The Amateur Crafter: Project 0.1 – Workbenches, New and Old

Been just a little while since my last post. There are two reasons this particular article was delayed. First, the original was accidentally deleted somehow. Second, there are a lot of pictures in this article. And even though Blogger is great for posting anything I want about anything, it’s not exactly the fastest to upload images, especially from a camera that’s 14.1 megapixels. So, be prepared for a pretty short article but with a lot of pictures.

I’ve recently purchased a black Kobalt 3-drawer workbench from Lowe’s Home Improvement. It was on sale and it happened to be the last one in that particular store. Compared to the Montezuma Workbench I was thinking about buying from Northern Tool, it was quite a deal. It adds some much needed bench, drawer, and wall space to my shop. I’m really pleased with the look and it’s design. It comes with a small fluorescent light and additional storage space above the light fixture. And, there’s a power strip along the side, which will be a huge help for me. Overall, I’m very happy with it. But it was not without problems.

The one, glaring problem I had with it was its construction. It seems like the pieces for this workbench were thrown together on a late Friday afternoon and everyone was just hurrying to get it done so that they could all go home for the weekend. It’s not that the workbench doesn’t fit together properly, it does. The problem is the screw threads – for practically every single piece. The holes were either too small due to enormous amount of paint caked onto the piece, or the threads themselves were created with a worn-out tool. After I assembled four pieces per instruction, nearly every single piece thereafter required me to chase the threads on approx. 75% or more of the holes and most pieces had at least 4 mounting holes for the machine screws. So I had to spend a great deal more time prepping each piece before assembling them. This made the project take nearly all morning to complete. The other problem with this workbench is that it was missing the “S” hooks it was supposed to come with. This isn’t too much of an issue for me because I didn’t intend to use them, at least not there but it would’ve been nice if I had them for later.

The unassembled Kobalt scattered throughout my shop.

While this wasn’t a major problem for me I can see where this might be a big problem for the average DIY consumer. As a machinist, I have purchased or I have access to the tools necessary for me to complete the assembly of the workbench. It was a bit annoying having to go buy a metric set of taps and dies but I knew what I needed and I knew where to get it. But for the typical DIY-er, I suspect that the screw threads issue would put him/her in a real bind. Simply trying to force the machine screws to work would most likely result in stripping the threads out, which would make the assembled workbench less rigid. I’ve sent word to Lowe’s customer relations via e-mail and I’ve made a customer review on their website. Don’t know how much that would help but hopefully it’ll offer some direction to someone that doesn’t know how to fix it.

From the photos, one can see that I resurfaced the top bench of the main workbench left by the previous owners. All I really did was get a bit of ¼ plywood and cut it to size. Then I laminated the pieces to the top with screws and wood glue. I should note that the previous owner apparently loved his hammer and nails because I found no less than 56 nails, screws, or staples embedded in the top – excluding those needed to mount the top to the frame! I encountered this before when I installed the dozen fluorescent light fixtures in the basement. The person I hired for this worked with me doing this and we found more than 70 nails throughout the basement, most were still sticking out as if it was used to hang something. We stopped counting how many we found around 70 and we continued to find more afterwards. I guess the previous owner’s philosophy was “a nail unused is a nail abused.”

The cheap metric tap & die set to the rescue!

Some lubricant, or as some of my more rural students would say, "some earl!"

Partially completed.

Finished assembly.

I’ve also mounted my meager drill press to the edge and my portaband saw on the other side of the vise. I’m quite pleased with the paint job I did with the aftermarket pieces from SwagOffRoad.com. I decided on a desert camouflaged themed paint scheme and the results are great – even if I do say so myself! The construction of the aftermarket pieces also came with problems. In some ways, it appeared to me that some of these pieces were completed rather quickly with no eye towards the quality of the look and finish. Note the burrs and divots I had to file down in the photos. Again, for me this wasn’t much of a problem. But I don’t like receiving incomplete work that I’ve paid to ship to me completed. After cleaning up the pieces I sanded them down – first with a wire rotary brush, then I used some 180 and later 220 grit sand paper. I also used some primer on my pieces before painting. I’ve no idea if this will improve the life expectancy of the paint job but the paint did adhere much better to the primed pieces than to un-primed pieces. And for additional protection of the paint job, I coated the whole thing after it dried with some clear, flat matte finish. And yes, from the aftermarket pieces assembly photos at the end of this post, one can see that a bit of panty hose was used on the Dewalt. The point to that is for dust. Because the saw is now mounted upright, the port for airflow into the motor (I think) is exposed right behind the blade. This will become a magnet for metal chips, shavings, dust, etc. To help with dust prevention I wanted to cover up the opening but not prevent airflow through it. So, a bit of panty hose and some electrical tape to do the job and I’m in business.

This is the insert that becomes the "table" for the portaband saw.

Very heavy and stout table to hold the insert. It even comes with mitring slots, which I'll probably never use. One concern I have is that the table is 1/4" steel plate, but the sides are 1/8" steel plate. They do hold up the table fine, but repeated use over time may result in fatigue in the sides. I may be way off on this but just the same, I've created a CAD file with the side design, altered for 3/16" steel plate.

The mounting area for the table insert.

One of the many nicks and dings I found in the pieces from SwagOffRoad.

One can see the burr or "wire edge" left all around the mounting area for the table insert.

Primed pieces ready for paint.

The finished "desert camo."

The table surface was left unpainted because it's very likely that the paint will simply get scratched off from use. Also, a bit of paste wax rubbed in and buffed to give the table a smooth surface. Not sure if the wax will help prevent rusting but we'll see.

Finished assembly and installation onto the workbench. It's not noticeable from the photos but I also used some rubber washers in between the washers and the work pieces to be used as possible dampeners. The hope is that this may cut down the vibration for the overall machine.

Some pantyhose to provide at least some particulate filtering for the portaband.

A note on safety. There is a problem that I didn’t see with the purchase of the foot pedal. I thought that it was of the so-called “dead man’s switch” design, but it is not. A dead man’s switch is a type of safety device that requires constant activity from an operator so that the safety switch will allow a machine to work. An example would be requiring an operator to use two power buttons on a hydraulic press in order for the press to work. These buttons are located far enough away from each other that the operator has to use both hands to keep the buttons pressed – thus keeping his/her hands safely away from the pinch points. And if only one button is pressed, the machine will not work; hence the term – dead man’s switch. I thought that the foot pedal was a normally open switch that I would have to keep my foot on the pedal constantly in order for it to close much like a toggle switch – it doesn’t work that way. It works as a push on-push off latching switch. Push once to turn it on, but the switch stays on and requires a second push to turn it off. This will not do. I’d much rather have a foot pedal that will turn off if I take my foot off. For now, I guess I have no choice but to use this particular foot switch. But I’d feel safer with it tucked away underneath something. I’ll probably make a foot pedal housing so that I can’t drop something onto the pedal and have it accidentally turn on. This can be a very simple construction and only needs to prevent anything from landing directly onto it yet still allow the operator (me) to easily reach it.

And for the table saw, I’m probably going to move it into storage for the time being. I’m not likely to start right away into cabinetry or any other small projects that require the use of a table saw any time soon and it’s really in the way right now. But I wanted to mention, no matter how much of a pain in the neck it is, never-ever remove the blade guard or the riving knife from a table saw. In fact, never remove the safety device on any machine. It’s just not worth it. There’s some debate among wood workers about the anti-kickback pawls. Those on the Skil 3310 10-inch are particularly sharp and easily dig into the work quite deep. I don’t like them, but I’m hesitant to remove them. The pawls are removable without removing the blade guard. I may try to modify them by softening the edges. I can probably do this with a file or a decent belt sander. In any case, I strongly suggest that these remain on the machine. I’ll give a really good example; check out this video on YouTube by an experienced wood worker. This video is linked with permission from Tom Hintz from NewWoodworker.com.

Bottom line, removing the safety devices on your machinery is just not worth the risk.