Bob I have owned a work bench for 25 years and want to improve it. The top is hard maple 2″by 36″ by 96″. It is long. It has a steel frame which vibrares and shakes. If I build a set of tresle legs for this and locate them 2 feet fromeach end and add the appropriate strechters and maybe adding a threaded rod through the strechers will this be ok. Will I loose anything by using a less exspensive species of wood such as ash. The vise I own is an old cast iron Record and I’ve got the hardware to make an L-shaped shoulder vise. Tom Butler
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Tom- sounds great- I think it will improve the bench a lot. check with Tauntons "the workbench book" by Scott Landis. It is one of the best and has some great plans in the back which you could modify to fit your bench top (also to help with designing the end vise)
as far as lumber goes- use a cheaper material if you like (My bench is basically like the one by Frank Klauz in the book- and the base is made from some red oak, ash and maple skid runners that I rescued from a printing warehouse. After milling and cutting off the nail holes they were great- and free!
let me know how it turns out.
Bob
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