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Allen, i keep telling myself to build it myself but i don't have a reliable way to flatten it (other then a router bridge) and i just don't have that much free time. Our daughter just got her first house and it's a fixer-upper so since i know how to cut a board to length, i also the "hired carpenter' :rolleyes:
It' looks like some of the custom kitchen counter top builders can make me one but i have to submit an RFQ
Brian :)
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Brian, when I buy a pre-made top it will be from the Bally Block people. They make a variety of bench tops and the 30x96 is available in 2 1/8 thickness.
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as big as you please.
I have one that I can't reach all the way across without using tiip toes.
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Brian,
Building a flat workbench top isn't all that complicated...think in terms of a torsion box.
With appropriate shimming and support, you can create a flat enough surface in your garage/shop to build a very, very flat torsion box.
Now this torsion box could be the next benchtop or assembly top. Now everything you build upon the flat torsion box will be flat, too.
Here are my plans for a laminated benchtop:
Maple end-grain or butcher block top (I have several 12" wide, 2.5" thick maple planks 10'+ long just waiting...I mean drying! ;) ) about 3/4" thick...maybe more, maybe less.
3-4 sheets of 1/2" MDF
1 sheet of 1/2" (maybe 3/4") maple plywood for the bottom
I will skirt the whole thing in maple and maybe some walnut.
I have a Veritas Twin Screw Vise whose jaws might be maple/walnut combo
I plan to laminate the whole thing with Unibond 800 and I have those fancy adjustable base/legs.
I plan to build the top upon my own MDF torsion box so it should be pretty flat.
Fun, eh?
Oh, the size? Tough call...very personal choice if you make your own of course. I plan to custom-size mine to a particular spot in my garage...should work well. Will be about 28-29" wide by about 74" long--including the vise sticking out on the end.
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what size
30x98. I'm just putting it together. Beech top is 2". Base is Western Maple.
More depth would get in the way. The length would be fine at a minimum of 78". My shop in a new home is only 3 weeks old and already I am seeing the truth in the statement from Tage Frid about Americans not liking tool trays.Without a tool tray on the bench, I am dropping a lot of tools.
gary curtis
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workbench size
Brian,
My workbench is 64" x 108", 3" thick soft maple. I glued the top up in 16" wide pieces so I could take it apart and run it thru my planer when it gets all banged up. The legs are 6" x 8" doug fir I had left over when I built my timberframe addition. Makes for one soild workbench. Plenty of room for a lot of case goods, beds, tables, and also great for patternmaking. It also has two Emmerts hanging off it.
:)
Jeff Singleton