Work bench

Re: Work bench

Paul in NJ

>Svante,

My 20 year old bench has used lag bolts (hex head wood bolts) without any problems. They are 1/2" by 6" long (~12mm x 150mm). Be sure you use the correct clearance hole for the post and correct pilot hole for the strechers.

Paul Dzioba

Re: Work bench

Ed Mulligan, Cape Cod

>The special bolt hardware isn't necessary. Ordinary hex bolts, nuts and washers can be made to work well. You need to allow space around the nut so it can be grasped with a wrench. Otherwise it will spin and you will not be able to tighten the joint.

Ed

Re: Work bench *LINK*

John Todd

>Lee Valley makes a nice bolt. It's a bit expensive, but it works nicely.


Lee Valley Bench Bolt

Re: Work bench

paul womack

>It sounds like you're considering screws into end grain; this is not a very secure method, even with big screws.

BugBear

Re: Work bench

Ernie Miller

>I used 1/2" plow bolts they are regular bolts with squair heads. if you drill you hole for the bolt and mortice a slot in the side of the streacher to hold the nut if you cut it the right size the nut wont turn as the bolt is tightened.

dowles

Joe Piotrowski - Chicago Burb's

>I saw a tip once when screwing into end grain like that. they put a dowel in the stretcher a few inches back. that allows the threads to garb into face grain.

I not sure how well that works. i would just go m & T myself.

Re: Work bench

Jeff Schmidt

>I assumed he was thinking of the typical captured bench bolt which has been used in beds and benches for quite some time.

I believe that a standard hex head bolt of sufficient length will function just as well.

Re: Work bench

Edward in Vancouver

>I uh... took the "Swedish option" when I attached stretchers to my workbench. I had a bunch of parts from a Ikea bunk bed, and the pieces I used were the slim cylindrical pieces about 3" long with two threaded holes through them. Problem was the bolts from Ikea were very soft, so I substituted 1/4"/20 bolts, and re-threaded the holes to take 20tpi. This long piece provides a lot of "meat" or contact area in the stretcher, quite a bit more than normal barrel bolts, and you can place it 2 or 3" away from the end, eliminating the use of full length truss rods and letting the wooden stretcher do the work.

Re: Work bench

Robert Henderson

>In my mispent youth I made a workbench out of two-by-fours. I used hex head bolts and drilled a large hole in the stringer perpendicular to the bolt. I then put a short length of plumbing pipe with a hole drilled in the side into the hole. The bolt went through the hole in the pipe and a nut went on the end of the bolt that came out on the inside of the pipe. Not attractive but that bench broke down and set up again throughout several moves and was still as sturdy as the day I made it.