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If you do use it make sure to put a plastic table cloth with a pad beneath it. It would be a shame to damage it in any way.
You may not have read all the way through my long rambling post, Rob. The top is replaceable. If you look at the last picture I posted you'll see the replacement top in the background.
Thanks Deb, Lainey, Dave and Rob. My brother was blessed with skills and an innate understanding of how things work and how to make them. I have bit of it, but not to his degree. He is also a perfectionist, while I subscribe to the theory that perfection is the enemy of "good enough." If I want to build a shed I'll spend a week or two looking at pre-made sheds, another couple of weeks looking at plans, decide if I can just buy what I need or if I need to build it. If I decide to build it myself I find a plan that I like, modify it a bit to make the structure bigger and a bit stronger, and then build it myself in a month or so. After I'm done you'll be able to see a couple of problems and I'll be able to point out four or five additional errors and how I corrected for them. If my brother gets the idea to build a shed he'll spend a year or two researching, reject all the plans he sees, study the building code, develop plans with materials with capacities that would exceed what is needed to build a house. He'll need a variance to build it as it will exceed one or more local restrictions. He'll hire a contractor to dig and pour a foundation that would support a two story house, and install shelving that could hold car engines stacked to the ceiling, a residential door, double hung windows, and an automatic garage door. The average person won't find any flaws but he'll point out a few that will require an explanation and you probably won't understand what's wrong after the first description. By the time he is finished with his, I will have sold the house I lived in when I built my own shed after using it for just what I wanted for four or five years. This example is based on a true story.
In this particular case, I built my rolling work bench in one weekend after spending a week studying different plans. My brother took about six weeks tom build the wall hugger after reading about this table the week he and I discussed what I was looking for. As the photos above show, mine is "good enough" while his is perfect. I'll use mine for rough work and his for finish work and assembly. Take a second look at the pictures above. In the last picture you will see what looks like a second top next to the table. It is exactly that. The top of the bench is recessed and the work surface "pops out". You can replace it when it gets worn out or beat up.
My wife thinks I procrastinate but I understand your brother.
I tend not to start projects until I know how they will end.
I'm also not prone to looking at how other people did things.
drives her nuts.
I had to put supports under our new counters to support the over hang.
For the firs time in my 61 plus years I asked myself someone must have solved this before.
I'll admit that is way more sophisticated than the one i threw together for assembling my deck rails.
For me it is all about the purpose of the structure or equipment in question. If I was building rails, I'd probably throw together a couple of saw horses and maybe add a half sheet of plywood. It would be a temporary work station for something I was only going to build once. The table I build above is designed to be moved to wherever the work is and will be used as long as I'm able to keep working. It is also designed to get dirty and beat-up and handle everything from tool cart duty to disassembly table to transport wagon. I'll probably use my brother's table for assembly work once all the parts are cleaned. I also have a very low pair of saw horses with an old desk top that I can set up if I have something large to tear down. You can see it in one of the assembly pictures i posted above. Plus, I will always have a "Workmate." Those things are simply fantastic. The one pictured above has been in my possession for over 30 years.
I think I have mentioned this before but I love how covering a work bench with a heavy vinyl fabric works for most jobs. It prevents objects from getting scratched, it absorbs limited shock, its easy as heck to quickly wipe down since any seams or grains are covered. I have other benches for really rough jobs or heavy metal work but this approach handles 90% of the jobs. My bench is so strong it could hold a car and it can be broken down a transported to our next place - - but there may not be room for it at the HOME.
The vinyl cover is a good idea, Dave. It looks like the bench is bolted together. Is that correct?
Yes, all the bolts can be removed to dismantle it. It is pretty much indestructible. The top layer is twenty 2x4's in 8' lenghts laid side by side. I have a friend who has a professional wood working shop that he set up as a hobby. I gave him free rein on how to build it. He said this was a plan he'd been thinking about doing. The vinyl was my idea and its held up for 10 or more years.
