Best Bench on the Planet!

Okay so it might not be the best bench on the planet, but its the
best for me. Im little partial considering its home made with blood
sweat and tears. Im doing a DIY write up on my “new-to-me” blog.

http://www.patpruitt.com/blog

Ive got the first two parts written and still need a lot more to do,
but hopefully in a couple of weeks ill have the full series done.
This DIY is for a pretty robust jewelers bench made from 2" square
steel tubing and lots of plywood. Hats off to all the woodwokers out
there, I have a new found respect for those with wood working skills.

P@

This DIY is for a pretty robust jewelers bench made from 2" square
steel tubing and lots of plywood. Hats off to all the woodwokers
out 

Are those drawers in front? I can’t quite tell from the picture.
Looks good!

Elaine
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com
Helping You Make Your Best Impression in Clay

I love all of the drawers. Congratulations, Pat

Bobbie Horn

How much did you pay for all?

Are those drawers in front? I can't quite tell from the picture.
Looks good! 

Yes, those are drawers in the front, 14 of them total, (6) 3" high,
(4) 4", & (4) 5". Since they have 1/2" bottoms, the effective depth
is 1/2" shy of the height

I love all of the drawers. Congratulations, Pat 

Thanks, Ive always wanted to build something like this, and finally
found the time and inspiration for them.

How much did you pay for all? 

Thus far for one bench, and im bulding two of them…(prices may
vary in your area), and these are just approximate prices.

$130 on steel ($90 for the 2" tubing, $30 for the angle iron, + cut
charges)
$100 on plywood ($40 for the top, $40 for the drawer sides, $20 for
the drawer bottoms)
$7 on eye bolt drawer pulls
$30 on finish
$20 on gas getting the stuff

So about $300 or so thus far for one bench. I guess the only down
side to this, is the amount of time it takes to build one of these,
especially if you lack good wood working skills and tools like me.
The nice thing if your on a budget, is that you can make a working
bench without the drawers for under $200, then add in the drawers as
time and money permit.

Right now im up to 4 parts in this series, the next couple of parts
will be making the drawers and options if you dont want to make them
yourself. Ill also address other tidbits that might make the bench a
bit more useful.

Thanks for the comments thus far, and as always ask any questions if
you have them.

P@

Pat,

I don’t see the cost of the drawers themselves listed in your parts
and cost breakdown.

It seemed to me that rather than making the drawers, one might be
able to pick them up on the cheap at a used furniture store.? A
narrow chest of drawers could supply most of what we might want for
a bench.

Peace,
Francis

I don't see the cost of the drawers themselves listed in your
parts and cost breakdown. 

The cost of drawers is included my last post. Although I do have to
correct myself. To build all the drawers youll need (2) full sheets
of 1/2 ply, and (1) full sheet of 3/4" ply, approxomate cost $80.

Ill be listing some alternatives to building your own drawers on my
blog. One of the options is, like you said, to purchase a set of
drawers. The ones that seem to be the best are from Otto Frei, Part
Number 113.022, With a little modifications to this drawer set and to
the dimensions on the bench, this should fit nicely. Cost $175 +
shipping for one set of drawers.

Update: I have concluded the full how to on my blog. Seven Parts
total, I hope you all enjoy this little adventure of mine. Its in the
DIY section.

P@
www.patpruitt.com/blog

Very generous of you Pat to share your plans for this handsome
bench. One suggestion that might be helpful: I found a wire grid
(Home Depot perhaps?) with openings of about 3/4" coated with some
rubber product.

I cut it to size and have it over the catch tray. All the filings,
etc. go through to the tray and it’s a handy place to lay files and
other tools while working.

KPK

Very generous of you Pat to share your plans for this handsome
bench. One suggestion that might be helpful: I found a wire grid
(Home Depot perhaps?) with openings of about 3/4" coated with some
rubber product. I cut it to size and have it over the catch tray.
All the filings, etc. go through to the tray and it's a handy place
to lay files and other tools while working. 

No problemo on sharing thats what this place is all
about. Just wait until I do a writeup on the lapidary system. :wink:

The tray in the photo was my brothers tray, my tray was build in the
same dimensions, but I blocked off two 6-1/2" sections, one on the
left, one on the right. Lined them with some galvanized steel sheet
for holding tools like you mentioned, leaving the middle section to
catch the filings and stuff. I would like to make a removable tray
out of the same material so its easy to remove to reclaim the goods.
Just taking baby steps with the details right now, but thanks for the
recomendation, ill give it a whirl when I get more time and see what
happens.

P@