Awesome bench there, @Bearhedge! Great job.
I’d like to make a fold down workbench for my garage. Will wait and see if I can get a permit to extend my garage first… 
1 Like
All that work @Bearhedge, just to mount a vice!
Really though, it looks very nice! Now it needs some stain dribbled on top and a couple of nicks and gouges.
3 Likes
I agree I would not want to move that without those casters.
Wheels
1 Like
Awesome bench!
1 Like
Admittedly, I probably underestimated the amount of work it took - especially because I had to figure out each step as I went.
Also, part of the problem with workshop-building is that the easiest Step 1 of building a new workshop is to have a large existing workshop with lots of tools to make the new workshop with!
If I had a tablesaw, a band saw, a router of my own (I borrowed the one I used) and a planer thicknesser, I would have finished a lot quicker.
Then again…woodworking is a bit like fishing for me: the activity itself is just as rewarding as the end result, so I don’t mind the fact it took me ages to finish the project.
Yesterday I was in the workshop attaching the wheels to the bench, listening to Jeffrey Foucault’s Horse Latitudes album, sipping a drink…I quietly ‘clocked’ the moment as a very happy one. 
4 Likes
That bench looks sturdy enough to park a car on.
3 Likes
I decided to brush up some woodworking techniques I haven’t practiced since woodworking class at elementary school…glueing, chisel work and such.
I’m making a small shelf and charging station for my cheap and cheerful 18V battery tools (drill, impact driver, circular saw, portable work light). I use them a lot so it’s handy to put them up above the bench within easy reach.
There’s 4 slots for tools, a sloping stand for the saw and a shelf above for the charger and batteries.
It’s nice to do some work like that and not have to worry about screwing it up, as it doesn’t have to be pretty, just functional.
10 Likes
Almost ready to hang to the wall above the workbench. I made a little cable organiser for the charger, as the wall plug is right next to where the shelf will go.
I’m now thinking of attaching a multi plug and a little LED strip or bendy work light to the bottom, though. You need more plug space at times. I do have the garage separately wired with an RCD, so should be safe for some multi plugs.
I did put nice LED down lights to the garage ceiling a couple of years ago so the general lighting is good but your head casts a shadow over your workpiece a bit with the light coming from overhead, so an additional directional work light would be handy.
11 Likes
Done! Apart from a work light…see if I can order something suitable to screw under the circular saw slot.
Pretty happy with it - minor niggle that you have to peek around to see charge status of the battery, because I had to work around the bracket on the right…but not a big deal.
12 Likes
That is great!
Looks very nice. For viewing charge status in that setup, I would get one or 2 small mirrors set at an angle. A mirror strip could also be used as an aide for using the multiplug.
Happy Simming and Woodworking!
2 Likes
Friction is enough to let the batteries hang like that off the charger?
Great work!
1 Like
Yeah - plenty of friction. The plastic rails are quite a tight fit actually, which is why I placed the charger on the side like that - I wanted to be able to comfortably pull downwards to get the batteries off.
As I noted, the Ozito tools aren’t exactly high end…so the tightness of the charging slot is probably unintentional…but works for the purpose. 
Would be nice to upgrade to some tradesman-grade Makitas or similar one day but I’ve got some pretty big workshop purchases to make (tablesaw, plunge router etc.) and trying to not break the bank. 
2 Likes
Good to know!
I was wondering if it should have been upside-down mounted, which was why I asked.
1 Like
I need a batt rack like that!
1 Like
If you have Ryobi tools, I think they make one to fit their stuff, but TrollWorks would likely make a more robust product anyway!
1 Like
I do use Ryobi… I just never realised I needed such a rack.
2 Likes
Also the problem with that plan is, you don’t get to make one yourself out of leftover stuff
1 Like
Ryobi makes nice workman grade stuff. I use their 18v stuff in the field for prep work when I’m welding. Yes I can run cabled stuff of the generator, but it’s usually a lot more convenient to just bring all my cordless stuff out in one go. Being able to do all the prep and fitup without needing an watt of power from somewhere else is dang handy. Now I’m not doing anything intensive like pipeline welding or structural steel work, but I’ve done some pretty decent sized stuff and the Ryobi battery powered handled it self just as well as my corded DeWalt tools have.
1 Like
My father in law has the Ryobi 18V drill + impact driver and I can certainly say they are better than my Ozito ones…more grunt.
The only reason I bought the Ozito combo was that I got an Ozito 18V hedge trimmer and leaf blower kit for Xmas and decided to continue that route to use the same batteries…so I got the drill / impact driver / circular saw / angle grinder / work light combo, which was probably 1/2 or 2/3 the price of the Ryobi equivalent. So far I’ve been happy with the quality for my use, but you can tell it’s not top shelf stuff.
Tool quality is one of those things - it used to be “buy the best you can afford” with tools, but it’s a bit more nuanced these days.
The cheap range isn’t too bad for most purposes and you’re probably going to upgrade in a few years when the batteries die anyway, so unless you require particular features, very high accuracy or going to use the tool every day, I reckon the cheap and cheerful stuff is quite attractive these days.
I like a high end tool as much as anyone but at the same time having a cheap but right tool for the job is better than not having the right tool for the job at all