well that sound about solid enough for me and if there’s ever an air raid I suppose I can get under it I am still wondering if warping might be a problem though

Edited By KWIL on 09/09/2011 11:00:28

Hi , Ive got three workbenches, the long one is made of 1 1/2" ply, supported by 6, 4x4 legs braced with 1/2" form work ply, ie thats the one coated with varnish, all up its 7' long by 4' wide, 2 vices and the drill are bolted to it, plus the small home made lathe. thus its very solid, so much so I can bend and hammer 1/2" steel rod in the big vice, and nothing moves. I got the timber for free years ago. The other bench is 5'x4' topped with a piece of 50mm thick bench top,(off cut from a building site) I made two large drawers 300mm deep to store pits and pieces for the tool and cutter thats mounted on the right hand side, the spare space was for drawing on, thats the theory, but I tend to drop and leave things on it, so I do the drawings on the 3/4 snooker table thats also in the workshop. The third bench is for the small Sieg X2 mill that was on a lathe, (brought that off e/bay) as I was starting to make a milling machine, I had some 1 1/2" thick walled pipe and some 50mm square tubing, the top is welded up 50mm square and has two extra braces, that is welded to the round pipe for the legs, and cross braces, with 16mm chip board screwed to the sides and back, it has two large swing door cupboards in the lower section and six draws for collets end mills etc etc. this mill stand/cupboard has adjustable jacks welded to the bottom of the legs, again nothing moves, solid as the proverbial rock, As an aside, I made up and welded 10mm and 16mm box section thats welded to the 50mm top frame, to mount the Sieg X2 onto, drilled and tapped to take the base of the mill, the cross slide is a large one ie 450x250 thats mounted on 45mm angle which is also welded to the top braces. So what is the best,????? steel or wood, the large bench did shrink and needed redoing, the steel one is very,very solid, but because its welded and purpose built, would need a lot of work to modify it, if needs be, (I know cause I am lowering the angle under the cross slide, so the it will run under the mill support base). Go around building sites, and look into skips, you might make a bench up for next to nothing.

John Holloway

I find this thread interesting as I am in the process of tearing down my own benches and machine stands of the past 15 years to allow some work in the roof. I’m no expert on bench design and no woodworker either so my experience may be somewhat “individual”. I have a mixture of benches, wood and metal frames and tops both homemade and bought in that have evolved over the years as I gained experience or had problems.

My assembly, gash or manual work bench, started life as a very solid (I thought) wooden framework of 4x2 and 4x4 legs glued and screwed with a ¾” plywood top braced by 3x2s. After a few years of hammering and banging, pulling and bending in the vice the thing wobbled about like a cork in water. The next bench was (and still is) a Dexion (angle iron with holes), braced frame, bolted to the concrete floor and rear wall with a 1” thick blockboard top covered in cheap hardboard which has been replaced several times. This bench has survived some serious abuse and is as stable as when built. I started with metal shelves under but the noise and tendency for things to bounce saw a change to thick chipboard floor panels braced with more Dexion to stop it sagging. When I rebuild this it will be the same construction.

The stand for my RF25 mill followed a similar development, initially wooden with 4x2” and 3x3” frames and 1” marine ply top, it was beautifully built by a friend (professional woodworker) and seemed totally solid. As my experience with the mill grew and I started to push its’ capability the stand proved very flexible and seemed to “spring” particularly under heavy or interrupted cuts. I replaced this with a simple welded steel box section stand of 50x50x2mm (sorry for the mixed measurements) uprights with 50x25x1mm horizontals and some 25x25x1mm bracing. The sides and back have 1mm steel sheet welded to the frame and this increased rigidity substantially. The top and shelves are 1mm steel with chipboard liners; the top is further braced with 50x50x6mm box section where the mill bolts through on typical leveling screws. While a little noisy until full of junk this has proven totally satisfactory with no signs of movement after the initial setup even with a much heavier mill.

I have had both success and frustrations with some of my “bought in” benches which I have to say were never the most expensive. I think it was Stan Bray who recommended in MEW a cheap (at the time) workbench available from Machine Mart. I bought one and put my Super 7 on it with some trepidation. While it has a thick solid wooden top, the uprights, sides and shelves are thin sheet steel bolted together with 6mm bolts and it looks very flimsy to me. I did add some angle iron bracing where the lathe bolts through. I know it shouldn’t work but it has, very successfully, with the exception of the one drawer which becomes difficult to open with more than two chucks in it. It will be replaced during the rebuild as it is really too deep for the Myford and space is becoming an issue. I can’t recommend the current offerings as they appear to have changed, the tops are certainly different and the steel appears even thinner but I have never measured it. I had planned to replace it with a genuine Myford stand but the lottery win has eluded me so it will be out with the welder again.

I also bought a woodworking bench from B&Q when we moved into the house 18 years ago, they were on offer at £25 each and stacked floor to ceiling. I often wish I had bought 6 of them, made from 4x2 glued and screwed together, including the top, it has been superb. The only issue is that over the years the top planks have moved and are as much as 6mm apart in places. When I reinstall this I will plane it flat and add an 18mm ply top.

So, I am now a fan of metal stands/benches for machine stands and where a vice is to be mounted. I add thick wooden tops which I find reduce the noise but bolt through to the steel frame where stability and rigidity are important. I also find that bolting to the floor or wall where possible adds greatly to the overall strength of the bench.

Regards

Keith