12 replies to this topic

[Tim Neja]

If you have access to Harbor Freight Tools, this weekend they have a very nice woodbench with four sliding drawers on sale for $129.00. It's  a heavy wood bench and assembles easily.

 

If you can use one, this is a great deal!!

 

FYI.

 

 

[MSwiss]

At that price, I may not be able to pass it up.

[boxerdog]

Got one a few years back, very nice bench. Getting it into the slot dungeon was another story. I'm guessing it will never go up those stairs in one piece!

[Samiam]

And it comes with a built in pinion press. Sweet.

[Tom Eatherly]

Tim,

You have one in your new garage? Those look pretty nice.

[Tim Neja]

Yes I built one last month.  Yeah---it's chinese--but the top is solid and the doors work fine!! Great bench for the money!!  I don't think I could build one that cheap.   It's solid once it's all bolted together!! 

[Jason Holmes]

Tim,
 
What is H, W, and L on it. Got it:
 
H 33.25"  W 20.125" L 60"

[The Sawdust Man]

I've used a lot of benches in my shops over the years, including some of these lower cost Harbor Freight units. A bench like this does have one weak point that you can easily fix when you are building it. It lacks lateral cross bracing on the back, which may be needed when the bench has kinda small sized legs.
 
Take a length of either 1x4 or 1x5 lumber and attach it across the legs from the bottom of one corner to the top of the opposite corner. That will really stiffen up the bench and keep it from "racking" back and forth and it will then last for a lifetime. 

[Cheater]

Racking would not seem too much of a problem with that HF unit if the 1x10(?) drawer-level sides are partnered with a similar backing connecting the back legs.

Your suggestion would clearly be stronger, of course...

[chaparrAL]

Best workbench I ever had was made from a solid wood door. Very heavy! The doorknob hole was drilled wrong so it was discarded. That hole is where there power outlet went. Frame was made of 4x4 s. It was attached to the wall in the garage and I put a Mazda 13B on it.

 

Had to leave it behind when I got a divorce in 1991. I don't miss her but I miss that workbench. 

[Robert BG]

If you're looking for a cheap mat for the work surface, I use Dollar Tree foam board. It's cheap, disposable, great to work on, and you can punch holes in it very easily to hold things in place. It'll hold a motor in place by jamming the pinion shaft into it, etc., and the other thing it is great for is cutting out holes to hold bodies for painting.

[Dave Crevie]

Sawdust: you hit on just what I was going to say. A neighbor bought one the last time they were on sale.

He added the diagonal bracing after he had to cut a 2 x 4 held in the vise. The bench did flex some, and after time might have become worse. So to stave off that possibility, he added the diagonals across the back.

If I did not already have a couple commercial steel benches, I might be tempted to pick one up.

[MSwiss]

If adding some bracing is all that was needed, I'd be thrilled.

I bought a Harbor Freight 6 ton hydraulic press, about four years ago to coin guide tongues and nosepieces, and assembling it, where it was usable, was a royal PITA.