Improving My Workbench

Sometimes you have something, but you know it could just be better
Well that's how I felt about my workbench
It was perfectly adequate, was built from 2 strong chests of drawers, a 3/4 inch ply top, had wheels and was the right height
Hell, it even had a nook for stowing my mig welder, bandsaw and grinder
But it could be so much more.
Here it is in its original mode
https://www.instructables.com/Under-Bench-Storage-Making-Better-Use-of-Your-Spac/
As I say adequate but unexceptional
So how can I improve it
ENGAGE THINKING CAP!!!

Supplies

Not much really, a bit more 3/4 inch ply and some nuts and bolts, and a rivnut gun and rivets
And a powerboard and emergency stop switch

Step 1: In the Beginning.....

There was a workbench
It was a nice workbench, 2x4 drawer chests bolted down onto a platform with castors and a 3/4inch worktop
Between the two drawer sets there was a knee hole which contained my mig welder, one of my bandsaws and a cleat to stow my bench grinder upside down when not in use.
It hadn't cost much, the chests of drawers were $5 each from work, the top and base were in a skip and the wheels were $20 from mitre10
Perfectly adequate but nothing special

Step 2: Cleaning Up the Top

First thing I did was take all the top screws out, countersink all the holes and then put them back
Then I sanded the whole top work surface so all the detritus from the 3+ years I had been working on it was gone and I had a nice smooth, level work surface.

Step 3: A Bit of Marking Out

After checking that the knee hole was going to be big enough for what I wanted, I marked out the section I wanted to remove

Step 4: Cutting

Sometimes you just have to commit
So using my battery circular saw I "plunge cut" the 4 straight edges of the part I wanted to remove (this will be used as a tool base and template for the other tool bases later)
I completed the curved corners using my jigsaw

Step 5: Infilling the Recess

Now they say that "the man who never made a mistake never made anything"
Initially I ripped 4 narrow pieces to screw underneath the hole for the cutout to rest on but it quickly became apparent that this wouldn't work so a rethink was needed

Step 6: The Rethink

I cut a continuous piece from some scrap mdf and screwed it into place underneath the recess
I also extended the hole with a side recess cutout in order to facilitate the circular saw motor

Step 7: Rivnuts

I had "borrowed" the rivnut machine from my work and drilled a hole in each corner of the infill support piece to accept an M5 rivnut

Step 8: Mounting the Circular Saw on Its Base

Using the original cut out from the bench top
I bolted my circular saw to it and then cut through (plunge cut) to give a zero clearance slot for the blade
The whole lot was then drilled in eack corner (from underneath) the the holes countersunk and the circular saw assembly bolted into place
I may fit a blade guard and riving knife later, but they are not essential (or compulsory in NZ)

Step 9: Other Tools

The same/similar process was undertaken for the jigsaw and router

Step 10: Infilling

An infill blank was made to fill the hole when I just required a work bench. I also painted the work surface white.

Step 11: Storing the Tools When Not in Use

I made a couple of cleats to store the tools in the knee hole when not in use, fortunately I used the strips that I originally ripped in step 5, so no harm, no foul

Step 12: The Saw Fence

I found, once again in a skip, an old sash clamp.
It's sliding jaw was missing but perfect for me
I cut the end off and rewelded it at right angles to make a moveable fence
Using an old bolt I made a new tightening handle
I then cut 2 pieces of wood to go either sideand screwed them into position
These were pieces of dado rail rescued from the refurbishment of an office at work, so free.
The fence can be used on either side of the blade/router

Step 13: Wiring It Up

Now safety first
In order for most of the tools to work I'm going to have to override the 2 step starting (where you have to press in a release before the trigger will operate)
This is easy enough (and easily removed again by using zip ties)
The tools are plugged into a power board (extension lead) which is mounted inside the nook and is wired to a cut off switch (emergency stop) and then to the regular power supply
Unfortunately I ran out of spade connectors for the emergency stop so will rewire it later when I can buy some more, but I managed to temporarily wire it to test that it all functions correctly (it does, the green button starts the tools and the red stops them!)

Step 14: The Emergency Stop Mount

Originally I was going to flush mount the emergency stop, but that would compromise the drawers sliding, so I made a couple of packers to allow it to stand proud
Then I screwed the stop switch and packers to the side

Step 15: And Completed

Ready for some "Hot Tool Action"
I may mark the top with ruler measurements for simple quick alignment of the saw fence