The purpose of this project is to create a wonderful and strong workbench that I will love to use. It should be versatile and allow me to work on pieces.

There is a category of bench called industrial laboratory workbenches. They are steel, sometimes they are used for packing and shipping and cubbies up top full of supplies. sometimes they are lit from the top shelf so somebody can work on electronics.

Example illustraed here was being sold on marketplace and it's by Tovar Industries. I really like the simple bomb-proof build here.

So I ended up purchasing a custom workbench from No-Mar and I got in in bare metal. I then got some point to coat and protect it. I decided to go with a navy blue paint for the main structure and then silver / nickel for the connector plates. I had trouble coating it with the navy blue primer paint combo. In the end though I didn't want to continue painting and keep spending money on it, as I think protecting it is enough and after all, this is for a workbench, not for a fashion statement. It's so easy to lose perspectiv when you work at any length on something like this. Perfection is a major productivity killer in probably 80% of the projects I do. The other 20% it's very much needed.

Need to post some pics of the finished bench. It breaks down quite easily with the allen screws. It's important to keep those tight and probably check them once in a while to ensure they haven't vibrated loose or came loose due to other reasons. Also need to find out what these allen screws actually are. I do know they fit 3/8 wrench and must be standard rather than metric.

Things I need:

• Sandbags to keep it from rolling when using temporarily as a cutting or display table.
• A method to recess the carriage bolts on the top so they are below the table top surface. (this can be done later on too.
• Possibly inserts for bolts that will allow temporary attachment of vice, drillpress, grinder, etc. 3/8 t-nuts may be a good solution, need to check.
• Bench Grinder can get wood fastened to the bottom and clamped to the table in use rather than being permanently affixed.
• Making a place for things like the drill press / grinder / vice when not clamped on.
• Is there a way to attach an actual bench or cabinet maker's vice?

So this project originally was going to be a build project but after a chance look at a Craigslist ad, I found, what I think, is a better way to have a great bench.

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/tls/d/work-bench-and-tables/6683009658.html

Despite having all the wood working skills and tools that I have, not saying it's a ton, but I'm competent enough, I didn't really want to build a workbench. I get hung up on projects and perfections as it is. A workbench seemed like something I could sit and dawdle over for years. Fact is, if I wanted to build one, I probbaly would have by now.

I wanted something strong, heavy, and moveable. But the idea of carting around hundreds of pounds of wood, dealing with reshaping all of it, just not interested.

so what I found was a company called No-Mar who created these tables in-house for their own work. Using heavy guage steel and triangular gussets to keep it all together. I saw the ad and was intrigued. I decided to go visit. After spending time with them, I realzed that they could make me a bare metal table, one that I would love, for a price that I could handle. And from there, I could work on adding more to it.

After the parts come in and it's made by No-Mar, I maybe will keep an option open to add a steel top to it instead of the wood. Right now, I'm just not sure what's best. I think wood will be best to start out with.

• Will have wheel combo with self-leveling feet
• I'll be painting it navy blue and maybe silver for the gussets
• Using primer, perhaps a dark matte primer, spraypaint in the driveway.
• need to figure out how to do the wood top.
• Eric Difate sugested some 3/8 inserts to fasten drill press / vice to it as needed.

But I may build another table in the future. If I do, I think I like this build from WoodGears.

• https://woodgears.ca/workbench/index.html