# work benches, garages, bicycle labs ... come one come all



## sbusiello (Aug 14, 2013)

since i am a relative newbie, and i do more on the spot home repairs rather than garage building/fixing one of the projects i have lined up is to build a workbench out of pallets... yes that is right... pallets. 

i went to the local school who had some beauties today [ i am assuming they were throwing them out ] and i took 1 small, 2 medium and one 8 foot. The school is close to my house so i walked over at 11pm when everyone was sleeping and walked back with the 8 foot.

so i was hoping you guys can inspire me to greatness and post some snaps of where you do your cool fixups and restores and maybe give me some hints on what you think is essential for my setup...

thanks!


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## sbusiello (Aug 14, 2013)

*found this*

i found a million pix on google... but thought this was interesting and could be a simplistic complimentary piece to a small maybe 4-6 ft work bench.


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## bricycle (Aug 14, 2013)

This is kinda a "Where's Waldo"... only a where's my workbench.... I need help!!!


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## jd56 (Aug 15, 2013)

Midnight hardware....hmmmm......or in your case dumpster diving, might fit better.
I have found that pallet wood is unfinished and extremely coase for the counter top.
Am considering constructing an outside deck made of pallets. Just to raise the decking off the ground. Thinking of covering the top with plywood. 



Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## sbusiello (Aug 15, 2013)

JD there is a really cool website called diypallet something something..Google will find it...  

It is funny there are different varieties of pallets. Some coarse and some quite good. Yesterday I found a bit of both...so I will definitely have a sanding session to smooth.

What do people think are the essentials?

I am really leaning towards an arm hook system and a 4 ft bench. I have all the basic tools, socket wrenches etc. I just need a vise. I have been hitting CL


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## sbusiello (Aug 15, 2013)

bricycle said:


> This is kinda a "Where's Waldo"... only a where's my workbench.... I need help!!!




Bricycle..that looks like the shop of someone with a lot of projects ..


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## bikesnbuses (Aug 16, 2013)

bricycle said:


> This is kinda a "Where's Waldo"... only a where's my workbench.... I need help!!!




BRI!!!!!!!!!When did you sneak into my garage for that picture!!!???!!


PS...we BOTH need help


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## bricycle (Aug 16, 2013)

bikesnbuses said:


> BRI!!!!!!!!!When did you sneak into my garage for that picture!!!???!!
> 
> 
> PS...we BOTH need help




It's only 7' x 15' so space (and junk) is at a premium.......


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## decotriumph (Aug 16, 2013)

bricycle said:


> This is kinda a "Where's Waldo"... only a where's my workbench.... I need help!!!




I think I spotted your workbench! It's holding the vise off the floor. Do I get a prize?


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## bricycle (Aug 16, 2013)

decotriumph said:


> I think I spotted your workbench! It's holding the vise off the floor. Do I get a prize?




...maybe, what do you need?


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## josehuerta (Aug 17, 2013)

Now I'm sure of it - Bri has every part I need......................somewhere.


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## sbusiello (Sep 2, 2013)

*table top*

after lots of planning, over analyzing, re-planning, cutting, sanding and assembling i finally have my 5'x30" table top done. 




















these are all from the cutting, sanding phase. i screwed everything together today and havent got the pix uploaded yet.

next is to
- slap the legs on. I think i need to double up the wood and am thinking of adding a 5th and possible 6th leg in the middle.
- my dad had old light rusty corner braces i am going to polish up and screw in
- poly-eurathayne the whole bad boy
- start using it


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## Iverider (Sep 3, 2013)

Nice job on the top. Now for the legs. You gonna mount a vise? I'm currently rethinking my bike shop space. It's a dump right now.


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## sbusiello (Sep 4, 2013)

thanks dude. 

yeah i have my grandfathers old vise which i am planning on sticking on one of the corners. i am also thinking of a creative way of "mounting" machinery to the bench. A vise, a grinder etc etc. What i am thinking of is getting some type of metal sheet with holes in it and drilling that into the top. then what i can do is swap in/out the tools using carriage bolts.

i have wood from the pallets for the legs, but only 4 and i dont think it will be good enough. So i am thinking of taking one of these thicker pieces. i think they are 1x4s [ if there is such a thing ] and sandwiching them up with one of the slats. the other option is going out to get more pallets and doubling up the 1x4s. im sure i will spend way too much time planning and thinking it over to make sure it is perfect. 

do you have any pix of the setup?


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## videoranger (Sep 17, 2013)

I like the pallet wood project. The planning is half the fun and pays off when it all comes together.  I used old 1950's blonde oak dinning room furniture. Super heavy duty construction. I used Formica sink cut outs to make a top that's solvent proof and very durable. Been using this for a couple decades. The drawers and shelves make for great storage.


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## bike (Sep 17, 2013)

*Kaos*

All my walls are pegboard and all my benches steel. Climate controlled big 50% storage loft above and still a mess!!!

Hold SHIFT and click for bigger pix:


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## sbusiello (Sep 19, 2013)

im jealous of you two! 

is that an integrated vise in the workbench?


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## Djshakes (Sep 20, 2013)

bike said:


> All my walls are pegboard and all my benches steel. Climate controlled big 50% storage loft above and still a mess!!!




I go with steel workbench tops as well.  You can buy the sheet metal from a metal store and bolt it right on. Super easy to clean, etc.  Plus you can bang away on them.


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## willswares1220 (Sep 20, 2013)

You guys are so organized! 
It sure beats piling all of your bikes and parts in a shed and locking the door and forgetting about it!
Or working on bikes on a basement floor on your hands and knees! Tools strewn about.  Sounds a little like me.....


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## tailhole (Sep 28, 2013)

*Looking good!*

Love the reclaim wood stuff, Here's mine a few months ago, it's a disaster right now...


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## bike (Sep 28, 2013)

*Great*

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Photography^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


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## Boris (Sep 29, 2013)

tailhole said:


> Love the reclaim wood stuff, Here's mine a few months ago, it's a disaster right now...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Sped Man (Sep 29, 2013)

Our basement had reclaimed panels and a huge built in workbench. I had to remove all of it. Mold got on everything. Now I have only metal cabinets in our basement and general work area. I really wanted the  vintage look but I can't stand the smell of mold. 

I got this L shaped cabinet off of Craigslist. The previous owner lived 60 miles away. He delivered to my house for a grand total of $300. It came with a slate top. I was at Sears and they wanted over $800 for a smaller version of this.


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## sbusiello (Sep 30, 2013)

@tailhole - wow!!!!! Is that like a separate house? 

I shld really take some snaps of my cramped quarters.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2


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## tailhole (Sep 30, 2013)

sbusiello said:


> @tailhole - wow!!!!! Is that like a separate house?




No just a 2 car garage with no cars.  I put a wood burning stove in there a few years ago (the b&w shot was when I was replacing the chimney with a better, thicker walled one - that's why there isn't a chimney in that shot). Added insulation to ceiling.
Makes hanging out in there very nice when the snow piles up outside.
Hammered sheets of 3/4" plywood into the masonry walls, then used a variety of screws to hang tools on.


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## sbusiello (Oct 1, 2013)

Tailhole it looks fantastic. If you guys saw the space I have to work in I think people would take up a collection for me or start a charity walk.  

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