Looking to get a couple of workbenches and was wondering where the best source for workbenches was. Looking for the metal type that wont break the bank.

 

local metal yard, make them. cheapest way to go imo

 

did you try sears?home depot?i worked in a shop that had a few of them.they are grey and bolt together.not to good for welding on because of the paint.i would bet that northern tool and eq would have them.

 

craigslist, seriously.

You can always buy decent benches for cheap on there these days.

 

I think I will go to Sears, Northern and Harbour Freight later today. Thanks for the input.

 

try looking up steel table, workbench or welding table on ebay. you will find some heavy duty ****! you can also look on racingjunk.

 

Look for food service tables too. They are stainless and sturdy. You can find them reasonably priced on Ebay or Craigslist.

 

I got stainless prep tables from tax/repo auctions. Just wait until they are liquidating a restaurant. Those tables cost a couple of bills new but are dirt cheap at auctions. All stainless construction and very sturdy. Sometimes you can also find them on Craigslist, but the auctions are the way to go.

 

Nice!

 

u can always make your own, i spent about 800 bucks on mine, but thats with a 1/2 inch 4x8 top

 

I have a ton of tables I get from work, working on getting the all stainless ones when we change programs to a more lean mfg. type thing. I looked up the vendors and saw the price tag...2k a table lol No thanks!!

If I had the welder and skills, I'd make my own. Nice way to make what YOU want and save that paper!

 

ARe we talking service benches or welding tables? Big difference IMO....

I just picked up a couple of very nice(very used, but still very solid) service benches from a Dealership that ran out of business. Light enough to move around, but sturdy enough to drop a transmission onto for teardown. 3x6 with 3 inch back/side splashes...perfect for everyday service work, mockup, and light duty welding!

 

we make our tables out of scrap, fun to do, plenty of it, and cheaper.

also like mentioned, scrap yards/recyclers have everything you need to make those huge shevles that you see in stores like home depot, which can be turned into a very sturdy table easily.

 

Anyone have any pictures of what they are using ?

 

Service benches. I have been looking at Craigslist and apparently there arent any in my area yet. Thanks for the input!

 

Go to the Habitat Surplus store and some of the other cheap construction supply stores and buy a cheap (free) interior door. Make sure you get a solid core door. Then get some 2x4s and 4x4s and build what ever you need. It will be heavy as hell and solid. You can put anything on it. I have one of those in my shop in addition to some other benches that I built. It is a good bench.

 

^^^ yea but is the wood in the middle going to burn from welding and the thin metal is going to warp due to heat on those doors no?

 

I made mine, its pretty easy!

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. I called the steel supply company and the pricing on materials wasnt too bad so I had them sheet me a 4x10 plate (so it would be a very clean, straight cut) into 2 30x60" and 2 18x60" sections. This should allow me to do 2 tables. Got 2 inch square for the legs and 1" for the supports. I sprayed it with some blue automotive single stage paint(need a little more, can do that later), let it dry and put it to use. Learned a few things but overall I am happy with it. One of my techs told me it was awesome, cant wait to do the other one, may have to wait till the weekend, lol. Here are a few photos of version 1.0:

Underside showing structure:



The (almost) finished product:



1 hour after the paint dried:



Any suggestion or critique would be appreciated.

 

watch for sharp edges

 

Superior Products sells restaurant supply stuff and i got a couple nice stainless prep tables from them for cheap. The shipping is cheap as well, just be prepared for the table top to have some sort of minor damage when it shows up UPS. I went through 3 tables before i said Fck it and kept the last one they sent me.

 

Yeah, that will be addressed in Version 2.0. I would like to round the corners on this one to help out.

 

Don't paint the tops. All the dealership service benches I ever used had a high grade industrial enamel that put up with a decent amount of abuse...but that single stage you used will probably chip up quickly. Maybe use Hammerite or something else a little thicker, IF you really want paint.

A backsplash around the back and side edges can do WONDERS for a tech. This, with a little lip or tray in the front will keep you from losing tools and hardware.

Otherwise, nice work. I like buying service benches as they are VERY light and can be moved easily, due to the contours of the structure...but they are spendy

 

hey this is a very useful thread!

so this is a good service bench and all, but i am looking for a welding bench. what criteria should i have for those? thick and heavy metal? would one of those stainless food prep bench/tables be sufficient?

feel free to post pics of welding benches!