Work Bench Modifications

Original Finished Work Bench

The Issues

After using my work bench for a while now, I feel I need to make a few modifications to correct some of the issues and improve it to suit my height a little more.

The issues as I see them are as follows:-

1. Bench Height – too high to work at comfortably.
2. Table Saw Height – needs to match the top of the work bench.
3. Mitre Slots – work bench needs two grooves cutting into it, to match the table saw’s mitre slots.

The Plan

1. Bench Height: Remove the blocks I put in above the castors and chop the legs down to match and reduce the height of the bench by about 2″ (50mm), I could also remove the plywood plates the castors were bolted to, that would reduce the overall height by another 3/4″ (18mm). 👍

2. Table Saw Height: Remove the two supports each side of the table saw along with their 2×4 spacers, then remove the two side panels and the shelf the table saw sits on. Align the shelf which the table saw sits on with the top of the bench and re-attach to the frame, then cut down the two side panels to fit the new shelf height and re-attach. Then finally re-attach the plywood side supports to each side of the table saw.

3. Mitre Slots: Initially, I thought I had to use a router to cut the grooves (which I don’t have), but after seeing a YouTube video of someone doing it with a circular saw, a new world has opened up… and I’m in!

These changes are an important improvement to not only make cutting long boards easier, but safer too, as it will prevent boards ‘tipping’ as I cut them and they slide onto the bench top (which is currently lower than the table saw).

Conclusion

After making all of the above changes, I can confirm the overall height has been reduced by about 2 3/4″ (68mm) to better suit my height and the new mitre slots in the work bench line up with the slots from the table saw perfectly. 😉

Mitre Slot Runway

Finished Mitre Slots

A definite improvement to the original design, everyday is a school day as they say.

Modified Work Bench with level out feed table