My shop is definitely what you would call 'compact'. At 1.7m x 3.8m, its not much more than a walk in wardrobe! I would say it is best described as like a galley kitchen... without any food.
I walk in, and basically from a standing position, I can reach pretty much everything I need at any time. And although it is a bit tight, I have learned that I don't really need a huge amount of space. The scale of the work I am doing is quite small, so I rarely have a problem. When I do, I just take it out to the 'outside' area, and work there. There's barely a spare inch of wall or shelf space, but in truth I want for nothing. Everything except the band saw fits inside too, which keeps it out of our humid tropical climate.
I walk in, and basically from a standing position, I can reach pretty much everything I need at any time. And although it is a bit tight, I have learned that I don't really need a huge amount of space. The scale of the work I am doing is quite small, so I rarely have a problem. When I do, I just take it out to the 'outside' area, and work there. There's barely a spare inch of wall or shelf space, but in truth I want for nothing. Everything except the band saw fits inside too, which keeps it out of our humid tropical climate.
 Before... |  After. |
To make such a small space work, I've had to become very efficient at storing things. A big part of that was the initial choice of work benches, which is what I want to show you today.
Before I set it up, I had a very clear picture in my mind that the shop had to be a comfortable place to spend a lot of time. I figured I would be spending a fair bit of time in it, so it might as well be pleasant. A big part of what I had in mind was a big, solid wooden bench; something really heavy, unique and long lasting.
I scoured the web for ideas, and found plenty of designs that were basically box structures, with lap joints, screwed and glued, and then some sort of basic wood board top. Pretty basic, and easy enough to put together over a weekend. However most of the designs had the weight being borne as a shear load by the screws. Probably ok for light duty, but I had in mind a milling machine that weighs 370lbs/170kg. I wasn't sure that these simple benches would cut it for something that heavy. Besides, they didn't really look that... enticing.
So already doubts were creeping in about these simple designs. I also wanted something with character. Something that would sit like a rock, handle being dug into with a screwdriver, hit with a hammer, chipped and knocked about. Not made from that cheap pine you see everywhere these days, but from a decent hardwood. I wanted something that would develop character as it aged over the years, and hopefully something that would last for decades.
And definitely no screws. All wood.
So I played around with some sketches, and did some research on how to do a good solid join without metal fasteners, and this is what I came up with:
Before I set it up, I had a very clear picture in my mind that the shop had to be a comfortable place to spend a lot of time. I figured I would be spending a fair bit of time in it, so it might as well be pleasant. A big part of what I had in mind was a big, solid wooden bench; something really heavy, unique and long lasting.
I scoured the web for ideas, and found plenty of designs that were basically box structures, with lap joints, screwed and glued, and then some sort of basic wood board top. Pretty basic, and easy enough to put together over a weekend. However most of the designs had the weight being borne as a shear load by the screws. Probably ok for light duty, but I had in mind a milling machine that weighs 370lbs/170kg. I wasn't sure that these simple benches would cut it for something that heavy. Besides, they didn't really look that... enticing.
So already doubts were creeping in about these simple designs. I also wanted something with character. Something that would sit like a rock, handle being dug into with a screwdriver, hit with a hammer, chipped and knocked about. Not made from that cheap pine you see everywhere these days, but from a decent hardwood. I wanted something that would develop character as it aged over the years, and hopefully something that would last for decades.
And definitely no screws. All wood.
So I played around with some sketches, and did some research on how to do a good solid join without metal fasteners, and this is what I came up with:
 Oak dowel fasteners |  Horizontal "trusses" |  Similar idea for the ends |
 Recesses milled for the mitered corners |  Milled grooves |  Glued and clamped in position. It aint movin! |
I guess you could call the horizontal platforms "trusses". They're made from spotted gum, and the truss joins are fastened with oak dowels, tapped in and glued with PVA. They were then cut off and sanded back. The corners joins are all mitered, and I used a router to mill a pencil round on all of the exposed edges to make the corners safer. I also milled ornamental grooves into the legs to pretty it up a little.
The truss ends sit in milled recesses on the legs, so that all of the load is put onto the legs in compression, rather than as a shear force on the fasteners. I think this should be very strong. In fact It's probably over engineered a bit, but it's nice to know I can up-size my mill later, and not have to think about the bench. Besides, nothing too strong ever broke.
As you can see, it was assembled in position in the shop, so it's there for the duration. The top is also spotted gum and the finish is linseed oil, which makes the shop smell kind of nice too.
As you can see, it was assembled in position in the shop, so it's there for the duration. The top is also spotted gum and the finish is linseed oil, which makes the shop smell kind of nice too.
 Mill bench |  The cleanest it will ever be... |  |
This bench ended up being dedicated to the mill, so I made another two. One running down the side of the shop, as a general workbench, and one for the outside 'dirty' area, that also has a simple woodworkers vise attached.
 The main working bench. |  Outside 'dirty' bench |
So it's now a few years later, and of course the floor space remains the same. But the tiny little shop has well and truly flourished. What was a little flicker of an idea, has now grown into something that fills up most of my spare time, and brings me a lot of enjoyment. These benches were the very first things I made for my shop, and I couldn't have got started without them.
Thanks for stopping by,
Chris.
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*...Big Things Grow. Paul Kelly.
Thanks for stopping by,
Chris.
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*...Big Things Grow. Paul Kelly.
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