A universal folding workbench can become an irreplaceable thing when equipping a workplace in a garage or home for working with wood or metal.
Not every desktop surface can withstand the loads that occur when working with metal products. This workbench is made from special durable materials, ready for workloads, shocks and increased pressure.
Folding workbench universal and regular table
Recently, transformable furniture, which can easily and quickly change its purpose, has become increasingly popular. A folding table allows its owner to work with different materials at one table and save space in the workroom.
Moreover, if there is no need for frequent use workbench, the folding design allows you to remove it from the room and free up space.
The main difference between universal and ordinary carpenter's table lies in the strength of the frame, which is usually metal. It can be with movable powerful rollers at the base or with a folding design.
You should choose it very carefully due to the fact that folding options can be extremely unstable, and case ones often have high price.
Characteristics of a universal folding workbench for home and workshop
The main purpose of this table is to carry out work at home or in a small workshop. The tables differ mainly its size and price. In terms of their external working qualities, all tables are almost identical and have the following characteristics:
Advantages of universal folding workbenches
This table is a compact workplace. Such workbenches are made mainly of metal and have a table top made of medium-density fibreboard(MDF).
This material is resistant to moisture and steam, which makes it practical material for making a desktop.
Manufacturers have provided on the tabletop special places for installing power tools from various manufacturers, which gives the owner the opportunity to complement his workbench:
- circular saw;
- grinding machine;
- drill;
- electric jigsaw;
- drilling device.
A set of necessary tools and a home workbench will allow the master to carry out carpentry work with precision, just like in production. For those who dream of making their own pieces of furniture, such a device is simply necessary.
In small repair shops, such tables will help significantly save space and get excellent results from the repair work carried out.
Despite small size, They strong enough and allow processing of massive parts. Some workbenches can withstand a total weight of about two hundred kilograms. In addition, modern countertops allow you to securely fasten parts during processing.
All clamps for fastening the workpieces are placed in the holes of the tabletop, which greatly facilitates the work of the craftsman. Clamps are included in the kit, but insufficient quantities they can always be purchased separately. The metal frame, due to its strength, allows the use of hand tools.
When it is not possible to completely mechanize the work, you cannot do without its use. Justification hand tools happens, as a rule, with small volumes of work.
By and large, folding analogues are intended for carpentry work. But if you do not exceed the permissible load, then you can install a bench vice.
When it is necessary to cut or bend thick sheets of metal, it is better not to use a folding table. The main working purpose for them is everything planing, sawing or cutting parts. If ready-made options If they don’t fit, then you can make a table according to your own plan.
What to consider when making your own workbench
A table for metalworking or carpentry work, first of all, must be stable. Its dimensions depend on the workshop area and frequency of use.
For the workbench surface, it is better to choose durable wood species, such as oak, beech or hornbeam. This will allow the master to work with mechanical, hand tools and various materials.
Before you start making a workbench, you need to decide the purpose of its use. All workbenches can be divided into three groups:
- Stationary - are large durable tables, tied to one place.
- Mobile – small folding tables with metal frame Most suitable for work with small parts.
- Composite, which are held together by bolted connections, which are easy to replace parts and allow the tool to be easily disassembled.
At self-production workbench can be make a design to suit your height to work without slouching. Ready-made workbenches rarely exceed a height of eighty centimeters, which is extremely inconvenient for tall people.
In addition, you can fill the workbench yourself necessary tool and make suitable places for clamping parts. The optimal length of the workbench is two meters with a width of eighty centimeters. For storing hand tools and small parts You can add several drawers to your workbench.
It is better to take as a working surface whole cloth which can be made from old interior doors. When using separate boards, they should be nailed together very tightly so that there are no gaps where debris and sawdust can get in.
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 the money is hardly less than for 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, workbench designs for home/hobby work of different nature a lot. 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 for general purpose or a universal one for special conditions of use - in a cramped garage, for carpentry at a construction site from scrap trash, at home for small work precise work, children's
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 a universal workbench and 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 the work area the 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 carpenter's 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?
A stationary wooden workbench has advantages over one 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.
Design wooden bed a workbench made of 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; edge ones - with pairs of 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. Load 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 static conditions 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 in the tabletop, glued together from 75x50 timber and fastened with ties. If the beam is oak, then the permissible load is 400/1300 kgf. Corner posts – timber 150x150; the rest is timber 150x75.
Metal
It happens the other way around: metal more accessible than wood, and there is welding. 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 the ability to bear a dynamic load.
For a load of 200/600, a more convenient metal workbench according to the diagram on the upper right made of corrugated pipe 50x50 (corner posts), 30x30 (other vertical parts) and a corner 30x30x3 is suitable. 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. Q. Then high-quality hardwood boards 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
All-wood carpenter's vices, front and chair, are now almost completely replaced by vices with a metal screw clamp, pos. D; their device is shown in pos. E. Some comments are needed 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 along full scheme, 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 posts of a workbench with a stationary vice, it is advisable to make them 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 drilled through holes 2, 3 and 4;
- 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 table top!
- 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 workplace - the dimensions of a standard box of 4x7 m with a car parked in it do not allow it. Long ago, through trial and error, the width of the garage workbench was determined to be 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: cells of the lid frames and the bottom shelf of the edge farthest from the corner 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. Its durability is sufficient for garage work; 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 using 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 other lung wooden structure It’s still just under construction, there’s no time for bench-widths, 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. At minimum consumption material and extremely simple design, it is sufficient for ordinary carpentry work, stable 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.
The peculiarity of this unusual mini-workbench is that its work plate can be attached to any table in any convenient location. The front pressure block of the workbench can be quickly moved from one extreme position to another using an eccentric cam with a handle.
The parallel movement of the pressure bar is carried out by two guide rods that pass through the work plate and are connected to this bar. Compression springs are placed on the opposite ends of the guide rods. The compression force of these springs ensures the fastening of the workpieces between the pressure bar and the working plate. The required spring tension is adjusted using knurled round nuts on the side surface.
The free ends of the guide rods are connected to each other by a longitudinal rod. An eccentric cam with a handle is installed exactly opposite the middle of the longitudinal rod. By turning the cam clockwise around its axis, you can “squeeze” the pressure bar and release the part. To clamp the part, the cam must be turned counterclockwise. The necessary clamping force is provided by springs.
To limit the maximum amount of “squeezing” stroke of the bar, two studs with wing nuts are provided on the longitudinal rod as a stop. The working stroke of the pressure bar is relatively small - it is determined by the shape and size of the eccentric cam, as well as the position of the thrust wing nuts. But nevertheless, it is quite enough to secure the workpiece. The main advantage of this mechanism is that the part can be quickly secured and
also quick to remove.
Several parallel rows of holes are drilled in the work plate and front pressure bar. They are designed for installing special clamping jaws - large and small; there should be 4 of them in a set. each type. The jaws allow you to secure parts of almost any size and shape to the workbench.
To fix the workpiece being processed on the work plate in the “longitudinal” direction, the design provides a special screw clamp. Its movable boss, which is moved by a lead screw with a handwheel, also has a hole for installing a clamping cam.
The mini workbench is very convenient to use. Easily configured to work with workpieces and parts of different shapes. It can also be easily removed and installed in any place convenient for work, and when folded it can be easily placed in a desk drawer.
Securing the workpiece along or across the workbench is not difficult.
The clamping jaws supplied with the device are inserted into the holes drilled in parallel rows in the work plate and clamping bar.
The clamping jaws can be rotated in any direction, which makes it possible to clamp workpieces of complex shapes.
Small clamping jaws can be used to clamp a flat workpiece directly to the work plate.