How to Restore & Improve a Portable Folding Workbench 

I like the idea of dogs, but I just don't use them very often. Depends I guess. Yes I like the groove the wood has for pipes although again something I don't do much of. Thanks for your tips and info 👍🏻

Thanks your welcome 👍🏻

Thanks!

Thanks David 👍 Glad you liked it 😀

No problem 😉👍

Cheers Tony 👍🏻

Cheers👍 it's ready for a few more projects🙂

Thanks 👍

Thanks R Byrne 👍 Yea it breaths life back into these beaten up old benches. I find it better with a chunkier wood on top.

@@PhillWyattProjects yeah it looks much better and sturdier than before. Any other plans for new videos, I do enjoy them

@@scuboo Only just seen this message sorry. I have made plenty of new videos since then :)

Good advice Ian. I would have preferred to use some nice thick marine ply as you did although I just used what I had lying around at the time. I recently made a new video about restoring another folding workbench. For this one I used some scraps of 2 x 6 for the tops and drilled out the dog holes. I don't mind spending time to fix these old work benches as they are so useful.

Thanks👍 not sure what you mean. If I went further out on one side I would foul the handles. And further the other side, the wood wouldn't be fully supported.

@@PhillWyattProjects Of course, you removed the plastic fixings so lost the clearance. As for the other side, with the thickness of the wood you're using it wouldn't need to be fully supported. When you open it fully it's normally for laying something flat and wide on top, so not a problem either.

I did it with mine, kept the plastic spacers and added wooden blocks so I could bring the front out over the handles. As my new top was considerably thicker, I scooped out some wood to give me more hand room. I also made sure that the rear bolts were about 1.5" from the front edge of the rear piece so when the thing is fully closed, you still cannot see the metal frame. My original workmate wasn't left outside, it played a supporting role when I bought a 2.0 litre lump from the scrapyard to replace the old 1.6 in my Ford Sierra. I'm guessing it didn't like the engine oil ;-)

Really nice job!!

Thanks Gary glad to help. The Wood is Spruce and the thickness is 3.5cm.

Thanks Phil, have a great Xmas. 👍

Thanks 👍 you can always use primer if you want. Thing is, it takes twice as long to paint and the old paint layer when sanded gives the new paint a good key anyway. If it were a classic car I would apply a base coat but it's only a workbench so not really worth it in my opinion.

@@PhillWyattProjects Thanks for that. I’m not a painter or any sort of this types of profession so I just thought it would have been a good practice especially something is strong as your and hand down from your Dad! While I was barely an apprentice in Marine around 33 yrs ago, we been forced to do as obvious we were at sea. Water & iron or even steel never goes together. But hey, as you say it takes long time and don’t worth it for the job you did, that is more than enough for me… please accept my apologies for any inconvenience if I may cause! I liked your video and the work you did as I am looking for a workbench myself, so was looking for some ideas. All in all, thank you for your contents and for responding so quick! Cheers matey!!!!