My Workbench Design

[Alan Turner]

Allen,
One more thought if that is OK, following up on Mark's post. You will need to sweep under the bench/cabinet, and so leaving enough room for that with the hands and knees exercise might be a prudent move.

[Allen Grimes]

Thanks guys, I was only posting this for opinions on looks, but you guys have pointed out some very important aspects that I completely overlooked.

That said, there are some things I just wanted to point out,

1) This bench was designed with 2 specific vises in mind (that is why the skirt is 6", blocking the gap is only a bonus), but I am am not 100% sure that I will use those vises, hence I didnt put them in the design. Also, the 3 inch gap is left there for some very specific bench dogs that I like so much and plan on buying.

2) This design was never intended to be the final design. I wont make the final design until I have all of the hardware in my possession. Only then can I truly know what adjustments need to be made and only then can I make a complete design.


To Alan, I opted out of having the table top too much longer than the base strictly for looks, but now that you brought it to my attention, I think I am going to either extend the top or remove the middle row of drawers. I like big though.

[Frank Chaffee]

I would also raise the stretcher at the floor and let the cabinets float to allow more space at the floor.

Allen,
On all of the benches I have built, I have put the bottom stretchers at 4” or so off the floor so that a pallet jack may be used to move the bench. The lift range of the pallet jacks I have used is about 3” to 7”.

If you choose to go this route, the stretchers obviously must be strong enough to support the weight of the fully loaded bench, and that load could include a heavy project on its top.

Frank

[Allen Grimes]

Hey Frank, I dont remember exactly how big the space is between the floor and the bottom stretchers but I am pretty sure I set it at 3", I will have to check that later though, because I want to get another design in before I lose access to SketchUp.