Build-a-Bench

 I built my jewellery bench over a couple of weekends almost entirely out of recycled timber (scavenged from the hard rubbish collection). Even the magnifying lamp came from the side of the road - the clamp was broken, so I drilled a hole in the bench top to secure it.

With the help of a jigsaw, an electric drill, a couple of adjustable clamps and some woodworking advice from my dad, the only thing I was missing was a bench to work on while building the bench.

The sliding scraps tray (used to collect precious metal offcuts and dust) was a keyboard tray on an office desk in a former life. I added 1x3" wood blocks between the sliding mechanism and the underside of the bench to adjust it to the correct height. I looked long and hard for the perfect bench top, and while that office desktop wasn't usable, it also provided a number of useful screws. The final bench top is the centre section of a beautiful old hardwood dining table, too scratched to use as a table, but perfect for a sturdy workbench.

The nice thing about a bench made of recycled materials is that I can continually customise it without feeling like I'm damaging an expensive piece of furniture. I added some hooks for my saw frame and towels, and attached containers along the sides. The parts I bought were: the square aluminium tubing and hook to hold my flexi drive, the shelving unit at the back of the bench (from Savers), a couple of 1x3" wood pieces and most of the nuts and bolts (and the drill and jigsaw). I thought about trying to construct a set of drawers, but I soon found this nightstand on the roadside and decided that would do the trick. 

Now the only thing I need is more space...