Your Shop/Bench setup?

[sweed]

Hello the camp! 

I’m curious too. Reading thru “What’s on your workbench” I am intrigued with the various bench setups.  I always

look at the bench when a project is presented, to glean how to, how not to, set up a workable area. I also look

carefully at the tools I see laying around. Clever ways of storage and vice setup, tool holders, exct., can save

hours on a build. I would like to see as many bench set ups as possible, as I am about to build a brand new shop

from the ground up. Diverse solutions to the setup of a bench, will I’m sure cause many of us, to actually think

about how to do an efficient set up, rather than just start with a counter on the wall, and let it evolve.  So… lets

see your benches, carving setups, and whatnot, from a broader view, so we can see how you did it. What would

you do differently were you to start from scratch? Prior thanks to all who take the time to do the photos and

posting.

sweed

[tallbear]

Here is mine!!

Mitch Yates

[sweed]

Thanks Mitch
I'm defiantly gona use them little tool holder cubby holes just under the bench. That is the kind of stuff I'm lookin for. Built many benches in my life, and never thought of something that simple and handy! Any thing you'd change? Like that vice setup too.

Thanks
sweed

BTW  here is the plans for the new shop I'm building.

[Clark Badgett]

Tallbear, I really like your set up. What type of vice is that? I doubt my be all, do all cold garage, that I constantly have to eject junk the wife tosses in there will ever be that nice.

[LehighBrad]

My little corner of the basement. 4x4 hunk of wood holds most of my chisels, files, and rasps. A home made rack made from PVC pipe holds my fine and more expensive carving chisels.

[StevenV]

Here is my "man cave"dry firewood stacked inside and woodstove going with work bench ready, what more can you want?                                                                                     Steve

[David Rase]

Steve, I like the little extensions on the ends of your work bench.
David

[MDHazelden]

If envying another's workbench is a sin, then I'm surely going to $#*!.   

Great ideas to be had for a beginner like me.  Thanks.

[cmac]

Nice to see the shops. I'm planning on tearing out my bench soon and making a new one. The old one is nothing but an old door and not so solid. I don't think my bench will ever look as clean as yours Mitch. Well only when just finished

[tallbear]

Sweed

About the only thing I would do different if my shop space was bigger would be to mount the vice set up in the center of the shop so I could walk around the gun while I'm working on it.Everything else would stay the same.

Clark B

The vice is kinda neat.I have two and as far as I can tell they are not made any more.I got both from a Junk/Tool peddler that I know.They have a wood vice on one side and a metal vice on the other, the vice spins depending on which you want to use. It especially nice because the metal jaws are higher which is nice when filing small parts.Keep an eye out on the flea-bay they show up there from time to time.

Mitch Yates

[Meteorman]

.Keep an eye out on the flea-bay they show up there from time to time.

Yup. looks like there's one on there right now. 
Ends today. 
search "Wilton turret vise". 
starting bid is 100 bones.
/mike

[David R. Pennington]

Here is my little shop, including fair weather blacksmith shop./DavidPflint/IMG_0524_zps4a778930.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[David R. Pennington]

[Artificer]

Mitch,

LOVE the amount of light in your shop, plus the drawers under your bench, but ESPECIALLY your "Files Cabinet."  Now THAT is a neat idea!

SteveR,

Really like the way you mounted your vises off the ends of the bench.  I must have built 7 work benches at various places we rented, plus worked on Active Duty at a bench for 23 years until I moved into my current residence before I haed something like that.  I could not dismantle my bench from the old place in time and wound up using an "L" shape counter top, originally as a "temporary" bench.  Mounted my main vice on the small leg of the "L" that juts out and I still am surprised how handy that is.

Thanks to everyone who posted pics.  Nice to see the way others have set up their shops!!
Gus

[snapper]

This  is  my shop I built a few years ago.  I do a little bit of everything, so it is multi-purpose building.  Things are a little bunched up in one end, I had a poker game at my house last night.    No gun projects currently.  Just got done helping my kids make some cutting boards to sell.   

My tall benches are made to be able to sit at or stand comfortably.  If the drawers went down any farther, you would not be able to get your legs under them.

Fleener

[Bill-52]

My shop is 10" x 16" and I share it with seasonal lawn care tools, so space is at a premium.  I designed it for flexibility, both in terms of footprint and use.  Thus, the vice and outriggers are secured by clamps and can be moved when necessary.  The swivel vice is a relatively new addition from Woodworkers, on sale.  I love it.  The outriggers can be raised, lowered, set on a slope or moved, depending ing on what task I'm performing.  I'm 6' 1" so the bench top is 36 1/4" high and the top of the swivel vice is 48", both of which are comfortable working levels for me.










The main work bench is for stock/wood work while the small work area over my table saw is primarily for metal and brass work.  I was able to add a layer of hard maple flooring to both work tops when the gym I go to replaced their handball courts a couple years back.  Works great.  If I had space, i would certainly like a walk-around work area but this works fine for me.  Unfortunately, the shop is unheated, except for a space heater.  So, in the winter, I benefit from a lot of planning inside before making chips fly!

Bill

[alyce-james]

Good evening Sir; Bill I've seen a picture of your shop someplace before however I do not remember where I've seen the pictures. I have felt I would like to copy the structure as you have built it  and add a couple of feet each direction. Thanks for reminding me of this project. AJ 

[Bill-52]

AJ,

Adding a few feet to both dimensions is a good idea -- I now wish I had done so.  I've posted earlier photos of my shop on ALR.  The main change is the addition of the swivel vice (what a great tool!), enabling me to move the old vice to the table saw platform.

FYI, the small table with the drill press and grinding wheel is from an old industrial sewing machine.  I replaced the sewing machine with a marine plexiglass insert which I use for sharpening chisels with honing sheets.  My cloth covered leather strop is on the plexiglass in the photo.

The shop windows are old storm windows and the double doors are from an old porch a prior owner converted to a fully enclosed sun room.  The storm windows and doors were in the basement when I bought the house.

Bill

[sweed]

Thanks to all who have taken the time to post your photos here.  I will save and study this thread more when I have more time.    By the way, I have a small farm attached to my shop, or rather my shop is attached to a small farm. That is the reason for the woodworking bay, and the mechanical/welding bay.  The gun shop is only the central room with the A C. This is my 'bucket list' shop. I've worked outside, under trees, on dirt floors exct. all my life, makin do, and I want at least once to have a decent place to work!

Snapper, I like the tall sitting benches. I’m sittin a lot more now, than I was before my feet wore out.  In your first pic, I see a 5 gal bucket apparently attached to the ceiling. Can’t make out its purpose? Also like your air cleaner.  I couldn’t work in there every day for the florescent lights. I get the 60 cycle hebe jebes.     High tension, head aches, irritability,.      They don’t affect everyone like that, but I have to have incandescent or natural.

I've picked up some good ideas here, and I thank you all for sharing.

sweed

[Kermit]

LED lighting. Spendy, but no flicker and you won't replace bulbs or tubes in your--well, my--lifetime. Sure like mine.

[sweed]

Thanks Kermit. 

 I need to look into that. What kind of fixtures do you use, any thing special, or just buy LED bulbs for normal light fixtures? I do want to get it right the first time. Can't afford the second!                 

sweed

[J. Talbert]

I'm envious of these nice shops being posted on here lately, but on the other hand...
I'm so lazy and prone to ADD that if my shop wasn't right down in the basement I'd make even slower progress than I do now.  If that's possible

Jeff

[Nordnecker]

Bill-52, That is a tidy little shop, I really like it. My stuff is so spread out in different buildings it gets hard when you can't find something and you run around from one building to another looking for it.
The windows in my shop face the south, and this time of year the sun is so low in the sky. I am blinded by light on sunny days and I have to put the shades down. Then its too dark and I have to get a light to see what I'm doing. I've heard that in art studios they prefer a window that face north because of the even light. I don't even have a north facing window in the whole building. Maybe next time.

[snapper]

Chain hoist.....bucket keeps the chain out of the way..,
I joist for the ceiling/attic floor are 12" on center, 3/4" plywood on attic floor.  Chain passes through a steel bar in the attic that spans several floor joist and lagged to the joist. 


I have a full open attic.  I made simple 2x6 rafters, like what was used before people got lazy.  So I wanted a set of stairs that were substantial and out of the way.  So I rigged up my own design with a electric cable winch attached by a pipe to several rafters.  Work great, sucks up the stairs to the ceiling and out of the way.  I can take the cable and run it though a pully I have mounted to the rafter above the stairs.  I use this a few times a year to store the snow blower for the summer, push mower in the winter, tiller etc.  Hook up the cable, have one of the kids running the controls down below and suck them up to the attic to be stored.









The air cleaner is a pleated filter from Lee Valley for a dust filter, and I added a simple furnace filter as a prefilter.  Took a old blower from a furnace and wired it to a ditigal timer.  So, I can set it for 30 min or whatever and let it run.  Works great, I would not be without one.

I looked at LED but did not want to spend the money for them.

Fleener

[Kermit]

Thanks Kermit. 

 I need to look into that. What kind of fixtures do you use, any thing special, or just buy LED bulbs for normal light fixtures? I do want to get it right the first time. Can't afford the second!                 

sweed

I used these:

http://www.amazon.com/Ledwholesalers-LED-fluorescent-replacement-ballast/dp/B002P3FQI6

Pretty slick. Replaces the tubes in a 4' fluorescent fixture. There's some brainless reworking of the fixture to bypass or remove the ballast, since LEDs don't need 'em. VERY easy to do. Home Depot (and others) have LED fixtures, but I already HAD fixtures. These are getting used in a lot of commercial situations because just eliminating the labor of replacing fluorescent tubes pays for the tubes. Then there's the reduced electricity use, the elimination of flicker, the complete lack of warm up--put that in your cold shop and it's worth it right there. If you DON'T have 4' fluorescent fixtures, buy them at a salvage store like Habitat for Humanity. If the ballast and tubes are funky, fine. You don't need them!