I've never seen this bench before. Very interesting.

 

As with anything that heavy, I can safely assume its not all that easy to ajust.. From what I can see, they are the little push button legs, where you have to take all the weight off it, to raise it back up, and you should to lower it, lest you might take off the tip of your thumb….

 

Adjustable height is a nice idea, but I'm dubious about how it is accomplished in this bench. I'd be concerned about the play in the legs, which may introduce some wobble to the bench, for example. Then, as mentioned, there's the issue of how support the weight of the top while making any adjustment.

There was a blurb on Fine Woodworking about an adjustable-height design a while back. That design used linked scissor jacks to raise/lower the top, along with pipe clamps to secure the bench after adjusting. I believe the fellow who came up with the design sells plans.

 

There's a top notch adjustable workbench; it's the Nordic Adjustable Bench, I believe. Fully functional it runs about $1,600, hence the look at an alternative.

 

The scissor jack bench (http://www.jack-bench.com/index.htm) uses two scissor jacks. One adjusts the height. One allows the bench to raise up on wheels and be moved around. When the moving jack is down, the bench rests on the floor. Indeed pipe clamps are used to hold the bench in position when the height is adjusted.

 

brtech,

That is cool; I think that is the way I want to go. Of course, that adds another build project between projects; typical woodworker's dilemma. I wonder if anyone has built the Jack Bench and has an idea of cost and time of construction.

 

Thanks for the offer, Barry. I suppose you get what you pay for, so the condition of their benches shouldn't surprise me. I really like the "Jack-Bench" so will probably go in that direction.

 

My shop is in my basement and I only have room for one workbench.

I designed the Jack-Bench because I used to get a back-ache when carving, or doing detail work. But, a tall bench was a problem for two reasons. First, it would be too tall for hand planing, or assembly work. Second, if it was higher than my table saw it would interfere with cutting long boards, and I would have to slide it out of the way before making those cuts. I reasoned that an adjustable bench would be ideal. I also wanted to be able to move it around easily.

I spent several months working on the design. I had a whole list of criteria: It had to be very solid, It had to be very easy to use, It had to great function with lots of ways to hold the work, There had to be an easy way to move it around, etc. I was able to work all of these into the design. The bench is great. Very heavy (about 500 pounds!), very solid, very functional, ergonomically friendly, and it's easy to use, too.

When I was building it I decided to enter it in a local woodworking exhibition. That is when I decided to use the really nice materials. The response at the exhibition was overwhelmingly positive. A lot of people wanted one for themselves. Only then did it occur to me to offer plans to others. Up to that point, my only thought was that I wanted a really cool workbench!

The heart of my design is the adjustable base with the built in mobile base. You can put any top on the base and use whatever vise(s) you prefer.

The hardware required to make the bench adjustable and the hardware required for the mobile base should cost between $150-$200, total. Maybe less if you are a good bargain hunter. The base also requires 3 sheets of plywood, and about 40 board feet of lumber. The lumber in the base is mostly just filler pieces for the torsion boxes, so any stable hard or softwood will do.

The top as shown in my plans is sort of a traditional, heavy, solid-wood benchtop. That requires about 45 board feet of lumber. Again you can use whatever you like; southern yellow pine, maple, birch, beech, etc. That is a personal choice and depends partly on what is available in your area.

The most expensive pieces are the two vises. I used a Veritas twin screw vise for the end vise, and a Record knock off for a face vise. Again, you can use whatever vise or vises that you like. The twin screw is $229, and a face vise typically about $150, but I have seen them on sale for as little as $75.

So, the grand total cost to build a really heavy and solid bench with an adjustable height top and a built in mobile base, and two vises is about $900-$1000. If you are a good shopper, have a good source for lumber, or you save money on the vises you could build one for less.

The time required to build one will vary quite a bit from one person to the next. The base is mostly torsion boxes, and the top is similar to other high quality workbenches.

The adjustable height is great! Especially when doing detail work, and when assembling large pieces. Your back will thank you!

You can learn more about this workbench at my website. There are also several videos that show how the bench works, a few ideas on installing the vises, and what is included in the plans.

Charlie Kocourek

 

Charlie,

Thanks for the info; I'll start collecting data and looking for sales. I'll get on your website before long and order the plans.

Don

 

As someone who lives close to and often cruises through Grizzly, I've never been fond of their benches. The metal ones are too light and the heavy Euro style ones too expensive. Plus I never really liked the Euro design. Unless it's a secondary bench for sharpening, tool or machine holding, or assembly, and then a folding table will often do.

I think a workbench is something that has to be built to fit the individual style and space of the user.

 

don,

i own two of these benches in my shop, i made it into a big island joining both T10157's togather. i love these benches!! the adjustable height is a big plus and seems to work very effiecient. everything tightens up to be solid as a rock. the dog holes are square to each other and work mint. everything about the bench i love!.. i waited about a year as they were on backorder (couldnt keep em in stock) says something for the bench. as u can see i customized mine a lil bit. adding black walnut trim and plexyglass on top for protecting the gorgeous oak grain adds a lil of my own touch. for the money i cant beat it with a stick! personally i would not pay 1600 for a bench that i can buy 2 for that price and serve me just as good, or in my case serve me better than you think.

hope this helps.

 

I have this bench, you can see it in my workshop photos here on LJ. I haven't gotten to do a lot with it yet as it's a new shop, but it seems rock solid to me. My shop floor isn't 100% level so the adjustable feet are really useful. I have also adjusted the height after assembly and it was pretty easy; I was able to do it by myself and I am a 5 foot 8 inch female. I lifted one short end slightly with my shoulder, adjusted one leg, put the end back down carefully and repeated with the other leg, then did the same on the other end of the bench. Assembly didn't take long, though one of the drawer sides arrived damaged. Grizzly replaced it but the replacement wasn't assembled correctly (the drawer glide had been put in the wrong spot) so I just fixed the broken piece and used that instead.

I got it because I wanted a really wide bench and this one was one of the few wide ones I could find. I think it's worth the money.

 

Old thread, but digging the adjustable jack bench

 

Anyone know what size the bench dog holes are? Are they the standard 3/4?

 

You can install what ever style of bench dogs that you prefer in the Jack Bench. The plans are written for 7/8" square bench dogs. Truthfully, most people use 3/4" round bench dogs on their workbenches.

 

Thanks CharlieK,

I was actually referring to the original topic of this thread the Grizzly bench. I was wondering what size the predrilled dog holes are as I'm thinking of buying it and was hoping the are the std 3/4 size.

 

Thanks CharlieK,

I was actually referring to the original topic of this thread the Grizzly bench. I was wondering what size the predrilled dog holes are as I m thinking of buying it and was hoping the are the std 3/4 size.

- RJRosa

They are selling "5/8" bench dogs as an accessory for that bench…..so I have to assume the dog holes are 3/4". But a call or email to Grizzly might be advisable to make 100% certain.

 

I've only seen this one in the catalog. However, my son in law's father had a very nice solid maple work bench from Grizzly that was very nice quality and heavy duty. They all seem to be well worth the money.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com

 

Here's a photo from my bench - hope this helps!

I have really enjoyed this bench, it is rock solid and I'm glad I spent the money on it. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you decide to get one.

 

Thanks Elizabeth! Have you bought any 3/4 accessories for it? I like some of the hold downs and I was curious if you'd tried any? It is interesting that the Grizzly site recommends 5/8 bench dogs. I kind of like what Xtreme90 did and may do the same one day. I like the idea of a 4 station worktable.

 

I bought a pair of these orange clamps off of Amazon a few years back, I don't remember the brand name though. I could try to look it up later this week if you can't find it, but the computer I'm on at the moment is slower than molasses.

They work really well - they screw down via a big plastic nut on the shaft.

 

Well I bought the workbench from Grizzly and put it together this weekend with some help from my 14 daughter. It went together pretty easily but the instructions were terrible as others have said. The drawer hardware is also sub par and they are super stiff. I had to press in a few ball bearings that fell out. I'm not sure if I'll contact Grizzly or just try to find some better ones. The only other issue is plastic bench dogs? Really? I'll be buying some steel versions soon. It's like the cheap saw blades they include with the cabinet saws. lol