Reply To: Which Workmate style Bench ?
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I bought one of these:
to do extremely messy, dusty stuff outside, like grinding or sanding.
It folds down flat and tucks away easily. It is fairly strong and can support a great deal of weight, and it’s taller than most of the more common options. I clamp my grinder to it (use pieces of wood so the clamping force doesn’t crush the plastic), load a hundred kilos of junk onto the lower shelf for extra stability, and it’s been perfect.
My wife has also used it a few times for sanding and carving with her Dremel, and so it keeps our garage free from most dust (which is important to us, our heater and air conditioner are in the garage, so air in the garage becomes air in the house).
I haven’t tried every porta-workbench option out there, but a neighbor has the workmate, and after trying it, I decided to go another way.
As for using it for the whole gamut of woodworking…I can’t imagine an elevated porta-bench that could handle serious planing on its own. It could handle light planing, no problem, so perhaps just limit yourself to very thin shavings or softwoods. Perhaps if you could brace it against a wall (and didn’t mind damaging the wall and / or the bench) The lateral force multiplied by the height of the bench just gives you too much leverage…only a proper workbench can handle that kind of work among elevated benches, which is why, in the apartment woodworking thread (and there are lots of good suggestions in that thread, you should check it out), I mentioned that perhaps an elevated workbench was not the answer.
Traditional Japanese woodworkers sit on the floor, working on a 4-6″ high platform which is braced with their legs. Watch this video; it should start at about 4:35: https://youtu.be/7_p7libPJKg?t=4m35s You can watch the whole thing to see him do layout, rip to width, etc, etc. I couldn’t do that, but if you’re flexible enough, maybe it’s an option. That little platform he’s working on as a work surface…think about it as a box (which it might very well be). That box can also hold all your tools when you’re done, and you just slide it under a desk or bed or into a closet. And you could improve that box with Western-style workholding options…drill it full of dog holes, get some dogs, make some wedges, and you’ll be well on your way. So your workbench is also your toolbox, and together they take up almost no space at all. If you drop a tool, it sure doesn’t have far to fall, and you probably don’t have to bend over as much, which might be good for the back.
Not the answer for everyone, but where there’s a will there’s a way. Good luck!