Spent the New Year's holiday turning the junk/storage room at our house into The Fish Room. Not done yet but getting there.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Kevin,
Looks great.
What is the height and length of the bench.

Just wondering if this is a stand up, or sit down height bench.

Take care

Hey Roger,

The bench is 2' x 12' as the bed on the wrapper is 11'. The bench is about 40" tall, which puts the blank at about 46". It's a stand up bench. Before i built it, i either worked over the island in our kitchen or on a shelf in the room of my old house. Both areas were a good bit lower, as i intended to sit while working. What i found though was that i invariably stood up. I'd start out seated and then the next thing i knew i was standing up, so i just went ahead and built this that way. If i stand up straight and put my hands out with elbows bent at 90 degrees, my hands are 46" from the floor.

Next step is to take the pics you have on here to a local machine shop and get a mounting bracket made for my dc motor. :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2015 04:16PM by Kevin Kelly.

I suggest that you do two things- 1/ install medium to dark colored laminate (non textured) flooring (like Pergo) on the top. This is fairly easy to do as a "click floor" installation. It will greatly ease the removal of any spills. I'm suggesting a medium to dark color so that light doesn't bounce back off the surface. 2/ firmly bolt down the wrapping lathe to eliminate the possibility of any wobble or walk.

Ken,

I am happy to report that the lathe is firmly bolted to the bench top and all secure.

Now as far as the floor goes... this was built as a utility room at the end of a three bay garage. It's part of the rectory owned by the church I serve here in Savannah. The house was built in the 20s and is adjacent to the church. It has not been lived in for decades but used as classrooms, office, meeting rooms, storage - you name it. The garage, including what is now known as The Fishroom, was given over almost entirely to the troop of Boy Scouts wh meet at the church. His room because their storage room for their tents, tarps, cookware, stoves, and anything else they could shove in there. Before we arrived, and they moved farther down the garage, I don't know when anyone mopped or even swept that floor. The floor is hideous, although you can't really tell that in the picture. It's not broken up, but it's gouged, burned, and stained pretty much all over. There is nothing I could do to it that will make it any worse, I can assure you.

I have some black anti-fatigue mats that I used when I had a woodshop. Those are going down in front of the bench. That should help make standing while I work considerably easier on the feet and joints.

Some folks prefer a darker work surface so that light is absorbed. Some folks prefer light or white surfaces so that light is reflected. I have found that for doing detailed work that any way to get more light in the area lets me do a better job.

So, you might try both light and dark surfaces for your work top and see what suits you better.

Be safe

Kevin - I was referring to the bench top & not the floor itself.

Thanks, Ken. Feeling a little sheepish now. :) I think I'll leave the bench top as is for now. I like workbench tops that look like they've been worked on - stains and scratches and stuff to me add to the enjoyment of using something like that. The good news is that it's just BC plywood and easily replaced or altered if I change my mind. I wouldn't have thought to use flooring on it, so I appreciate that suggestion. I will definitely keep it in mind.

Looks good, keep up the good work.
In time you will have it all set up.

Kevin,
With respect to the work bench surface; you might consider using 1/8th inch thick tempered hardboard.

[www.homedepot.com]

I use this product in all of my turning shop work surfaces. I prefer to use the white tempered hardboard, to reflect the light and to make the work shop brighter. Also, it is much easier to locate things on a white background than a dark blackground.

I just use a brad in each corner to keep the hardboard from moving. If the hardboard gets too beat up, I just take off the current one, and install a new one. Also, the white tempered hard board is much easier to clean than a plywood bench. The hardboard does not absorb anything and thus cleans easily.

Roger,

Is the white hardboard slick and shiny like signboard? I don't know that they carry that down here, but I'll look. I built a bench back in WV the same way, except I trimmed the frame with 1x3 oak and left the oak 18/" higher than the subsurface. That way I could just drop the Masonite down into the frame, and it wouldn't move around in me.

I may really just leave it, though. The plywood that's on there is pretty light in color, and I like the wood grain.

I actually coated mine with white vinyl self stick floor tile, and works great. Have some extras in case of an accident(has not happened yet), just peel up and replace.

Ron Weber

Kevin what does your DC motor look like? I will post photos of the Motor Mount made by Roger Wilson for my lathe Sheet metal mount



[www.rodbuilding.org]

[www.rodbuilding.org]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2015 07:02PM by Barry Thomas Sr.

Kevin,
Yes, the white hardboard is slick and shiny like signboard. It works very well.

Be safe

A different DC motor mount for a similar wrapper:

[www.rodbuilding.org]

I believe this may be the exact setup I got from Roger. If not, it's the twin if mine.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

You can see it lurking in the background here

[www.rodbuilding.org]

But since he made it for me, I stumbled onto the Clemens, so I think I'm going to have something like this made locally, I hope.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Roger, will that work with my motor?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/2015 12:00AM by Kevin Kelly.

Mine is on a Clemens. I changed the switch to a regular toggle type switch with a bench long control bar I can throw the switch anywhere along my 12 ft bench