In between model building and other work on the house (inside and outside) I have to do some woodwork as well. I did not have any useful workbench as it was, but now I have.
Having surfed on the internet I found several sketches and articles on workbenches and the one I made below is the sum-up of what I found.
(Aplogies for the untidy benchtop to the right.)
This bench is 600x1200 and including the 25x50 edging the table surface becomes 650x1250 mm. The top is made from three layers glued and screwed together to form a heavy and stable tabletop. The bottom layer is a 12 mm MDF, the middle an 18 mm plywood, and the top is an 18 mm stripwood ready-made "bench-top". Two layers of 25 mm ply or lengths of 50x50 mm wood would work equally well. I just happened to have two of the three layers at hand at the time from other projects.
The side legs are made from 75x75 mm parts and the beams between the legs are 50x75. The total height is 92 mm to the top (which is half my height) as this was deemed as the best approximation for a good working height in several articles. It feels right, not only for hand planing, but also all kinds of work so far. Good rule I must say.
The vice is bought from Axminster UK (even though I live in Sweden we dont normally have that type here). Then I made a small cabinet as well to store planes and other woodworking items close at hand. Even the grinding machine finds it place here.
In the picture below I pulled out the drawers a little to give an idea of the actual volume of the storage space provided. Very good actually.
There is a double row of bench hook holes to get the best possible facilities for holding all sorts of items. the distance between the holes is 100 mm (4") as the vice opens to 160 mm minus the thickness of the wooden pressure pad. In UK and US the holes would probably be 19 mm (3/4") but in Sweden where I live it is 20 mm that is the rule as it looks. So all made 20 mm. The B&D Workmate bench hooks works perfectly as does my home made wooden pegs.
On the leg to the right I have fitted a bar or beam with 20 mm holes to act as right-hand support for larger items nipped in the vice. Say you have to edgeband a piece of plywood the right hand support is very useful.
Finally an overview of the front of the bench showing a peg in the right leg support to cooperate with the vice at the left.
Now the only trick is to avoid finding the wife using another horizontal surface (this one) for storing stuff that is not desired indoors. This is one of the reasons why my benches looks cluttered
BR
/Peter
