Work bench

[woodsman]

I want to build a work station for building and repairing rifles and I'm looking for some pointers as far as demensions, placement of the vice,1 vice or 2, that sort of thing. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Tony :front:

 

[Bill Bounds]

Hi:
I been thinkin on the same lines. I'm thinkin of makeing a bench along these lines. http://www.leipersforkflintlocks.com/home.htm
The guy is on a stool and has 360 degree of access. He seems to have a vise mounted on a post probally bolted to the floor. Maybe an inverted tree trunk with limbs to stableize the work.

 

[Metalshaper]

Woodsman,

Bench stuff, is very personal.. Each builder has his own unique thoughts. The best thing I can say is fit it, for what feels right and most comfortable for yourself.

As for me.. I'm 5'11" and like a bench that most people would consider too high.. Feels right for me, and because I have degenerative discs, in my back,,, the less I have to bend over a bench.. the better! On the bench, that I do my metal shaping and filing.. The machine vise is mounted on the left hand corner.. that way I can file and work 'around the corner!' and it doesn't take much swiveling of the vise, to present a different angle of attack to the work.
My gun building bench.. has a vise mouted in the middle of the one side. ( Its 5' long X 2' wide ) along the working side.. I have a rail system, that allows me to stand up supports on either side of the vise..
Both benches are arranged, so I can work on one,,turn around and step right up to the other.

Just what works for me??!! :hmm: but, :results:

Respect Always
Metalshaper

 

[Birddog6]

That is something each feller has to figure out for himself. Dif. heights per person, on vice or two, etc.

I like to work my rifles on a banchtop & it is 39" tall, which is taller than most like it. Had I to make it again it would ba another 2-3" taller, as I don't like bending over it. I like using 2 vices to clamp the rifle rather than one. I feel it is more stable & less chance or breaking any part of it, and less chance of it slipping out while working it. I have them about 3" apart & both of them hang out over the bench, thus giving me lots of room to work around them, and they both will turn 360 degrees. I usually clamp at the muzzle & at the breech area & I always try to work the stock with the barrel in the stock at all times if I can to keep the forestock stable.

:results:

 

[oneeye]

Great question, as I am trying to remake my garage to accommodate a building area and bench. It would be awesome if some of you more seasoned builders could share a picture or two.

Dan

 

[bob1961]

i'm just starting out building my first rifle and i've found my 3x6 foot bench works good....the picture of the end with the vise on it shows the workablity on the rifle....

the stock or barrel can be mounted both ways in the ivse to work on whatever end needs be worked on................bob

 

[big bore 75]

Bob1961 nice bench whats ya got cookn' in the jars ::, my daughter loves gettin in the work too if I don't give her a small job she gets real wild and then will not let me get to the small details on the job at hand nice job on the rifle looks good . bb75

 

[bob1961]

here's a link to my vineger stains....it's easier this way................bob

my vineger stains..........

 

[mule ear]

I see alot of great ideas here! For me, I measured the distance from my elbow to the ground and then subtracted the height of my vice to give me the bench top height. :results: That way I can (read: should be able to!) file a flat surface easier and with out bending over. (I too started my adult years at 5' 11", but I'm loosing altitude to the same afliction of degenerative disk disease.) :imo: Bench "knees" are a useful addition to make your vice work "both ways." I'm not a fan of rotating base vices. Unfortunately, making a bench to your specs means more custom saw work to make the bench. I like to secure my benches to the walls with lag screws or TopCon screws into concrete to stop vibration of filing or hacksawing. Hope this helps!

 

[mikee51848]

One of the items I wished I had was a good wooden vise. I ended up putting wood spacers against the metal grips to keep from marring metal parts.

 

[44-henry]

Take a look at the newest Issue of Wood magazine, they have a bare bones workbench that you can accesorize to your liking. I like the idea behind it, it's simple, not more expensive than the projects that you want to construct, and above all else rock solid. They are using a solid core door for the top, though you could certainly use a more traditional laminated maple top if you wanted to up the cost. In all realty these tops are a bit extravagant for gunsmithing work since most of your work will be in the vice, you want a solid foundation for the bench and a useful worksurface for the other tasks, but it doesn't matter so much what this surface is. Looking at this bench, with a discount door, you could probably build it for less than $100 with most of the accessories. I would than equip it with a decent vice, say a versa vice and you would have a good portion of your setup complete.

 

[bob1961]

i found my bench in someones yard with a free sign on it and some fishin rods....i don't need more fishin rods so i passed it by....came back through and the sign was still on the bench but moved i little to the end of the bench so i stopped....he said the bench is free also....well i backed the pickup to it and flipped it over and slid it in and tied it down....it started as a 4 x 8' and i cut it down to 3 x 6' and beefed it up a little added some draws to it a rolling basket from a kitchen cabinet fer my power saws and a outlet fer power the height is 39" so i don't have to bend over to work on my gun............bob

 

[SilverBear]

Here is a link to some information on workbenches on my web page.

Work Bench Page

Might be of some help

Tony

 

[fatboy]

The recent outdoor life mag has plans for a bench in it if you know someone that has the mag they could let you take a peek .