Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

I have both, a section I built, and some bench cabinets I purchased. Downside to a lot of the purchased ones are they are particle or pressed board and do not stand up well to any weight on them over time and start to sag or bow shelves, etc. The one I built will handle a lot more weight with no signs of sagging.

I like the idea of steel supports, as they take less space than 2x4's and provide better strength.

-- Edited by 69SSConv on Tuesday 3rd of January 2012 10:39:44 AM

Mine is one of those gorilla rack benches from menards with a solid core door cut to fit as a top. I think I then ran a 2x6 under where the bench vise bolts for added support. Has worked great and I have beat the crap out of it. Only thing I would like to do is cover the top in metal for easier clean up.

It will be 6' wide x 22" deep x36" tall. I keep refining the actual build design-I started at 8' wide, but will be cut to 6'. Figure $60 for the beams (10' beam is $15) though I think I might only need 3, misc corner brackets are $2 each- need 8, need 6 other L brackets @ $2 ea, 8 drawer slides @ $11 ea, make some basic drawers, plus some nuts/bolts and a top. I was thinking of using flat stock to span from front to rear leg and give more mounting point for drawer slides. Those add another maybe $20 to the total. It should come in under $300 and be what I want. I'll eventually weld it, but I want to assemble it first and see how I like it-make changes if necessary since it's pieced together. I could add another section underneath the ends and put adjustable feet on it too, but my floor is pretty flat-nothing so far has been off or wobbily. My other bench will probably become the tool platform in the front garage for mitre saw, grinder, etc.

I still am working were I will mount that shelf...I only want to move it once as it weighs a ton. Or I may put wheels on it an make a movable work table that I can weld on.

Either way...it is heavy duty enough I could throw a big block on it and not have a worry about any bowing with that thick steel top.

Before man first fastened a piece of stone to the end of a stick and called it a tool. Before he allowed woman get near the fire for warmth (scholars have documented this moment as man’s first mistake) and certainly long before the wheel that we now know was invented to transport beer. There was a flat horizontal surface somewhere in his cave; it allowed him to get up off the floor and for the first time and work standing up. It also provided an excellent location to store his beer; this would keep his prize possession out of the reach of both the cave kids and the guy from the cave down the trail, it became known as the…..Workbench.

The woman; same one he allowed to get up near the fire, at some time began to stack things on it, to get them off the floor and make more space in the cave. This first domestication of the Workbench lead to it being called The Shelf and for about the next 200,000 years it would be called The Shelf.

At some point over the next 200,000 years man realized his error with fire and the Workbench; man then chiseled and dug out a small space in the hill next to his cave and called it Garage, here he would think great thoughts, plan for the future of the world, and create wonderful things, one of which would be the automobile. Woman and all domestic items would not be allowed in the Garage.

So after all these years of evolution what defines the best Workbench? I just added up how many Garages I’ve had, I stopped counting at fifteen, everyone had a Workbench most became The Shelf. I’ve learned that if the flat horizontal surface is attached to the wall regardless of its size the probability of it becoming The Shelf is much greater.

 
So the next evolution of the Workbench will be called the Work Station; at a minimum it must be mobile so it can be taken to the work, as solid as the first one made of stone in the cave, have excellent lighting, provide ample storage, be able to supply electrical power on demand, be capable of being stored against a wall when not in use and have a safe place to set a cold beer. It is the most important tool in the Garage and regardless of cost it is man’s most important investment.

However, and most important, it must never be allowed to be a repository for domestic items their- by becoming The Shelf.

22’ x 72” solid as the rock, lots of storage, $400.00 at Sam’s.

The drawer fronts will actually cover the full face so the frame won't be shown.