Sewing table plan--double as a woodworking bench?

Submitted by kristen on Fri, 10/22/2010 - 17:29

I really need a woodworking bench to use for assembling Ana's plans.  The garage floor is not working out and I have nothing to clamp to.  I also do not have room for anything large, so when Ana published her sewing table plans, I was excited about the possibility of using it for woodworking.  Anyone with experience think that this would work?  Is the plan heavy duty enough for woodworking?

Forums

tnslb

Sat, 10/23/2010 - 03:14

I don't know, but for me I think it would be too 'flimsy'..I don't want a surface that can fold down, when I'm really putting pressure/weight on it like I could when building, versus sewing.

 

Someone recently made the kitchen island into a workbench, have you checked that out?  I think I'm headed that route myself, slightly modified - you can get old countertops a lot of times on craigslist, so I think I'll top mine with one of those.

Tsu Dho Nimh

Sat, 10/23/2010 - 05:09

To make it safe for tools and clamps, if you made the legs bigger - 2x4... If you used a positive locking mechanism instead of gravity on the legs and top to hold them in place ... If you made the top thicker.

you might as well get a portable workbench and save the time and effort.

 

I would recomment getting a pair of folding sawhorses and a piece of 3/4 inch plywood to make the topper:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ.....1E2M0DBKNB

 

Or a folding workbench: https://www.hardwareworld.com/Folding-Workbench-pIRUAKQ.aspx

 

Check Craigslist and thrift stores first, and garage sales.

 

I'm staining doors right now, using two 1x10s laid across two workbenches. Somehow, somewhere I have accumulated several sets of sawhorses of various sizes and they are usually in use holding something - even as a potting bench.

kristen

Sat, 10/23/2010 - 06:20

Thank you both for your help.  I thought it might not be heavy duty enough and I appreciate some insight from people who have done this before.  I really appreciate the links and ideas as well--I did not think there would be such affordable solutions out there.  I will definitely check out the used options first--if I'm not successful I will be putting something on my Christmas list to solve the problem. 

I can see how the versatility of the sawhorses would be a benefit in our house as well!

zigmommy

Mon, 10/25/2010 - 12:09

We were one of the ones that made the kitchen island for our workbench. I just thought I would weigh in to say it has been a great workspace solution for us! We are also space challenged and it fits right along the wall of our regular sized garage and we park both my large SUV and my husband's car in there next to it with room to spare. We put it on 2 in. locking casters so we could easily move it around as space permits.

 

We also made saw horses out of pallet wood as one of our first projects and those have been invaluable. We stack them on top of each other when not in use and leave them against the wall as well. The sawhorses only cost the price of screws and I believe the island only set us back about $75-$85 (with casters and drawer slides and the actual price of lumber used, we still have a lot of very usable MDF and OSB left so our upfront costs were a bit higher, the sheet of MDF itself was $33). The island is amazingly sturdy and we can store everything we use for our projects right on the bottom shelf and in the drawers which actually FREED UP space in our garage and made working really convenient. Laugh

 

If you want to see it I blogged about it here http://organizationalhysteria......oject.html

 

Good luck!!!

 

Danielle

kristen

Sun, 10/31/2010 - 10:08

Danielle--great looking workbench on your blog!!  I would love to have the compound miter saw always available like you've got.  Right now it's in a large cabinet--one of a few my husband built.  While they are fantastic to stash stuff away, they occupy all the space we've got for a workbenchFrown  I went out and bought a cheap, folding workbench that was similar to what Tsu Dho Nimh suggested.  I found it for $18 at Big Lots--I think it will work for having something to clamp to and using the Kreg Jig.  After my next project I will post how well it performs, if anyone is following this and wants to know...can't get much more inexpensive than that.

 

I like the idea of making the sawhorses from pallets.  That might make it to the top of my list of projects because I think they would get a lot of use. 

 

Thanks for the ideas!

trysh_ray

Tue, 02/22/2011 - 11:50

My husband recently build a workbench almost exactly like the sewing table plans. His is a bit bigger and he used 2x4s and 3/4" plywood for the top. The fold downs were hinged using piano hinges for extra support and he uses 2" dowels for the legs that are removable for when he wants to fold it up and put it away. It works great! He has used it with his vise, table saw, miter saw, etc without problems and loves that it is compact so that it doesn't take much space when not in use. Hope that helps.

kristen

Mon, 02/28/2011 - 18:22

Thanks Trysh!  Since the calendar has been creeping toward spring, we have been talking about cleaning out some of the garage to set up a spot for projects.  Even though we might get more area, I still think we'll need a workbench that tucks away.  I think beefing up the plan with some heavier duty wood may be the way to go so thanks for letting me know!

 

I said in my earlier post that I would check back in about the fold away workbench from Big Lots for $18.  It works well for having something to clamp to, and it is nice that the two sides split apart for easier clamping on some parts of projects.  In short, it was worth spending the $18 on.  But I do need something with a larger, flatter surface at times, so I'm looking forward to having an actual workbench in the future to accompany the portable one.