The creek is drowning you guys--Bill's project update
 

"Lee Michaels" leemichaels*nadaspam* at comcast dot net wrote in message
news:...


"Swingman" wrote

Not to be critical, but the only thing that concerns me, strictly judging
from the photos, is that the legs may be too close together for the
height of the table?

It appears that much downward pressure on a benchtop overhang larger than
the end "aprons" may have a tendency to tip the bench.

Disregard if you have assured yourself that is not the case.

And you are going to put another "stretcher/apron" assembly toward the
bottom of the legs, right?

I agree. The only way a bench that narrow will be stable is if you pile
800 pounds on the bottom. That is commonly done for lathes. In fact I
thought it was a lathe bench when I looked at it. Those guys must have
narrow benches to get close to their turning. So they stack sand bags on
the bottom. This creates a stable base and cuts down on vibration.

Remember the comment I made about benches need to be heavy? If you are
not going to something really heavy, it must be wide enough to give a
stable work surface. Particularly if you are going to install a vise on
there. I have a fairly narrow bench in my shop. But it is made from
solid maple and always has tools stacked on the lower shelves. So I can
get away with it. It is very heavy.

Another suggestion I would make. If you are going to put a vise on there,
particularly a solid metal one that sits on top of the bench, think about
putting some additional wood underneath the bench to mount the vise to. A
heavy vise on a bench can introduce extra stresses on the bench. If some
of those stresses are shared by some kind of underlying structure, there
is less stress on the bench top. Of course, I will confess to building
every thing super strong. I guess that comes from seeing people hurt,
growing up, who built flimsy crap. Not me. One thing I have done on
small benches like this is to fasten numerous 2 X 4's or 6's to the top.
Then install and additional layer on top of this. I have even put down a
layer of 2 X stock, then plywood, then more solid stock over that. You
can't have a top that is too strong, heavy or sturdy!

Unless you are going to bolt this to the floor or wall, or pile on lots of
sandbags, I would expand the foot print of this thing.

Addendum: One other thing I have seen done to stabilize narrow benches is
to install some cross pieces on the bottom of the legs. These extend out
from the bench, on the floor. I do not recommend this. People can trip
over them and get hurt. I am a bit clumsy myself and can trip over things
easily. But I have seen it done.

The creek is drowning you guys--Bill's project update
 

Lee Michaels wrote:


"Lee Michaels" leemichaels*nadaspam* at comcast dot net wrote in
message news:...


"Swingman" wrote

Not to be critical, but the only thing that concerns me, strictly
judging from the photos, is that the legs may be too close together
for the height of the table?

It appears that much downward pressure on a benchtop overhang larger
than the end "aprons" may have a tendency to tip the bench.

Disregard if you have assured yourself that is not the case.

And you are going to put another "stretcher/apron" assembly toward
the bottom of the legs, right?

I agree. The only way a bench that narrow will be stable is if you
pile 800 pounds on the bottom. That is commonly done for lathes. In
fact I thought it was a lathe bench when I looked at it. Those guys
must have narrow benches to get close to their turning. So they stack
sand bags on the bottom. This creates a stable base and cuts down on
vibration.

Remember the comment I made about benches need to be heavy? If you are
not going to something really heavy, it must be wide enough to give a
stable work surface. Particularly if you are going to install a vise
on there. I have a fairly narrow bench in my shop. But it is made from
solid maple and always has tools stacked on the lower shelves. So I
can get away with it. It is very heavy.

Another suggestion I would make. If you are going to put a vise on
there, particularly a solid metal one that sits on top of the bench,
think about putting some additional wood underneath the bench to mount
the vise to. A heavy vise on a bench can introduce extra stresses on
the bench. If some of those stresses are shared by some kind of
underlying structure, there is less stress on the bench top. Of
course, I will confess to building every thing super strong. I guess
that comes from seeing people hurt, growing up, who built flimsy crap.
Not me. One thing I have done on small benches like this is to fasten
numerous 2 X 4's or 6's to the top. Then install and additional layer
on top of this. I have even put down a layer of 2 X stock, then
plywood, then more solid stock over that. You can't have a top that is
too strong, heavy or sturdy!

Unless you are going to bolt this to the floor or wall, or pile on
lots of sandbags, I would expand the foot print of this thing.

Addendum: One other thing I have seen done to stabilize narrow benches
is to install some cross pieces on the bottom of the legs. These extend
out from the bench, on the floor. I do not recommend this. People can
trip over them and get hurt. I am a bit clumsy myself and can trip over
things easily. But I have seen it done.

I will experiment, and use sandbags or equivalent as necessary. By the
way, this was originally intended as a "work table" to help me get off
the ground, so to speak, until I build my heavy bench. The "heavy
bench" is expected to have a top consisting of halfed/ripped 2by8s,
glued together. Lew make this suggestion to me almost 3 years ago, but
I started working on electrical enhancements.
Someone wrote that it takes a bench to make one, and I surely understand
the truth of that! I anticipate that the new bench will help me gain
some traction in my woodworking. I anticipate that it will be a
relative joy to complete an array of small jobs I have in mind already.

I won't hesitate to add more wood under the vise if necessary. I think
the weak spot is the 4.5" on the apron that it overshoots the leg
(adjacent to the vise). It's not like a stinking air conditioner--If I
can build it, I can fix it! I like that alot! : )

Cheers,
Bill

The creek is drowning you guys--Bill's project update
 

Subject

Turn this unstable table into wienie roast fuel and build a stable
bench.

It will keep you out of the local E/R.

Lew

The creek is drowning you guys--Bill's project update
 

Lew Hodgett wrote:
Subject

Turn this unstable table into wienie roast fuel and build a stable
bench.

It will keep you out of the local E/R.

Lew





If I move each leg so that it was 2" from each neighoring edge, would it
satisfy your stability criteria?

It would be 58"L by 27.75"W by 40"H.

Or would you like to see it wider (or shorter)?

I put alot of thought into choosing the height, but did NOT anticipate
that the height would factor into safety when I started.

Bill

The creek is drowning you guys--Bill's project update
 

"Bill" wrote:

Or would you like to see it wider (or shorter)?
-------------------------

A finished bench height of 24" will keep you out of trouble.

Lew