Portable Workbench Ideas

[SaltyMonkey]

I mounted a vice on the aft cockpit locker seat with giant wing nuts and a backing plate. When I was done, I un screwed the thing and mounted it upside down in the locker.

It worked ok for small jobs, but not versatile enough for curvy bits or larger projects,

[Boulter]

Hi:

What do you intend the bench to do? If just a surface, almost anything will do. If hand planing wood, more thought needs to go into it.

I have some books you might want to check out:

"Workbenches: from Design and theory to Construction and Use" by Schwartz
"The Workbench Book" by Landis

Off the top of my head, if I was to have a bench on a sailboat from time to time, I'd probably set some kind of beam across the cockpit seats to remove the necessity of having (and transporting) legs. It might be a hollow beam or a torsion box to reduce weight and get the height up a bit from the 16 or 20 inches the seats would provide. I'd probably keep the width down to 12 or 16 inches. The vice might be the Zlyss aluminum vice I bought years ago, but have never really used. Or work holding might be done by other means, say clamps, wedges, and dogs. See traditional Japanese methods to explore ideas in this line of thinking (a beam as a bench).

Boulter

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by hummingway

That 425 looks alright and with the holes for clamp dogs you could probably attach a vise when needed. The price is right!

I used the 225 to build much of the interior on my boat. I added a 2' x 4' top framed with 2x4's that I sat on top of the bench to give a larger, more solid work surface and, more importantly, height. They are stable but a bit low for my taste.

[Khagan1227]

Any thoughts to converting the nav station desktop to a work bench?

Attached is a sketch about my idea I am currently thinking about installing.

[sartorst]

I had a vise mounted on the bottom side of the panel in the 1/4 berth which I c-clamped to the table, worked for most of my needs

[hugosalt]

Fender board doubles as work bench...is 1 1/2 x 10" that
I cut out each end to fit/lock in around bases of jib winches.
Can mount vice and sacrificial piece of plywood to drill etc.
use to stand on, also used as pararelle when needed.
Need to have double, triple uses on small 30' boat.
Will take picture and post.

[bobconnie]

I just converted one of the bunks in the V berth to bench with a vise and a small grinder. really is nice to have a place to really work on something !! just athought

[rebel heart]

I manage to get by with a few mahogany boards and my little portable vice. A few clamps in there too and I can pull off most repairs. My boat has pretty wide side decks, a teak deck box with a flat top, and a large foredeck area.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by mikereed100

I used the 225 to build much of the interior on my boat. I added a 2' x 4' top framed with 2x4's that I sat on top of the bench to give a larger, more solid work surface and, more importantly, height. They are stable but a bit low for my taste.

Mike very curious about this. I have the 225 and I am planning to use it to start building my interior pieces. Next haul out I hope to put the interior in with screw and glue methods but I want to start building the modules over the next 12 months.

Do you have any other tips, pictures etc. of you set up and how your interior mod went. I would love to see your ideas.

I agree about the work surface being too low.

[SabreKai]

Since I currently have NO interior but for a set of shelves on either side, I find that a couple of 2x4s between the shelves and a 2' x4' sheet of half inch ply works a treat. If I only need it for a short time I just rest the ply across the 2x4s, if it's going to get a work out I put 4 screw through and into the 2x4s. Disassembled the parts disappear under the cockpit.

Khagan1227, I like your idea. I think I'm going to nick it.

[roverhi]

I used one of the Keter Folding work tables when I had my boat in Alameda. They have a very large work area, the clamping system isn't the greatest but worked well enough for what i needed it for. Wish they used screw clamps instead of the squeeze type. When you aren't using it, it folds up into a very compact package that is easy to store on the boat. Costco has a good deal on them now. Keter folding work table model 17182239 @ Costco $50 - Slickdeals.net

If I was doing serious work on the boat, would have one of these tables and a higher level
WorkMate. Have the cheap and intermediate work mates and they are great for stuff that needs to be clamped. Have always been afraid when folding the WorkMate that I'd end up a few digits short so they pretty much stay up all the time. Biggest problem with the WorkMate is they are limited in work area. The Keter table solves this problem as they have pretty generous work area and can be easily stored or transported.

[Andrew Troup]

Zyliss vices are great on a boat.

People buy them at agricultural shows (US= county /state fairs?) and never use them, so you can get them on eBay for a fraction of their rather impressive sticker price.

No matter how ingenious you are, though, I defy you to come up with as many uses as the Zyliss video, which is a must-see.

[Khagan1227]

Originally Posted by SabreKai

Since I currently have NO interior but for a set of shelves on either side, I find that a couple of 2x4s between the shelves and a 2' x4' sheet of half inch ply works a treat. If I only need it for a short time I just rest the ply across the 2x4s, if it's going to get a work out I put 4 screw through and into the 2x4s. Disassembled the parts disappear under the cockpit.

Khagan1227, I like your idea. I think I'm going to nick it.

Nick away!

A piece of advice, lock your table top into place on the cleat behind your cushion, you can use a cheap cupboard latch to ensure the top can't move. I'm going to buy a set of the swivel pegs from black and decker to hold my projects in place if it is a bit rough out.

[GaryMayo]

Workmate used to make a folding table that bolted to a wall. No longer made. I own one, somewhere. Not seen it in years. Given some thought to bolting it in the aft cabin to use as a desk, table or a work area if need be. Have not seen the thing for almost twenty years HONEY, HAVE YOU SEEN MY.............