Workbench on an Uneven Garage Floor

[Steve Friedman]

I could use some help. I work mostly with hand tools and have a very hard time finding a spot on my garage floor where all 4 workbench feet are sitting sufficiently flush to prevent the bench from sliding away from me. Even if I find a spot where the feet seem to be firmly planted, as soon as I start using a drawknife or scrub plane, the bench loses it's grip and starts travelling. Is there anything I put on the bottom of the feet to solve this? I'm already planning my next bench, which will probably be at least double the weight, but I don't think the weight is the problem. The bench is small (2' x 4") but the top is 3" thick and the legs are 3-1/2" square. No Roubo, but pretty heavy for a small bench. Ideally, I need something

Hard enough so the bench won't rock
Soft enough to conform to the irregularities in the floor
Tacky enough to grip the floor
Durable enough not to need replacement every few months.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Steve

[Jamie Buxton]

Leg levelers -- tips for the legs that screw up and down. You screw them down until all four firmly touch the floor. If you move the bench, you can readjust it to the new location.

Actually, it is sufficient to have just one leveler. You screw that one up or down until all four feet touch the floor, and the rocking stops.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I buy rubber feet from partsexpress.com for my large speakers that are subject to a lot of vibrations.

They are Penn-Elcom 9206 2.5" diameter x 1".

They smell like a tire, but they have good grip and are beefy for a workbench size since they are 2.5" diameter x 1".

I would check out parts suppliers for pro-audio speakers if you have that nearby. They require large rubber feet that should work well.

The cheap way out is to use whatever you have around the house... Old Ping Pong Rubbers from table tennis rackets, mouse pad neoprene, non-slip shelf liners, etc.

[glenn bradley]

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=TR325-6627

[John Coloccia]

I put hard maple under mine. If the bench is heavy enough, it won't move. If it's not heavy enough, build a shelf and store some wood there. It will soon be sufficiently heavy

[Jeff Monson]

I'd suggest finding a permanent spot in the shop, shim it level with hardwood, then anchoring it to the wall with a couple L-brackets or lag screws.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I have some heavy-duty leveling feet from either Grainger or McMaster-Carr [I forget which]. Intended for machines, but I got something toward the lighter end of that product range - $8 - $10 each, IIRC, plus base plate. Heavy-duty non-slip pads on the bottom of the feet. Hasn't moved or wobbled at all in 13 + years.

[Caspar Hauser]

How about putting a sheet of ply on the floor, put the bench on top, shim/level accordingly then screw some stops to the ply registering the legs so the bench can't slide. Stand on the ply.

[Steve Friedman]

I buy rubber feet from partsexpress.com for my large speakers that are subject to a lot of vibrations.

They are Penn-Elcom 9206 2.5" diameter x 1".

They smell like a tire, but they have good grip and are beefy for a workbench size since they are 2.5" diameter x 1".

Thanks! The price on those certainly seems right. I have thought that hard rubber might work, just never knew you could get them that big. Would be nice if they were thinner, but I suppose I can shorten the legs a bit. The bench is a little to high anyway.

Steve

[Steve Friedman]

How about putting a sheet of ply on the floor, put the bench on top, shim/level accordingly then screw some stops to the ply registering the legs so the bench can't slide. Stand on the ply.

That's a pretty interesting idea. Certainly the simplest because it means the relative height of the bench remains unchanged. I had thought about a version of this - but I was going to make the plywood the same size as the bench and figured the whole thing would shoot across the floor like a sled. But, that wouldn't happen if the plywood was big enough for me to stand on! With a 2 x 4 bench, I don't even need a full sheet of plywood.

I may even glue some rubber shims to the bottom of the plywood to get it to lay flat and stay put.

Thanks again.

Steve

[Chris Parks]

Put bench where you want it and level with some shims then scribe the same height from floor on all legs, cut the legs and it will stand flat. You could build a ballast box into it and fill with sand, then it definitely won't move. Benches don't need to be heavily built they just need to be heavy and a ballast box will do that. A couple of hundred pounds of sand should keep it in place.

[Lee Schierer]

Go to the local hardware store and buy a couple of lead shield machine screw anchors and some corner angle brackets.

Find a location where you like your bench. Attach a corner angle to two of the legs opposite the end you normally push or pull from, just above the floor. Once the angles are mounted to the legs, mark the location for the machine screw anchors in the floor. Move the bench, drill two holes for the anchors, insert the anchors, relocate the bench so the holes in the angles align with the holes in the anchors screw in two bolts and your bench is anchored to the floor. When you need to move the bench simply unscrew the bolts out of the floor.

[Steve Friedman]

Thanks Lee,

Never thought of attaching something to the concrete floor, but something that small seems harmless. Since I use drawknives and planes, I probably need 4. Somewhat limiting, because I do move the bench around to get the best light, but I it's certainly better than chasing the bench around the garage.

Steve

[Steve Friedman]

Put bench where you want it and level with some shims then scribe the same height from floor on all legs, cut the legs and it will stand flat. You could build a ballast box into it and fill with sand, then it definitely won't move. Benches don't need to be heavily built they just need to be heavy and a ballast box will do that. A couple of hundred pounds of sand should keep it in place.

Chris, thanks. I've already done the first part and have tried adding weight. I'm guessing I would have to add hundreds of pounds of weight to have it make a significant. While that's an option, I don't think it's a weight problem. I have used this exact same bench on a wood floor and had no movement problems. I think it's a friction problem. If the feet are 3.5" x 3.5", I have 49 sq. in. of surface touching the floor, which should be plenty. I think that no matter what I do, because of the slight variations in the surface of the concrete floor, I will never be able to get the full 49 sq in. to touch concrete. Since I assume the concrete problem to be unsolvable, I just thought my only possible solution was to put something under the feet that would conform to the concrete surface and increase friction. But, I will try the additional weight. I've got a full set of iron dumbells that have been gathering dust for years and would love to serve a useful purpose.

Thanks again,

Steve

[David Hostetler]

How about leveling the floor? Not being sarcastic, just a thought. I know mine is nowhere near level and it is driving me crazy...