Terrain Building Workbench

[jmilesr01]

As Fall begins its time to return to the hobby.  I recently completed a largish sectional terrain project and one of the things that really proved problematic was having enough workspace.  This October(15) I decided to fix that and build a terrain making workbench.  I'll also be cleaning up the shop but that's not all that exciting but long overdue.

The workbench will be 36 inches wide and 72 inches long which will allow plenty of space for the 2x4 sectional panels I tend to use.  The bench will also have shelving and some drawers to store all the bulk scenery materials.  I, of course, used this project as justification to buy a new miter saw and router but may have represented the workbench to the wife as a "cabinet assembly" bench.  Sadly, some of the bench time will be occupied with new kitchen cabinets for the wife.

Here are a few shots after the first days construction:



The basic frame is complete.  Its very sturdy and my math tells me it can hold up to 1,000 pounds so maybe I can sit on it.  By the way, I need more clamps - a woodworking shop can never have too many clamps.



Argghhhh... The frame is slightly out square - the easiest way to fix that is with a shim so it's not the worts problem to have


The bench top wood is cut and waiting to be hand planed.  That's a tedious task but one gets better results that way plus lots and lots of wood shavings which make fantastic kindling for starting fires.

What's the first gaming project that will be built on the bench - a terrain board storage and transport rack!

[grant]

Nice start!

Hand plane? Power planer! And a joiner for making all the new laminated top look pro.

You need more tools 

[jmilesr01]

A bit of progress this morning


The boards used for the bench top were hand planed along the sides to ensure a tight fit and then attached to the table top


The finished table top - I still need to plane the top but will wait until next week so the glue can set.

Grant: I've always preferred hand planes to machine but may reconsider that position after trying to do the bench top.  As for needing more tools, I would agree with you, but then again can one every have too many tools?

[Oathsworn Jo]

Your table's looking great...I'm jealous of your workshop, what a wonderful space to work in...have fun. I agree, more tools are needed, they should go on the weekly shopping list alongside necessities like food 

[jmilesr01]

The workbench is pretty much done, with the exception of the drawers which I'll build next Sunday when I get back from Fall-In

As with all projects, this one has had some scope creep and I've added a removable stand that can hold either my router table or table saw flush with the workbench to help with working with longer stock.  While the main purpose of the workbench is to do terrain, I did promise the wife I'd make her some new cabinets.

Here's a shot of the completed bench:


The tool stand under construction.  It attaches to the bench with two carriage bolts on either leg.  It's sturdy enough for me to stand on.


The first project is fixing a lamp for my wife - not really terrain related but if does get brownie points


Lets make some more sectional terrain panels now!

[Painter Jim]

Excellent work, very well constructed.

[jmilesr01]

First gaming related projects on the bench

Two Tournament Troop Tranport boxes with removable lids to serve as daily trays


One box in 18x18 inches and the other is 24 x 18 inches.  The larger box is a bit awkward to carry around but is useful for high unit count armies like Russian infantry in FOW.

The boxes still need to be sanded and finished.  I've ordered some handles from Rockler and those will arrive in a few days

I did have some scrap plywood let over and on a whim made a simple dice tower


Construction details can be found on my blog:

http://lairoftheubergeek.blogspot.com/2015/11/tournament-transport-box-part-3-main.html

[Modhail]

Nice table! A lot of good things will be created on such an excellent piece of furniture.
(And jealous of your workshop, I wish I had that kind of room. For larger projects, i.e. anything terrain related, I'm relegated to the back yard, which kind of blocks larger projects during the winter and means no permanent workbenches.  ).
I understand the perceived shortage of tools... Tools are like miniatures, money and time as in that there is no such thing as "too much" or even "enough". 

[6mmfan]

Wow those are cool boxes for holding your figures. I'm also making a work bench so i can make some boxes for my figures. Check out www.paulsellers.com for some great woodworking videos and tutorials although he primarily uses hand tools.

[jmilesr01]

I'm a big fan of Paul Sellers work even though he would look askance at my use of power tools!

How big will your bench be?

Thanks for the comments

[6mmfan]

yeah I' sure he would! 

My bench will be about 600x1800mm. I've only made the base so far and still need to get the wood for the top.

I'm a big fan of Paul Sellers work even though he would look askance at my use of power tools!

How big will your bench be?

Thanks for the comments

[jmilesr01]

A bit more progress on one of the Tournament Boxes

Added a section to hold, dice, markers. templates, etc



Built the troop carrying trays out of 1/4 inch birch plywood



Everything all snug together



I also sanded the boxes and then wiped down the dust - next steps include finishing the wood with a polyurethane coating and attaching the carry handles