So, I'm finally in my new (to me) house and am ready to start work on the 16 x 18 shop. It's small but workable.

I'm thinking that a flip top work bench may be a good idea. Have any of you use or have used this idea? I'm looking for Pro/con on the subject. How sturdy/wobbly can I reasonably expect? I know I'm not going to be pounding the snot out of anything on it, so....

I was thinking I could bolt several small tools (scroll saw, small belt sanders) to one side and have the other side clear for assembly / finishing. I have seen plans that have a finished size of 30 x 60.

 

The pro would be space saving. However, the Con, for me, would be that inevitably I'd have something on the "assembly/finish" side and then desperately need to use a tool on the other side.

I am like Lew, it would work out that way most of the time I believe. 

On the other hand - go for it.  If it turns out like that, bolt some more tools to it and finish elsewhere.

Cal

1 hour ago, lew said:

The pro would be space saving. However, the Con, for me, would be that inevitably I'd have something on the "assembly/finish" side and then desperately need to use a tool on the other side.

 

ditto...

I have to agree with the consensus!

 

Consider the same flip top arrangement only don't use it on the workbench. Pair tools based on workflow usage... i. e. planer and sanding station (belt/spindle).

 

Here is just one example of a flip top stand:  (he used a spindle sander and a mortising tool)

 

I thought about flip-base tools, but finally decided on a bench with a tool shelf underneath (space is 5' x 13").  Eventually I found that lifting the heavier tools out from under the bench was getting to my back, so I put in an electric hoist.  But the hoist doesn't like dragging things horizontally, so I put in some pull-out shelf runners which allows the tool to come up in a vertical lift.  After all that, I found that the most important part of the process isn't the hoist itself, but getting the tool out from under the bench in the first place.  Something like getting into a car:  dropping in on a slant is stressful.  I use the hoist anyway, but the sliding shelf works well.

You can go crazy watching all the videos posted on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ultimate+work+bench

 

Or, you can build one like mine and store your tools sommers else!

 

Mine is 36x60 and works well for me in a one car garage. The three drawers sit on waxed wooden runners and extend through the table for access from the far side!  Got a cabinet on it as I write.

It is a variant of Ron Paulk's Total Work Station and Earl Davidson's version.

 

Here are a few pictures of mine. Note the modified HF clamps for through the deck clamping! :-)

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

 

Edited August 19, 20178 yr by MT Stringer

Thanks for the replies; yes I had thought of needing the tool and the table at the same time and you've confirmed that for me :).

For all: how about flip up tools? Wood Mag had plans years ago (I still have them) for a cabinet style workbench with tool bases that swing down and into the cabinet for storage (they showed a router table and a scrollsaw):

http://www.woodstore.net/plans/shop-plans/tool-bases-stands/2700-Lift-Up-Router-Tool-Table-Part-2.html?a=wood-online-index

 

 

For Stringer,

   What is/are the major advantage(s) of the Paulk workbench? I mean, it looks good and the grid of clamping holes on top look like a great idea, but is there more? Yes, I've seen the video's but it just doesn't light a fire in me; what am I missing?

Edited August 26, 20178 yr by Wichman3

How important is it to have access to all four sides of a work bench? I can either build so that one side is on a wall or put locking casters under it so it can be moved with relative ease.

 

11 minutes ago, Wichman3 said:

how about flip up tools?

That would work for some of the lighter weighted tools. Is the mechanism shop made or purchased? If purchased, cost might be a deciding factor.

5 minutes ago, lew said:

That would work for some of the lighter weighted tools. Is the mechanism shop made or purchased? If purchased, cost might be a deciding factor.

 

The plans are for all shop made parts with common hardware. Sometimes that is cheaper but sometimes not.

The really nice thing about shop made parts is the ability to repair it yourself.

 

10 minutes ago, Wichman3 said:

The really nice thing about shop made parts is the ability to repair it yourself.

Absolutely!

MT - that is a pretty cool workbench.  How do you keep all the sawdust from filling up the drawers?

Cal

Sawdust. Yeah, I will clean out the drawers someday. Not bothering me now. I did buy a 3/4 inch dowel and cut some plugs. Some fit snugly, some don't

 

I wouldn't want a bench that has a wall on one side. Some of the cabinet face frames hang over the back of the bench. 40-64 frame has to hang over the back side at some point while it is being assembled.

 

The holes give me a lot of clamping possibilities. Works great for me.

The drawers are 36 inches long and accessible from both sides. However, I mostly work from one side only.

 

A few pics of the bench in action.

I went a different way. I put class 3 hitches on all my work benches. 

I keep my bigger tools under the bench on a receiver and when i need

one I just pull the tool out and slide it in the hitch... You can buy the 

receiver part from Harbor freight for $10.00.