For those folks who have been following the progress of my new shop, you know that I needed to build a center island workbench. For the last 6 months or so, I have been catching my breath from construction duties and enjoying my new space. I finally decided to finish this project so here it is... The bench measures 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 feet and weighs around 500 lbs. It's built out of New Zealand Pine using authentic raised panel construction methods. It has a built-in table saw, a vacuum dust collection system, an air compressor, it's own electrical system, 6 custom tool drawers and 3 foot balsa storage. That's about all I can say, and so now I think I'm ready for the winter building season! Thanks for looking!

I really like your balsa storage and drawers.

Scott

500 lbs! Did ya put it on casters?

Holy crap!

Bench Zilla is a good name for it!

Outstanding!!!!

I want one!

The built in saw is great. Please, Please tell me it has a refrigerator to keep beer.. ooops I mean CA fresh.


She is a beauty.

Mark

i think it is outstanding table and i'm sure that he was clever enough to hide the fridge behind one of those raised panels on the end. sort of like a built in subzero fridge.

david

All kidding aside It is a beautiful piece of work.

If only my airplanes looked as good as his workbench.

Mark

Mine isn't as pretty, but it does have a refrigerator[8D]

You guys are a hoot! No I do not have a refrigerator in my shop. My kitchen is just about 10 steps away though. My shop is built onto my house with a door into the pantry and on into the kitchen. When the wifey is baking, I can smell those cookies fresh out of the oven! Makes it kinda hard to concentrate at times.... Thanks everyone for the compliments!

10 steps away? That's twenty steps you have to make to get a beer, and what if you are holding something, waiting for the glue to set, can't leave the table, and suddenly have a raging desire for un cervesa? And who eats cookies while drinking beer?.

All kidding aside, the table is gorgeous, a work of art. You better not get any glue on it I'll bet your planes will look as good, but probably fly much better than the bench. How much time did it take to build?

I have something similar in function; an old POS office desk sitting on cinder blocks to raise it to the desired height, with a shop vac sitting in the opening underneath where your legs would be if sitting at the desk. The work top is a 4 ft x 8 ft lead-lined solid door from the X-Ray department where I work, set on top of the desk. I am probably in the same weight ballpark that you are. The drawers are full of r/c stuff and tools, and I have a small cooler next to the shop vac for the really important refreshment.

WOW, my dining table is not as beautiful as this bench.
Do you have power sockets in it?
How does the dust collector works?

Thanks
Alex

Damn, how bad looking is my door and saw horse's, with my 100 ft round trip walk to the frig for a brew??? Can you see I might be a bit jealous!!! Nice work, Dave

I spent nearly 35 years building on kitchen tables, plywood on my lap, doors, etc. It all works just fine in the end. LOL

This shop is the result of years of planning and dreams. All that aside, I have seen some truely remarkable planes (giant scale, no less!) that were built on scrap plywood while sitting in front of the television.....That being said, there is always room for improvement, which makes the journey as much fun as the end result. Anyway, the electrical outlets are facing down just under the outer edges of the benchtop which keeps dust out of them, the vacuum system is connected directly to the saw and hardwired to come on when the saw switch is activated. The top is 3/4" MDF which has 10 coats of polyurethane. This is a very hard, flat, and smooth surface that will take considerable abuse. Most glue droppings can be removed with a sharp chisel easily. I built the bench big enough to sleep on comfortably in case my wife decides that I should sleep in the shop any particular night.

All I and say is "Drool, Drool, slobber, slobber". Me want!!!!!!!

Very nice shop. Give yourself a pat on the back there. You've got something to be proud of.

Ken

How do you work in there!?!?! It is way to clean.

David

Very nice work bench.
Very nice work shop to boot.
As soon as the wife gives her blessing I can start on my purpose built shed from the ground up

Of course that comes after the house extension, kitchen replacement, bathroom refurb, ducted split system a/c, new car/s, garden landscaping (front AND back) and a lovely holiday to spend time with her family [&o]

Should be done by the time I die

One question though.
Is there any pine left in New Zealand????

I know all about favors for the Wifey! This summer I converted the upstairs room into a master suite, I built a pool deck, and I'm getting ready to add a breakfast room to the kitchen. That's in addition to building two corrals, a hay pen, one hay barn, 6 barb wire cross fences, and hauling 300,000 lbs of hay for the herd. Ranching can sure cut into your airplane time....

We live only once.

Whats the point of having a very beautiful table if you are using it rarely while the table you are sitting near most of the time is beaten, drilled and ugly?

I think its better to spend the bigger portion of the time sitting behind the most beautiful and comfortable table you can.

Well done on the work environment.

Alex

I just get nervous thinking how fast I could ruin that table with my paint spilling ,over drilling , ever thrilling ,building techniques !

Ok, you win

Congratulations. I'm stealing most of your ideas for my own basement if that's ok? As for the beer delivery system, isn't that what wives are for? OK, I admit it, mine has a major league arm and could take me out from the stairs with a single can if I tried that one.

That's why we post on here to share ideas! Besides it's fun to see how other folks do their thing....