Official Luthiers Forum!

[QUOTE=fmorelli]
   
1) Thinking hard maple for the bench top. Alternate ideas? Considered IPE (Brazilian Walnut - which is super hard).

2) Should I build the bench top with end grain standing up (grain perpendicular to the surface). Does it matter?

[/QUOTE]

Anything cheap, hard, non-'splintery', and relatively stable will do for the top. Beech is another possibility.

Unless you are going to be chopping into the bench top with your hatchet, cleaver, or chisels, I don't see the point of putting end grain up. It will make construction much more complicated.

I'd leave some top area available for clamping along the edge- ie with overhang. If you're going to mount a 'guitar vise', it will interfere with your cabinet/drawers unless you leave a wide skirt.

Cheers
John

Mine's tall (about belly-button height), and MDF with a melamine worktop screwed to it. MDF's cheap, heavy, and although some folks seem to be able to make it warp, I find it to be more stable than most ply, and decidedly flatter. Table's bolted to the wall. The Melamine is easy to clean, cheap, glues don't stick to it, and it's white, so contrasts nicely. Plenty of overhang takes care of most clamping, although I tend to still do a lot outdoors with the Workmate, because the shop, well, is TINY.

Check out Frank Ford's bench. Three sheets of 3/4 plywood laminated together for the top.

_________________
Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Thanks for the link to Franks bench!

_________________
“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

solid core exterior doors from home depot loews. cheapo depo kitchen or bath counters. make them any size want, storage, and can make own bench clamp or whatever. look around less than 200 bucks. work for other benchs also.

Filippo,

I made a bench this past winter specifically for guitar building. My design criteria were LOTS of storage, sturdy, lots of bench space and relatively inexpensive. It is constructed much like kitchen cabinets, in that the base is three seperate cabinets and the top is made as one piece and screwed in place from below. The top is two layers of 3/4 inch MDF, capped with 3/4 inch x 1 1/2 inch birch except for where the vises are. The top overhangs 2 inches all around so that I have good clamping surfaces. I have a bench dog system on the east side (our right in the picture) and a tail vise on the west. I have a parrot vise and a small swivel vise that I mounted on bases that I clamp into the tail vise when I need them. I have redone the chisel holders (and added a few more chisels) and have filled the wall space with other cabinets and fixtures to hold tools and jigs. I post these just as food for thought. Oh ya, the top on the tail vise end is only 18 inches wide, I got this idea from looking at Luthier benches where it was mentioned a couple of times that this allows access to the guitar from two sides without having to move it around. I actually quite enjoy this narrower wing and find that is where I spend most of my time.

Good luck!

Shane

_________________
Canada

Shane, I like your setup! I am planning to build something similar in my new shop.

I haven't read every post in this thread carefully, but the traditional woodworking bench that Todd showed pictures of is great for planing, in fact we call them "hovelbenk" (=planing bench) up here. I have 2 of these in my shop.   What makes them good for this are the vises, the mass and sturdy base, the bench top and the right height. This height is too low for detail work IMO, so it is a good idea to either have benches at different heights for different tasks, possibly an adjustable base like Filippo mentions in his first post.

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

haha - i started off working saturdays repairing / doing set-ups etc in a music store on a computer desk with half an old guitar case resting (yes, resting!) on it! (shudder) the lads who ran the shop would hide it while i wasnt there - otherwise it was right in the middle of the very very busy shop!!!

Coming from a metal-working/ engineering background it was a real test. but i loved it so much i put up with stolen / broken tools, carrying all my tools there and back and much more. a few years later i had a stock room cleared for me and a custom built bench made in the new premises before we all moved there. i was full-time then, and part of the furniture myself.

When i think back to times people would lean on the computer table come "bench" and tip it up - sending me scrambling to stop the PRS's catapulting accross the room!!

dont know how i did it - but it learnt me good for working in nooks and cranny's on while tour - and now that i have a full on workshop (built by my workshop partner while i've been working away) i thank the gods every day!

_________________
www.theguitarrepairworkshop.com

Mmmmm mmmmm sounds ace Steve and a long way from the good olde days.
Cant wait for you to get a full head of steam again.
Dont forget though son. Your playing catch-up!

My #2 purchase/start is just around the corner!

[QUOTE=snood]Mmmmm mmmmm sounds ace Steve and a long way from the good olde days.
Cant wait for you to get a full head of steam again.
Dont forget though son. Your playing catch-up!

My #2 purchase/start is just around the corner! [/QUOTE]

haha - you may be on number 1000 by the time i get on top of the repair backlog!

the bench's shown here look beautiful. there's something very heart warming about seeing a beautiful working bench.... er..isnt there...?

 

_________________
www.theguitarrepairworkshop.com