Hey all -

Over the last few months I've been getting to know myself a little better in terms of how I like to work and I think that it will soon be time to start building a custom bench that fits my needs exactly, so I'm looking for some feedback.

I have a 2 car garage that I've taken over, but once this project is finished, I will need to find a system to move the shop to one side of the garage and preferably be able to move all the machines to the walls when not it use (to park 2 cars - I know, the horror!). So, since my TS and router table and bench are the main tools in the shop, I'm thinking about combining them to save space and create a functional piece that can be moved around as needed.

So, here is the idea. It's basically a sturdy base filled out with cabinets. Overall 3'x6'. The TS would go on the left, the router on the right, and on the back would be the bench area for hand work. So, a tail vise or front vise on the back, right corner. There would be bench dog holes running across the back and under the skirt there would be a flip out table for outfeed support that would easily stow away (only 2 feet wide, behind the blade). On the left side, there would be a stowable extension for additional cross cutting support. TS rails would run along the front as usual. The whole thing would be on good lockable casters.

I'd run dust collection to the TS and router through the center, and I'm thinking of putting a sanding table in the middle and piping dust collection to it as well. Electricity would be run through as well and it would have a few outlets for drills, sanders and such.

Now, here's the crazier part. I'm not a fan of cast iron any more. It rusts when I use it and I'm tired of cleaning it up. So, I'm thinking of making the whole top out of some other material, reinforcing the TS area and pulling the trunnions and other internals out of my saw and mounting them on the bench. The benefits are that it won't rust and when using the bench for assembly, there won't be any cast iron to damage pieces if I drop them.

So, has anyone done something like this before? What are your thoughts on functionality, and also on possible materials to use for the bench top? If I could pull this off, the only other tools in the shop would be BS, DP, J/P, DC and possibly lathe so everything should be able to be placed along walls in a useable fashion and I'd only have to pull this into the middle of the floor to work and not have to move any other equipment. I will have another small 2'x3' rolling cart to use as a place to dump stuff to keep the bench clear, which I currently do with my TS now anyway.

Thanks for the feedback on this one.