This is when it got a little interesting... I work at a power plant in the engineering department, my boss being the manager of engineering. Well, I was sharing my build with him, and he looked at the steel angle along the front of the bench, and told me that he didn't believe it would hold the weight of a small block Chevy. Well, I am stubborn, so I decided to prove him wrong. I tossed an old workbench top on the frame (which is shorter than the bench), and supported the bench by only the outer legs, leaving the middle leg unsupported just to further prove my point. Look at the pictures, you get the idea.

Zero deflection:

Luckily, he got off my case about it after seeing the proof. Next step was to add the ac receptacles. In hindsight, I wish I had routed these within the frame, rather than in conduit. Oh well. You'll never see it anyway, and even if you do, it didn't turn out all that bad.

In place. Yes, I know I need to put a cover on the junction box.

Here it is with a top, and after being used for quite some time. I added some peg board, scored some pretty sweet cabinets to mount above, and added the top. The top is a 4x8" 3/4" sheet of ply ripped down the middle. I skinned it with 16ga sheet steel, and added a lip around it using 1.5" angle, 1/8" wall, and inverted the back piece to add somewhat of a "backsplash", if you will.

Thanks for looking!

 

Subscribed because I am in the planning stages for mine. I wanted to make a fold up against the wall fab table using the hitch hookup idea. I like the table you made looks very nice

 

That looks great, good job!

 

Looks good. I've got a "workbench" top Husky box that isn't up to the task being asked of it. I think that frame around box idea may work it's way into my shop as well.

 

Nice work.. looks like a great setup. Might have to steal a few ideas from you

 

That is sweet! I wish I had the room to do something like that.

 

Do we even want to know how you got your Jeep up like that? :laughing:

Not to bust on you, but between the angle of the Jeep, that the tires place the load at the outer ends, and the workbench top, I'm not sure that is as impressive a test as you think it is.

 

Do we even want to know how you got your Jeep up like that?

Yes
How did you do it cause that looks like a hold my beer and watch this photo

 

I know, but it is still shocking image. I can do a statics problem and determine exactly how much force is being applied to each member, but either way, it will hold a small block chevy. Haha. Even at the angle the Jeep is, though, there is a substantial amount of weight at the front wheels.

 

i dont see any pictures here

 

For me, the pics came after I signed in, and refreshed the browser. First refresh got me 2 pic, then second refresh got me all of them.

 

Yeah, I am not really sure what's wrong here. Some people can see the images, some cannot. I am using the pirate 4x4 album to host them, and inserting them with the

 

Very nice :smokin: So, does the angle border create a lip to keep stuff from rolling off? Would it allow liquids to run between it and the top?

What is the mace like device on the right side of the top?

 

Yes it does make a lip, however I was just going for a more finished look, and don't have a sheet brake this wide. It does work well for keeping round object on the table, but also does the same for dust, if you care about that. I just have to sweep it up with a dust pan on the bench vs sweeping it onto the floor.
It will hold liquid between the angle and sheet. However, I have not fastened it yet, and it is only resting on it. When time comes to fasten all the the layers together, I will most likely toss a bead of urethane caulk in the gap to seal it up before I squeeze the layers together with some through bolts.

Good catch! It is a mace, actually. I dressed up as "The Fabricator" for halloween one year, where I wore a welding mask with the lens removed, with blood and cracks that were stitched up with artificial leather seine. Of course, boots, jeans, plad shirt and a leather upper-half jacket as well. I made the mace and MIG-welded it together, then press fit a handle I turned down on a wood lathe. It also opens up bottles! I actually just finished a CNC plasma table, and have a TIG now. I plan to make a better looking one with a more elaborate design and TIG the pieces on for a more refined look, just because.

 

How is your top attached?

 

What's the HF item number for those boxes? :smokin:

Nevermind, found it.

http://www.harborfreight.com/roller-cabinet-44-13-drawer-gloss-red-industrial-uality-68784.html

 

What's the HF item number for those boxes? :smokin:

Nevermind, found it.

Roller Cabinet - 44" Red Rolling Tool Cabinet w/ 13 Drawers

Yup. That's it. Look around for a coupon, or wait for one. They go for $359.99 with the coupon. Spectacular deal for the quality of these boxes!

 

My top is actually floating right now. I'll be attaching it sometime in the near future. I'll be bolting it down to the frame.

 

So are the boxes bolted in there or are they just sitting inside the frame?

I'm quite interested in this design, any chance you could post some dimensions so people could start looking for steel? How thick is the 2.5" square material you used for the main frame, not the thicker receiver portions.

 

Thanks for all the kind words everyone! I never thought this thing would fetch this kind of response.



The boxes are just sitting in it. I created a kind of tray using angle, and they are very stable within. I didn't see a need to attach them.

I'll see what I can do as far as dimensions. I think I have the CAD file somewhere...

 

Nice build. I may have to copy this design some day

 

Awesome build. I really like your design. A lifetime bench!

I made a built in bench in the "clean room" (Ha, is that an oxymoron!) of my shop in the same vein. I used 4 ball bearing Crapsman boxes and used wood. Very similar to what you did, but you can't move it. I put a ledger board on the well 3/4" higher than the boxes then put a 3/4" board on top of each box. Laid a 20" x length of the room top on it and screwed it to the boxes and the ledger board. I bet it would hold up a jeep as well! So I managed to get a bench top that was actually wider than the boxes by spacing them about 6" off the wall.

 

Please do post dimensions. Like everyone else I think it's great, but I have a couple of smaller chests I'm going to do this with.

The only other think I might have done is add casters to make it easy to get out and clean under it.

 

Somebody's been on garage journal in the tool box thread... That site gets me in so much trouble. Looks good!!

 

Small Block....Maybe

But Big Block=FAIL :flipoff2:

Just busting your chops. Nice Bench. I'm gonna have to look at those HF boxes

 

Very cool! I'm interested in more of the AC receptacle wiring/how you set it all up... any more details of how that was done?


<-- knows nothing of AC electrical wiring.:homer:

 

I just plasma cut the receptacle holes in the front, drilled and tapped two holes to screw a typical 110 receptacle in place, and ran 12gauge romex through a hole behind it, through the conduit to a junction box in the back middle. Then I wire-nutted them all together, with a 10 gauge extension cord as a pig tail. From there, I just plugged it into a receptacle that is near the bench. It's really pretty simple, nothing fancy.

 

Love it. Posting so I can come back to this, I'm moving back into a crowded 2 car garage from a big ass 2-bay shop with 15ft bay doors, so it's time to organize all the crap.

 

Very nice.....maybe one day when I get off this island.

 

Gorgeous, just gorgeous.
I've been contemplating a bigger bench for my garage but it's a rental, so that limits what I feel like doing. I bookmarked this build, though... when my lady and I buy... I'm going to shamelessly copy your bench.
Thanks for posting.

 

i too incorporated receiver tubes on my bench build to mix and match components and it frees up valuable bench top real estate. to eliminate movement in the tube, i drilled a hole, welded on a nut and use a set bolt to snug tight. rock solid.

looks good.