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Thread: Workbench Size/Tool Tray Question

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Fort Wayne, In
    Posts
    92

    Workbench Size/Tool Tray Question

    Hopefully if my wife doesn't find too many more projects, I can get started on building a real workbench. I can see it done in my head but I can't settle on the size or having a recessed tool tray. I would like some comments from the group regarding these problems.

    I am not limited as to size as I have a dedicated 24x32 shop so I don't need or want a mini bench. I have quite a few 2x8x8 SYP boards that will be ripped for a 2 3/4- 3" laminated top, the question is what size?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Philadelphia, Pa
    Posts
    2,266
    Few questions will spark debate as the tool tray issue. I like them, and use them properly, but others say no. My dimensional concers are what tool will they need to accomodate. To me the purpose of a tool tray is to keep at hand the most oft used tools, and to keep them in a way where they will not hit the floor accidently when moving a piece of wood. So, my tool trays are 5 1/2" wide, I.D., which will accomodate a 12" Starrett combination square. I buld mine with two dividers, with the smaller ones at the ends, and the larger in the middle, which will accomodate a 36" rule. The left one holds my measuring and marking tools, the right onle scraps of sand paper, and various small scraps of wood used as cauls for the tail vise. The center one is mor wedges, longer scraps, and special things that are hard to find in the other tow, such as a clamping block the exact hieght ofhte depth of the tray so that one can clamp through the tray area without deflection. My gross width of a bench is about 26 1/2", which for me (not a large guy) is good for working from both sides of a bench.
    Alan Turner
    Philadelphia Furniture Workshop

  3. #3
    Mike, I made mine with a 72" x 30" top, with a 48" x 6" tool well in the center. The tool well is accessible from all sides. Latest pics still under construction are at http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18468
    Tony

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Laguna Beach , Ca.
    Posts
    7,201
    I have a tool trough...it is about 5 1/2 ". It is good to have a couple of dividers as Alan suggested, or a sliding block so you can clamp across the bench without bending the tray. Witout one lots of stuff tend to fall down and get damaged. Any sawing or chiseling will shake even a large bench and send chisels, marking gages and nice expensive squares falling to the floor...the trough will keep them handy and yet safe. My bench size is 88" x 24" and is a good size. I like away from the wall so you can work all the way around the bench.
    Last edited by Mark Singer; 05-03-2005 at 9:11 AM.
    "All great work starts with love .... then it is no longer work"

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,685
    I can't comment on the tool tray as I don't have one and nor ever used one.

    Alan brings up a good point, however, that I'd like to call out...bench size has a lot to do with what you plan on using the bench for. For those of us with smaller shops where we need to make do with one bench for both assembly and hand work, compromises are necessary, particularly in size. The former requires a larger and wider bench; the latter is better suited to a narrower design. Where am I going with this? If you have the space, consider more than one bench, each designed to best serve your needs.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Tacoma, WA
    Posts
    519
    I have found woodworking to often be an exercise in creative clamping. That said, my bench is about 25" x 90" with a Veritas twin screw vise that will open enough to clamp an 8' piece between dogs. I do not have a tool tray nor have I used one but all my frequently needed tools are either in my apron or on the wall behind me in easy reach. I have four rows of dog holes running the length of the bench and use two Veritas hold downs to clamp lots of stuff or stops to keep parts from moving when planing or chiseling. I would be very reluctant to give up the variety of clamping I can do on the bench in orderto have a tool tray but that is the way I work. Others are different obviously.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    KC, MO
    Posts
    2,041
    I'd use the full 96" of those SYP 2x8's on the glue up, then trim just a little to square the top up. I like tool trays also and find Alan's advice prudent. Width would be around 22-24" plus the Tool tray. I would leave a removable bottom on the tool tray to help clamp jigs/wood to the bench.

    As Jim Becker noted, everybody should have 2-3 different benches.....

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