Inspired by the new (and great) bench by @Dennis P , here's my new bench. OK...technically it's not a metal working bench, but it's metal-related because I moved a ton of stuff around in my shop to accommodate a new pneumatic notcher I have coming. In the process I realized I could finally move my electronics stuff to a devoted test bench like I used to have years ago when I was a teenager. Instead of standing up to work, I can now sit down. I can't emphasize this enough for you young guys on the forum—eventually, age catches up with you. So...plan your shop to allow for movement and adjustability (height, weight, etc.). Seriously, this is critical stuff. Smart design can help defer all sorts of issues that will permit you to enjoy your hobby shops well into your retirement. Other umh, "mature" members of this forum can support me on this point...you need to think of things like sitting down, not lifting heavy stuff, etc., as actually important. Otherwise, you'll lose the ability to enjoy this great hobby as you age.
A lot of my fabrication projects involve actuators and Arduino stuff, so a electronics test bench was always on my wish list. After calculating the space I had, I crunched the numbers on the table I wanted to build. I knew I wanted an elevated shelf for parts, and a space underneath the shelf for test equipment (frequency counter/signal generator, oscilloscope, power supply, DVOM's, etc.). I also knew I wanted adjustable height for the table top and something more sturdy than I could find at Ikea or equivalent. Lastly I knew another thing that seems counter-intuitive in a metal working shop: the table top had to be non-conductive as I would be testing electronic circuits on it. Sadly for a fabicator, the numbers didn't work...by about 35%! Even with scrap around the shop I couldn't build the legs for what I could buy them for. Shop Fox sells the D2659 28" wide work bench legs on Amazon for $72.71. They are 1/8" angle iron and sufficiently sturdy. A pair of them is cheaper than the metal and the labour combined for one. Jeeze Louise. That's saying a lot considering I have access to an ironworker to punch the adjustable holes myself. As much as I prefer making stuff myself, it's a no-brainer in this case.
Accepting defeat, the build process involved making a 1.5" table top (I wanted something more rigid than just a standard 3/4" plywood sheet). I looked at counter top, butcher block, etc. I eventually settled on two sheets of 3/4" G1S pine, glued up and cut to size by myself. Why G1S? Because anything of cheaper quality leaves crevices such as knots in which small parts such as resistors and diodes get trapped. Mine was 30" deep x 45" wide. It was sanded and painted grey (I once read grey is best for analytical work—probably nonsense, but heh...whatever). I crunched the numbers to maximize the available sheets and allow for the elevated shelf and its back. Also, I allowed for a space to route cords underneath the back. I also took into consideration my existing parts cabinets, as well as a new Princess Auto parts cabinet I got on sale months ago.
That being said, I always mess up somewhere. In this case I knew I needed additional lateral support for the shelf, but didn't allow for adequate clearance for the back of some of my test equipment. Oh, well. I lost a few inches of table space—no biggie.
Things yet to do:
A lot of my fabrication projects involve actuators and Arduino stuff, so a electronics test bench was always on my wish list. After calculating the space I had, I crunched the numbers on the table I wanted to build. I knew I wanted an elevated shelf for parts, and a space underneath the shelf for test equipment (frequency counter/signal generator, oscilloscope, power supply, DVOM's, etc.). I also knew I wanted adjustable height for the table top and something more sturdy than I could find at Ikea or equivalent. Lastly I knew another thing that seems counter-intuitive in a metal working shop: the table top had to be non-conductive as I would be testing electronic circuits on it. Sadly for a fabicator, the numbers didn't work...by about 35%! Even with scrap around the shop I couldn't build the legs for what I could buy them for. Shop Fox sells the D2659 28" wide work bench legs on Amazon for $72.71. They are 1/8" angle iron and sufficiently sturdy. A pair of them is cheaper than the metal and the labour combined for one. Jeeze Louise. That's saying a lot considering I have access to an ironworker to punch the adjustable holes myself. As much as I prefer making stuff myself, it's a no-brainer in this case.
Accepting defeat, the build process involved making a 1.5" table top (I wanted something more rigid than just a standard 3/4" plywood sheet). I looked at counter top, butcher block, etc. I eventually settled on two sheets of 3/4" G1S pine, glued up and cut to size by myself. Why G1S? Because anything of cheaper quality leaves crevices such as knots in which small parts such as resistors and diodes get trapped. Mine was 30" deep x 45" wide. It was sanded and painted grey (I once read grey is best for analytical work—probably nonsense, but heh...whatever). I crunched the numbers to maximize the available sheets and allow for the elevated shelf and its back. Also, I allowed for a space to route cords underneath the back. I also took into consideration my existing parts cabinets, as well as a new Princess Auto parts cabinet I got on sale months ago.
That being said, I always mess up somewhere. In this case I knew I needed additional lateral support for the shelf, but didn't allow for adequate clearance for the back of some of my test equipment. Oh, well. I lost a few inches of table space—no biggie.
Things yet to do:
- Find cheap desk chair (shop stool is dangerous tip hazard as I will inevitably lean back too far). Leaning towards super-comfortable model given my time spent in the shop.
- May add back stringer. Shop Fox sells a stringer for additional support for the 6 foot configuration. In my case, I'm so packed between my lathe and my stair railings, it could be a non-issue. My table hardly sways at all, but I'll custom make one if needed.
- Maybe add a Lexan Sheet to the top. Not sure yet if required for the cost, but will monitor.
- Not super impressed so far with the Behr paint. Originally I thought about using Tremclad on it. I wish I had because it is a very tough oil based product, that actually works fine on wood. I think the latexproblematic stuff is OK, but no where as tough as Tremclad.
- Mixing metal working (such as grinding and welding) is problematic with electronics. I'll be adding a non-flammable dust cover to my test bench to hold back dust. As I also need this to be non-flammable, I'm leading towards a welding curtain.
- I'll likely add a 18 gauge drawer, 2" or 3" deep and about 30' wide soon. I'm just waiting for a few weeks before I commit to bending the sheet metal and adding the drawer slides. I know I need to wait to see if any conflicts emerge over time, as this has stung me before if I don't wait to see how the design works in the real world..
- They don't lend themselves well to casters. You'll need to modify them to support casters.
- As pointed out by some reviewers, the orientation of the feet is not flexible and only allows the legs to point the feet inwards.
- I suspect the usual Asian quality issues will emerge: for example, even the Shop Fox logo sticker fell off both legs as soon as they were removed from the packaging. I suspect more to come.
- Price (even as a fabricator I can't beat these)
- Quality. One reviewer on Amazon has indicated these are about 1/4" stock.They are not. They are approximately 1/8" angle iron, but this is still great material. More than sufficient.
- Powder coat is good quality.
- I like that there are both table top mounting holes as well as bottom shelf holes for mounting.
- Adjustability - from 30" to 36" this is a great feature and well worth consideration if you are building a customer bench.
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