A New Workbench
One thing about my shop has been really bothering me the past year. This workbench.
To call it a bench is really a stretch of the word. In reality it’s a piece of melamine on two sawhorses. It’s not flat, it isn’t stable, and it’s definitely not wide enough for most of my projects, but it’s what I had.
And I’ve had enough, so it’s time to upgrade to a brand new bench.
The Dilemma
I view all things in my shop as a tool, including the furniture. The problem with a traditional workbench is it is heavy and can get in the way, and in a small shop where I don’t have space to put an immovable joiners bench 12 feet away from the table saw I needed a different solution.
The problem I’ve had with my current setup is any time I want to cut a long or wide board at the table saw the bench was too high and would be in the way, but I liked the height so I didn’t have to bend over when I sanded.
Which is why I had the idea to make a modular height workbench. But typically hardware for this is thousands of dollars.
Which is why it was perfect when Flexispot reached out offering to sponsor a video.
The Bench
I’ve never seen this before, a workbench built on top of sit/stand desk hardware. I’m using Flexispot’s E7 Plus base which has a two legged design and is their most stable and rugged.
With that problem solved the next was the top which I wanted to keep as simple as I could while making it flat and strong enough for workshop abuse.
Enter an MDF torsion box. It is flat, it won’t move with humidity changes, it is heavy, and it is cheap. Now MDF is a fine material, but it sags like crazy if left unsupported, hence the torsion box.
A torsion box is a inner ribbing structure skinned with a sheet good. Essentially, it’s how hollow core doors are made. The whole purpose is to add rigidity and strength without adding weight. Now I don’t care about this being heavy, but I do care about rigidity, making it the perfect solution without spending over $1,000 on hardwood.
An MDF sandwich with one sheet on the bottom glued to a ribbed structure which has a second sheet glued on top. This makes for a flat, rigid structure.
The problem with MDF is it doesn’t hold screws well. Not a big deal for the construction of the torsion box since that’s all done with glue being the main supporter, but I was worried about using the sides of the torsion box to take clamping force, so I added some pine I had lying around to serve as a mounting point for some hardwood skirts.
The long edge skirt is yet to be installed as the piece I had for it ended up being too narrow, but I did get the short end in which now houses my vice which is very nice to have. Now I can lower the bench for planing, raise it for hand sawing, and the vice is now on the end so I can use it as a planing stop for panels.
And that’s it. A simple, modular height workbench built quickly and alleviating my past pains which will make future builds more enjoyable.