When a major renovation is planned in a home, it is necessary to have everything at hand at any time, which will allow you to use your time with maximum benefit. For this, it is important to properly organize the home craftsman's workplace if he is used to doing everything with his own hands. During renovation or construction, woodworking takes up a significant amount of space. However, sawing timber on a stool or bench is inconvenient and time-consuming. A work table, also known as a workbench, will help you use your time and resources rationally. You can make it at home.
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The Benefits of Building Your Own Workbench
Not every owner believes that a workbench is always needed in the household: it is needed only during the repair or reconstruction of the building, so he prefers to rent it. But this opinion is wrong, especially if he is the owner of a house standing on the ground. A carpenter's workbench that appeared in the household will become a real help for him. Having made such a design, the owner gets a number of advantages compared to using a workbench rented or bought in a construction supermarket.
- He will save a significant amount of money, which he can use for further home improvement.
- Gain additional business experience and practical skills.
- You will receive at your disposal a convenient work table suitable for processing wood and metal parts.
- If the owner makes a workbench with his own hands, he will be able to use it at any time.
Types of tables
There are different types of workbenches that have different purposes.
- A carpenter's workbench for making wooden parts. It is convenient to process small wooden products on it, but it is not intended for primary processing of wood. It requires a tabletop three meters long and one meter wide. The parts are fixed on it with wooden horizontal and vertical clamps.
- The carpenter's device is much larger in all parameters and heavier. It is used to process tree trunks, cut boards, beams and other wooden blanks.
- The universal table allows you to work with wood and metal; its tabletop is reinforced with a metal strip and has wooden and metal clamps.
There is another definition of types of structures based on their possible location.
- Mobile (portable). Used to perform small jobs with small parts. It is convenient and fairly light. It can be easily moved from one place to another. The carpenter's table is equipped with a small or medium-sized vice, which allows it to be used for small metalwork.
- A stationary workbench is massive and stable. You can use it to process lumber, but a home craftsman will hardly need such a workbench unless he constantly does woodworking.
- Assembled on connections using bolts. This is a kind of transformer: at any time it can be supplemented with special equipment and make the necessary changes, depending on the tasks to be solved.
The type of construction a home craftsman chooses directly depends on the goals and objectives he sets:
- the work table is needed for processing small parts and manufacturing small products only during repair and construction work;
- the owner will use it constantly and work with small volumes of wooden parts;
- a workbench will be needed to carry out the primary processing of wood, turning it into boards and timber on a permanent basis;
- It is intended to use the table for periodic processing of small wooden and metal parts.
Experienced home craftsmen claim that even a novice owner who does not have skills in handling metalworking tools can make the product.
Selection of material
To make a workbench with your own hands, the master needs wood and metal. If you plan to make a small table, then a wooden base will be suitable for it. Laminated chipboard, pressed plywood with a thickness of at least 5 - 7 cm are suitable for the tabletop. For a stationary table, you can use well-planed boards, tightly fitted to each other, and partially - metal.
And if a home craftsman has an unnecessary desk at his disposal, it will become a good base. It is also convenient because it already has several drawers or compartments for storing tools.
An old door made of a single piece of wood will find use in the design. It will make a wonderful durable tabletop that does not even require processing.
Using materials available at home to make a carpentry table with your own hands will save the home craftsman time and money.
You can make a metal workbench yourself. It will be strong, reliable and heavy. But experience shows that the most acceptable option is an intermediate one, when the frame and the lid of the workbench are made of wood and then covered with sheet metal.
A home craftsman who decides to make a workbench with his own hands will need a certain set of materials. He knows very well what is needed for this.
And for those who do not yet have sufficient experience, we have compiled a list of everything needed to make it:
- metal corner;
- steel strip and galvanized iron sheet;
- plywood;
- screws;
- anchor bolts;
- square pipe;
- wooden boards;
- self-tapping screws for metal;
- dye.
What tools will you need?
A small wooden carpentry workbench made by yourself will take a worthy place in your home workshop. You don't need a lot of tools to make it.
You will need a standard set that can be found in every home:
- screwdriver;
- roulette;
- Bulgarian;
- jigsaw or hand saw;
- hammer.
Depending on the material used for the carpenter's workbench, the list of materials and tools may vary. For example, to make a metal workbench, you cannot do without a welding machine and electrodes.
Where to put?
Before starting work, it is important to immediately determine what the table will be used for and how often, where it will be placed. You can't do without a drawing. The answers to these questions will determine its dimensions, material and manufacturing procedure.
The best place to place the device is in a part of the room (garage or shed) where there is natural light. It is also important to have electrical outlets near the workbench to connect power tools and a lamp. It is best if the light falls from the left or directly, then the work surface of the table will be illuminated during the day.
Then the parameters of the future design are determined. Despite the existing standards regarding the table sizes, if you make a carpenter's workbench with your own hands, the home craftsman will proceed from the expediency and the actual available space, so the tabletop will be such that tools and parts can be freely placed here, without strict adherence to the dimensions. The width is usually 50-60 cm; this size is considered optimal, as it allows you to freely reach the opposite edge of the tabletop.
Another important parameter is the height of the workbench. There are various ways to determine it, from precise mathematical calculations to folk experience, which suggests considering the optimal indicator to be the distance from the extreme point of the arm bent at the elbow to the floor. An experienced craftsman can make it adjustable.
After determining the basic parameters of the product, you can begin assembly.
- First, the legs are secured (four supports made of steel angles, which are also connected with angles and secured by welding at the top and bottom). The result is a rectangular welded structure.
- After the frame is made, they begin preparing the tabletop. The boards cut to size are laid on top of the frame and tightly fastened. The tabletop is connected to the frame using bolts. The work surface must be processed: planed and sanded. The bottom must be secured with crossbars or wooden blocks. They are screwed to each of the elements of the resulting shield.
After fixing it, you need to cover the lid with metal (it is better if it is galvanized). The metal sheet is fixed to the surface of the tabletop with screws. If burrs form, they must be cleaned.
The main work on making the workbench is completed here, but to give greater rigidity to the structure and to attach it to the floor, you can weld metal corners from below. If desired, you can equip it with drawers and shelves for tools.
Of the necessary equipment, a vice should definitely find a place on the workbench. They are hung on the front side of the tabletop and are used to fasten products. If large parts are often involved in the work, it is necessary to install several vices of different sizes.
Shelves can be mounted under the workbench to accommodate various devices, necessary tools, or to store processed parts.
Carefully made with your own hands, a carpenter's workbench will become a convenient device for the work of a home craftsman.