Swapped my old workbench for a metal one from a garage sale in Denver

I had this beat-up wooden bench from my dad, you know, the kind that wobbles if you look at it wrong. Last spring I found a heavy steel Craftsman bench (the 6-foot one) at a garage sale for 40 bucks, and I figured why not give it a shot. Honestly, it's way steadier for pounding on stuff, but I miss having a built-in wood top that doesn't get ice cold in winter. Anyone else regret swapping out an old family piece for something more practical?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lee9d ago

My dad's old wooden bench had this charm to it, but it also had a drawer that would just fall out if you breathed on it wrong. Metal benches are great until you have to hold a screwdriver in January and it feels like you're holding an ice cube. I switched mine out a few years back for a bolted-together steel model from a hardware store closeout. Now I keep a piece of plywood on top in winter just so I don't have to touch the cold steel. Still, I'll never forget the time my kid put his tongue on it on a dare. That was a fun trip to the ER.

the_piper9d ago

My buddy tried something similar on a metal slide at the park when we were kids, except he was trying to impress a girl. He ended up getting his tongue stuck and the fire department had to come with warm water to free him. Kinda makes me wonder if @the_lee's kid learned the same lesson the hard way, or if it was just a classic dare gone wrong. At least with a bench you don't have to worry about a crowd of kids watching the whole thing go down.