Work Benches

[Vectamart]

I am not sure whether this is the right place to post this but I'll give it a go anyway.

Between 1973 and 1977, I worked at GCHQ in Cheltenham and in all the areas in which I worked, the work benches were all of a standard design, with a shelf at the back a couple of feet above the worktop, power points on a vertical panel ath the rear and several drawers under the bench top.

I have always wanted to try and acquire one of these benches or at the very least, get hold of some photos or drawings that could assisit me to replicate the design.

Could anyone help, please?

[sortedradio]

They often appear at auctions, eg. https://www.ppauctions.com/lot/13972...lters=cGFnZT00

Obviously delivery could be a problem, as well as price acheived on the day.

[FIXITNOW]

Look like Kaymar benches main stay of most electronics company's in the 70's when I started work, have one in the garage plus extra drawer/cupboard add to my shed work bench

[broadgage]

There is a lot to be said for DIY construction.

Worktop of heavy duty birch ply wood.
Leg at each corner of suitable square section timber.
Secure the legs to the underside of the work top with steel shelf brackets.
Enclose the rear with a large panel of light plywood, secured to both the rear legs and to the rear of the worktop, this makes the whole structure far stronger and more rigid.
This rear panel should extend slightly above the rear edge of the worktop, to prevent small items from falling of the back.

For shelves above, make two extra "legs" secured to the rear legs and reaching to a suitable height. In the interests of rigidity, connect the tops of these posts together with a horizontal timber in a "goal post" arrangement. Fit shelves as desired. For a long workbench, an extra vertical support in the middle is desirable.

Lighting, fit a good bright fluorescent or LED light under the shelf. Install incandescent strip lights in addition, on a dimmer, for use when subdued lighting is wanted. An emergency light is a prudent addition and not expensive.

Don't forget a separately switched light fitted to the underside of the workbench. Most useful for locating small items dropped into an otherwise dark place, and to avoid accidently kicking any pet cat or dog that may hide under the workbench.

[Nymrod121]

Vectamart, I'm unable to assist directly with your specific requirement but by way of a suggestion as to an alternative:

I bought a good-quality desk from a local office furniture company - 'pre-enjoyed', obviously - it cost me £65 and fitted perfectly across the width of my workshop (but note "Screwfix" shelving to RHS, just on edge of shot). It has the removable plastic 'cable access' covers as well but I have a multi-way ex-rack-mount mains distribution board fitted to the wall just above the rear edge of the desk surface. Being as it was a vertically-oriented 12-way board, the outlets are all 'landscape' so plug & cable management is straightforward. As you can see, I use an A3 'self-healing' pad on "Rolson" non-slip matting as a means of preventing scratches / solder splashes from degrading the desk surface itself.

Guy