Hey all,
I already have a couple of good, sturdy, metal benches. One is a 70's era Sears Craftsman and the other is CTC Jobmate ($49 on sale). I topped each with a double layer of 3/4" MDF.
But I always liked the look of the NRMA bench, particularly the cabinet/shelving that sits on top; so I decided to modify the plans to fit one of my benches. Also, although I'm a fan of building things stoutly, I thought the 3/4" plywood that the cabinet calls for was a bit much. I think the only reason it is in the plans is to aggregate the cut list. So using 5/8" material instead and taking my bench top dimensions into consideration, I worked out the parts list that I would require.
The more complicated issue - the cut list. A very brief search of the Internet brought me to delphiforfun.org where I downloaded a free program called Cutlist. Really slick. Plug in your dimensions and it gives you all the possible solutions.
So, that was kind of long-winded, but I thought the program was useful enough to share with you. Of course, if you are a woodworking regular, then this is probably really old news.
I already have a couple of good, sturdy, metal benches. One is a 70's era Sears Craftsman and the other is CTC Jobmate ($49 on sale). I topped each with a double layer of 3/4" MDF.
But I always liked the look of the NRMA bench, particularly the cabinet/shelving that sits on top; so I decided to modify the plans to fit one of my benches. Also, although I'm a fan of building things stoutly, I thought the 3/4" plywood that the cabinet calls for was a bit much. I think the only reason it is in the plans is to aggregate the cut list. So using 5/8" material instead and taking my bench top dimensions into consideration, I worked out the parts list that I would require.
The more complicated issue - the cut list. A very brief search of the Internet brought me to delphiforfun.org where I downloaded a free program called Cutlist. Really slick. Plug in your dimensions and it gives you all the possible solutions.
So, that was kind of long-winded, but I thought the program was useful enough to share with you. Of course, if you are a woodworking regular, then this is probably really old news.
