Building a 2,000lb WorkBench from Scratch. 

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone!!! Hope Santa brings you all bulldozers!

Matt, Stop calling it a table, work table, Fab Table. You made a Stand for your Vise. 😂😂

I immediately recognized the vise FIREBALL. No one else makes such a huge vise

A few thoughts, Round the corners on the table top will save your hips. I'd add a pair of triangle gussets under the table to better support the vise. Try turning the table 90 deg to sit in front of the black tool boxes. Interesting to see a scratch built project, love your content.

I think you better take a grinder to the corners to take the sharp edge off. And run a file along the edges for the same reason? You don't want to be cutting skin on the table . A very fine bench.

Great video! One suggestion I would make is to round off the corners so if you might bump into the bench the pain might be a bit less.

Good to see the old jeep is still around and Runing smooth Matt 50:40 @Diesel Creek

Fireball did a great, destructive test of several vices including his own. Fun to look up.

I am a retired, after 45 years as a fabricator of metal, an installer, a designer and sketcher of everything from light gage s/s to 1" plate and structural steel. I welded with (TIG) (MIG) and Stick in the shop on a bench and in the field. You need to tack weld (all) of your bracing onto your project (first) because (all) welds will warp the metal you are welding to, no getting away from it. When all of your bracing is in place and tacked down sufficiently, then and only then can you weld off and minimize warpage. Also, a good way to space your tack welds correctly is to keep splitting the distance between welds on center, tack both ends and then split the distance in half, and do the same thing on each side of center and keep doing that depending on how long your piece is and how many tack welds are needed. I had a 5' X 10' X 1" thick bench that was braced all around the perimeter with 6" channel. I loved that bench. I love your channel and look forward to each video.

Hi Matt, here’s a tip. I always run two vices on my bench, one at each end, and the Wilton would be ideal. Make sure the fixed jaw on both vices line up with each other so then when you want to hold something long in the big vice the Wilton can support the other end. This has proven to be very useful for me many times. Cheers, Stuart 🇦🇺

Like the bench. Didn't know anyone still made a vice as large as that!!

That Metal Cut Circular Saw Just does stunning Cuts In that 3/4 Plate Even left swirl Lines like it was cut with a Milling Machine Beautiful Matt 9:15 @Diesel Creek

On the topic of Sponsorship, you said it months ago, you are a full time RU-vidr. This is one of the ways you pay your bills, you put out honest content ( even showing your mistakes) , i definitely would consider products you may promote. And better yet you put them to use while i get to see how well it works, like the jump pack and speed wrench you have, well i bought one because ive seen it tortured by you lol. Pay your bills, ignore the naysayers.

Nice job Matt. Handy tip: get hold of a section of heavy conveyor belt (1"+ thickness) and cut it to match the feet on your new workbench. Drill and tap the feet, and drill matching holes in the conveyor sections. Then enlarge the holes in the conveyor pieces to the depth of the bolt head height + a washer + a small clearance. So for an M6 bolt, you'd make the recess ~7mm deep (4mm bolt head thickness + 1.6mm washer + 1.4mm clearance; and slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the socket needed to drive it (continuing the M6 example above, probably about a 1/2" hole to clear a 10mm socket which generally has an OD of ~12mm). I know that all sounds unbelievably complicated, but it's basically just making very durable, soft feet for your workbench. They won't scratch your shop floor, quiet the bench down a surprising amount when you're hammering something on it, and they have just enough give to soak up the slight imperfections in the concrete so the bench will sit more solidly. I wish I could claim credit for this, but I'm just telling you what came already fitted when we bought our stupidly heavy 8' x 4' steel workbench.

Milwauke Mag drill is a beast Use mine all the time For Custom Work Like rock sliders and Offroad Bumpers when needing to Drill Holes in frame rails or In thick steel plate For the Custom designed and made Bumpers Matt 43:47 @Diesel Creek

Thank you for this site, and have a great holiday. Again, I appreciate the lack of politics ,drama, swearing etc.... In todays world you managed for me to learn patience and gave me plenty of different ways of working on my cars and house. You are a breath of fresh air. Don't go changin'

Another thing that you might consider. Cut some feet pads from an old mud flap, glue them to the bottom of the feet. 1 This will help prevent the table from walking when you are really leveraging on it. 2 It will take up any minute variation between the legs and floor feeling even more solid. 3 this will keep the steel legs from scratching up the concrete floor.

One little bonus about using the hollow bits is the slugs that are left over. They get thrown in the scrap box and they always come in handy

First time visiting your channel and I have to say I am more than impressed! I don't know exactly what you do, but I will hang and around and see. I'm a retired masonry guy. Bricks, block, stone, stucco and concrete. I built a shop back in 2010 mainly for storage of lawn tools a ZTR and a 25hp tractor with a loader to maintain about 4 acres. I have one and a half bays with a nice small shop. I had not welded or built anything using steel since high school and I love it! Mainly for repairs and I have built a few implements and things, plus wood working. From my experience, I tell anyone planning a shop think of what size you "need" and double it and you will still fill it. Great project, very nice!

Table is coming along Nicely Matt that is going to be one hell of a Beefy Work Bench Matt 17:49 @Diesel Creek

I love the fact that you seem to be putting out more videos than usual! Keep them coming! I could watch you work on stuff every day.

You may not use the Milwaukee mag drill often,but when you need it,it makes drilling very efficient.Good quality tools.

Beautiful table love the build and always enjoy your videos just want to throw in my two cents. I have a service truck I am a heavy equipment mechanic and rebuilding lot of hydraulic cylinders always had my vice mounted on the right side of my workbench bumper. had a really old guy who did the same thing as me tell me my vice is on the wrong side I was confused as to what he meant finally he explained it to me. the vice needs to go on the left so that when you clamp a cylinder in there The eye of the cylinder goes in the clamp and the cylinder goes from left to right that way you can put a wooden block on the table and set the long end of the cylinder on it now when you’re turning the gland you’re not only pulling down with your own gravity you’re pushing the cylinder into the table rather than into dead space The way it would be on the right side. if you put the cylinder from right to left you have to push up on the gland which will usually push it up which will twist it out of the Vise with the amount of leverage you have. and not only that it’s hard on the back. I had six cylinders to rebuild on the day he told me that. the following day my vice moved from the right side of my bumper to the left and ever since then it is always something I think about when mounting a vice. I also inset the vice so the handle is almost against the table like you’re worn out one and if it’s on the left you can just loosen the table swing the vice over the side where it’s up against and you can put things vertical in over the left side of the table or bumper in my case.

Now THAT is a workbench! I would echo the idea of having some rubber padding under the feet to make sure the table has no chance of sliding around, but one small change I would have done is to put a small bevel on the corners so they don't come out to a point.

Man, that mag drill is freaking awesome. That’s one serious work bench.

I really like that trick for the transfer punch. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Love the Orange Paint Job on the table Matt Looks good 35:10 @Diesel Creek

Glad to see that fireball tools is producing these vices For Sale Was My suggest to Him when he first Made the Very first Prototype model Matt 40:37 @Diesel Creek

Love all the tools used to create the bench. I would like you to get sponsors, that would enable you to create more videos and I get to watch more stuff get worked on. That socket for getting a center was a genius idea!

That ArcDroid thing is AWESOME! I think with a little practice, that thing will make ALL KINDS of parts and the like.. super neat!!

You wont regret putting radius on the corners of that work bench. looks great

Yes I do want to see steel fabrication videos, just love'em. Your a good fabricator and some brilliant ideas

Morning Matt, thanks for the video! Happy Holidays. Be well.

What an awesome worktable! Certainly worthy of the new Hardtail (I could hear Crocodile Dundee saying, "Now THAT'S a vise!") Looking forward to a Happy New Year full of great Diesel Creek content!

As a manufacturing engineer that makes jigs, fixtures, & tables like this on the regular; so it was pretty cool to see you make the table from scraps! You did a a very good job putting that together, it looks superb!

Saw that vise come out of the crate & literally laughed out loud. Watched the whole series on the Fireball channel (and the actual torture tests at least twice). Grats on a great present from Santa. I have no excuse to acquire such a beast for myself, but can't wait to see what uses you put it to.

Dude, I don’t know if I am more impressed by your fabrication skills or the fact those Kobalt saw horses could handle that much weight. I have the same ones and have never stressed them like that, but now I will!

That's a really nice bench, you got there, Matt! I'm a woodworker myself and I just recently finished my own workbench, and man, nothing is quite so satisfying as a well built, clean and efficient working surface. Cheers!

Love the Custom projects and from scratch Projects Matt would love to see more 55:20 @Diesel Creek

Ah yes, dream shops are never finished, they just keep getting further enhanced. You’re putting together a spectacular one Matt,👍🏻nice job and keep sharing your videos with us 😀🇺🇸

Good choice for the vice. The only thing that would double the usefulness of your table is- industrial caster wheels with brakes. Also, the shop needs couple/few more smaller but higher tables on wheels with extra couple shelves in them so you can dedicate to any project you start its own table to store parts/bolts/used tools/ untill project is done(and wheels, if you wait for parts or jumped on other project- just wheel it to the furthest corner of your shop untill its needed). Everything you can put on wheels- you should- and you will never look back. The shop will dance around you and your project like a team of doctors around the surgeon in an operating room.

Matt, I love the way you take time to explain to the viewer everything you are doing, how stuff works, and your opinions. Not all of us are super knowledgeable and experienced mechanics, fabricators, builders, and heavy machine operators. Some of us are none of the above but enjoy watching and learning about all your amazing trades. Please don't ever stop teaching and explaining things to us. Your content is so addictive for that reason. Merry Christmas to you and Ava and thanks for the great videos!

Well done Matt and we too just finished a 2,000lb mobile bench just like your and I used the hole saw to cut a bunch of holes for the clamps.

Wow! I'm so glad you bought that vise! I've watched the same videos and wish I could get one myself. I can't wait to see what you use it for.

Matt’s channel is seriously a a contender for my favourite

There absolutely NOTHING that I don’t like on this channel…. Repeat…. N O T H I N G! Love fabrication projects. Thanks Matt for all your time producing this great content….. and a Merry Christmas to you and Eva.

That’s absolutely a beautiful table. It doesn’t have to be 100% flat. You can always get those other kind of tables for that reason. The smaller ones that is really cool buddy love it. Great job.

Table looks great , wicked vise ,keep up the great videos

A shop is nothing without a real solid workbench. Well done!

Hi Matt. Great job on the bench from 'scrap', it turned out great. Two things to consider for next time for someone else doing this. Firstly, the legs closing up on you was a dead give away that the bend in the top of the bench was caused by shrinking from welding the 4" angle to the under side. Whenever you weld something it causes localized shrinkage, so all those big stitches have worked together to make the bottom surface of the plate shorter than the top surface thus turning what started as a flat plate to a curved one. You maybe able to fix it by heat shrinking the top surface as well. Get a rosebud torch and heat a spot about the size of a beer can to red hot, the quench it as fast as possible. A decent size cloth SOAKED in water followed by a hose should be okay. Do this about ever 12" following along the same line as the angle iron. I would start in the middle and work outwards. You should be able to see the top flatten out as you go. Secondly, I suspect that you have the vise base bolted down 90deg's out. You said it your self, if you turn the vise to the side (90deg's) it lines up as it should 🤔🤔. My guess is that is was crated how it was, with the base rotated to cut down on shipping crate width. Every vise I have every seen is designed to be mounted with the fixed jaw in line with the edge of the bench it is mounted on and given the lengths Jason (fireball tool) went to to design that monster I very much doubt he over look such a fundamental design aspect. Anyway, have a great holiday. Cheers from down in NZ.

Wow Matt. I would a bet 100 bucks that no way your going to cut 3/4 in thick plate with that saw. I’m going to get one of them. All your videos are great, I never miss one. Can’t wait for next one.

Good choice on the Fireball Hardtail. I can't afford one, but I've always been impressed with his workmanship. Table looks seriously sturdy; the only difference I might have made is to bring the legs out to the corners. You'd lose a little bit of flexibility, but the first time you back into one of those corners your thighs will know why.

Hanging out with Matt building something cool on Christmas Eve! This holiday is starting out great! Happy holidays everyone

That Hardtail is so massive it looks like you put a real tool in the equivalent of a Barbi workshop. Also I think fabrication content is great, I would love to see more of it.

That quote at the beginning about is a project ever truly complete. There are ways it could've been better or more that could be added or improved. My sister pointed this out to me about men that we have tons of project's going on at the same time but end up starting new ones which either pushes back those other projects or help expedite them cause the new projects tie into ones we already have.

Really enjoy this kind of video where you are fabricating things. More please.

This is a fun one Matt! Glad you took the time to record it all. Merry Christmas to you, Eva and the pups!

Thanks so much for this Christmas present, it's always a real joy to watch you handle these big babies

Since moving into my new house I'm constantly struggling with what to do with my garage layout, color, decor and even lighting. Love seeing how your shop is progressing and glad I found your channel to enjoy watching.

There is a Fireball material about weld distortions, while doing almost exactly the thing with table legs ;)

So cool that you have a fireball hartail vise. That thing is a beast and Jason's work and channel are awesome!

look how far your journey has taken us, from those humble beginnings in your home basement working on a forklift bringing us to the end of 2023 in this unbelievable "DREAM / REALITY SHOP", you're the "REAL DEAL" Matt, thxs for sharing your incredible American Dream come thru...the jeep is too cool

Hi Matt, recommend using stick welder next time for thick plate, that little Miller is good for up to 3/8, maybe 5/16" max. Most MIG's that size are not good for thick material at all. Hard to beat stick (unless you have a huge 500A MIG machine of course LOL)

2 table ideas I'm going to build into my bench. First is people use receiver hitch tubing under the table to slide receiver tubing into. Then they can mount a vise, sharpening tool, or anything you need temporarily, to hitch tubing. Pull the pin, slide it out and store it underneath. Second is the shelf. Use expanded metal so grinding dust and debris can fall to the floor underneath.

Love it! You know it's a Real workbench, when you need a forklift to mount the Vice.

That steel bench is a great addition to the shop Matt. Really impressed with the new circular plasma cutter and that massive vice too. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas.

Good morning brother from Mid/East Tennessee. I have never seen your channel before but it popped up in my recommendations this morning. Clicked on it and heard that diesel fire up. OK, thats a great start. I have my ear buds in and stepped away to get another cup of coffee. I then heard you say that you wanted to build yourself a workbench that wouldn't move around on you. You have a sheet of 3/4" plate steel that should work. I got back to my phone and immediately hit the subscription button with notifications. Any man that considers a 3/4" plate steel is perfect for a bench top is someone i want to be friends with.

Matt, This video reminds me of Norm Abrams on this old House and then his own blog. His ultimate statement was, " With the right tools, anyone can make a professional product." That's a very simplistic statement because an incredible amount of talent and experience is required! Terrific video!

11:20 I see that the old saying "third time's a charm" applies quite well in your workshop. On a serious note, this workbench looks to be so well constructed, that your Grandchildren will be using it.

Man, this video couldn't be more relatable! I'm just setting up my new shop and wanting to build a 4x8 fixture table. Unfortunately we don't have those kinds of deals kicking around, so my plan is to use 3/4 X 6 or 8" flat bars spaced 3/4" apart. I love the fireball channel and it's pretty cool to see that crossover. I don't have a forklift to help build mine, but I do have a one ton gantry crane. Speaking of which, can't wait to see yours go in!

From an old welder / fabricator a big thumbs up‼️

Reminded me of all the instruction booklets "Do not tighten bolts until fully assembled" and why we would tack together as much as possible in the weld shop I worked at before we full welded a joint. Would have prevented needing using the sketchy spreader as the beam would have been there already tacked in.

Love your content Matt! I’d love to see the OG Auto car make a come back and get goin again

Wow that bench weighs as much as my car. The drill you used and the bits were pretty impressive. I've seen them on other videos but never had them explained very well. Education and entertainment all in one, only the best of teachers know that combo. Merry Christmas to you and your family and critters.

I’m one of those guys.. spent couple years as a fabricator. Think of you bench as a house. Build framework first. Then place the sheeting on the framework. Option 2. Tack everything vs doing all that stitch welding you did on the long angle pieces. All that heat is what caused the legs to go inward. I’m certain u learned that. Built a very similar bench for my shop 20yrs ago. Little lighter. Have always loved it. Countless purposes! Can’t wait to see what else is coming for your shop. Keep the videos coming!

Now, that's a vice. I did watch the torcher test video that fireball tools did. Very impressive..

Nice table. I did something similar, but with 1 inch plate and a little smaller area. One thing I did with mine was move the shelf supports down low enough so that a pallet jack could pick it up. Sometimes it is easier to move the table to work than the work to the table. Something else that is useful is to drill tapped holes that match milling hold down clamps. That has come in handy many times as well.

I’m reminded of AvE’s saying: “A grinder and paint makes me the welder I aint”. Nice bench, have a merry Christmas!

Love the fabrication/side project content. Organizing my shop is actually something I really enjoy and it's great to get ideas from other people. You'd be surprised how fast space fills up.

Freaking sweet Arcdroid Cnc cutter So pretty Matt 27:23 @Diesel Creek

Merry Christmas, Matt. Congrats on getting your fab table built. One suggestion, round the corners before you walk into one and need stiches. Nice to have all the tools to build something like that. Get your big compressor plumbed and wired soon, you need it. Love the monster vise, great video from FireBall Tool, btw. Thanks for sharing.

I think it's a good change of scenery watching you work on other things besides construction equipment. By the way, nice looking stitch welds!

Good job Matt. Heat the workbench top and then give it a coat of boiled linseed oil. Will stop the bench surface from rusting. You can re-coat it as required.

Before I say anything about the “Build “. We need a big Shout Out for those “SAWHORSES “. I was hoping that they didn’t let him down. (Pun intended). Great job, best tools and a first class mechanic. I totally enjoyed the video.

That is a serious workbench! Well done Matt. Hey, a suggestion for the surface... Rather than grinding the rust off, try a Rust Converter (not rust remover). It dissolves the surface rust and leaves a smooth, shiny black finish. The best thing is if you scratch it or have further rust development, just slap some more on top. It's cheap and works great. Merry Christmas!

What do I like about this channel? EVERYTHING!!!! Merry Christmas to you Matt!! And Ava, Meatball and Rosco too!!!!

Watched this on Christmas Day and it truly was a Christmas present. Matt's fabrication skills, repurposing scrap (this channel's life ethos), the Matthew McConaughey impression. And annular cutters...never ever used one but I think they're so fricking cool. Ah man ...!

I remember commenting about you needing a table like 6 months ago an here we are! An just for future reference always tack everything together before welding it up. Learned that lesson the hard way a few to many times!

Matt, it takes some thought, brains, skill and a lot of hands to do all of this. It looks like you check all the boxes. Sounds like the band chipped in to help out! Good job! Nailed it!

A bit late now... the angle stiffeners would have been a lot stronger if it was rotated 90° - put the top of the L against the plate instead of the bottom. I expect the lip under the table would've come in handy at times too. It might be good to grind a bit of radius on the corners. It'll save carving hunks out of your hips and arms.

You need some of the fireball tool clamping jigs, those things have saved me so much time with projects like this.

Matt I love your table. My first table I exaggerated with the thickness of the top at 35 mm. It takes my 16 Lind forklift to move it it’s so heavy.

Looking forward to seeing you put up the overhead crain .

You can also wrap electrical tape around a transfer punch to make it fit into a larger hole.

I suspect you saw the Fireball tool video where he tested the competitions (and his own) vices to destruction. That vice is a great choice!

Love these kinda videos. Any kind of shop improvement is always necessary. Its a great way to generate ideas and help keep the videos fresh. Thanks Matt and Happy Holiday's to you and your whole family

to be honest i like your channel more than any of the other big ones because of the organisation, like your projects have a start a middle and an end, with updates and revisits, this is how it presents so well for yt, some guys do amazing stuff but they dont cover it well or you can find one episode about it and then you never hear of it again or its not labled so it could be one of 100 videos that all look the same or more frustrating for me they just never speak about it again, its like dallas coming back on the following season and nobody remembering some guy called jr, it really shows that you film this stuff from a viewers perspective, its not your everyday ding dong to us and you present it that way and it really shows man, and by the way i built out my own pizzeria over the course of 12 years, i still never get sick of making improvements and adding new stuff, if you love your job youll never stop enjoying building the perfect workspace

That massive satisfying thumb sound as the table fell onto its feet, no flex, no vibration, just bang, here I am! And that plasmacutting robot looks really nice, gonna look into those, thanks for showing :) Christmas presents to oneself are the best ones, no one knows better what really makes you happy.

For the arc droid, take a look at a patten torch. Its about the same size and does the same thing, but old school, no confuzers needed. And i was cutting 8 inch plate with mine a few days ago

Coolest video yet, Matt! That was quite the fabrication job on that bench. IT turned out very nice and will serve you well. Also... 3 of the coolest tools ever! I am not a metal fabricator but that robotic arm for the plasma cutter is genius! Same for the magnetic base drill. That vice is as much sculpture as it is a tool! I really do enjoy these videos. Mele Kalikimaka from Hawai'i!