Workbench Ideas

I subscribe to the “sonextalk” Yahoo discussion list (now defunct, but a new one has taken its place (http://sonexbuilders.net) and there are many great pieces of information discussed that could make this an easier project. One such discussion was a debate regarding worktables. My favorite post was the one below. Before reading this I had planned on building the 2’x5′ “EAA” worktable. Now I will be building the taller 3’x5′ described here.

Kevin

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Here’s a good common starting point:

http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/worktabl/worktabl.htm

Then here’s what I did with it:

Size the frame so the table top overhangs by about 3″ on 3 sides (overhang on 2 long sides, 1 short side, flush on the other short side). This is for clamping stuff to the table. If you build tables with no overhang, clamping is much more involved.

Then, I sized them so the tops are 3′ x 5′, not the 2′ width they show, and not the 4′ width other people show. I found 3′ to be just right for reaching all the way across – 4′ is too much, unless you plan to work from both sides. I did piece this out of a single 4’x8′ sheet – cut off one 3’x4′, then a second 3’x4′, then split the remaining 2’x4′ into 1’x4′, and cut each of those off to 3′ long. I spaced the cross beams under the table so the joint is centered on a cross beam. The piecing is not noticeable, and much less scrap than two 4’x8’s cut down to 3×5 each.

Then, with the overhang only on 3 sides, the two non-overhang sides can be set against each other for a total 3′ x 10′ table.

Another change – I sized it for 41-42″ table TOP height. The 33″ shown is way too much bending down / leaning over for me. And, a bonus with the taller height, I built 6″ deep drawers (hung about 8″ down from the frames) to store all the small tools in one drawer, and all the airplane hardware in the other drawer.

If the Onex wings build like the Sonex wings (and I think they will), all you need for those are two parallel sawhorses. They don’t even need to be level, if you can achieve parallel in some other plane. One part of the Onex that I think will be surprisingly large is when the wing center section is attached to the fuselage box – then you’re going to have a 7′ wide by 15+ foot long structure in your garage. The Sonex isn’t that big until you put the wings on (drill them in place, and take them off again).