Making a classic carpentry workbench with your own hands. Self-made carpentry workbench made of wood How to make a carpentry workbench

The general principle of the development of material processing technology from prehistoric times to the present day is how to make details on inaccurate equipment for more accuracy. And it all started with a workbench, its prototypes are found during excavations of Stone Age settlements. It is quite possible to build a workbench, and a full-fledged one, with your own hands, and this will not only save a significant amount, but also simplify, facilitate work and improve its result.

Three mistakes

Amateurs, sometimes, judging by their designs, very experienced, knowledgeable and diligent, sometimes make workbenches for themselves, on which, figuratively speaking, a tank can be smashed with a sledgehammer. They take a lot of time and labor, and hardly less money than a good branded amateur workbench. Repetition in the design for own use of industrial prototypes designed for intensive work in 3 shifts and a static load of more than a ton, with a service life of 20 years or more, is one of the typical mistakes in the development of workbenches of our own design.

The second is the neglect of vibrations. Not a clearly felt “play” or “recoil”, but a small tremor that significantly complicates the work and reduces its quality. Vibrations are especially strong in workbenches on a metal bed.

Third - repeat carpentry or locksmith workbenches; perhaps with some tweaks to your liking. Meanwhile, there are many designs of workbenches for home / amateur work of a different nature. There are workbenches that are more or less specialized or, on the contrary, universal, temporary from improvised materials, etc.

In this article we will figure out how to make a workbench taking into account these errors, firstly, simpler and cheaper according to the range of needs and / or hobbies of the craftsman. Secondly, how to make a general-purpose workbench or a universal workbench for special conditions of use - in a cramped garage, under carpentry at a construction site from improvised trash, home for fine precision work, for children.

About universal workbenches

Among branded products, sometimes very expensive, you can find "universal" workbenches in the form of a carpenter's workbench with a lid without a tray, a complete bench vise on a wooden cushion, and a clamp for installing them, like the one in the photo:

“Universal” prefabricated workbench

This is the wrong decision, not only because the wooden countertop deteriorates from carpentry. The main thing that is bad here is the technological fluids used in metal processing - oil, kerosene, etc. The wood impregnated with them becomes much more combustible. Self-ignition is also possible; remember, it is strictly forbidden to accumulate oiled rags in production. The approach to designing the countertop (board, cover) of a universal workbench needs a different one based on what kind of work it is mainly used for - thin or rough, see below.

work bench

In the West, amateur / home workbenches with a type-setting worktop framed by a side are widespread. Drawings of such a "working bench" are given in fig. Under the locksmith, the lid is covered with a sheet of steel 1.5-2 mm thick and a vice is placed on the pillow.

The workbench dampens vibrations well; You can make it from pine or spruce. But the design is complicated, it is inconvenient to work with lengthy materials and furniture on such a workbench. Therefore, we will first look at how to make the most common carpentry workbench, then garage and metalwork. 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.

The composition of the workbench

The workbench of "our" type (conditionally, since it is impossible to establish its origin exactly) consists of:

Underwork (in carpentry workbenches), or bed (in metalwork), 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.
The apron on which the tool is hung. The apron is not a mandatory accessory of the workbench, it can hang on the wall or be replaced by a pedestal, rack, etc.

Note: workbench height approx. 900 mm. The length and width are selected according to the place of installation and the type of work within 1200-2500 and 350-1000 mm, respectively.

A lid with a shelf is most often made at the same time, one-piece, and is simply called a lid, benchtop or tabletop. To dampen vibrations, the shelf is always made on the basis (bed, substrate) of wood. In a locksmith's workbench, the bed is covered with a steel sheet from 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 ingress of technical fluids. In a carpenter's workbench, a bed made of high-quality (without knots, strands, and other defects) solid small-layer wood (oak, beech, hornbeam, elm, walnut) serves at the same time as a shelf; -layer construction, see below.

The traditional construction of the bench, on the contrary, is collapsible from the same wood as the joiner's shelf. This comes from the master covens of the past, who transported their equipment from customer to customer on a cart. It is from the bed / underbench 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 that on a steel frame, not only in lower cost and labor intensity. Wood, firstly, is not plastic. A workbench on a wooden base can be broken, but if the wood is used seasoned and impregnated, it will never buckle. Secondly, the tree perfectly dampens vibrations. The foundations of your buildings are not reinforced vibration-absorbing ones, like workshops at a factory, are they? And the overall strength and stability of the bed of a home workbench will be fully provided by coniferous commercial wood of ordinary quality.

The design of the wooden frame of the workbench made of boards 120x40 is shown on the left in fig. Permissible static load - 150 kgf; dynamic vertically down for 1 s - 600 kgf. Corner posts (legs) are assembled on self-tapping screws 6x70 in a zigzag (snake) with an indent from the edge of 30 mm and a step of 100-120 mm. Double-sided fastening; snakes on both sides of the package are mirrored. Intermediate support beams are fastened with steel corners on self-tapping screws; edge - with pairs of self-tapping screws at the spikes of the racks and, outside, with corners.

If a beam of 150x50 or (180…200)x60 is available, the design can be simplified, as shown in the center in fig. The bearing capacity will increase to 200/750 kgf. And from a bar 150x150, 150x75 and (180 ... 200) x60, you can build a frame that can carry 450 kgf in statics and 1200 in dynamics, on the right in Fig.

Note: any of these beds is suitable for both carpentry and locksmith workbenches. A box-shaped cover is placed on it under the carpentry (see below), and under the locksmith a tray from a 60x60x4 corner with welded 4 mm strips above the intermediate beams. A wooden pillow is placed in the tray and covered with steel, also see below.

If there is no welding

An all-wood workbench, without the need for welding to manufacture it, can be made according to the scheme on the trail. rice. The “chip” here is in the tabletop, glued from a 75x50 bar 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 is 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. Drawers are galvanized. The disadvantage is that it is impossible to make an opening at the bottom for the legs, the structure will lose its ability to carry a dynamic load.

Under a load of 200/600, a more convenient metal workbench is suitable according to the scheme at the top right of a professional pipe 50x50 (corner posts), 30x30 (other vertical parts) and a corner 30x30x3. 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 from each edge of each board, and along the extreme boards - with a step of (60 ... 70) mm. Only in this design, the workbench will show the specified load-bearing capacity.

These workbenches are already universal: under the carpentry, the lid is turned over with the wooden side up or adapted, as described below. The locksmith's vise is mounted on a wooden cushion, but is not fastened with a clamp. A collet anchor under the M10-M14 bolt is driven into the vice cushion from below, and a through hole is drilled under it in the cover. A washer from 60x2 is placed under the bolt head. This solution is convenient because it is possible to use inexpensive non-rotating vise.

For carpentry

The lid of the carpentry workbench, in contrast to the metalwork, is tightly attached to the workbench and is box-shaped, for general rigidity. The best mounting option for a non-separable workbench is steel corners and self-tapping screws. Podverstache can also be a steel bed from those described above.

How a traditional carpentry workbench is arranged is shown in pos. And rice; accessories to it in pos. B. The workbench (in this case, this is a separate device) is used to work with a long length. The emphasis in its groove is made from a wedged trimming of the board, see below. It is advisable to drill a longitudinal row of holes in the board and fasten it into the sockets with sunken cone-head bolts. The traditional construction of a carpentry underbench is shown in pos. G, but - see above.

The cover of the carpentry workbench can be made cheaper by making a 2-layer, pos. Q. Then high-quality hardwood boards will only be needed for a shelf. They lay it down, laying the boards with “peas” of annual layers alternately up and down, in order to avoid warping. The flooring of the shelf is first rallied with PVA glue or carpentry, tightly squeezing with a clamp or wrapping it with a cord; put on a pillow on the same glue. The skirt of the lid is assembled separately with glue and through spikes (insert at pos. B) and is attached to the pillow-shelf package with self-tapping screws.

Vice for carpentry

All-wood carpentry vices, front and chair, are now almost completely replaced by a vice with a metal screw clamp, pos. D; their device is shown in pos. E. Some remarks are needed here.

First, you need to put 2-3 steel washers under the head of the clamping screw, otherwise it will quickly eat through the pillow (4x4x1 cm piece of wood). Second - if the nut is not custom-made and not purchased shaped, then get at least for a while a set of taps for the thread used. In this case, do not try to use too thick a screw for evenness and smoothness of the clamp; M12-M16 is enough.

The nut of a home-made clamping pair is welded onto a base with a diameter of 60 mm or more, square, from 70x70 mm. It is not necessary to sink it into the clamp pad, so it is less likely that the nut will be torn off when clamping. But the thread will ugly lead away from welding, you can’t drive it away with a bolt. The thread of the welded nut will need to be tapped according to the full scheme, as when cutting: the first tap - the second - the third (if included in the kit).

Note: the nut welded on the base must be allowed to rest for at least 2 hours before the thread passes, so that the residual deformations “subside”.

Vice and carpentry for a locksmith

The vise on the locksmith's workbench is installed in the corner (see the inset in the figure), so that as much as possible of the dynamic loads during metal processing falls vertically on the corner post. The location of the cross beams and intermediate vertical racks of a workbench with a stationary vice is desirable to be made a little asymmetrical, placing them at smaller intervals towards the corner with a vice. The installation of the vice is also carried out starting from the corner:

A collet anchor is driven into the wooden corner post under the mounting bolt, and a high nut or threaded sleeve is welded into the metal post (attachment point 1 at the bottom left in the figure);
If the fastener is welded, thread with taps, as in a homemade carpenter's vice nut, see above;
Put a vice temporarily on 1 bolt and mark holes for fixing points 2, 3 and 4 in place;
The vise is removed and through holes 2, 3 and 4 are drilled;
Put a vise on the bolts 1, 2 and 3;
For fastening to bolt 4, a jib U is placed under the cover (tabletop) from a wooden beam from 60x60 or a professional pipe from 40x40. It is not necessary to fix the jib, but it should rest from under the bottom against the upper frame (strap) of the bed, but not against the table top!
Attach the vise finally to the bolt 4.

Note: stationary power tools are also fixed in the same way, for example. emery.

Under the carpentry

A locksmith's 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 bottom surface of the stop with self-tapping screws; corks from plastic bottles work well, they withstand tight fitting many times.

Garage workbench

A workbench in the garage cannot be made optimal in terms of ergonomics of the width of the workplace - the dimensions of a standard box 4x7 m with a car standing in it do not allow. For a long time already, through trial and error, the width of the garage workbench was determined at 510 mm: it is quite convenient to turn between it and the hood, and you can more or less work. A narrow workbench under a heavy load (for example, a motor taken out for bulkhead) is unstable, so it is made attached to the wall. Often - angular, this increases stability, but any wall-mounted workbench "responds" stronger than a workbench-table of the same design

The scheme of the device of one section of the garage workbench is given in fig. In this design, an ingenious method of additional damping of vibrations is used: cells of the frames of the cover and the lower shelf of the edge farthest from the corner of different sizes. The accuracy of the installation of the crossbars is +/- 1 cm. For the same purpose, the cover and the lower shelf are made of chipboard 32 mm thick and covered with linoleum instead of steel. For garage work, its durability is sufficient; replaced without difficulty.

Fastening to the walls - self-tapping screws from 8 mm or bolts from M8 with a pitch of 250-350 mm. Deepening into a stone wall 70-80 mm; in wooden 120-130 mm. Propylene dowels are placed under the screws in the stone wall; for bolts - collet anchors.

More for the garage

Another version of the garage workbench is already on the wall, and on the wall, on the left in fig. It can only be mounted on stone walls. Bench board folding 2-layer; each layer of plywood 10-12mm. Opening under the machine with a stepped inner edge. In this case, a “milling cutter” means a mini-drilling machine with a movable rotary table and a workpiece clamp. The design is convenient in that the chips fall immediately 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 with a lifting table top in it, on the right in the figure; it will also fit into the house for fine work (electronics, precision mechanics). The tabletop is suspended on a piano hinge, the legs are on card hinges. For folding, 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, a folding workbench-box may 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, modeling, watchmaking, artistic sawing out of plywood, etc. For fine fine work, a universal workbench is suitable, the drawings of which and its accessories are given in fig. The resistance of the work surface and its vibration absorption in this case are not as important as evenness, smoothness and some adhesion (“stickiness” of parts), so the table top is covered with linoleum. Locksmith vices for this workbench need small, with screw clamping.

More about plywood

In fact, it is undesirable to work with metal “roughly” on plywood, because. she calls back well. If, however, the pillow of the board of the locksmith's workbench is nevertheless made of plywood, then a frame (frame) must also be glued to its bottom on the PVA, also made of plywood, see fig. Then it is desirable to cover the upper (working side) first with unlined linoleum, and then lay steel on it.

To the rising shift

Another case where making a workbench out of plywood is justified is a student's workbench for a child. Pedagogical considerations play a role here: let him learn to feel the material and not to beat for nothing, but to work carefully. For the same purpose, the masters of the past deliberately gave students a bad instrument.

Workbenches in the country

When a country house or other light wooden structure is still under construction, there is no time for bench wisdom, you need at least something on which you can perform simple carpentry work. For such a case, you can quickly put together a carpentry workbench for giving from improvised materials, on the left in fig. The design is remarkable in that it clearly and fully embodies the principle: we do good things with bad equipment.

For subsequent work on the arrangement of the dacha, a mini-workbench is useful, on the right in fig. With a minimum consumption of material and an extremely simple design, it is stable enough for ordinary carpentry work in all respects, because. the middle of the workbench is supported by a pair of struts. If you put them on bolts, the workbench will turn out to be collapsible and stand in the pantry from weekend to weekend. For disassembly, after releasing the struts, the spacer is removed with them, and the legs are tucked under the board. Finally, for a summer residence, inhabited permanently or all summer, with a master owner, by the way, you will have a more complex, but fully functional folding workbench, see the video below.

The metal workbench is a desktop with a wide range of purposes. It allows you to carry out locksmith, repair, electrical work, processing of various materials. A workbench should be in any home workshop. Masters prefer to design it with their own hands to make it as convenient as possible for themselves.

nuts and screws;
file and hammer;
paints with a brush.

The device of a locksmith's workbench is a rigid metal base (made of corners or a square pipe). To decorate the countertop, it is better to use a 50 mm beam. A steel plate up to 6 mm thick is stuffed on top of it. To fasten all metal parts, use welding, but you can also screw in bolts.

Mounting the frame of the workbench and the base for the tabletop

Before proceeding directly to the assembly, carefully look at the prepared drawing. Once again, make sure that the dimensions of the future workbench fit into the dimensions of the room where your metalwork tool will stand (garage, shed or workshop). The installation of the table begins with the creation of the frame:

From the corner cut 4 legs of the same size.
Connect them at the top with horizontal bars of the same material. Use welding. The result should be a rectangle (top view) of the given size.
Additionally, make a stiffness line by once again fastening the legs in the same way with horizontal jumpers at a height of about 15 cm from the floor.
If you have a cabinet with drawers on the side under the cover of the workbench, then weld a couple of additional supports for it.

After that, you can start assembling the countertop:

make holes for bolting along the perimeter of the horizontal metal crossbars;
cut the boards to the length of the table;
lay them to each other without cracks and gaps, secure in this position;
make holes in the wood to match the holes in the corner.

Advice. On the top side of the boards, the holes should have extensions. The bolt heads will go deep into them so that the wooden surface of the countertop remains flat.

The final stage of assembly of the workbench

The tabletop will be ready after metal plating. To do this, simply cut a fragment of the required size from the prepared sheet and fix it to the wood base using self-tapping screws. Please note that after screwing them in, burrs may remain on the metal. They should simply be filed with a file.

If you have provided boxes or shelves in the design of the workbench, use the simple technology for their manufacture. As a material, ordinary 15 mm plywood is suitable. The boxes are assembled with screws. One accounts for about 15-20 pieces. Shelves are easier to attach to the corner, but for boxes you will have to additionally buy guide strips - skids. They are welded to the frame.

The same plywood can be sheathed on the sides of the table and make a screen on its back side. For greater stability, the masters recommend attaching rectangles or pieces of a corner to the bottom of the supports. A welding machine will help in this matter. If necessary, screw a vise to the workbench. Finally, treat all steel structural members with metal paint to avoid rust.

Making a workbench for metal work is not very easy, but it is quite possible if you approach the matter responsibly. But you will be convinced that not a single purchased table can be compared in quality with a hand-assembled product.

How to make a workbench: video

Every home craftsman knows that a well-equipped workshop with a stable and reliable carpenter's workbench equipped with all kinds of tools for processing parts is half the success in the manufacture of wood products. Of course, the desktop can be bought in the distribution network. However, we recommend making it yourself. Firstly, it will allow you to get a product of the right size and functionality. Secondly, when building a workbench, additional equipment can be placed in the most rational way. Thirdly, the cost of the machine will be much lower than the factory version, which will allow you to buy a quality tool with the money saved. If these arguments gave you a reason to think about making a desktop with your own hands, then our drawings, instructions and recommendations will help you build a solid, reliable and functional carpentry workbench.

Purpose and design of a typical carpentry workbench

Sturdy and reliable carpentry workbench will provide convenience and comfort during long work with wooden parts

The carpenter's workbench, in fact, is a massive, reliable table for processing wooden products of any size. The main requirements for this type of equipment are strength and stability. In addition, the machine must be equipped with at least a minimum set of fixtures for securing and holding workpieces. The dimensions of the working table are selected depending on the size and weight of the parts to be processed, as well as free space in the workshop or garage. By the way, there are designs of compact workbenches that can be placed even on the balcony.

The design of a carpentry workbench with a type-setting worktop. In the figure: 1 - base or bench; 2 - workbench; 3 - miter box; 4 - coupler; 5 - vice; 6 - support beam

Since the work that is carried out on the carpentry machine is carried out with the help of manual and electric tools, the workbench is made of massive timber and thick boards. By the way, the work surface, or in another way the workbench, is assembled only from hardwood. In the manufacture of countertops, dry oak, beech or hornbeam boards with a thickness of at least 60 mm are used. If the countertop is made of pine, alder or linden, then its surface will wear out quickly and will require periodic updating. Often, a bench cover is assembled from several narrow and thick boards, placing them on edge.

A number of holes made on the working surface of the table allows you to install stop elements for the convenience of processing long wooden workpieces.

In order to facilitate the construction, the supporting legs of the desktop, on the contrary, are made of soft wood. Between themselves, the vertical supports are connected by a longitudinally installed beam to increase the stability of the product.

Typical scheme of a carpentry workbench

A specially designed vise is hung on the front and side of the workbench for fixing workpieces. In addition, on overall machines, separate clamping devices for large and small parts are mounted. The optimal location for the carpentry vice is the left side of the front apron and the near part of the right sidewall.

In the workbench - the space between the supports, under the table top, they often equip convenient shelves and drawers for storing tools and accessories.

For convenience, a recess is made in the back of the countertop for fittings and small parts. Often, a recess that is difficult to manufacture is replaced with a frame knocked down from wooden slats.

Types and design

All home-made desktops for carpentry can be divided into three types:

Mobile workbenches have a weight of up to 30 kg, dimensions of less than 1 m in length and up to 70 cm in width, are equipped with one vice and are made partly from metal elements. Such machines are designed to work with small, light workpieces or minor repairs of wooden products. A mobile desktop is an excellent option when there is not enough space and can be installed in any room in the country house or on the balcony. Often, mobile workbenches have a folding design.
Homemade carpentry workbench mobile design

If there is no need for a stationary, professional workbench, then for minor repairs or the manufacture of small parts, you can convert an old desk.
A stationary carpentry workbench is made with reference to a specific place and is not intended to be moved during operation. Equipment of this type allows you to process parts of any size and weight.
The stationary carpenter's workbench is a reliable, stable structure, equipped in accordance with the preferences of the owner and the features of the room.
Composite type machine - the most difficult to manufacture. Nevertheless, this design, due to its variability, is the most practical and functional structure. If necessary, individual parts of the workbench can be easily replaced, since the elements of the desktop are bolted together.
The composite workbench is a structure that can be adjusted to any requirement.

Project and drawings

When designing a carpentry workbench, the most important criteria are height, configuration and equipment. In addition, it is necessary to take into account who will operate the desktop - left-handed or right-handed.

Considering that it will take a long time to work at a carpentry workbench, the closest attention should be paid to the height of the future structure. For people of average height, experts recommend making a table no higher than 90 cm.

Drawing of a carpentry workbench

When determining the distance from the floor to the countertop, it is best to focus not on the average parameters, but on the features of your own anatomy. It is optimal if the upper cut of the legs is on the same level with the hands. If you calculate this parameter taking into account the thickness of the countertop, then you can work at such a workbench tirelessly for several hours.

The cover of the machine can be made of boards, solid wood or plywood and is a type-setting structure. It is not recommended to use chipboard or OSB for these purposes. Professional carpenters have long determined the optimal size of the countertop - a maximum of 2 m in length and 0.7 m in width. On such a workbench, with the same convenience, you can make a prefabricated wooden door and a small window.

When designing a structure, do not forget about the strength of the supporting frame. For supporting structural elements, a bar with a section of at least 100x100 mm is used. As longitudinal and transverse reinforcing elements, it is allowed to use rails and beams with a smaller section - from 50 - 60 mm or more. The joints of the parts are mounted on spikes or dowels, furniture corners and other fittings are used for strength, and all connections are made using bolts and self-tapping screws. Nails will not be able to provide the required stability and fundamental nature of the structure.

Joiner's workbench. View from above

Often the frame, or otherwise the frame of the workbench, is made of metal. Despite the fact that this material makes it possible to create a height-adjustable structure with less labor, professional carpenters prefer all-wood structures.

Next, consider the project of a carpentry table¸ made of plywood, or rather, from two plywood sheets 1.8 mm thick glued together. The dimensions of the lid are 150x60 cm. The edges of the tabletop are reinforced with plywood strips, which increases its thickness to 72 mm. By the way, the presented dimensions are not a dogma and can be adjusted, if necessary, in accordance with the needs and characteristics of a particular room used as a workshop.

Necessary tools and materials

Plywood with a thickness of 18 mm is a rather expensive material (the price of one sheet measuring 1.5x1.5 m is more than 700 rubles, excluding shipping costs). Our project will require at least two sheets of this material. You can save a little if you buy one, larger sheet with dimensions of 2500x1250 mm. Additionally, if possible, try to purchase scraps of plywood with a width of at least 300 mm, which will be used to reinforce the workbench cover around the perimeter.

Additionally, for the construction of a carpentry machine, you will need:

wooden beam with a section of at least 100x100 mm - for supports;
timber or slats with a cross section of at least 60x60 mm - for frame reinforcement elements;
When choosing lumber for a carpentry workbench, carefully inspect the workpieces for knots and cracks. Remember that these parts will work under continuous load;
electric drill with a set of conventional and feather drills;
pieces of boards with a length of at least 1.5 m for laying under the clamps;
wood glue. A good result can be obtained by using the domestic adhesive "Moment Joiner";
furniture bolts with nuts and self-tapping screws;
Circular Saw;
joiner's square;
long rule (at least 2 m);
construction level;
a notched trowel with a size of cut sectors of at least 3 mm;
carpentry clamps.

Clamps required for compressing plywood sheets during gluing must be strong and reliable. If you are a non-professional carpenter and do not have a quality tool, then you can get by with inexpensive Chinese-made jigs. Of course, the number of such devices should be doubled.

Manufacturing instructions

To make a countertop, cut two blanks with a circular saw. If you managed to purchase a plywood sheet of maximum length, then you need to saw off one blank 1520 mm long from it. By cutting it in half, you will get two parts 1520x610 mm. After that, as a rule, check the concave and convex sides of each sheet. This will make it possible to correctly orient the sheets when gluing.
High-quality gluing provides clamping of tabletop parts with clamps

To properly glue the plywood sheets, they are folded, turning the convex sides to each other.
After laying one blank on three parallel-laid boards, apply wood glue to its surface. To do this, use straight and notched trowels. Remember that the work must be carried out very quickly, otherwise the composition will begin to set prematurely. The glue manufacturer Moment Stolyar recommends joining the parts no later than two minutes after the start of applying the composition. Therefore, if you are not sure about the speed of your work, use wood glue, which has no time limits. Of course, the strength of the joint will be slightly reduced, however, even a good quality PVA furniture mixture will provide an acceptable degree of bonding.
To prevent damage to the workpiece, support boards are placed under the clamps.
Having laid the second workpiece on top of the first, place support boards around the perimeter of the future table cover and begin to tighten the tabletop with clamps. At the same time, do not forget to control the flatness of the part using the rule. It will not work to tighten the center of the workpiece with clamps, so in this part you can install a load weighing at least 15 - 20 kg.
It is possible to glue plywood sheets into a shield without clamps, if you can find a perfectly flat surface for laying them, as well as a load of sufficient mass.
After the glue dries, the clamps are removed and proceed to reinforce the side surfaces of the countertop. To do this, strips of plywood 15 cm wide are glued around the entire perimeter of the cover in two layers. When doing this work, be sure to make sure that the top layer completely covers the joints.
Reinforcement of the side parts of the bench table with additional plywood strips
A circular saw is used to trim the side surfaces of the table. The parquet is carried out smoothly, slowly. It is convenient to use the same rule as a guide. The tabletop is given a size of 1500x600 mm in compliance with right angles, for which they use a joiner's square or a factory corner of a plywood sheet.
Workbench supports are made of timber with a section of 100x100 mm, connecting them with prolegs and drawers, for which lumber with a cross section of at least 60x60 mm is used. In our case, the height of the machine is 900 mm, however, you can adjust this size to suit your height.
Making a carpentry workbench frame
The legs are assembled “in a spike” or using dowels, be sure to apply carpentry glue to the parts to be joined.
When assembling the upper and lower frame of the underlay, scrupulously maintain 90-degree angles between the parts. It will be easier to fulfill this requirement if, at the stage of preparing the parts, their edges are correctly trimmed. The width of the frame of our structure is 900 mm, and the height of the frame is 830 mm, taking into account the distance from the floor to the lower prong of 150 mm.
Holes made in the parts with a pen drill will help to hide the bolt heads and washers.

If desired, a shelf can be built in the underlay. To do this, a plywood panel is cut out to the size of the lower space, in the corners of which rectangular cutouts are made for the legs of the machine.

Installation of additional equipment

A real carpentry workbench cannot be imagined without fixtures designed to fasten workpieces. For this purpose, a vise is attached to the finished tabletop in such a way that their jaws are flush with the surface of the lid. To properly install the fixture on the workbench, a vice is applied to the machine and the attachment points are marked. After that, holes with a diameter of 12 mm are drilled and the tool is installed on the machine using a bolted connection with an M12 thread. When performing this operation, be sure to mill the holes for the washers and bolt heads.

View of the finished product with the vise installed

If it is not possible to install a stationary vice, you can do without them by using bench clamps or clamps.

In addition to the vise, stops are provided on the desktop. To do this, a series of holes are drilled in the countertop. Parts made of wood are considered the best stops, since metal fixtures can damage the workpiece. Nests for supporting elements are located at a distance equal to half the stroke of the vise. This will allow you to securely fix the workpiece of any size.

Video: DIY carpentry workbench

Building a carpentry workbench is a rather difficult task. However, a self-assembled machine will allow you to work in a convenient, comfortable environment. This requires not only to think over the ergonomics of the workspace and properly prepare the construction project, but also to perform the work in full accordance with the recommendations of professional carpenters. Only then the resulting product will be durable and stable, delighting its owner for many years of service.

Every home craftsman can make a carpentry workbench with his own hands. It takes a lot of time for this work, but the benefits of a well-equipped workplace cover both labor costs and investments in building material. In this article you will find complete information on the independent construction of workbenches for carpentry.

Carpentry workbench - workplace optimization

A comfortable work surface is useful to any master. A carpenter needs a well-equipped work area more than other specialists. After all, he will have to deal with large-sized workpieces, the length of which reaches 3 meters, and in this case he cannot do without a well-designed workspace. Even a simplified folding workbench allows you to process timber or boards and assemble products from the resulting blanks. A large tabletop with stops makes it possible to fix the lumber in any position, processing not only the surfaces, but also the edges of the timber or board. A special vise will help fix the workpiece during sawing, drilling or joining several elements.

In addition, you can store parts of future products, tools and all sorts of household trifles in drawers and on the shelves of the workbench. Moreover, not only a carpentry version made of wood, but also a metal workbench, assembled on the basis of steel corners, can be turned into a convenient storage. At the same time, a master who is not too familiar with construction can make a carpentry workbench with his own hands, streamlining and optimizing the space in the working room. To do this, you will need general drawings or an understanding of the workbench, building materials and step-by-step instructions for assembly. You can find all of this below.

Varieties and arrangement of workbenches for carpenters

In modern carpentry, only three schemes for the design of workbenches are used. Firstly, the mobile version is a portable design that can be installed even on a balcony. Such a model is also useful for those craftsmen who want to get a universal workbench for metalwork and carpentry. The main advantage of this option is its small size, the main disadvantage is a small storage area. You can't put all the tools in such a table.

Secondly, a stationary workbench is an option for a full-fledged workshop. To accommodate this model, you need a spacious room, but it will also fit into a large garage. This workbench can be both wooden and steel - it is possible to assemble any structure, because it does not need to be moved. The main advantage of the model is its wide functionality, multiplied by an extensive storage space. The main disadvantage is the size and the need for a large amount of building materials.

Thirdly, modular design - workbenches of this type occupy an intermediate position between stationary and mobile options. The model structure allows you to build up and shorten the carpentry table, legs and other elements. Therefore, the main advantage of this option is the combination of optimal dimensions and functionality. And the main disadvantage is the complicated design. Building a modular metal workbench with your own hands is not so easy, and you may have problems with wood.

As a result, it is the stationary version that should be recognized as the optimal model for self-construction, since the mobile one does not provide all the benefits, and the modular one is too complicated during assembly. At the same time, regardless of belonging to one of the varieties, any workbench contains the following structural elements:

Support (frame, frame) - a system of vertical and horizontal beams that hold the tabletop, workpieces and tools.
Work surface (tabletop) - in the language of professionals, this element is called a workbench. It makes all the necessary grooves and recesses for the stops, which are useful for fixing the workpieces being processed. Therefore, such a board must be massive and reliable.
The front vise and box are essentially huge clamping blocks that compete with clamps. They fix the workpieces at an angle to the plane of the desktop, pressing them against the side edges of the tabletop. Moreover, a folding workbench has only one vice, and a stationary one has at least a couple of clamping blocks.
Shelves are storage areas that are located under the countertop.

And all these parts, with the exception of some parts of the clamping block made of metal (screws and nuts), are assembled from wood, which simplifies the selection of structural materials for building a workbench.

What materials are needed for assembly - getting ready to work

You will be able to build a carpentry or locksmith workbench with your own hands only if you get the following materials:

Plywood sheet with a thickness of 18-20 millimeters and overall dimensions of 2.5 × 1.25 meters. And try to choose a perfectly flat sheet, without bubbles and dips on the surface - it will go to the countertop.
Bar 10 × 10 and 6 × 6 centimeters. The frame will be assembled from these elements, therefore, we need about 4 meters of "ten" (for legs and crossbars) and at least three meters of "six" (for strengthening elements). At the same time, try to choose a timber without knots and cracks.
Boards 2 meters long - they will come in handy during the assembly of the countertop. And upon completion of them you can.

In addition, we will need the following tools: a drill with feather and conventional drills, a circular saw (circular saw), clamps, glue Moment(for wood), square, level, bolts with nuts and furniture self-tapping screws with corrosion protection. After all these materials and tools are purchased and brought to the place of placement and assembly, you can build a workbench out of wood with your own hands, based on our step-by-step instructions.

Do-it-yourself assembly - step by step instructions

Before you do, try to read this instruction from beginning to end, scrolling through all the assembly steps described below in your head. If you understand the whole procedure, then making a workbench on your own will take you a minimum of personal time. Moreover, our step-by-step instructions are designed for people with minimal experience in carpentry. Well, the assembly process itself is as follows.

At the first stage, we assemble the table. To do this, we shorten the plywood sheet to 1.52 meters with a circular saw and divide it into two parts. As a result, two blanks with dimensions of 1.52 × 0.61 meters remain in the hands of the master. They will serve as the basis for the countertop. And the rest of 0.98 × 1.25 will be useful to us in the future. The next step is gluing the array of the workbench table from two plywood blanks. To do this, you need to lubricate their surfaces with glue and, having folded the plywood boards, tighten them with clamps, and a 30-kilogram load can be placed on the central part. Moreover, three 1.5-meter boards must be placed under the clamps, providing a snug fit when placed along the long edge of the sheet.

In addition, it is necessary to take into account the fact that when gluing plywood sheets must be connected by convex sides (when superimposed on each other), otherwise the entire array will turn into an arc, which is undesirable. Next, we move on to reinforcing the 36mm glued array. To do this, we need to cut strips 15 centimeters wide from the remnants of the plywood panel and glue them around the perimeter, on the back of the tabletop. The end result should be a 54mm thick table made up of three 18mm layers of plywood. Moreover, the amplifier strips will play the role of stiffeners.

After that, we cut the array to the dimensions of 1.5 × 0.6 meters. This step will allow you to trim the ends, eliminating the overlays and protrusions that formed during the assembly of the countertop from three layers of plywood. The trimming itself is carried out with a circular saw at a low tool feed. The circular paper must be driven very slowly over the plywood, otherwise you will get torn edges. The next stage is the assembly of the vertical elements of the bed. To do this, we saw a beam of 10 × 10 centimeters into four segments 0.9 meters long. We get vertical supports. And as prolegs (lower screed between vertical beams) and tsarg (upper screed) we will use a 6 × 6 cm beam, cutting out the corresponding grooves in the legs. The attachment points of the prolegs and the tsarg should be smeared with glue and reinforced with bolts or self-tapping screws.

Next, we must install the vertical supports at the location of the workbench and assemble the entire frame by pulling them together using horizontal longitudinal ties. They can be made from a beam of 6 × 6 centimeters, fixed in a spike or overlap, on bolts or self-tapping screws.

We will lay shelves from 1.5-meter boards on the lower screeds, and a countertop on the upper ones. Therefore, before attaching the screeds, we must track the vertical and horizontal of the assembled frame. Otherwise, the table will be tilted. The fastening of the table top to the bed is carried out with 8 mm self-tapping screws, the heads of which must be drowned in the holes drilled with a pen drill. Before fastening, the table is pulled to the upper longitudinal screeds and drawers with clamps.

This completes the assembly of the table, and we can proceed to the installation of the vise. Moreover, not everyone can make a carpentry vise for a workbench with their own hands. Therefore, we suggest that beginners pay attention to ready-made models, the installation of which takes place in the following sequence: we fasten a fixed vise jaw to the end of the table, and fix a threaded element on it. We pass two threaded guides through the holes in the movable sponge, screw them into the fixed sponge. We insert the handles into the heads of the guides, by rotating which you can move the movable part of the vise to the stationary one.

Once the vise assembly is completed, you can use the workbench as you wish. Moreover, round or rectangular holes for stops can be cut into the countertop as needed, positioning them as you like.

Since ancient times, skilled craftsmen have sought to equip the workplace as comfortably as possible and, in modern terms, ergonomically, which was considered the key not only to fast and efficient work, but also to safety. In this regard, the premises intended for repair and manual production were filled with all kinds of tables, racks and boxes, the original material for which was wood. Over time, the cheaper metal gradually replaced wood from the construction arena and began to be used for the manufacture of machine tools, metal furniture and various auxiliary equipment, especially relevant in a construction workshop. Since the goods offered by stores often do not meet the specified characteristics, and sometimes they are on a par with industrial equipment, in our article we will share simple tips and tell you how to make a wooden workbench with your own hands.

The main purpose and typical characteristics of the workbench

Regardless of its design features, the workbench is a desktop, necessarily characterized by massive dimensions and stability, and designed for processing structures and products with a wide variety of dimensions. When designing a carpentry workbench, it is important to remember that the dimensions of the processed products directly depend on the dimensions of the workbench, while processing products is practiced both manually and using power tools - a drill and an electric planer. A typical layout of a standard carpentry workbench consists of the following elements:

Work surface, for the manufacture of which a massive board is used, the thickness of which is not less than 60 mm. For the manufacture of the lid, experts advise giving preference to hardwood, such as oak or beech, using which you do not have to periodically change the working surface of the workbench, due to the high wear resistance of the material.
A vice designed to hold workpieces. They are mounted on the front surface of the cover. Massive workbenches provide for the installation of several vices, separately designed for fastening small and large parts. Large vices are made of wood, while when choosing a vice of small dimensions, it is better to give preference to metal structures.
Bench supports are designed to increase the stability of the overall structure, which are connected by longitudinal strips. For their manufacture, it is desirable to use soft wood, linden or pine.
In the space under the workbench, on supports, you can install drawers designed for tools and any other work accessories.

Joiner's workbench: types of design

When developing a workbench project, it is important to take into account its design features, whether it will be installed permanently in the workshop or will be represented by a mobile structure. If you have opted for a mobile design, the best solution would be to lighten it due to the material used, which should be thinner. The mobile workbench can also be modified with a collapsible table top as well as folding legs. In connection with the listed features, there are three types of workbenches:

Mobile workbench designed for minor repairs and manipulations with wood blanks;
Stationary workbench used for processing solid wood blanks and heavy boards. It is easy to manufacture, but "tied" to one place;
A collapsible or “transforming workbench” is convenient with its collapsible design, which facilitates the process of replacing its individual parts, and also increases the mobility of the entire structure. You can learn how to make a retractable workbench in specialized manuals.

Carpentry or locksmith workbench: differences

In addition to the classification presented above, workbenches differ in their purpose. There are carpentry and locksmith workbenches. Since the creation of a metal workbench is fraught with a number of difficulties, in this guide we will tell you how to make a carpentry workbench with your own hands.

Dimensions and location of the workbench

In the process of creating a workbench, it is important to choose the right location for it. It should be in close proximity to natural light sources, if any. Local light sources will also not be superfluous. We must not forget about the electrical outlets, which should also be close to the workbench. All wires located in the working area are preferably enclosed in a corrugated pipe or box.

Before proceeding with the construction of the workbench, experts recommend determining its final height. To do this, lower your hands down, after which place your palms parallel to the floor. The distance between the floor and the palms is the same desktop height that is most convenient for you. Since home-made workbenches are often designed for a single workplace, the table is 1.5 m long and 0.8 m wide.

How to make a workbench video

How to make a workbench in the garage: selection of materials

The selection of material for the manufacture of a workbench is an important stage of the whole work, which determines the final strength and stability of the structure being constructed. Before you make a carpenter's workbench, let's talk about the rational choice of materials needed to make it. According to experts, for the construction of a workbench, planed timber will be the best material, which is suitable for the manufacture of a frame frame and legs.

Ideal dimensions of planed timber:

for legs - 100x70 mm;
for jumpers - 100x50 mm;

For countertops, it is better to choose boards with a thickness of 5 cm, or a solid canvas, such as an old wooden door or chipboard, characterized by a laminated surface. It is important to know that it is better to give preference to hardwoods such as oak, maple and beech.

How to make a workbench table? Sequencing

The manufacture of a workbench includes several stages, the fundamental of which are:

Base assembly;
Tabletop installation;
Installation of equipment on a workbench.

Base Assembly

The base, as a structural element of the workbench, is a wooden frame, the fastening of which is carried out in such a way that the structure meets all the requirements of rigidity and stability. For these purposes, it is necessary to provide for the installation of a horizontally located jumper between the legs of the workbench, and in the middle, along the entire length of the structure, it is important to install a drawer. Both the jumpers and the tsarga are fixed at a distance of 40-50 cm from the floor. Subsequently, they can be used not only to strengthen the structure, but also to install shelves and drawers for improvised tools. When constructing the base, the bars are fixed by means of a tenon-groove connection, and in those places where this is not possible, self-tapping screws are used. It is preferable to first prepare the grooves and spikes, according to the existing drawing, and only then glue the joints of the beams with wood glue.

If you're building a stationary workbench, one or more of the frame pieces can be attached to the wall, further strengthening the final structure.

Countertop fabrication and installation

Thinking through the stages of manufacturing a countertop, we must not forget that it should be slightly larger than the base. From the previously prepared thick boards, a massive shield of the previously indicated dimensions is knocked together, for the fastening of which long nails are used, driven in from the inside of the boards. Used boards are pre-fitted to each other to prevent debris from entering the existing slots. For the installation of the table top, the use of materials for the manufacture of which pressed chips were used is excluded, since they do not meet the requirements for its stability. Several transverse bars are nailed to the tabletop, for which it is necessary to provide grooves in the base. To these jumpers, with the help of self-tapping screws, horizontally oriented rails are attached, which are needed to slide the drawers.

The tabletop is bolted to the base. To do this, a recess is made in the upper part of the base bars, using a chisel, and holes are drilled in the tabletop for bolts, the heads of which are recessed in the lid by drilling recesses of the appropriate diameter in the tabletop. In order to avoid injuries from falling chips in the process of subsequent work, the countertop is polished several times and covered with drying oil.

Equipment installation

A vise is attached to the installed tabletop, for the installation of which recesses in the end face of the tabletop should be provided. In the place where the vise is installed, plywood is attached to the underside of the countertop. When installing a vice, they are first applied, the place of their fastening is marked, and then fixed with nuts and bolts. Remember that the vise should not be located on the edge, which contributes to the displacement of gravity during operation.

In addition to the vice, the classic workbench equipment is wooden clamps, a high-power stationary drill, certain types of turning equipment, and a milling element. In the conditions of a summer residence, it will also be useful to install a grinder and a circular. When installing equipment on a workbench, it is important to consider all the details of convenience and safety, as well as to check the strength of all fasteners. If the equipment is powered by an electrical network, it is important to correctly calculate the power of the equipment connected at the same time, as well as to correctly connect the connection itself.

How to design and make a universal workbench?

This article did not consider in detail the process of manufacturing a locksmith's workbench, and also does not explain how to make an iron workbench in view of the complexity of this process, however, we consider it necessary to consider the option of combining the locksmith's and carpentry's workbenches, which is especially important in the conditions of country houses and plots.

For this, the same workbench is made, as given in the instructions, however, the area of \u200b\u200bthe working surface is slightly increased. Sometimes this may require strengthening the base through the use of additional frame elements. When the countertop is installed, one half is covered with a sheet of thin stainless steel, which is fixed with self-tapping screws. Ideally, they cover not only the top of the countertop, but also its end elements.