[Anonymous]

I have been working on the design of a workbench made of palet planks and knock down. The workbench is for my own use, in my own appartment.
I have made a model of it in sketchup, and a video about the model.

Yes, i know the bench is probably over-engineered, but that is what happens when you start designing with the limitations of the material. If i could just use any material, i could probably make it more simple.
I have no budget for the bench, not any kind of money i can or want to spend on it. I wouldnt use pallet planks otherwise.

I would love to get some feedback before i start building it. The main doubts i have about the project are:
– Will the thing hold? (explained in the video)
– Can i make it less complex in any way?
– Given the low quality of the materials used (pallets), did i oversize the pieces enough? Is there any part of the bench that would be compromised?
I am not so worried about some piece eventually breaking because of “long-term stress”, because i could easily replace a single piece. I am more worried about some part of the bench being not strong enough and breaking the first day i start using the bench.

Thanks

Topic

[Mike in TN]

#2028919

Hi 4n494rc14,

I am of the “keep it simple” school of thought. My experience with pallets is that the wood tends to be rough, meaning complicated and precise joinery is difficult to manage without first making the timber flat and square, which will probably mean a lot of work on the individual pieces and much thinner boards, In order to avoid the use of hardware and glue you have elected to design some very tricky details which translates into a bit of a puzzle during  assembly and disassembly.

While your design is an interesting exercise (I loved the video, especially your child in the audio background and your use of wedges ) and whatever works for you is encouraged, I would suggest you use the same materials, and glue, to produce some subassemblies with simpler joinery and a more traditional bench design. It would reduce the overall time in construction, assembly and disassembly of the bench for portability and storage.

Have fun

[Author]

Replies