I completed the wood lathe stand:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard-woodlathestand.html

And today I started, and finished, the cabinetry for the benchtop drill press stand:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard-...ressstand.html

 

looks awesome

 

When you get done there you can come do my shop... WOW!!!

Something about wood and I just don't get along. I have to make everything from steel.

 

I'm not a fan of wood. (or MDF, cough cough) but it's a reasonable solution for making cabinets. I was going to buy unfinished oak cabinets at Lowes, but after pricing it out I was like ummmm.... no. Would have cost me about $850-900 for the cabinets, and I'd be stuck with standard sizing. So instead I'm using 3/4" MDF which while I hate it, it is strong in compression and remains straight as the temperature changes, unlike most other wood and wood-like substances. Plus, I can hide the MDF with reasonably affordable tongue & groove planking as I did with the tall, narrow wood lathe cabinet.

I started the next cabinet to the left in the project - the router cabinet. I have the "guts" of a 1HP shaper which I'll be mounting underneath:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard-routerstand.html

BTW, here is the design of the cabinets/floorspace. I update it fairly often as I change my mind on dimensions:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/garage/garage.htm. If you cut and paste the link into a new browser, you can bypass the FTE advertisements that make the browser window "narrow", and you can see the whole design. Not that I'm suggesting FTE advertising is bad, but the drawing is wide and really "scrunched" with the ads on the left.

 

I am in the process of scounging another one from work. It's about 40" tall 2.5 ' by about 4'. Angle iron top with a diamond plate aluminimum center. I am going to change that out with some steel plate I have on hand though. Should make a great welding table.

 

I had a welding table for a while, made out of an old corporate desk which I installed casters, and a steel top. I used the steel top as a ground, and it was real convienent, especially for smaller, or odd shaped parts that I couldn't attach the ground clamp easily. Been meaning to buy one of those magnet ground clamps, but never get around to it.

Anyway, more progress was made over the past day or two. I couldn't assemble the next cabinet because the old workbenches and a ton of junk was in the way, so more stuff went to the curb and I disassembled the remainder of the workbenches.

I still haven't decided on the tops... I'm thinking MDF with steel on top, cut to fit with a 1" lip to hammer down over the side to protect the edge of the MDF. I'd use red oak like I did for the lathe cabinet, but at the per foot price at home depot the tops are going to cost me more than the cabinets!

 

WOW!!!! i got a work bench just like that in my garage!!!!

 

Funny how that happens

 

Verrry Sweeeet!

 

Well, had to do some serious cleanup to tear the rest of the old workbenches out, and have floorspace for the new benches. Tomorrow I start doweling and gluing the rest of the cabinets. This evening I cut all the panels and drilled the dowel holes, so it's a matter of clamping and gluing and waiting for things to dry. Anyway, clean garage space:

 

hey fred, whats that funny looking grey stull under the wood scraps???

 

Grey what?

To all: I combined the workbench pages, they are now all here:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard-...rkbenches.html

Got tired of maintaining 10 pages with two or three pictures a piece.

The router/shaper table is done:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/garage/IM001719.JPG

And I started the next cabinet before the dust in the air started to choke me to death:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/garage/IM001720.JPG

MDF is not lung friendly. I could wear a mask, if I could find it

 

Grey stuff - concrete. Doh!

I was squinting looking at the picture for "objects".

Talk about brain dead!

 

hehe got ya with that one, huh??

 

Yes, you did

You saw my new toy, right? ;-)