Back to the Benches

A bit of progress….

Getting tired of working on the floor I decided to build a quick bench to work on. I had a few of those metal brackets used for shelving around so I made a bench to work on. I built it the same height as the saw so I could use it for an outfeed table. Cutting sheets of plywood can be a real pain without something to support the material being cut. This takes all the work out of it!

With all the plywood sheets cut for the top of the bench I fastened it in place. I used small “L” brackets to fasten it from the bottom so I could get it off again if it needs to be disassembled. The top will be covered with a sheet of Masonite and I would not be able to get to any screws inserted from the top.

The floor did my back some good!

The inside corner in front of the location of the spray booth would be improved with a bit of a fillet in place. I cut a piece of plywood to fit in this location and added some biscuits to help align it with the top of the bench. These things work great!

Blob on a bit of glue and a few screws to hold it in place and it is done! This will add a bit of space in front of the spray booth, my last bench was missing this feature.

I want to beef up all the exposed edges of the bench so I cut strips of ply and glued and screwed it in place. This makes the front edge 1.5″ thick. When I finish the top I will add a piece of trim to cover the exposed edges of the plywood.

Since there wasn’t enough dust in the house I decided to use the belt sander and make sure all the surfaces were flush. I sanded the top and all the front edges of the bench.

Not having the material I want to use to complete the top of the bench I decided to work on the drawers for the rest of the day. I am going to put three drawers to my right, the top drawer will be for small hand tools, the other two for stuff.

I purchased some overpriced full extension drawer slides for these drawers.

The drawer is a simple 2″ deep box on top of 1/2″ ply. It seems to hold my pencil quite well.

Enough for one day, I hope to finish the drawers and add the top tomorrow.

-Tim

About the Author:

I'm your host, Tim Warris, a product developer in Port Dover, Ontario. Since March of 2007 I have been documenting the construction of the former CNJ Bronx Terminal in HO scale. For my day job, I design track building tools for Fast Tracks, a small company I own and operate. Fast Tracks makes it fast and easy to hand lay your own trackwork. Stop by our website to learn more!

Posted by: Tim | 11-21-2007 | 11:11 PM
Posted in: Latest Posts | Work Bench