# Wired Workbench



## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

I'm sure some of you will be able to relate . . . . I'm about 20% done with kitchen cabinets that will take six months of nights and weekends if I'm lucky. I was sanding away with three different sanders plugged into the overhead cord reel that has been good enough for 15 years. Suddenly, the swinging tangled cords were just too distracting from the task at hand. Then and there, I decided that I simply must have receptacles on three legs of my workbench. 

The cabinets are forgotten and it's off to the big box store for electrical supplies. Then it's crawling on my belly in the dirt under my shop to run a wire from the breaker box to a hole I drilled in the floor at the foot of my workbench. The store-bought fittings just wouldn't suffice, so I had to heat the PVC conduit and bend it to get to the receptacles. Then, it's back on my belly under the shop to retrieve the wire I allowed to drop back through the hole. The wire was difficult to pull through the tortuous compound bends of the conduit, but I got it done. Finally, after spending most of the weekend on electrical work, I got it all connected up and no sparks flew when I flipped the breaker. I'm sure I'll enjoy having electricity close at hand, but right now, I'm somewhat annoyed with myself that I "wasted" most of the weekend feathering the nest instead of pursuing the task at hand. 

Anybody else have this problem?


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## jj777746 (Jan 17, 2015)

Andy,look at it this way,you may have saved yourself or someone else from being electrocuted,judging by the description of your previous wiring set-up.Nice work & well worth the time spent. Jim.jj777746


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

nice work...
next time use MC cable and you'll save a bunch of time and your life will get easier...

AFC Cable Systems 100 ft. 12-2 Solid MC Lite Cable-2104S30-AFC - The Home Depot


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## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

jj777746 said:


> Andy,look at it this way,you may have saved yourself or someone else from being electrocuted,judging by the description of your previous wiring set-up.Nice work & well worth the time spent. Jim.jj777746


Nah, the overhead cord reel is safe enough. It's a receptacle block hanging from a retractable reel protected by an additional circuit breaker in the reel itself. It just got annoying having the thing swinging around all the time, and the cord for the tool itself always seemed to end up in the way on the workbench. This way, the cord ends up looping toward the floor instead of piling up on the bench. It just seems sometimes that I spend more time working ON the shop than working IN the shop.


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## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

Stick486 said:


> nice work...
> next time use MC cable and you'll save a bunch of time and your life will get easier...
> 
> AFC Cable Systems 100 ft. 12-2 Solid MC Lite Cable-2104S30-AFC - The Home Depot


Ah, but you don't know me that well . . .
I considered it, but I'm too anal to go the easy route. It had to be all "buttoned up" for reasons I can't explain. Sometimes I make things harder than they need to be.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

DonkeyHody said:


> Ah, but you don't know me that well . . .
> I considered it, but I'm too anal to go the easy route. It had to be all "buttoned up" for reasons I can't explain. Sometimes I make things harder than they need to be.


From one anallitic guy to another...
keep seal tite in mind the next time around.


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## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

Stick486 said:


> From one anallitic guy to another...
> keep seal tite in mind the next time around.


(Palm to Forehead) NOW you tell me!


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

DonkeyHody said:


> (Palm to Forehead) NOW you tell me!


but you didn't ask....


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## swarfmaker (Aug 27, 2012)

DonkeyHody said:


> Anybody else have this problem?


Problem? What problem. I thought it was a universal trait.:lol:


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## RMIGHTY1 (Nov 5, 2014)

I have always known that flexible cable as "BX" cable when it had wires in it and "Greenfield" when it was empty cable. 

RMIGHTY1<==== also anal.


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

I agree with the drawers, if a bench is open underneath then that space just fills up with shavings, drawers keep the contents clean and use the space. N


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## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

neville9999 said:


> I agree with the drawers, if a bench is open underneath then that space just fills up with shavings, drawers keep the contents clean and use the space. N


Glad you noticed the drawers. It's really handy having so much stuff so close at hand. They're push-to-open slides because I didn't want to have handles or knobs protruding. But now I can't really sit at that side of the bench because my knees bump the drawers and they spring open. But a really nice addition anyway.


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

DonkeyHody said:


> Glad you noticed the drawers. It's really handy having so much stuff so close at hand. They're push-to-open slides because I didn't want to have handles or knobs protruding. But now I can't really sit at that side of the bench because my knees bump the drawers and they spring open. But a really nice addition anyway.


I am making a new work bench, it will have drawers, space is such a premium that it cannot be wasted> My new one will have a face vice and an end vice, its a work bench. N


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## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

neville9999 said:


> I am making a new work bench, it will have drawers, space is such a premium that it cannot be wasted> My new one will have a face vice and an end vice, its a work bench. N


My bench came with a face vise and a Veritas Twin Screw vise on the end. I added a quick-release steel vise to the opposite corner like this one. 

Quick-Release Steel Bench Vises - Lee Valley Tools

I find myself using the steel vise more than either of the others because of the quick-release feature. I thought I'd love the Twin Screw vise, but I seldom use it because the others hold well enough, and the twin screw is a little more fussy to operate. 

Just food for thought as you build your bench.


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