40°C. I more or less finished building my shed that I am going to use for my woodworking. ...
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Two piece workbench top
I've finally gotten close to finishing the workbench that the kind people here have given me input on (Need help understanding workbench design and build process).
I currently have two top slabs, ...
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Laminating 2x4s - brush on the glue?
I laminated some 2x4s for workbench legs, and as you can see by the attached picture, there's a gap between two of the boards. I applied the glue in a zig zag line down the length of the boards and ...
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Need help understanding workbench design and build process
I recently asked a question here regarding the use of 1x4s rather than 2x4s for a laminated workbench top and got some helpful advice. I decided to go with 2x4s, and now it's time to build. Before I ...
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Using 1x4 instead of 2x4 for laminated workbench top?
I'm getting into woodworking using hand tools. I'd like to make a 2'x4' or 2'x5' workbench for my apartment. I'd rather not use power tools as the noise would be an issue, and using old hand tools is ...
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Help me fix mistake -- twin screw vise spacing runs screws into table legs
So I am working on building a work bench, which is nearly finished, the last step is to install this veritas twin-screw vise as a end vise.
The workbench is from Paul Seller's youtube videos and ...
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How thin can a large dovetail tail be?
I'm building a small (12"D x 24"W) workbench for doing woodwork in my apartment. I want to dovetail the legs to the top, but the tail on the end will be about 1/2" wide on the narrower end. Is this ...
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Is there a workbench "type" reference?
I currently use a cheap plastic and metal workbench that is both old and showing its age. As a result, I want to build a better bench. The only problem is that my research is turning up that there ...
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3k
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Vise chop thickness?
I'm in the process of making a work bench, mostly following the Nicholson style, and with a vise like this one.
The only difference is that I'm going to be using hard wood for the vise chop, and I ...
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Are some workbench features not suitable for a softwood workbench?
I am hoping that this summer I will get time to make a roubo style workbench. Since I typically work with reclaimed materials I am going to be using top made from pine that I will be laminating. Since ...
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How does this leg vise parallel chain guide work?
I am planning a new workbench with a leg vise and came across this chain assembly for the parallel guide in a couple pictures.
I cannot find any other information on it, but it looks like it pulls ...
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How to flatten MDF board
I have just acquired 84" rails for my tablesaw and constructed a new outfeed table that spans the whole width. Now I want to build a filler table at the side of the table to continue cast iron top ...
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How can I fix wood to some metal in a neither destructive nor permanent way
I sadly have no additional space for a real/standalone workbench, but what i do have is a powerrack (a cage made of steel used for weightlifting). Looking at one half ot it, it looks like this:
I ...
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