Making a homemade metalworking workbench. Making a classic carpentry workbench with your own hands What is the best way to make a table top for a workbench?

The general principle of the development of materials processing technology from prehistoric times to the present day is how to make parts for more precise ones using inaccurate equipment. And it all started with a workbench; prototypes of it are found during excavations of Stone Age settlements. It is quite possible to build a workbench, a full-fledged one, with your own hands, and this will not only save a significant amount, but will also simplify, facilitate the work and improve its results.

Three mistakes

Amateurs, sometimes, judging by their designs, very experienced, knowledgeable and diligent, sometimes make themselves workbenches on which, figuratively speaking, you can smash a tank with a sledgehammer. They take a lot of time and labor, and hardly less money than a good branded amateur workbench. Repetition of industrial prototypes in a design for one’s own use, designed for intensive work in 3 shifts and a static load of more than a ton, with a service life of 20 years, is one of typical mistakes development of workbenches of our own design.

The second is neglect of vibrations. Not a clearly felt “game” or “recoil”, but a small tremor that significantly complicates the work and reduces its quality. Vibrations have a particularly strong effect on workbenches on a metal frame.

The third - repeat carpentry or metal workbenches; perhaps with some modifications to suit your needs. Meanwhile, there are many designs of workbenches for home/amateur work of various types. There are workbenches that are more or less specialized or, conversely, universal, temporary, made from scrap materials, etc.

In this article we will figure out how to make a workbench taking into account these errors, firstly, simpler and cheaper, in accordance with the range of needs and/or hobbies of the craftsman. Secondly, how to make a workbench general purpose or universal for special conditions use - in a cramped garage, for carpentry at a construction site from scrap rubbish, at home for small precision work, for children.

About universal workbenches

Among the branded products, which are sometimes quite expensive, you can find “universal” workbenches in the form of a carpenter’s bench with a lid without a tray, a complete bench vice on a wooden cushion, and a clamp for their installation, like the one in the photo:

“Universal” factory-made workbench

This is a wrong decision not only because wooden table top carpentry work deteriorates. The main thing that is bad here is the technological fluids used in metal processing - oil, kerosene, etc. Wood soaked in them becomes much more flammable. Self-ignition is also possible; Remember, it is strictly forbidden to accumulate oily rags in production. A different approach to designing the tabletop (board, lid) of a universal workbench is needed based on the type of work it is primarily used for - fine or coarse, see below.

Work bench

In the West, amateur/home workbenches with a stacked table top framed by a side are widespread. Drawings of such a “work bench” are shown in Fig. Under the fitter, the lid is covered with a sheet of steel 1.5-2 mm thick and a vice is placed on the pad.

The bench workbench dampens vibrations well; It can be made from pine or spruce. But the design is complex, and it is inconvenient to work with long materials and furniture on such a workbench. Therefore, we will first look at how to make the most common carpentry workbench, then a garage and a mechanic's workbench. Next we will try to combine them into universal workbench and let's see what we can come up with on this basis for special needs.

Workbench composition

A workbench of “our” type (conditionally, since it is impossible to accurately establish its origin) consists of:

A bench (in carpentry workbenches), or a bed (in metalworking benches), ensuring the stability of the entire unit and the ergonomics of the workplace.
Covers, box-shaped or in the form of a tray, giving work area necessary rigidity.
Shelves; possibly with a tray, nests, and stops on which work operations are performed.
An apron on which the tool is hung. An apron is not a necessary accessory for a workbench; it can hang on the wall or be replaced with a cabinet, rack, etc.

Note: workbench height approx. 900 mm. The length and width are selected according to the installation location and type of work within the range of 1200-2500 and 350-1000 mm, respectively.

The lid and shelf are most often made at the same time, one-piece, and are simply called a lid, a workbench board or a tabletop. To dampen vibrations, the shelf is always made on a base (bed, substrate) made of wood. In a metalworking workbench, the bed is covered with a steel sheet of 2 mm thick and can be made of coniferous wood. Its overall strength is sufficient, and the steel tire protects the tree from local damage and the ingress of technical fluids. In a carpentry workbench, a bed made of high-quality (without knots, twists, etc. defects) solid fine-grained wood (oak, beech, hornbeam, elm, walnut) also serves as a shelf; in a workbench for the home, for the sake of simplifying it, without sacrificing quality, it is possible to have 2 -layer construction, see below.

The traditional design of the bench, on the contrary, is collapsible from the same wood as the carpentry shelf. This comes from the master craftsmen of the past, who transported their equipment from customer to customer on a cart. It is from the bed/bench that you should start developing your workbench, no worse, but simpler than traditional ones.

Bed: metal or wood?

Stationary wooden workbench has advantages over those on a steel frame not only in lower cost and labor intensity. Wood, firstly, is not plastic. Workbench on wooden base can be broken, but if the wood used is seasoned and impregnated, it will never bend. Secondly, wood perfectly dampens vibrations. The foundations of your buildings are not reinforced vibration-absorbing ones, like workshops in a factory? And the overall strength and stability of the home workbench frame will be fully ensured by commercial coniferous wood of ordinary quality.

The design of a wooden workbench frame made from 120x40 boards is shown on the left in Fig. Permissible static load – 150 kgf; dynamic vertically downward for 1 s – 600 kgf. Corner posts (legs) are assembled on 6x70 self-tapping screws in a zigzag (snake) pattern with a distance from the edge of 30 mm and a pitch of 100-120 mm. Double-sided fastening; the snakes on both sides of the package are made in mirror image. Intermediate support beams are fastened with steel angles on self-tapping screws; the edge ones - with pairs of self-tapping screws at the tenons of the posts and, on the outside, with corners.

If timber 150x50 or (180...200)x60 is available, the design can be simplified, as shown in the center in Fig. The load-bearing capacity will increase to 200/750 kgf. And from timber 150x150, 150x75 and (180...200)x60 you can build a frame capable of bearing 450 kgf in statics and 1200 in dynamics, on the right in Fig.

Note: Any of these beds is suitable for both carpentry and metalworking workbenches. Under the joinery, a box-shaped lid is placed on it (see below), and under the fitter, a tray from a 60x60x4 angle with welded 4-mm strips above the intermediate beams is placed. A wooden cushion is placed in the tray and covered with steel, also see below.

If there is no welding

All wood workbench, no need for welding work to make it, you can do it according to the following pattern. rice. The “trick” here is the tabletop, glued together from 75x50 lumber and fastened with ties. If the timber is oak, then permissible load– 400/1300 kgf. Corner posts – timber 150x150; the rest is timber 150x75.

Metal

It happens the other way around: metal is more accessible than wood, and welding is available. Then the workbench table for a load of 100/300 kgf can be assembled according to the drawing on the left in Fig. Materials – corner 35x35x3 and 20x20x2. Boxes are made of galvanized steel. Disadvantage - it is impossible to make an opening at the bottom for the legs; the structure will lose its ability to bear dynamic loads.

For a load of 200/600, a more convenient one is suitable metal workbench according to the diagram at the top right from corrugated pipe 50x50 (corner posts), 30x30 (others vertical parts) and a corner 30x30x3. The plank cushion of both workbenches is laid only across (bottom right) from tongue-and-groove boards (120...150)x40.

Shelf – steel 2 mm. The shelf is attached to the pillow with 4x(30...35) self-tapping screws, a pair at each edge of each board, and along the outer boards - in increments of (60...70) mm. Only in this design will the workbench show the specified load-bearing capacity.

These workbenches are already universal: for carpentry, the lid is turned over with the wooden side up or adjusted as described below. A bench vise is mounted on a wooden pad, but is not secured with a clamp. A collet anchor for an M10-M14 bolt is driven into the vice pad from below, and a through hole is drilled in the cover for it. A 60x2 washer is placed under the bolt head. This solution is convenient because it is possible to use inexpensive non-rotating vices.

For carpentry

The cover of a carpenter's workbench, unlike a metalworker's one, is tightly attached to the bench and is box-shaped for overall rigidity. The best option fastenings for a non-dismountable workbench - steel angles and self-tapping screws. The underbench can also be a steel frame from those described above.

How a traditional carpentry workbench works is shown in pos. And rice; accessories to it on pos. B. The bench board (in this case it is a separate device) is used to work with long pieces. The support in its groove is made from a wedged piece of board, see below. It is advisable to drill a longitudinal row of holes in the board and secure it into the sockets with bolts with conical heads. The traditional design of a carpentry bench is shown in pos. G, but – see above.

It is possible to reduce the cost of the carpentry workbench cover by making it 2-layer, pos. B. Then quality boards solid wood will only be needed for the shelf. They lay it by laying the boards with “humps” of annual layers, alternately up and down, to avoid warping. The shelf flooring is first glued together with PVA or carpentry glue, tightly compressed with a clamp or wrapped with a cord; put on the pillow using the same glue. The lid skirt is assembled separately using glue and through tenons (inset in pos. B) and attached to the pillow-shelf package with self-tapping screws.

Carpentry vice

Solid wood carpenter's vices, front and chair, are now almost completely replaced by a vice with a metal screw clamp, pos. D; their device is shown in pos. E. Some comments are necessary here.

First, you need to place 2-3 steel washers under the head of the clamping screw, otherwise it will quickly eat through the cushion (wood 4x4x1 cm). Secondly, if the nut is not custom-made or purchased, then at least temporarily acquire a set of taps for the thread you are using. In this case, do not try to use a screw that is too thick for evenness and smoothness of the clamp; M12-M16 is quite enough.

The nut of a homemade clamping pair is welded onto a base with a diameter of 60 mm or, square, from 70x70 mm. It is not necessary to recess it into the clamp pad, this way there is less chance that the nut will break off when clamped. But welding will cause the thread to go ugly; you can’t get rid of it with a bolt. The thread of the welded nut will need to be passed with taps according to the complete pattern, as when cutting: first tap - second - third (if included in the kit).

Note: The nut welded to the base must be allowed to rest for 2 hours before passing the thread so that the residual deformations “settle down.”

Vise and joinery for mechanics

The vice on a metalworking bench is installed in the corner (see inset in the figure) so that as much of the dynamic loads as possible during metal processing fall vertically on the corner post. Location cross beams and intermediate vertical racks It is advisable to make a workbench with a stationary vice slightly asymmetrical, placing them at smaller intervals towards the corner with the vice. The vice is also installed starting from the corner:

A collet anchor is driven into a wooden corner post under an installation bolt, and a tall nut or threaded bushing is welded into a metal one (attachment point 1 at the bottom left in the figure);
If the fastening unit is welded, the threads are threaded with taps, as in a homemade nut in a carpentry vice, see above;
Place the vice temporarily on 1 bolt and mark the holes for fastening points 2, 3 and 4;
The vice is removed and through holes 2, 3 and 4 are drilled;
Place a vice on bolts 1, 2 and 3;
For fastening to bolt 4, place a jib U from wooden beam from 60x60 or professional pipes from 40x40. It is not necessary to secure the jib, but it must rest from the bottom against the upper frame (frame) of the bed, but not against the tabletop!
Finally attach the vice to bolt 4.

Note: Stationary power tools are also secured in the same way, for example. emery.

Under the carpentry

A workbench can also be adapted for carpentry work if you drill 2-4 pairs of holes in the tabletop for fixing the carpentry stop (on the right and in the center in the figure). In this case, round bosses are screwed to the lower surface of the stop with self-tapping screws; plugs from plastic bottles, they endure a tight fit many times.

Workbench for garage

It is impossible to make a workbench in a garage with an optimal width for the ergonomics of the workspace - the dimensions of a standard box of 4x7 m with a car parked in it do not allow it. The width has long been determined through trial and error. garage workbench 510 mm: it is quite convenient to turn between it and the hood, and it is more or less possible to work. A narrow workbench under a heavy load (for example, a motor removed for rebuilding) turns out to be unstable, so it is attached to the wall. Often - angular, this increases stability, but any wall-mounted workbench “resounds” stronger than a workbench-table of the same design

A diagram of the structure of one section of a garage workbench is shown in Fig. This design uses an ingenious method of additional vibration damping: the cells of the lid frames and the bottom shelf of the edge farthest from the corner are of different sizes. The installation accuracy of the crossbars is +/– 1 cm. For the same purpose, the lid and bottom shelf are made of 32 mm thick laminated chipboard and covered with linoleum instead of steel. For garage work its durability is sufficient; can be easily replaced.

Fastening to walls - self-tapping screws from 8 mm or bolts from M8 with a pitch of 250-350 mm. Recess into a stone wall is 70-80 mm; in wooden 120-130 mm. Propylene dowels are placed under the self-tapping screws in the stone wall; for bolts - collet anchors.

More for the garage

Another version of the garage workbench is already wall-mounted, and the wall-mounted one is on the left in Fig. It can only be mounted on stone walls. Bench board folding 2-layer; each layer of plywood is 10-12 mm. Opening for the machine with a stepped inner edge. In this case, a “milling machine” means a mini-drilling machine with a movable rotary table and a workpiece clamp. The design is convenient in that the shavings fall directly onto the floor.

If your car is something like a Daewoo or Chery with a 3-cylinder engine, and the garage is very small, then you can put a folding mini workbench cabinet with a lifting tabletop in it, on the right in the figure; It is also suitable for fine work in the home (electronics, precision mechanics). The tabletop is suspended on a piano hinge, the legs are on cardboard. To fold, the legs are tucked under the tabletop (it would be useful to tie them with a leg), and the tabletop is lowered.

Note: for a cramped garage with an ordinary city car, perhaps a folding workbench box would be optimal, see the video below.

Video: folding workbench box

Home station wagon

At home they are engaged in smaller, but painstaking technical creativity: soldering, model making, watchmaking, artistic sawing from plywood, etc. For small, delicate work, a universal workbench is suitable, drawings of which and its accessories are given in Fig. The durability of the working surface and its vibration absorption in this case are not as important as evenness, smoothness and some adhesion (“stickiness” of parts), so the tabletop is covered with linoleum. The bench vise for this workbench needs to be small, with a screw clamp fastening.

More about plywood

In general, it is undesirable to work with metal “roughly” on plywood, because... she calls back well. If the pillow is board mechanic's workbench After all, it is made of plywood, then to its underside you need to glue a frame (frame) also made of plywood on PVA, see fig. Then it is advisable to first cover the upper (working side) with linoleum without a lining, and then lay the steel on it.

The younger shift

Another case when making a workbench board from plywood is justified is a student workbench for a child. Pedagogical considerations play a role here: let him learn to feel the material and not beat him too much in vain, but work carefully. For the same purpose, masters of the past deliberately gave their students bad instruments.

Workbenches for the dacha

When country house or others light wooden The building is still under construction, there’s no time for bench intricacies, you need at least something on which you can carry out simple carpentry work. For such a case a quick fix you can put together a carpentry workbench for a summer house from scrap materials, on the left in Fig. The design is remarkable in that it clearly and fully embodies the principle: we make good things with bad equipment.

For subsequent work on arranging the dacha, a mini-workbench will be useful, on the right in Fig. With minimal material consumption and an extremely simple design, it is sufficiently stable for ordinary carpentry work in all respects, because the middle of the bench board is supported by a pair of struts. If you put them on bolts, the workbench will be foldable and stand in the pantry from weekend to weekend. For disassembly, after releasing the struts, the spacer is removed along with them, and the legs are tucked under the board. Finally, for a dacha inhabited permanently or all summer, with a craftsman owner, by the way, you will need a more complex but fully functional folding workbench, see the video below.

A garage is a multifunctional space. In it you can install and repair cars, design and make various things and mechanisms with your own hands.

If a person likes to spend time in the garage doing repair work, he needs to properly equip his workplace. A workbench is a multifunctional work table on which you can process various materials, carry out metalworking, electromechanical and installation work. Also in the design of the workbench, you can consider shelves and drawers to store tools and other items.

Types of workbenches

Workbenches are made for processing metal (metalwork) and wood (carpentry). The designs differ in the material of the countertops. For metalwork models, the table top must be metal, since working with metal involves the use of machine oil and other liquids that wooden surface may leave marks.

Also when processing metal parts effort and the use of a sharp tool are often required, so it is best to equip the workbench with a metal tabletop.

Woodworking benches are designed for working with wood, so they are not as durable or functional as bench models.

Workbench design

If the design of a work table for a garage is made by hand, then first of all you need to carefully think through every detail, figure out where the tools will be placed, what work will be carried out on the workbench. The model of the garage table depends on this.

Standard models are often equipped with drawers, which can be made of wood or metal. Also, the table design can be supplemented with shelves, a power shield for hanging tool, which will always be at hand. But most importantly, the workbench must be stable, durable and reliable.

Tool

Grinder with a circle for cutting metal and a grinding disc.

Welding machine and electrodes. Overalls and protective equipment for welding work.

Screwdriver.

Jigsaw for cutting plywood.

Materials

Angle 50 mm by 50 mm, thickness 4 mm, length 6.4 m.

Square pipe 60 mm by 40 mm, thickness 2 mm, length 24 m.

Angle 40 mm by 40 mm, thickness 4 mm, length 6.75 m.

Steel strip 40 mm wide, 4 mm thick, 8 m long.

Steel sheet for tabletop 2200 mm by 750 mm. Thickness 2 mm.

Steel sheet for making drawer holders. Thickness 2 mm.

Wooden boards for the table top. Thickness 50 mm.

Plywood for making drawers and for the side and back walls of the table. Thickness 15 mm

Guides for desk drawers.

Screws for assembling plywood boxes.

Self-tapping screws for metal.

Anchor bolts.

Paint for wood and metal.

The workbench, which will be made from these materials, has quite impressive dimensions: table length 220 cm, width - 75 cm. The overall design and large tabletop allow you to place a vice and, for example, emery or other tools at different ends of the table.

The first step in making a workbench is cutting the available material into elements. Profile pipe intended for the manufacture of frames. The steel angle is designed to create stiffeners. It is cut into pieces and a power frame is formed from it. Also, a steel corner is needed for edging the tabletop on which the boards will be laid.

The steel strip is intended for the manufacture of guides on which the side panels will be attached. This material will also be used for brackets for fastening boxes and plywood.

Table drawers are made of plywood.

The second step is welding the power frame of the workbench. The tabletop elements are welded first - 2 pipes 2200 mm long and 2 pipes 750 mm each. The frame must be welded so that another frame of corners can be welded on top of it, into which the tabletop boards will be laid. To reinforce the tabletop, it is necessary to weld a few more after 40 cm steel pipes, which will serve as stiffeners.

Then 4 side legs are welded along the edges of the workbench. Their length is 900 mm. Power bridges are welded between the legs to strengthen the structure.

Once the basic frame is ready, you can begin welding the structure for the boxes. To do this, square frames are formed from steel pipes, which are welded to the tabletop on both sides of the table. The frames are reinforced with longitudinal stiffeners.

The third step is making a frame for the tabletop. Two steel angles, 2200 mm long, and two more angles, 750 mm long, are needed to make the frame. The structure is welded so that wooden boards fit inside it.

The angle frame is laid on a pipe frame and welded. The result is a reinforced tabletop, 8 cm high with internal stiffeners.

The metal frame of the workbench is almost ready, all that remains is to weld the panel sheathing for attaching the tool. This requires one metal corner with a length of 2200 mm and 4 corners with a length of 950 mm. Two elements are attached to the sides of the structure and two in the middle for reinforcement. The tool panel is welded to the tabletop.

The frame of corners and pipes is ready. You can begin to strengthen the structure. Brackets are welded to the sides of the table, which are cut from a steel strip. A total of 24 parts are needed. A hole is drilled in the middle of each bracket. Using these holes, the side and back walls plywood tables will be attached to metal frame workbench.

The fourth stage is making drawers for the table. Plywood is cut into blanks, which are screwed together with screws. The number of drawers depends on what will be stored in the table. If the parts are small, then you can build 3 drawers; if the parts are large, then 2. It all depends on personal preference.

Drawers can be placed on both sides of the table, or mounted on one half retractable structures, and on the second there are ordinary open shelves.

After the drawers are assembled, you need to weld metal strips with holes between the sides of the drawer compartments. The slides for the drawer guides will be attached to these holes on the inside.

The fifth stage is laying the boards into the tabletop frame. Boards 50 mm thick are cut into pieces of a certain length. If you have a long board available, then you need three blanks with a width of 245 mm and a length of 2190 mm. If there are no long boards available, then you can lay the blanks across the table. For this purpose, wood 205 mm wide is cut into 10 pieces 740 mm long.

Before laying the wood into the table frame, it must be treated with an antiseptic solution. This will protect the material from rotting and damage by beetles.

Then it is imperative to paint the entire metal structure workbench. This will protect the metal from corrosion. It is best to use a weather-resistant and anti-corrosion coating option. Welding seams need to be painted especially carefully. Drops of metal and uneven surfaces are recommended to be thoroughly cleaned before painting. This can be done using an angle grinder with a metal grinding disc.

After the structure has dried, you can begin laying the boards on the countertop. They should not be driven too tightly into the frame. This is due to the fact that wood tends to expand and dry out when temperature and humidity change. It is better to leave a small gap of a few millimeters between the boards. The surface of the wood needs to be sanded, this will simplify installation metal sheet on top of the tree. The boards around the entire perimeter of the table are screwed to the frame with self-tapping screws.

The sixth stage is fastening the top steel sheet. It can be welded to the countertop, but there is wood inside the structure, which can ignite during the welding process. Therefore, it is best to attach steel sheet for hidden screws wooden boards. The metal must first be painted on both sides with a rust converter. This covering material looks like transparent paintwork, is easily restored and reliably protects the metal from rust. You can also paint the metal tabletop with the same paint that was used to cover the frame. It will be beautiful, but over time the paint may scratch and the table will not look very new.

The last stage is installing the drawers on the guides and attaching the plywood to the side walls, shelves and power shield in front of the table. This work can be called finishing workbench. After work with plywood is completed, it must be coated with a composition that will protect the material from exposure environment. Also, do not forget about the design of a power shield for tools. You can attach special hooks or screws to it, from which the necessary things will be hung.

To make it convenient to work at a workbench, you can attach a special lamp with a bendable stand to the power panel. In this case, you can optionally direct the flow of light to the desired location.

Video - The process of making a workbench

Installing a vice on a bench

A vice is an indispensable attribute of a mechanic's workbench. It is not recommended to attach a clamping tool that weighs several tens of kilograms to the tabletop itself. It is best to place a metal gasket 1 cm thick between the metal of the table and the tool. You need to drill holes in the gasket for anchor bolts. Then, in the same places, drill holes of the same size in the tabletop. The entire structure is fastened with anchor bolts.

Safety requirements for a homemade workbench design

If the garage area is not too large, then you can make a smaller table for plumbing work with your own hands. But it is worth knowing that the entire structure must be stable, not sway or budge with little effort.
The workplace should be organized so that nothing disturbs a person. When working with a vice, all unnecessary tools should be removed from the tabletop.
Corners and protruding parts of the table should not be too sharp or have cutting edges.
After repair work behind the workbench, you need to clear the workplace from metal shavings, drops of oil and other materials.
If homemade workbench made correctly, it can easily withstand a load of 200 kg.

Plywood for board

Video - Do-it-yourself workbench in the garage

Every House master knows that a well-equipped workshop with a stable and reliable carpentry workbench, equipped with all kinds of devices for processing parts, is half the success in the manufacture of wood products. Of course, the desktop can be purchased at trading network. However, we recommend making it yourself. Firstly, this will allow you to receive the product the right size and functionality. Secondly, when building a workbench, additional equipment can be placed in the most rational way. Thirdly, the cost of the machine will be much lower than the factory version, which will allow you to buy a high-quality tool with the money saved. If these arguments have given you a reason to think about making a workbench with your own hands, then our drawings, instructions and recommendations will help you build a good-quality, reliable and functional carpentry workbench.

Purpose and design of a typical carpentry workbench

A durable and reliable carpentry workbench will provide convenience and comfort during prolonged work with wooden parts.

A carpenter's workbench is essentially a massive, reliable table for processing wooden products any size. The main requirements for equipment of this type are strength and stability. In addition, the machine must be equipped with at least minimum set devices for securing and holding workpieces. The dimensions of the workbench are selected depending on the size and weight of the parts being processed, as well as the available space in the workshop or garage. By the way, there are designs of compact workbenches that can even be placed on a balcony.

The design of a carpentry workbench with a stacked table top. In the figure: 1 - base or underbench; 2 - bench board; 3 - miter box; 4 - screed; 5 - vice; 6 - support beam

Since the work carried out on a carpentry machine is carried out using hand and electric tools, the workbench is made of solid timber and thick boards. By the way, the work surface, or in other words, the workbench board, is assembled only from hard wood. When making countertops, dry oak, beech or hornbeam boards with a thickness of at least 60 mm are used. If the tabletop is made of pine, alder or linden, then its surface will wear out quickly and will require periodic updating. Often, a workbench cover is assembled from several narrow and thick boards, placing them on an edge.

A series of holes made on the working surface of the table allows you to install thrust elements for easy processing of long wooden workpieces.

In order to facilitate the design, the supporting legs of the desktop, on the contrary, are made of soft wood. The vertical supports are connected to each other longitudinally installed beam to increase the stability of the product.

Typical diagram of a carpentry workbench

A vice of a special design is hung on the front and side of the workbench for fastening workpieces. In addition, on large-sized machines, separate clamping devices are installed for large and small parts. Optimal place The location of the carpenter's vice is the left side of the front apron and the near part of the right side panel.

In the underbench - the space between the supports, under the table top, they often equip convenient shelves And drawers for storing tools and accessories.

For convenience, a recess is made in the back of the tabletop for fittings and small parts. Often, a difficult-to-manufacture recess is replaced with a frame made of wooden slats.

Types and design

All homemade work tables for carpentry work can be divided into three types:

Mobile workbenches have a weight of up to 30 kg, dimensions of less than 1 m in length and up to 70 cm in width, are equipped with only a vice and are made partly from metal elements. Such machines are intended for working with small, lightweight workpieces or minor repairs of wooden products. A mobile desktop is an excellent option if there is a lack of space and can be installed in any room in the country house or on the balcony. Often, mobile workbenches have a folding design.
Homemade carpentry workbench with mobile design

If there is no need for a stationary, professional workbench, then for minor repair work or the manufacture of small parts you can convert an old desk.
A stationary carpentry workbench is made with reference to a specific location and is not intended to be moved during operation. Equipment of this type allows you to process parts of any size and weight.
A stationary carpentry workbench is a reliable, stable structure, arranged in accordance with the preferences of the owner and the characteristics of the room
The compound type machine is the most difficult to manufacture. However, due to its variability, this design is the most practical and functional structure. If necessary, individual parts of the workbench can be easily replaced, since the elements of the workbench are connected to each other by bolted joints.
A composite workbench is a structure that can be adjusted to any requirement

Project and drawings

When developing the design of a carpentry workbench the most important criteria are height, configuration and equipment. In addition, it is necessary to take into account who will use the desktop - left-handed or right-handed.

Considering that you will have to work at a carpentry bench for a long time, the closest attention should be paid to the height of the future structure. For people of average height, experts recommend making a table no higher than 90 cm.

Drawing of a carpentry workbench

When determining the distance from the floor to the tabletop, it is best to focus not on average parameters, but on the features of your own anatomy. It is optimal if the upper cut of the legs is at the same level as the hands. If you calculate this parameter taking into account the thickness of the tabletop, then you will be able to work tirelessly at such a workbench for several hours.

The machine cover can be made of boards, solid wood or plywood and is a composite structure. It is not recommended to use chipboard or OSB for these purposes. Professional carpenters have long ago determined optimal size tabletops - maximum 2 m in length and 0.7 m in width. On such a workbench, you can equally easily make a prefabricated wooden door, and a small window.

When designing a structure, do not forget about the strength of the supporting frame. For supporting elements of the structure, timber with a cross-section of at least 100x100 mm is used. As longitudinal and transverse reinforcing elements, it is allowed to use slats and beams with a smaller cross-section - from 50 - 60 mm or more. The joints of the parts are mounted on tenons or dowels; furniture corners and other fittings are used for strength, and all connections are made using bolts and self-tapping screws. Nails will not be able to provide the required stability and fundamentality of the structure.

Carpentry workbench. View from above

Often the frame, or otherwise the workbench frame, is made of metal. Despite the fact that this material makes it possible to create a height-adjustable structure with less labor, professional carpenters prefer all-wood structures.

Next, let's look at the project carpenter's table¸ made of plywood, or rather from two plywood sheets 1.8 mm thick glued together. The dimensions of the lid are 150x60 cm. The edges of the tabletop are reinforced with plywood strips, which increases its thickness to 72 mm. By the way, the presented dimensions are not a dogma and can, if necessary, be adjusted in accordance with the needs and characteristics of the specific room used as a workshop.

Required tools and materials

Plywood with a thickness of 18 mm is a fairly expensive material (the price of one sheet measuring 1.5x1.5 m is more than 700 rubles, excluding delivery costs). Our project will require at least two sheets of this material. You can save a little if you buy one, larger sheet measuring 2500x1250 mm. Additionally, if possible, try to purchase scraps of plywood at least 300 mm wide, which will be used to reinforce the workbench cover around the perimeter.

Additional for construction carpentry machine you will need:

wooden beam with a cross-section of at least 100x100 mm - for supports;
timber or slats with a cross-section of at least 60x60 mm - for frame reinforcement elements;
When choosing lumber for a carpentry workbench, carefully inspect the workpieces for the absence of knots and cracks. Remember that these parts will be subject to prolonged load;
electric drill with a set of regular and feather drills;
pieces of boards at least 1.5 m long for placing under clamps;
wood glue. Good result can be obtained using the domestic adhesive composition “Moment Joiner”;
furniture bolts with nuts and self-tapping screws;
Circular Saw;
carpenter's square;
long rule (at least 2 m);
construction level;
a notched spatula with the size of the cut sectors not less than 3 mm;
carpentry clamps.

The clamps needed to compress plywood sheets when gluing must be strong and reliable. If you are a non-professional carpenter and do not have quality instrument, then you can get by inexpensively clamping devices made in China. Of course, the number of such devices should be doubled.

Manufacturing instructions

To make the tabletop, cut two pieces with a circular saw. If you managed to purchase a plywood sheet maximum length, then you need to saw off one piece 1520 mm long from it. By cutting it in half, you will get two parts 1520x610 mm. After this, use the rule to check the concave and convex sides of each sheet. This will make it possible to correctly orient the sheets when gluing.
High-quality gluing ensures clamping of tabletop parts with clamps

To properly glue plywood sheets, they are folded with their convex sides facing each other.
Having laid one workpiece on three parallel boards, apply wood glue to its surface. To do this, use straight and notched spatulas. Remember that the work must be carried out very quickly, otherwise the composition will begin to set prematurely. The manufacturer of Moment Joiner glue recommends joining the parts no later than two minutes after the start of applying the composition. Therefore, if you are not confident in the speed of your work, use wood glue, which has no time restrictions. Of course, the strength of the connection will be slightly reduced, but even the PVA furniture mixture good quality will provide an acceptable degree of adhesion.
To avoid damage to the workpiece, support boards are placed under the clamps
Having laid the second blank on top of the first, place support boards around the perimeter of the future table top and begin to tighten the table top with clamps. At the same time, do not forget to control the flatness of the part using a rule. It will not be possible to tighten the center of the workpiece with clamps, so in this part you can install a load weighing at least 15 - 20 kg.
You can glue plywood sheets into a board without clamps, if you can find a perfectly flat surface for laying them, as well as a load of sufficient mass.
After the glue has dried, the clamps are removed and they begin to strengthen the side surfaces of the tabletop. To do this, strips of plywood 15 cm wide are glued along the entire perimeter of the lid in two layers. When performing this work, be sure to ensure that upper layer completely covered the joints.
Reinforcing the side parts of the workbench with additional plywood strips
A circular saw is used to trim the side surfaces of the table. The parquet is driven smoothly, slowly. It is convenient to use the same rule as a guide. The tabletop is given a size of 1500x600 mm, observing right angles, for which they use a carpenter's square or a factory corner of a plywood sheet.
The workbench supports are made of timber with a cross-section of 100x100 mm, connecting them with legs and drawers, for which lumber is used cross section not less than 60x60 mm. In our case, the height of the machine is 900 mm, however, you can adjust this size to suit your height.
Making a carpentry workbench frame
The legs are assembled “in a tenon” or using dowels, making sure to apply wood glue to the parts to be joined.
When assembling the upper and lower frames of the subframe, scrupulously maintain 90-degree angles between the parts. It will be easier to fulfill this requirement if, even at the stage of preparing the parts, their edges are trimmed correctly. The width of the frame of our structure is 900 mm, and the height of the frame is 830 mm, taking into account the distance from the floor to the bottom rung of 150 mm.
Holes made in the parts with a feather drill will help hide the bolt heads and washers.

If desired, you can build a shelf in the bench. To do this, a plywood panel is cut to the size of the lower space, in the corners of which rectangular cutouts are made for the legs of the machine.

Installation of additional equipment

It is impossible to imagine a real carpentry workbench without devices designed for fastening the workpieces being processed. For these purposes, a vice is attached to the finished tabletop in such a way that its jaws are flush with the surface of the lid. To correctly install the device on the workbench, apply a vice to the machine and mark the fastening points. After this, holes with a diameter of 12 mm are drilled and the tool is installed on the machine using bolted connection with M12 thread. When performing this operation, be sure to mill holes for the washers and bolt heads.

View of the finished product with a vice installed

If it is not possible to install a stationary vice, you can do without them by using bench clamps or clamps.

In addition to the vice, there are stops on the work table. To do this, a series of holes are drilled in the tabletop. The best stops are considered to be parts made of wood, since metal devices can damage the workpiece. The sockets for the supporting elements are located at a distance equal to half the stroke of the vice. This will allow you to securely secure a workpiece of any size.

Video: Do-it-yourself carpentry workbench

Building a carpentry workbench is quite a difficult task. However, with my own hands assembled machine will allow you to work in a convenient, comfortable environment. This requires not only to think through the ergonomics of the workspace and correctly prepare a construction project, but also to carry out the work in full accordance with the recommendations of professional carpenters. Only then will the resulting product be durable and stable, pleasing its owner for many years of service.

Design and purpose of the workbench

A carpentry workbench is a work table for manual and machining wooden products. The design and ergonomics of a classic carpentry workbench allow you to fix parts in various spatial positions and perform basic carpentry operations with maximum convenience: making wooden parts, assembling structures, coating them with finishing compounds. Traditional carpenter's table designed for working with lumber up to 3-3.5 m long. To process longer workpieces, use a carpenter's workbench.

A table for carpentry work consists of a bench board (cover) and a bench (supporting frame). A traditional workbench is equipped with front (front) and rear (end) vices, with the help of which the workpieces are fixed in the required spatial positions.

There are holes in the table top and the wooden jaws of the vice. They are designed for installing clamps and stops of various sections and heights.

Having placed the stops in required configuration, the part is placed between them and pressed with the screw mechanism of the vice. This way the workpiece is securely fixed in a horizontal position. Based on thickness wooden part, use a stop of appropriate height that will not protrude beyond the edge of the workpiece and interfere with processing.

How to choose the optimal workbench height?

The height of carpentry workbenches varies between 85-95 cm. Optimal height The table is selected based on the height of the master. If, standing at the workbench, your palms rest freely on its lid, then the size has been selected correctly. At such a workbench it will be convenient to perform all basic operations, without frequent bending and stretching, which lead to rapid fatigue.

What materials are best to make the structure from?

A carpentry workbench must have sufficient strength and rigidity, since during operation it is subjected to large loads, both static, formed under the weight of massive workpieces, and dynamic, arising in the process of sawing, drilling, impacts, etc. Sufficient strength characteristics are ensured not only by the features of the fastening units, but also the type of materials used.

Wood is traditionally used to make the base. coniferous species. The table top is made of durable wood: oak, beech, ash, maple, etc. The lumber used to create the bench board must be dry (humidity about 12%) without knots and other defects.

About making a workbench cover

Experience shows that when making a carpentry workbench with your own hands, it is more advisable to purchase a ready-made glued board, which will become a blank for the lid. The effort and time spent on cutting, jointing edges, gluing the shield and leveling it when creating such a massive part will be incomparable with the funds saved.

When performing work that increases the risk of damage to the lid: drilling, chiselling, etc., it is better to cover the working surface of the workbench with a thick plywood sheet or fiberboard cut to the shape of the lid. It is advisable to make this simple flooring immediately together with the workbench.

Manufacturing and assembly of sidewalls

The sidewall design consists of two legs (B), drawers and supports (A). The part is assembled on a through-glued tenon.

The figured cutouts of the frames and supports (part A) are cut out on a band saw, followed by grinding the edges.

In accordance with the dimensions indicated in the diagram, markings are made on the legs for the tenons of the prongs, after which they are selected with a chisel or milled.

On outside The legs are tapped into a conical recess under the head of the coupling bolt. A recess with a diameter of 35 mm and a depth of 11 mm is made with a Forstner drill. A through hole with a diameter of 14 mm is drilled in the center.

Sawing out tenons and eyes

Tenons and lugs are made on a sawing machine or by hand, following the basic principles of creating tenon joints. In such a critical design, the first option is preferable, since it allows you to minimize errors and inaccuracies, ensuring a perfect fit of the connection. The workpieces must have prepared, flat surfaces and correspond to the dimensions indicated in the drawing.

The halves of parts A are glued together, having previously placed an insert in the groove that will prevent displacement.

Side panel assembly

Parts A and B are glued together to form a finished joint. After drying, any excess glue that appears is carefully cleaned off with a chisel. The assembled sidewall is sanded.

In the center of the glued drawer, drill a 19x38 mm hole for a dowel (L) to fix the workbench cover.

Manufacturing of pedestals and underbench shelves

According to the dimensions indicated in the drawing, blanks for the legs (part C) are cut out in the amount of 4 pieces. Spikes are made at the ends of each part, adhering to the dimensions indicated in the photo. As with the sidewall, this operation is best done on a saw.

The connection of the legs with the sidewall is made detachable using a bolt tie with a transverse nut. To do this on inside the legs are milled into a recess for cross nuts d25 mm and depth 32 mm. A 14X95 mm hole is drilled at the ends of the legs. At this stage it is better to use a drilling jig, since the holes must be made strictly at an angle of 90°.

The support strips (parts D and E) are screwed with self-tapping screws at a distance of 22 mm from the upper edges of the supports.

According to the dimensions specified in the “General detailing” drawing, the planks of the underbench shelf are cut out (detail F). Holes are drilled and countersunk at the ends of each plank. The planks are ground and sequentially mounted on the assembled frame.

Installation of the bench cover

On the back side of the bench board, blind holes d19 mm and depth 32 mm are drilled for dowels (L).

Using a drill bit d19 mm, through holes are made on the cover for bench stops. Similar sockets 45 mm deep are drilled at the end of the lid. All holes are chamfered. The stops should fit easily into the sockets and not have any play.

Advice! For all drilling operations, use a drill with a jig to ensure clean holes at a perfectly right angle. It won’t be difficult to make such a guide yourself, if you have a piece of timber on hand.

Installation of a bench vise

Having decided to make a workbench with your own hands, it is more advisable to buy a carpenter's vice at finished form. In this case, you will get the most reliable and functional design, and, importantly, you will get rid of unnecessary headaches during their installation.

Manufacturers of bench vices try to adhere to standards in the manufacture of their products. Here we will look at the installation diagram of typical structures. But it is quite possible that you will have to improvise, adapting the installation to the features of a non-standard bench vise.

Vise jaws - parts H, I and J (2 pcs.) - are cut from hardwood. After this, holes are drilled for the guide rods, the lead screw, the socket for the bench stops and the holes for the mounting screws.

The rear jaws of the front and rear vices are mounted to the workbench cover as shown in the photo.

Wooden linings (part K) are cut to fit the size of the vice. Through holes are drilled in the drawers for the guide rods and the lead screw.

Advice! To accurately mark the holes, use the guides themselves, pieces of masking tape and a soft pencil.