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NBD! This one's gonna make my life SO much easier...

Discussion in 'Luthier's Corner' started by Reedt2000, Jun 27, 2020.

  1. Jun 27, 2020 #1
    Reedt2000

    Reedt2000 Supporting Member

    Apr 26, 2017
    Central New Jersey
    that's right...

    New Bench Day!

    After working my special edition build off project on plastic saw horses and an old, disused shelf, I decided further work needed a more appropriate space.

    I started looking and found a really cool old industrial workbench on Craigslist for less than the cost of lumber. I cleaned it up, picked up some fiber board for a new top, stuck a couple shelves behind it for more storage and hanging pegboard, ran a new 20amp circuit to it, and I'm on my way!

    Ive got lights coming (a LED bar and articulating architect's light) and Im gonna get yoga mats to lay on the top to prevent scratching stuff. On the longer wish list is a vice, drill press, and maybe a bench grinder. Time to work smarter and not harder.

    Polish_20200627_184318094.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2020
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  2. Jun 27, 2020 #2
    Gilmourisgod

    Gilmourisgod

    Jun 23, 2014
    Cape Cod MA
    That's pretty sweet! It's amazing what you can recylce or repurpose for Luthiery once you start looking around. I have to admit I'm feeling pretty smug, my Mother in law just GAVE me a swedish woodworking bench for my Birthday/Father's Day, I think it's a Sjoberg. She's downsizing and just doesn't have room for it. I told her its probably worth $1K or so new, felt a little guilty but....it's a 48" long bench, so pretty much perfect for bass guitar work.

    The masonite top is a good idea, it's cheap enough that when it gets beat up, you just replace it. Check Harbor Freight for a vice. They have some relatively cheap ones that are solid cast iron jaws drilled for a wood liner, yeah it's Chinesium, but it's not like you'll be doing blacksmith work on it. I haven't had good luck with even supposedly high quality vices that have a "quick release" lever, the clutch mechanism always seems to wear out eventually. Or, if you have a lot of spare change burning a hole in your pocket:
    Guitar Repair Vise | stewmac.com
     
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  3. Jun 27, 2020 #3
    Reedt2000

    Reedt2000 Supporting Member

    Apr 26, 2017
    Central New Jersey
    I was looking through the harbor freight offerings. I might try to hunt a used vice 1st cause an old-school vice is kinda hard to screw up so I think I've got a solid chance of finding something nice.

    Any insights into the harbor freight drill presses? Or inexpensive but decent drill presses in general?
     
  4. Jun 27, 2020 #4
    Gilmourisgod

    Gilmourisgod

    Jun 23, 2014
    Cape Cod MA
    My general rule with HF is "nothing with a cord", which is pretty good advice on their smaller stuff like routers, electric hand drills, etc, which is just junk, but you might be alright on a drill press, not a lot you can screw up there, but they still do, of course. They have a decent return policy, so if you get a lemon, just return it. A lot of it is just re branded and painted different colors and re-sold under by American dustributors. For guitar work it's probably more than adequate, but I'm not sure i'd try any serious metal work though, I don't think the materials or tolerances are tight enough. I did buy a tablesaw motor from them a few years ago, and it still runs fine at 1/2 the price I would have paid for an OEM Jet motor, probably made in the same factory anyway. Shop around for used tools too, nothing beats 1950's and 60's American iron like Rockwell/Delta Powermatic, and even some of the older Craftsman tools. I am using a Craftsman drill press my grandfather must have bought in the 50's, and it still runs great.
     
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