Suggestions for workbench structure

[Whiterabbit]

I need a 3' wide workbench, 5-6' long, somewhere in there. Very heavy duty because it will hold a benchtop lathe and mill, among tooling/toolboxes.

My go-to workbench design is a tank and will suit this purpose nicely. However, the design is meant for holding sterilite bins under the table on a shelf, and this is not so good for keeping tooling in or organizing all the "mill stuff" and "lathe stuff"

So I need suggestions on what I should plan for for putting under the bench. What do you keep with your machine tools besides a kennedy top box for endmills, cutters, etc?

What should I be planning on putting under the bench? anything besides generic toolboxes?

[SPRINGFIELDM141972]

I don't put anything under my lathe or mill for that matter. A couple of things that happen when you do, 1. The chips from the machines get down in with the tooling and if you haven't had a deep steel splinter in your hand yet you will if you leave the tooling under the machine. 2. It can be a tripping hazard and that is the LAST thing you want to have happen with a running machine. All of my cutters, bits and attachments are hung on the wall posts of the shop.

[1_Ogre]

about the only thing I keep under my lathe is the shop vac, easy to get to, hose cleans nice, and then it's back out of sight

[Whiterabbit]

There will be space under there for a vacuum for sure. dedicated chip vac for the spaces I can't get to to clean manually.

http://hoover.com/images/?itemid=221351&width=270&height=350

(freebie from work a long time ago)

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Not even a good way to get a cabinet under there to store all my brass tumbling stuff in a way that will stay chip free? I could really use a space to consolidate that gear.

[Frank46]

Well pressure treated wood with lag bolts comes to mind for a workbench. Think there are some kits with metal stands or legs out on the market. See what's out there and maybe you'd get some ideas. Then there is angle iron and square tubing if you can weld. From what you said I'm assuming the heavier the better. Frank

[Wayne Smith]

If you buy pressure treated for your base let it stabilize in your shop for six months. It comes from the store dripping wet!

[Whiterabbit]

I was thinking about a riff on this design:

https://www.canadianwoodworking.com/plans-projects/streamlined-workbench

Made 6'x3'. Doug fir if i can find it cheap enough, should be quick to put together and hold a ton on weight.

I'd add a middle leg as a divider more than extra support so the legs would be on ~ 2.5 foot centers. The dadoes should add significant cross-brace support, though I would likely add a plywood backer in the center to increase that even more. End result should be an absolute tank.

[Whiterabbit]

I'm expanding this to suggestions for metalworking tool layout. I think I'm choosing between two layouts. This is critical because my shop has ALOT of tools in it and is less than 400 sq feet in size.

The focus is on machine tool location, which is the "upper right" area, as well as the "right island" near the lower area:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=154028&d=1448303404

Here, The lathe and mill are sitting on a 3 foot table. They show overlapping, which does work due to an offset position (the mill column is next to the lathe, the table sits in front). It's great for tool storage, and both metalworking bench tools can be installed on a VERY sturdy bench that will go nowhere. It simplifies power distribution as well.

Biggest problem is that I fear metal chips will be a nightmare to clean. They will be generated on BOTH sides of the bench and in general not be easy to manage.

Here's the other layout:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=154029&d=1448303409

So, this layout really just involves the upper right area. Two tables, one for the lathe, one for the mill. The lathe headstock faces out into the shop for the rare case I work on something long. Metal chips can only fall between the two tables (3' working space between the tables), making metal chip management VERY easy.

Biggest problem is that the mill table might be sandwiched between two tall cabinets. That would mean the largest item I could mill horizontally would be a 4 foot piece of stock. I cannot imagine a need to do that often (or ever), but it wouldn;t be a matter of painful setup if I had that need in the future; it would be simply impossible with this config.

It also makes tool storage painful due to that "lower island" but I'm willing to live with that if needed. I have too many power tools.

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Bottom line: Do you think having the mill "tucked" into a corner is limiting? or do you think it's no big deal given the unlikely case of working with long stock sideways?

[Whiterabbit]

Cliffs notes from above, basically:

I have the big brother of this mill and an almost identical lathe (big brother of that lathe too)

http://blog.rhysgoodwin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Finals5.jpg

Do you think you would be "limited" if you put THAT mill on a 4' wide bench in between two very tall cabinets? The mill table has no issue extending all the way left and right in this case, maybe 3" of space extra on both ends. Table is something like 21" give or take wide. It's just that the workpiece could not be mounted much farther out off the table (to the sides)