About Industrial Workbenches

Most shops outgrow their bench before they outgrow their tools. Work creeps onto the floor, onto a cart, onto whatever flat surface is free, and accuracy goes with it. A proper industrial workbench fixes that by giving you one rigid station with the tooling stored underneath it, sized to the work instead of to whatever fit the corner ten years ago.

Fixed Steel Workbenches

These are the standard choice when the station is permanent. The Durham benches run 72 to 120 inches wide and 30 to 48-1/4 inches deep, in heavy-gauge steel and in 14 gauge steel with formed channels for rigidity. Heights vary by configuration, from a 36-1/8 inch working bench up to 51-1/16 inches on models with a riser shelf, which puts frequently grabbed items at eye level instead of behind you. There is also a dedicated welding work table for hot work you would rather keep off a finished top.

Workbench Cabinets and Drawer Storage

If your problem is tool sprawl as much as work surface, a workbench cabinet solves both at once. The Chery Industrial units run 4-1/2, 6, 6-1/2, 7, 9, 9-1/2, and 10 feet wide with drawer counts from 6 up to 40, and many pair drawers with enclosed cabinets and a pegboard back for hanging frequently used tools. Durham benches offer lighter drawer configurations, from two-drawer to six-drawer. Durham workstations take a different approach, pairing the bench surface with compartmented bin storage for small parts, which suits assembly, kitting, and inspection more than heavy teardown.

Mobile Bench Cabinets

A mobile bench cabinet is the answer when the work moves and the bench should follow. Rolling to the machine beats fifteen trips back to a fixed bench, so these suit maintenance techs, line-side repair, and any shop that reconfigures its floor. Durham mobile bench cabinets are 24-1/4 by 54-1/8 inches and roughly 36-3/4 to 37-3/4 inches tall with phenolic and polyurethane tops, and several Chery workbenches come on wheels. Choose a fixed bench instead when you clamp, hammer, or press against the surface, because a stationary bench takes shock loads better than one on casters.

Machine Tables

A machine table is a low, very stiff table built to carry a machine rather than to work at standing height. Ours sit at 31-13/16 and 34-3/16 inches, deliberately below normal bench height, so that once a drill press, grinder, or saw is mounted on top the machine itself ends up at a comfortable working height instead of too high. Construction is heavy-gauge angle iron and steel plate, in 60-1/4 by 30-1/4 inch and 72 by 36 inch sizes.

Choosing an Industrial Workbench

Start with the largest thing you will ever put on it, then add clearance for tools around it. Next decide fixed or mobile, because that choice is hard to reverse. Then decide how much of your tooling should live in the bench itself, since that is the real difference between a plain bench and a drawer cabinet. Look at the top as well: steel takes heat and abuse, phenolic resists chemicals and stays smooth, and polyurethane is easier on finished parts. Finally read the shipping line on the listing, because the Durham benches run 243 lb to 708 lb on a pallet and arrive by LTL freight, so plan for a forklift, pallet jack, or liftgate delivery.

Related Categories

A bench works best with the rest of the shop built around it. Move stock to and from the station on our platform and stock trucks, keep fasteners and small parts within arm’s reach in parts bin storage cabinets or a revolving Rotabin unit, and lock up what should not sit out overnight in steel storage cabinets or drawer cabinets. Crews working away from the shop can secure the same tooling in jobsite storage boxes.