Official Luthiers Forum!

I have an opportunity to start fresh in a new space/garage and I want to build the perfect bench for guitar building. I don't have a truck so I'm considering buying some 2x4 sheets of MDF to stack up for the top. Will this be large enough/ ideal size?? I want a walk around bench. I have another long bench at the end of the space.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

what's ideal for me right now is the harbor freight 60" x 20".

i can walk around it, set up a go-bar deck on one side and still use the other half, and i drove it home in a box. it has drawers too.

the vise sucks though. i'll have to work on it.

Getting the height right is also important. Depending on your height the standard may not be correct.

I also use a supplementary box like structure to raise the work another 4/5 inches when working on close work so there is less bending.

Dave M

Ideal for me: a laminated maple top, 30" wide, 60" long, attached to a heavy base for stability, but one that allows the use of 3/4" dogholes and holdfasts.

You can use 24" wide, 48" long, but you should make the base pretty heavy to aid stability. And a bench that size doesn't give you much room for two projects at the same time.

Are those stiff enough to do any hand planing or chisel work?

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

sure, as long as you don't go animal on stuff. you could always bolt it to the floor. it's not what the woodworking elite would call awesome but it gets it done. out here in CA post discount, it cost me $129 middle of last year.

I built an island bench for my shop to have access to my work from all sides. The top is 30" x 44". That's a good fit for my space and has plenty of surface area for working on the body and neck, both when they are separate and when assembled, while still being small enough to have easy access from all sides. I have it mounted on casters that allow me to lift the bench off the up floor by stepping on a peddle on each caster so I have the option of moving it easily if I want.

You probably already thought of this, but it's good to have the top overhanging all the way around to allow for clamping.

_________________
Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Oh yes, the Harbor Freight 20" x 60" workbench. I have two. Don't think of them as knocked-down workbenches; think of them as remarkably inexpensive kits that contain many (most?) of the parts you need to build a workbench. (One of mine had parts for all four drawers broken in the box. The second had only three drawers that worked.) But they can make a decent workbench; they're quite sturdy in support of a heavy vertical load; they're substantially less sturdy when dealing with a transverse load - as in planing, sanding, or even serious chisel activity. If you want to use one as a free-standing or peninsula workbench, I'd suggest boxing two of the sides, between the work surface and the shelf, with ½" plywood. Alternatively, I've fastened mine securely to a wall of the workshop along the long side. They are now quite stable. They aren't, however, by themselves, really adequate for guitar building, being only 20" deep -- unless you constrain yourself to parlor guitars.

Mine is 2x4, and that's good for actual usable area, but if I had the space I'd want 2x5. I used to have a vise mounted at one corner, but took it off to free up more space.

Depending on your personality, larger size may encourage allowing clutter to accumulate.

As Don says, 2x4 is not big enough for two projects at once.

And as Jay says, having an overhang for clamping is super useful.

Mine is topped with several layers of masonite, so when it gets too beat up I can just take one off and have it all fresh and new again.

"I want to build the perfect bench for guitar building"

Like the "perfect woman" I'm not sure that exists. If you find one you can live with over the long haul, be happy!

If you go with the 2X4 foot top I would suggest you put a shelf 8 to 12 inches below it to place tools on when you are working. Personally I prefer melamine coated particle board (MCP) over MDF. It easier to clean glue off of, more water resistant, and the bright white surface is easier to see small parts on.

That will work to get started. I REALLY appreciate having three different height benches. Actually 4.

In inches. Assembly bench is 40 with a 36 section for working on completed bodies. Plane bench is 33 and set up bench is 30 with vice on it. I'm 6ft. It does allow for four strata of junk, but handy when clean.

I like the benches screwed to the walls also.

_________________
Pat

Some great ideas posted. I really like white melamine top idea and the pre-built Harbor Freight bench. I have a bench screwed to the wall already so that will satisfy my hand planing and carving needs. I feel 30 x 60 would be better but might lead to clutter. Decisions decisions. I'm leaning towards the HF bench. I can always build something better down the road.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I know this much. I won't be going all fancy building by building one of those old fashion benches I used to drool over. Melamine and MDF are great tops for guitar work.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

Dave's and Pat's suggestions for being able to have the work at different heights can be combined by building a medium height bench and using a box set on the bench for a "high" bench or placed on the floor and stood on to give a "low" bench. You can make it small enough to store under the bench and out of the way.
If you double up the melamine for the top I would suggest screwing it together at the corners but -not- gluing it. When the top eventually gets scratched and scarred up you can unscrew it and flip it over for an unmarred surface.

Great ideas. The riser is an interesting concept. Never thought about that.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

Speaking of multiple height benches, I really like having 2 gobar decks set at 2 heights. One set for top and back bracing, the other for work once the rims are on. I've also made a riser for the lower deck allowing me to set my dish at the adjacent bracing height. All of my benches are ikea varde freestanding kitchen cabinets with drawers and shelves already done. The tops are all 1-1/2" thick ikea double sided countertops with high pressure laminate in white. I know ikea.... But they are bloody heavy and can stand up to any ultra-violence that luthiery may require.

We use the harbor Freight bench as a mount for jigs and fixtures, as well as loading/unloading guitars (adjacent to the main repair bench). Simple 1x braces are easy to install with the top skirt and legs as a mount.

Other mods we've done to these benches for departing students:

- Adding shoes to the bench feet gets the height up to where it should be for general work
- Adding a 24" or 30" x 60" 'butcher block' type surface on top of the existing bench top adds more weight and allows holdfasts to be used (minimum depth required is met with a 1-5/8" laminate on top of the 3/4" core top)
- Adding two Record-style vises (on on end and other on face) provides some added utility at the cost of having to move the drawers down - easily done, and addresses holdfasts with longer shafts.

The shots show the sway bracing on the auxiliary bench (scrap pine and maple), as well as the added shoes.

_________________
For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Great ideas.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I still have my first bench which is a cabinet makers style bench. Super long and at a height right around my knuckle height when I'm standing in front of it. It is my preferred bench for hand planing which is the way I work primarily. It's the right height to be able to lean on a plane while leveling a neck blank.

For assembly, I made a much taller bench, up around elbow height when I'm standing in front of it. I had a vise on a corner, but took it off just like DennisK mentioned above. It was always in the way, and rarely useful. Instead I have use a parrot style vise mounted to a plywood chunk that I can clamp to any place on the bench with simple C clamps. This way I can have my vise wherever I want it for that operation. I also have access to 3 sides since the end of the bench is against the wall, not one of the faces.

When constructing the assembly bench, I added a lengthwise stretcher between legs only on one side since I'm not doing a lot of heavy planing on this bench. This way I can scoot an adjustable height stool under the bench and sit at it if I need to get my eyes close to the work.

If you are a typical builder with a good set of machines for rough dimensioning of parts, then you will not need a low bench to do much serious hand planing with your weight bearing down on the plane. Taller is better for guitar building if you want your back to be happy.

As others have said, do yourself a favor and spend a lot of time thinking about bench height. I have chronic back issues and really gave this a lot of thought when I set up a new workshop. I ended up just a few inches higher than I was previously but it make a world of difference!

_________________
Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

To save space, my bench doubled as the outfeed table for the table saw. Had to be wider than normal, but was about 50" long. Most of the hand tools were in the drawers and there were rollers under the drawers to slide the whole bench sideways for different saw operations. The top itself was made of 2 glued layers of MDF and a third layer screwed from the top at the corners so that it could be replaced. Solid maple edges 2-1/4" square were biscuit glued to the first two layers to provide hard edges for clamping and other tasks. Worked so well that I never replaced the top and it lasted 30 years...

Sure was some beautiful work that came off that bench!

That’s pretty much what I was about to say ^^^^^^^

_________________
Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Thanks guys!
That bench saw a lot of days, for sure...

get something decent for your butt to sit on as well. i've got a guitar center drum throne currently and it's pretty soft.