Minimum workbench size

[Idunno]

Hey everyone,

I'm wrapping up my Waiex tail and getting ready to order the wing kit so it's time to get rid of the old kitchen table that I've been working on and get something more appropriate. My problem is that I have very limited space to work in. Where there's a will, there's a way. What is the smallest size workbench that the wings can be built on? Will 3'x8' do it?

-Scott

[falvarez]

I built everything so far on a 3 x 8 bench; however, when I built my spar, I created a temporary 2' extension to the bench. The wings themselves were built on saw horses.

I too have very limited space...I have a 20' boat in the other half of the garage. I only removed the boat when I fitted the wings to the fuselage; other than that I was confined to 1/2 of the garage.

[peter anson]

Hi Scott
I built my Sonex in a very small space, 13' x 16.5' which also housed shelving, workbench, drill press etc. At some stage you will need to fit a fuselage that is nearly 15' long in there. You'll make things easier for yourself if you build a 12' table just so you can check that things are square.

Peter
Sonex 894

[Rynoth]

My main workbench is 4x10 (the pallet), it was plenty long and while building the wings I actually wished it was only 3' wide so I wouldn't have to bend over so much/reach so far. I think 3x8 would do the job.

[Bryan Cotton]

I have not built my wings yet. Have built several workbenches for other projects. In general I find I wish they were 2 feet longer.

[kmacht]

Build the table in sections. I had two 2x8 tables that could bolt together to make one 4x8 table and then had two 2 foot wings that bolted on to the end of those when I need it to be 12 feet long. A massive table will just clog up your shop and you will only need it occasionally. A number of small tables that can be moved around or attached together is a lot more handy.

Keith
#554

[Sonerai13]

Build the table in sections. I had two 2x8 tables that could bolt together to make one 4x8 table....

I did this same thing. The two tables could be bolted together end-to-end to make a 2x16 table, or side to side to make a 4x8 table, or used individually. Very flexible.

[Idunno]

Thanks for the tips. The two-table idea sounds like a good one. I'll take a look at what would fit best like that. Maybe go with 2 3x5's or something.

[DCASonex]

Agree with the comment on 3 ft wide. I used a 4 ft x 12 ft table, but 3 ft wide would have made some jobs easier. Also, big help was a pair of nice straight 2" square steel tubes that could be shimmed to support wings along two lines. (cut shims from old 2 x 4s on taper to suit wing surface.m These also allow flipping wings with Clecos in place. (Recommend using the plastic covers over ends of Clecos so as not to leave a ding if one gets bumped.)

David A.

[Onex107]

This response is pretty late In coming, but, I built my Onex in one half of a two car garage. The wings were built last so they didn't have to be stored, and assembled at the airport. For a work bench I went to the local used furniture store and bought two old office desks for $35 each. They are very heavy with adjustable feet so they can be leveled. I built my own main spar by putting my drill press in between the desks to drill all the holes and riveted on the desk tops with the bucking bar underneath. I only needed one desk to build the fuselage and wings so you donate the desks back to the store and you have your garage back.