! you've been ‘reaming about workbench for your garage or utility room, stop and take 4 Jook at this one: This modular unit is adaptable f© neatly any size work space. It has builtin lighting above the workbench, and dust collection | ports for portable tools. Another slick features the bench dog system, which clamps long workpieces with the asstance of the end vise. The og holes” double as a receiver for outed supports frlong boards and keep tools like miter saws and atinders fixed to the bench top. And theres plenty of room for storage as well. The upper shelf and the pl wood backsplash keep everyday tools within reach, and the generous drawers are great for organizing small parts and bits, Underneath the work top youl ind shelf space for larger bench-top and power toolsBU features built-in light- mesos wall-nun Ce Cocy Ue to keep the floor clear Out by David RadtkePM yam Rm CUR rego Wall-h Hous FATT oso Pore eee pty Slide-out shetees Soule 2 Drawers mounted on full Beneh dogs allow you The builtin dust convenient sae ‘extension slides provide to clamp long boards system connects with your vise. vacuum, bench-top teams ‘quick access to took. |) iectiteatohattc tame ie LD sitet rem tS oka tine yo oop, an L. iectinet ie pen ss pclae Mon rst ars Ceuta) Gteupicteddrhdcpetci ero eral igure on cular (see the Buyer's Guide, p. 69). Plan to spend about four plat i 8. The workbench materi Side Se days building the workbench and two partial days finishing it. alse coat sardvare and the vise. TH cepite the eye-catching features of this workben, heFigure A Wall-hung workbench details s! —— \ ‘vs x8 grooves Fon OrrusEns HOLE FoR uiGHTING ELECTRICAL CONGUIT sex salu ES d (Ee * See ? \ (Lean SEE | avin eteat Sool re one oy ter tone aw ow oe pee pee pe pe pe | pore: I se “se RAD. Tb ae Sh Lg ho hae a ub s * Side Section View Front ViewLay out the circles on 3/4. plywood with @ ‘trammel and cut them witha jigeave Make an template for the shelf supports and cut them out. Lay out the circles with a trammel “The curved supports that anchor the work top tothe wall are glued-up pais of quar- ter sections of a25-1/2-in. circle (resem- bling a hamburger cut into four equal pieces). The core consists of three 2xts (Figure A). The best way to lay out the large cirlesis to make a trammel (Photo (Cut the cries into quarters with your circular saw, then stack the quariercircies In palrs for each bbench support Smooth the curves with belt sender. ‘Aztach the support assemblies to a 3/4. plywood ‘beck with four bin. screws. Tp the assembly ‘gsinss the wall Screw back panel to studs every 6 in. 1) with a small 1/8-in. hole in one end for ‘nail and a1/4-in, hole centered at 25-2 in, Draw two cides on each sbeet 35 shown, Cut the 8-in. quarter Gdes that support the upper shelf from the corners to make efficient use ofthe sheets Gut out the circles and then, supporting them on your sawhorses, cut along the enter of your lines with a circular st form equal quarter sections. Assemble the work-top supports Sort the curved support int pis sand them smooth (Photo 2) and number the tops ofeach pair o they wont st mined up. Glue and nal lengths of 2x4 (see Figure A) between each pair of 3-in supports, To create a clean, trimmed edge along, Pp Squa atrar‘Square one of the supports to the back panel with (&> Glue the second work-toy ‘framing square and tack it tothe 2/4, top. lapping the splice on the ‘Then space the others and serew the top to them all. layers from un then space ‘Mount and wire the 2 Tight tures. the curve, cut 3-1/8in. x 37-in-wide strips from I/d-inthick hardboard. Apply cazpenter’s glue to the plywood ‘edges along the cure, then nail one end to the plywood. Add a clamp to keep the nails from popping through (Photo 3). ‘Then gently bend the hardboard over the curve, adding pairs of nails every 6 in. Clamp the other end, nail it and let the elle set about two hours Sand the hardboard edges flush with the sides ofthe supports. Cut out the end vise location on the first support with @ circular saw and a handsaw (Photo 4). Nov eut out the back pands (A6 and A7). Lay out the support postions and screw the panels to the supports (Figure A). ‘To temporarily support the panels, attach a straight 12-f. 2x4 to the wall 12 in. up from the floor (Photo 4). 5p layer over the fst, over first layer. Fasten the meath using 1-1/4n. wood screws, Make a jig and punch starter holes forthe bench ‘all on the quarter cicle supports. © dog holes. Align the ed punched holes. Drill 3/49. holes 3 the ig with previously Screw the work top to the supports (Cut the work-top pices (B1 and B2) from 4x 8h sheets of plywood. Place 3/4 blocks against the wall to bring the work top forward tallow a space forthe back= splash youl install Inter. Use framing square to postion one of the supports ‘exactly perpendicular to the wall, then‘Size your drawers 1 in. narrower than the open- ings. Nall the 1x6 drawer sides tothe 3/4 ply- ‘wood bottom. Mount the slides, than mount the fronts. tack the top into the support in the front and back. Use a spacer bar (Photo 8) to keep the other supports parallel Once the top is tacked, fasten it with 1-5/8-in, screws. Note: Lay out the bench dog holes and make sure the screws stay atleast an inch avay from them (see Figure B. [Now glue and screw the second layer of plywood to the fist, making sure to over- lap the butt joint on the lower top withthe longer piece (Photo 6). Drill the “dog holes” You need to dil the pars of dog holes with aig for precie placement Even a Aight weiation comma the outed mp port blocks stick Make the dog position- ing fig as shown in Phote @. Keep the fence of the jig ight to the fron edge of the top and we a nll to matk the hole locations. Side the jig foreach et of Bench Dog Hole Layout a a oe al holes, aligning the edge ofthe fg with the holes you've just marked. Now insert a 3/4n, Forstner it into your driling guide and drill 1-1/4 deep holes at each of your marks. Center the bit point precisely on each nail mark Cut saw kerfs in the shelf parts for the light diffusers ‘The diffuses for the lights are made from suspended-ceiling fluorescent light dif- fusers available at hardware stores and home centers. Cut them to length and width (Grom the back) with a Plexiglas scoring tool ‘To make the retainer grooves for cach plastic diffuser, set your table saw blade to cut continuous 1/8-in-deep kerf in the lower and upper shelves (Photo 7), then tet the diffuser to make sure it 6s loosely inthe kerf. IFyou have a narrow- ker? blade, you may need to move the saw fence slightly and widen the kecf with & second pass. Screw the top ofthe shelf tothe back, All the holes forthe electrical conduit, and nail quarter crcl supports into place fom the top and back ofthe shelf (Figure A), Next assemble the light fixtures and center them between the supports end serew them to the underside of the shel Connect the fixtures with conduit and Wire the lights, including a switch box on. one end and a junction box on the other (For more information on wiring asiteh Serow th place. Mount the dust collection stands, assem bie the pipe and fittings, and nail on the front and top splash and light assembly into and workshop lights, see Sept. "03, p. 8 and Dec/Jan. 03, p. 72. To order copies, seep. 7.) Mount the backsplash panel and shelf assembly with 3-in, screws into the ‘wal studs (Photo 10) Use PVC pipe for the dust collection system ‘Think ofthe dus collection system as an extension of your shop vacuum. The sys tems just 1-1/4in, PVC pipe with 1-1/4 in, x Je1/dsin, x Lin, tees at three loca- tions along the backsplash to make your hookups to tools more convenient (Photo 10). Make the hookups to the Lin, side of the PVC tee and keep the openings cov- ‘ered by I-in, PVC end caps when not in use. You can buy all the parts at your home center and cut lengths of bulk vac tuum hose to fit your needs, You may have to getereativeto make connections to spe- cific tools, but the large assortment of hoses and fitings at the home center and a roll of duct tape will help here! “To anchor the pipe tothe work top cut four 3-1/4-in, square block from 3/4-in. plywood, ria 1-8/8-n. hole in each of their centers and then glue and nal 2-in~ ‘wide cleats tothe blocks Position them as Shown in Figure A and screw: them othe work top. Next, cut and glue the I-1M-in. pipe and tees. Be sue to let the pipe pro- teude from the end blocks 3 in. so youll have room to add caps. Apply & dab of construction adhesive tothe pipe at each ar eyreceptacles along the backsplash, block to keep the pipe from shifting. CCutlengths of 3/4-in. plywood to box in the front of the dust collection system (Photo 10), then cut the holes for the Ports inthe top piece. Glue and nal these Pieces to the blocks, then cut a 1/2-in. x 3 -in, solid oak edging strip to cover the exposed plywood edge Finishing touches To give the workbench a durable and good-looking edge, glue and nail lengths ‘of 1x2 oak to the front and side edges of, the work top and of the shelf and back- splash, Ease the edges of the trim with 100-grit sandpaper and sand the entire project with 150-grt sandpaper We applied two coats of a light-tone Danish oil finish. We used a rag for the large open areas and a brush to get into the corners. 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