Freestanding work bench for my garage

[Sonora Iron]

Amount of material does make sense!

Generally it is customary to run them on top of the legs, one reason being you don’t have to depend on weld strength. But as you say in this situation it doesn’t matter.

[UH60LCHIEF]

Good show if you made the whole table and only ended up with 3.5" of waste.

[Jack Olsen]

Amount of material does make sense!

Generally it is customary to run them on top of the legs, one reason being you don’t have to depend on weld strength. But as you say in this situation it doesn’t matter.

That makes sense to me.

In this particular case, the bench top itself -- 2" of solid Pennsylvania Maple -- is probably strong enough so that the horizontal tubing underneath it is structurally inessential.

[Jack Olsen]

Good show if you made the whole table and only ended up with 3.5" of waste.

Thanks. I had to buy two 20' lengths, but had to get them cut so I could fit them in the Jeep. I didn't want to cut into the last 12' length on this project, since I can use that as a set of uprights when I re-do the main wood-topped bench in the back of the garage.

[Vulcan Man]

Very nice looking table Jack. The cuts to make the bend in the tubing, did you have to weld these back also?

J.T.

[Jack Olsen]

I could weld the gaps, but it would eat up time and consumables -- and wouldn't make a significant difference in the way the piece functions structurally. I'll probably just use some filler.

Even with the gaps, you could climb up and jump on that piece and it would be plenty strong enough to support you. 2" tubing is strong stuff.

[Diverdude]

Very nice, I would never have thought to bend that tube like you did with the round tube dies and notching the tube. Your shop just looks to nice to work in, your work bench looks like it should be a dinner table. as neat as I try to be I wouldn't want anybody seeing how bad my shop looks.

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks. But 'too nice?'

Well, some of the time it's cleaned up. But not all the time:

[Diverdude]

I can still see the floor and theres a walkable path, LOL. Now its beginning to look like a shop.

[Marcel Bauer]

Hello Jack,

It does look good. The arch looks nice, but seems like a lot of extra work for a work bench. I also think it isn't as practical as a parallel horizontal member would have been, for example clamping something to, etc.

Any particular reason for the arched members?

Unless it's for aesthetics/interesting looks, I tend to go with the least work for the most practical results...

One reason for having the legs go right to the tabletop with the horizontal members in between is (with a steel-topped table that is), if you need to pound a bit on something you place the object to be persuaded directly over the leg post so as to eliminate flexing/rebound and therefore maximize the effect of the blows for more precision. JMO.

Marcel