DIY Workbench Upgrade + A Tool Giveaway!
I built this simple, inexpensive workbench years ago. It has served well through countless repairs, projects, and kid's school assignments. I had designed the top to be replaceable, using inexpensive but tough MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). Now it's time to replace it. Tons of drips, spills, scratches dents and gouges have made the top pretty much unusable. I'm going to make some upgrades along the way.
Hang in for the whole story, because I have a chance for you to win a brand-new, high-tech drill at the end!
I've completely missed the next step many times in the past. It's super important to measure the offset of your circular saw's blade vs the edge of its base or you may end up too small ($35 down the drain). The direction I chose to cut (right-handed) meant I had to set the straight edge back 4" away from my cut line, before clamping it down.
Next, the cut. I simply slid the saw along the straight edge for a nice, clean slice. Since the MDF is so freaking heavy, I parked our big trash bin with a 2x4 on top under the edge to catch the weight so it wouldn't shear off when I got close to the other end.
With temps over 100 outside and my garage without air conditioning, I had a big fan blasting at me. It was when the saw got in between me and the fan, I remembered just how much fine sawdust working with MDF generates. I got a face full. I'm still tasting it.
To keep the sharp edge from chipping I loaded a large radius round-over bit in the router and treated my face to another onslaught of sawdust.
This time, I wore a respirator.
Demo Time!
The old top is coming off. I had countersunk screws through the top so it was simply a matter of backing them out. Enter the Guest of Honor: The BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Lithium Cordless Drill/Driver with AutoSense Technology! (This is the rascal that you get a chance to win!).
This is the first cordless tool I've tried that came 100% charged, right out of the box. I slapped on the go-juice.
I like the electronic controls that show battery charge and mode right on the drill. For removing the screws, I selected driver mode.
"Engage the drive Mr. Sulu"
There was a double ended screwdriver bit attached to the base of the drill. I chucked it in by hand. I was impressed that the motor didn't turn when I tightened the chuck. That's not something I'd seen outside of high end drills in the past. I started backing out screws, one after another.
Off came the old bench top. Luckily, it's time for our quarterly bulk trash pick up this week, so it's out to the curb for this beat-up, stained, and scarred slab.
With the top off you can see the bones of the bench. I had built it attached to two walls for serious stability. The bottom shelf is inexpensive OSB (Oriented Strand Board). It's rough, but only used for storage, including the pancake compressor. It's a cheap and easy bench, much like my beefy miter saw bench. There's no reason for fine furniture in a garage shop is there?
A simple frame
One of the things I'm going to do is extend and strengthen the front edge. With the 3/4" top and a 2 x 4 on edge, it's too big to easily clamp stuff down without using massive clamps. The stress of so much edge work lead to serous damage.
No, I didn't take a bite.
I had a leftover 2x4 that I had ripped for a previous project, so it was more like a 2x2. To attach it, I wanted to make pocket holes with the Kreg Jig. The Kreg uses a really big bit, so I was pleased when it fit into the compact BLACK+DECKER's 3/8" chuck. I drilled a series of pocket holes down the length of the board, in drill mode.
Gettin' jiggy with it.
Sweetie stopped by the workshop for a visit. She wanted to check out the new drill. She's used my other drill before, am older, heavy-duty 18V NiCad Hammer Drill. It's a lot for her to handle. She loved the compact size and light weight of the BLACK+DECKER.
Disclaimer: This is not my hand. I don't wear diamonds in the workshop.
With the 2x2 clamped to the face frame, I shot some Kreg screws into the pocket holes. This is where I got a first taste of AutoSense technology. Rather than screw around with the clutch settings that are found on other drills, trying to guess the right number, this drill, with its automatic clutch, simply stopped when the screw was flush and tight. I experimented and pulled the trigger again; it drove the screw deeper with a lot of torque. Sweet!
Sideways grip = kill shot.
The next step was to add holes for passing electrical cords from the lower section of the bench. Last time I used larger ones that I kept dropping stuff down, so I reduced the size this time around.
In my experience, hole saws are really tough on a drill, especially when the saw is as dull as the one I was using. I'd re-tasked one that I had used to cut doorknob holes for all the doors in the house. This time, I powered through two holes, in drill mode. Normally, a couple holes like this drain the heck out of a battery, but this champ was still going on its original factory charge.
Sawing a hole with a whole hole saw.
The fresh holes got the same treatment as the leading edges. I rounded them over with the router. Did I mention MDF kicks up some sawdust?
Pink is the new black.
Rounded, with a slight decorative edge, by setting the bit slightly deep
It's incredible how much easier it is to handle a slab of MDF when you've lopped a third of it off.
It's really hot in the garage and I'm covered in fine sawdust. I'm a mess.
With the new bench top perched upon its throne, I transferred the underlying framing locations to the top with a tape measure and a straight edge. Even though this is a utilitarian bench, I wanted the screws to be evenly spaced so it didn't look too much like a cross-eyed chump* built it.
*I mean no disrespect to either the cross-eyed or chump communities. I'm sure this country has enjoyed great contributions from both. Well,... seriously though, how great could a chump contribute anyway?"
precision engineering
Last time I drilled and countersunk the screws. This time,... I'm a mad-man. No drilling. No countersinking. I'm just driving screws. It's a world gone mad in my garage this afternoon.
There's a cool worklight that comes on when you pull the trigger too!
Once again, the AutoSense Technology did its thing. It stopped the screws flush. It drove at a nice, steady pace and was easy to control. I wanted them to be slightly below the counter top, so I goosed the trigger again and it did a nice adjustment, with plenty of power and torque. I finished the last screw with the on-board meter showing 50% of the original charge still in the battery. I never even unwrapped the charger. It's impressive performance to have juice leftover after such a drill intensive project.
AutoSense Technology at work.
There you have it. A fresh new top on my economical, but tough workbench. 8 feet of work space with a newly reinforced clamp ready, front-edge for all my projects. I think I may treat the top with something, perhaps paste wax. It seems I always have some sort of beverage disaster, which really messes up MDF in a hurry.
A DIY Workbench - Economical but Tough
Now the fun part! I'm giving away a brand new BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Lithium Cordless Drill/Driver with AutoSense Technology, courtesy of BLACK+DECKER..
One lucky winner will be the envy of their friends, when they build their next project with what may be the best new cordless lithium drill, with its automatic torque limiting clutch and high-tech features.
Many thanks to BLACK+DECKER for sponsoring today's story and introducing me to the AutoSense Drill and its automatic clutch!
Opinion is my own.
If you'd like a chance to win a drill, please check out the full features of the drill then leave a comment below and let me know how you'd like to use a BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Lithium Cordless Drill/Driver with AutoSense Technology on one of your projects.
(Contest closes June 30, 2014 - US and Canada Only. Make sure I can contact you if you are the winner - (almost all Google profiles block your return email address! feel free to shoot me an email after you've commented to be sure I can reach you.)