Tech week- ultimate garage work bench

Hey everyone, thought I would share my tech week build. My goal for tech week was to start and finish a project and I have to say it took longer than I thought. Although my build is not to the caliber of most here on the HAMB, everyone has to start somewhere and this is where I did.

Let me say this, everyone has a story of being at the right place at the right time. In my case, my employeer was selling a bunch of old production tables. So I decided to buy two tables for cheap and picked up a third for free.

Let me say this about my self. I think I am an organized person but really I am a "pile" person. Meaning that as long as I make a pile of paperwork or car parts somewhere, it seems organized to me. But we all know it really isn't. So to challenge my self I went with the smaller butcher block top to avoid my habit. I needed enough space to work but not to much to add new piles too. If that makes any sense? Plus I am quickly running out of space in my garage so I have to limit my work space!

Below is what is left of the two tables I bought. The butcher block top is 1-3/4" thick, 2' wide and 4' long. The second table I bought for the hydraulic legs that make the table adjustable for working height.


Below is the third table frame (purple) I got for free along with a shop light and power strip. the light and power strip were being thrown away into the trash so I relocated them! You can also see how much I will need to chop the purple frame to fit the butcher block.


So let the planning begin. Literally.

 

By this time my shop helper was not having any fun.



Alright lets get back to it.
Marked all of the cuts on the purple table and:



Well photobucket isnt playing nice tonight, so enjoy the large pics!

 

Good thinking on your part to save the tables. If, you have the space why not just add to the butcher block table for a bigger working space. The butcher block can be doweled and glued together. Table looking good.

CRUISER

 

So after I welded all of the purple pieces back together I had to set up a "safe" grinding station. Had to make a trip to Harbor freight for a fire blanket and Home depot for a fire extinguisher


At this point after grinding the welds I had to check my table measurements again. Put the new top on, swapped out the tables feet for wheels (from one of the other tables) and tested the new hydro legs. We have a roller! I skipped a step from earlier that included cutting off the mounts for the hydro legs from the white table and welding them onto the purple table as well.

 

Ok, you have me hooked, I've got to see where this goes.

 

Next up was the really fun part for me. I have wanted a folding welding table for some time but I think they are really expensive. So the next day at work I asked the machine shop supervisor if they were going to be throwing out any more steel. Good luck for me, he gave me a couple lengths of 1-1/2" by 1-1/2" angle iron. So now I had an idea. Since I am just learning the basic for MIG welding I only have a couple c-clamps and wood working clamps to hold down any work pieces. So I put my smarty pants on and started sketching ideas. Below is the start of my idea.


Here is the finished welding table top.

 

Next up was to make the welding table fold out of the way when not in use. So I used some steel door hinges and some flat stock steel. Below is how it turned out.


If you look close, this pic was from the first test fit but you get the idea.

Here is the finished welding table .

 

Very nice, the folding welding table is a fine idea!

 

Since I dont know all of the different welding style clamps that I may or may not need (due to the cost) I thought it was a good idea to incorporate the use of machinsts clamps. For those of you who are machinists or know a machinist, they know a lot of tricks on how to clamp every kind of shape possible. So I bought a set of machinist clamps from Harbor freight for $60 and will have endless ways to clamp work pieces. For $60, I would only be able to buy 5 different styles of welding clamps and they would be a guess as to what style to purchase.

I dont intend to clamp engine blocks, rear axles etc with my new table but I will be clamping metal scuplture pieces and various brackets and sheet metal for my car (the cool 50 fleetline in the backgroud of the pictures).

The narrow slots are for the machinist clamp t-nuts. The narrow slot holds the t-nut (on the underside of the welding table) and doesnt allow it to rotate when you snug down the clamp. The wide slots are for various c-clamps, scissor clamps and wood working clamps that I already have. There is enough clearance in the width of the slots so the c-clamps can fit easily.

Now, I'll let the pictures talk for themselves.


view of how to hold a work piece for grinding.


All of the drilled holes around the perimeter of the frame are for the machinist clamps as well and the perimeter flange around the welding frame I can use for c-clamps.


The different width gaps for the machinist clamps and c-clamps will also provide clearance to odd shape and parts with flanges.

 

I also made some uprights to mount the shop light too. Then I installed the power strip to the lower back frame of the table. Added two horizontal supports to the shop light uprights. I didnt post any pics since they were minor tasks.

 

Cool I like it....Good job!!!

 

Final: ULTIMATE GARAGE WORK BENCH finished! I try and add some signs and stickers that mean something to me as a final touch.



Hung up the tools of choice too!

 

A tribute to my late father, a Marine till the day he died. He used to say some thing like "your never a former Marine but always a Marine". No disrespect to other branches of the Military, I support you too!!



My father is the one who showed me how to work on all of my vehicles. We would also go to Back the Fifties at the Minnesota state fair grounds every summer. He introduced me to vintage cars/ trucks and hot rods. So I have him to thank for getting me hooked!

 

A tribute to my late grandfather (my father's dad). He was shot down in WWII, captured by enemy forces but survived his POW camp.

Also my HAMB tag.

 

And the last photo that includes my welding helmet! Not trying to get political on you HAMBers, I just want to pay my respect to my father and grandfather for there military service and to other members of the board that have served our great country.

 

Good work. Small tech tip... Mount your power strip with the prong openings facing DOWN (or at least sideways). They have a tendency to catch grinding material... which can be a bit of a hazard.

 

Like Warner Bros used to say at the end of my favorite cartoons, "thats all folks"! I hope you enjoyed my project. I sure enjoyed my time out in the garage working on it.

Since I have been lurking around the HAMB since 2009, I have to say that I have learned so much from everyone on here and for someone just starting in the hobby (or should I say sickness!) I am continually impressed, motivated and inspired. Now that I have completed my ULTIMATE GARAGE WORK BENCH, I feel great!

 

Thanks for the safety tip and I will mount the power strip as you suggest!

 

Thanks Cruiser! Probably will at a later date when more tables go up for sale!

 

Thank you!

 

Thank you!

 

Cool work bench.

 

Neat bench youve got.
and now you need somewhere to hang up your welding helmet, I throw mine in a cardboard box on the end of the bench, not the ideal solution, ANSWER, find an old bowling ball, preferably the same size as your head, weld a couple prongs on the top shelf of your bench to match your finger holes, jam the bowling ball on and hey presto, you've got your helmet holder, no adjusting required.

 

Yep, it's called the sedimentary filing system, the deeper you dig the older the stuff you find

Cool table. I'm a big fan of salvaging old tables, benches... anything.

 

very cool

 

well done. sure beats my metal fire door on an old store display metal frame.

 

Great build with some great ideas, will pass along to my buddy who is getting into his new garage.

 

Love the folding welding table idea. Good thinking.

 

In extremely hot climates, after millions of years, does the stuff that's been mashed on the bottom turn into diamonds? If so, I may be rich!!!

 

Pure genius.
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