third bench and lathe platform done!!

well gang, today was a real work day here. had to run over to home depot to pick up the plywood for the lathe platform. the nice thing about both of these projects is that aside from the hardware and the plywood, the lumber was free. the bad thing was that even with compensating, i'll have to shim up a touch under one of the casters to get it to ride level. darned slightly twisty recliamed wood! oh well, back to the fun. the third bench went together pretty good, and will work just right for the sander and the planer. i did some rearranging on the one bench, and i can get the bandsaw and the shaper on it with minimal fuss. also, moved the belt/disk sander from the table saw bench to the other bench as well. with this move, i should be able to keep my planer/jointer on the table with the table saw. darned busy day!

I loke your benches Dan, and may have to build one soon.

But, what is that fittysix chebby there in the first pic? Yours?

glad you like them tony, they're quick, easy, sturdy, and easy to make and adapt. no, that's my brother's 56. i have my projects, and he has his....

Dan,

I have a small bench I have been using for a while, although it is not really suited for what I am doing on it. Building one like yours will be much better, especially because I can install casters on it. That is not an option on the bench I have now at all. I am space restricted and mobility is a plus.

Now I have to go scrounge up my materials and get motivated.

Thanks.

Aloha, Tony

only thing you have to remember with this table tony, is that you need a minimum of 4" up from the bottom of the leg for the lower cross member, and notch the opposite side of the leg from the top down, for the upper cross member. other than that its pretty easy. i add something across the legs at the bottom, from side to side, for 2 reasons, stability, and extra shelf space.

Hi Dan,

My first post on this forum. Lots of lurking tho.

I'm curious why you had the cross members on opposite sides of the legs?

These look like good heavy duty movable (casters) benches for power equipment (Bench top Drill Press, etc).

Thanks,
Robin

hey robin, welcome aboard (no pun intended)! originally the benches from these plans were intended to be stationary, and having the cross members on each side provides stability for the legs. to make them mobile, i added the base parts to the bottom of the legs, and added the casters. i didn't change the legs at all. the nice thing about this design, is that it is very adaptable. if you want a deeper bench, make the cross members longer. if you want a wider bench, make the stretchers longer. if you want a taller bench, make the legs longer, but remember the lower notch needs to be at least 4" from the bottom. this bench is not as deep as the first 2 are. the top on this one is 4 2x6's, and the first two are 6 2x6's deep. they are that deep because my table saw is a bit on the large side, and i wanted to have my jointer/planer along side of it. the other has the other tools i use set up around the perimeter, and there isn't much space in the middle. the third one i setup for just the drum sander and planer. this way i have everything i'll need handy on 3 mobile benches. also, they are held together with nothing fancier than 2 1/2" sheetrock screws.

if you want to see how i put the first 2 together, it's the thread "2 new workbenches!"