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Holding a “most pathetic workbench” contest is like holding a competition for the “most unusual burro act.” Yes, you think in your sick little mind that you are ready for the worst. But really, you’re an amateur in the equus depravity department.
When we held our workbench contest in March 2009, I was flabbergasted by the entries. I used to build furniture on top of two pine blocks on our back porch in Lexington, Ky. Little did I know that I had it real good back then. Don’t believe me? Click here.
This tale, however, has a happy ending (as of today). One of the “winners” of our contest, Kyle Barton, wrote back to us this week with some photos and encouraging news. But before we get to the uplifting part, let’s start with the misery.
Kyle’s shop was a victim of Hurricane Ike. The pounding rains and wind flooded his basement with 6′ of water. His lightweight bench became a lightweight boat. Then it became a home for mold. And finally it ended up as the crown jewel of the garbage heap pictured above.
But Kyle was determined. Because he was a “winner” of our contest he received our “Best of Shops and Workbenches” CD. He looked over the articles on the CD. He consulted with me and Marc “The Wood Whisperer” Spagnuolo. And he developed his own plan for a workbench. And here it is.
It’s part “$175 Workbench,” with some “LVL Workbench” and “21st-century Workbench” thrown in for good measure. It still lacks a sliding deadman, but it’s already pulling its weight in Kyle’s shop.
The bench is 6′ long and 31″ wide. The base is yellow pine with half lapped joints that are glued and screwed together. The long stretchers are bolted to the end frames. The top is lag bolted to the base.
The removable and reversible tool trays are Baltic birch plywood that is glued and screwed together. The two vises (9 1/2″ front vise and 7 1/2″ tail vise) are Jet quick-release ones that Kyle picked up from Rockler when they were on sale for $50 each. He let them into the top by about 1″ and used pine and MDF inserts to cover the inside jaws.
“I also anticipate replacing the front vise with a leg vise in the future,” Kyle writes.
Good man.
With a little more work, Kyle’s shop will be back in business.
“And as soon as I complete my shop cabinets I can get back to building furniture,” Kyle writes. “At least that’s what I tell the wife; shop furniture is a lot of fun too.”
Good man.
– Christopher Schwarz
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
Nice. I was just looking back at that piece the other day, and while some of the others made me laugh, this one was sad. Everybody likes a happy ending.
p.s. and nobody likes a know-it-all, but I can’t help myself: "equus" is really "horse," while "burro" would be better as "asinus" (AH-see-nus, if you’re curious)
Nice looking bench.