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Well, it took me a week and half to build it, but I KNOW it was well worth the effort!

For the last month I have been doing upgrades to my shop. First I put in a steel ceiling and new lighting. Next, since I had NO drawer space at all, I decided to take the time and build what you see here - a very sturdy bench with two banks of drawers built into it.

The bench measures 10 feet long and is 28 inches deep. The body is made from framing lumber and the top is made from 10 inch wide lodgepole pine. It started out around 1 3/4" thick and when smoothed wound up just over an inch and a half. The three sections are biscuit jointed and glued together with breadboard ends to (hopefully) keep it from warping.

All imperfections in the surface were filled with water putty and then re-sanded smooth. A coat of spar varnish was applied and then a final coat of semi-gloss poly. The pictures were taken when the poly was still wet - I hope it will dull out a tad when dry.
It's a small shame I'm going to be drilling holes in the top tomorrow to place some of my bench top tools on.

There are also 16 drawers built into the base - 4 at 9 inches deep, 8 at 5 inches deep and 4 more at 4 inches.

I already have plans to fill the majority of the drawers, which worries me a little.

I really hope this bench lasts me a long while - it was a pretty big effort, but it feels worth it now! :)

I really need to thank Matthias Wandel for giving me most of the ideas for this build.

Enjoy!

-bob

Gallery

Comments

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1,049 Posts
Magnificent !
 

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4,477 Posts
Very nice bench!
 

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161 Posts
consider it copied, very nice piece that I think anyone can do with recycled lumber from a construction site
 

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19,753 Posts
Wow that is a biggin great job.
 

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26 Posts
'Great looking bench! Pity to have to drill holes in it and do work on it!!
 

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6,000 Posts
OK Bob, that looks too good to use! Wow! And all that storage to boot! Wow!
 

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28 Posts
Bob,
Looks great, drawers make use of vertical space like nothing else. Soon, you will not know how you got by without them.

Rich
 

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7,502 Posts
I likes it. I likes it alot.
 

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6,940 Posts
Wow! Wow! (and did I say WOW?!)

I am SO envious of you Bob!! Only a week and a half? Heck it would take me months! What an awesome and terrific project!!! Wow! :)

Sheila
 

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20,030 Posts
Great looking and man could I use that in my shop.
 

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68 Posts
Gosh, thats nice!
I need a nicer bench…
 

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I was asked from a friend about the handles and why they are shaped the way they are, so I thought I would share that with everyone as well.

They started out as 2×4 stock and was cut down and routed into a mushroom type of a shape. That, of course, is to allow a hand to grip the handle from either bottom or top.

The part my friend wondered about was the 22 degree outward angle on each side. I did that so that no cords could possibly catch on them. I saw another LJ'er do the same thing (I am terribly sorry, but I forget your name) and thought that was a grand idea.

-bob
 

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218 Posts
Great looking bench there Bob…I'm sure that will give you a lifetime of great service. The time spent building it will pay off many times over.
 

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2,185 Posts
I want one.
Boy, are you going to enjoy this.

Steve
 

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112 Posts
Well done, you have got to be happy with that.

Doug
 

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1,276 Posts
Now that is a bench! ... One can never have enough storage.
I just wonder if the lack of a toe kick will become a bother??
Great thinking on the handles … If I could keep one cors a day from hanging up or tangling … ...
 

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15 Posts
Don't let me catch you scratching that top! Good job.
 
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