Shed workbench designs

[Haakon]

Finally time to put in a decent workbench. Cement floor and solid brick wall.

Floor a bit uneven, has a raised section of about 30cm from the wall and has a slope, so free standing is not great. So I'm thinking dynabolt some timber to the wall at bench height, dynabolt some raised post mounts on the floor at the front, and triangulate against the wall...

Probably just use standard 90x45 structural pine and something for the bench top...

Any hot tips or reasons why thats a shit idea?

 

[ozzybmx]

Buy form ply for the bench top, doesnt stain and wipes clean.

Thin stainless is next level.

 

[beeb]

Thin stainless is next level.

Not to be contentious and each to their own - but I reckon stainless bench tops are shit. They're practically never flat, you can't hammer anything on top of them without them buckling. Working on anything metal (and hard enough not to be damaged by the bench top) and the bench top will get scratched up as you drag stuff around on it, then working on anything metal but softer than the stainless will get scuffed up or scraped by the scratches in the bench top. Only really useful if it's made with a raised edge so you can tear down oily components and not have runoff going onto the floor IMO.

Give me a good thick hardwood (or high quality ply) timber benchtop anyday!

 

[ozzybmx]

If you can do free standing, grab some chi-exion racking from scumtree.

I have 7 spans of this stuff in my garage, the work bench is under $200 and when you factor in the cost of wood, its probably not much different.

They have a metal top but its tinny, I started with a sheet of form ply about 4-5 yrs ago then added another after learning not to cut shit on on top of the nice surface.

There must be a seller of this stuff in every city, we have 3 in backwater rAdelaide.

Metal Longspan Shelving/Racking/Shelf Unit~BRAND NEW | Tool Storage & Benches | Gumtree Australia Tea Tree Gully Area - Hope Valley | 1112243295

Note We use much thicker steel in our shelving products than most of the same and even higher load rating ones in the market and rate them very carefully and ..., 1112243295

www.gumtree.com.au

 

[Haakon]

Free standing isn’t an option sadly - the floor is sloped and generally all over the shop…

 

[downunderdallas]

Finally time to put in a decent workbench. Cement floor and solid brick wall.

Floor a bit uneven, has a raised section of about 30cm from the wall and has a slope, so free standing is not great. So I'm thinking dynabolt some timber to the wall at bench height, dynabolt some raised post mounts on the floor at the front, and triangulate against the wall...

Probably just use standard 90x45 structural pine and something for the bench top...

Any hot tips or reasons why thats a shit idea?

You'll want to add some water and aggregate to the cement floor as a starting point!

More seriously though could you add topping layer/s of self-levelling compound to get the floor level?

 

[Haakon]

You'll want to add some water and aggregate to the cement floor as a starting point!

More seriously though could you add topping layer/s of self-levelling compound to get the floor level?

No, by not level I mean it’s on quite a slope. Garage is under the front of a house built on a serious slope, and given this is glacier country we reckon there was probably a fuck off big boulder that stopped the builders digging it out level. So levelling it is not a thing…
There will be a part of the bench that’s a bit low, a bit that’s just right and a bit I’ll need a step for!

 

[downunderdallas]

No, by not level I mean it’s on quite a slope. Garage is under the front of a house built on a serious slope, and given this is glacier country we reckon there was probably a fuck off big boulder that stopped the builders digging it out level. So levelling it is not a thing…
There will be a part of the bench that’s a bit low, a bit that’s just right and a bit I’ll need a step for!

You might be able to get something with adjustable feet although maybe that won't be enough although if the slope is as significant as you are indicating it would seem pretty awkward to work at?

 

[link1896]

I’m with beeb. Stainless bench tops, like what you’d find in a food prep area of a restaurant, are shit, avoid. Noisy, always warping.

If a metal benchtop is mandatory, laminate stainless ontop of wood sheeting.

For engine and gearbox work, two layers of 18mm particle board over 90x90 on 450 spacing is nice and sturdy.

Seal the concrete and brick work, dust will drive you nuts otherwise. Even water based polyurethane will work on concrete that doesnt have cars driving over it for a good few years if the surface is properly clean before you apply.

 

[ozzybmx]

I’m with beeb. Stainless bench tops, like what you’d find in a food prep area of a restaurant, are shit, avoid. Noisy, always warping.

Reckon I'm going to glue a sheet of stainless with the front bent at 90° to this bench next time, hammering, cutting, welding and other shit is done on another bench.

Coolant, sealant, brake fluid, silicon, glues etc... will wipe off beautifully with a nice sheet of stainless.

 

[Haakon]

You might be able to get something with adjustable feet although maybe that won't be enough although if the slope is as significant as you are indicating it would seem pretty awkward to work at?

It’s going to be awkward, as i said a bit will be too low and a bit too high.

 

[Dales Cannon]

I have an aluminium top that fits loosely on my bench. Steel frame so floor standing with ancient laminated scaffold planks as a top. Moveable with the 3pl attachments I welded to the frame... When I do woodwork the aluminium top comes off and I work wood to wood. For other stuff and light metal work that is on the aluminium. Any leakages can be washed down and the aluminium is soft enough not to scratch anything. Any heavy work or welding etc is done on a separate steel frame.

Agree on the stainless top. A friend did her kitchen bench tops in sus and I asked when the next autopsy was being performed.

You can still floor mount a frame just adjust the length of the legs to suit with a grinder of angles and some high temp glue. It will be nicer to work on that a cantilevered top.

 

[Haakon]

I have an aluminium top that fits loosely on my bench. Steel frame so floor standing with ancient laminated scaffold planks as a top. Moveable with the 3pl attachments I welded to the frame... When I do woodwork the aluminium top comes off and I work wood to wood. For other stuff and light metal work that is on the aluminium. Any leakages can be washed down and the aluminium is soft enough not to scratch anything. Any heavy work or welding etc is done on a separate steel frame.

Agree on the stainless top. A friend did her kitchen bench tops in sus and I asked when the next autopsy was being performed.

You can still floor mount a frame just adjust the length of the legs to suit with a grinder of angles and some high temp glue. It will be nicer to work on that a cantilevered top.

I’ll take a photo, but it’s not just the slope. There is a rough raised section against the wall so anything free standing is going to be more work to get straight than just bolting to the wall and floor…

 

[Dales Cannon]

I’ll take a photo, but it’s not just the slope. There is a rough raised section against the wall so anything free standing is going to be more work to get straight than just bolting to the wall and floor…

I meant bolt to floor and wall. Sorry. I get what you mean if all 18 legs are different lengths.

I helped a mate take stuff to the recycler a few months ago and there was a guy dropping off a steel welding bench. Looked perfect. I asked them to drop it on my trailer when we were finished but the price was silly. Paid him scrap at about 9c/kg and wanted $1,000 for the bench.

 

[Dales Cannon]

By the way work out what hold down attachments you want before starting the build. I have a couple of aluminium T slots routered into the bench, a small and small ish metal working vice and a typical woodworking vice. If you want to use clamps in holes through the top then you will need to reinforce the timber or better yet use metal inserts. The big arse vice is on the other bench. I hanker after an anvil but since fucktards have been using these as garden ornaments they are silly expensive.

 

[fjohn860]

Not to be contentious and each to their own - but I reckon stainless bench tops are shit.

There'd be some sad old fella's in the HYD section at QF hearing you say that!

 

[beeb]

There'd be some sad old fella's in the HYD section at QF hearing you say that!

Sad old fellas was their permanent state of being!

Still cheerier than ol' one-thou though...

 

[creaky]

I’ve got two workbenches in the shed, both of which have recently had a spruce up.

On my smaller bench I swapped out the two shagged layers of MDF with a finger jointed Beech panel from Bunnings. Was under a hundred bucks and looks flash. Not as well damped as a heavier bench top but it is lighter than the hardwood planks (see below) if you are bracing back to the wall @Haakon rather than vertical legs.

I have a little sheet of alloy that I shaped up to slide along the rear or front of the bench for oily/dirty things like fork servicing/brake bleeding.

The other workbench is a more solid beast but a couple of weeks ago I flipped the hardwood planks, gave them a sand and finished them with liquid beeswax. Also looks flash, is definitely more solid than the beech panel but isn’t as dead flat. Heavy so you’d have to support that extra weight in your structure.

If I could only keep one, it’d be the hardwood one, but Beechy is so nice and pretty.

I’ve also got that same shelving @ozzybmx !

 

[ozzybmx]

Looks just like mine, camping gear and Xmas decorations in boxes.

 

[creaky]

Xmas decorations in boxes.

Eeewww, none of that junk is allowed in my shed!