Then I tried it out with a 10" forged steel vise.
Paint came after that:
To hold hammers, I had a metal shelf that I botched up pretty badly when I tried removing a special-purpose shelf. I covered the messed-up sections with wood, which also meant I could use screws to hold the hammers in place.
There's still a lot of wasted space up above. So I started some more cabinets.
I wanted to do sliding cabinets instead of hinged ones. So I used the table saw to cut two channels in a set of 2x4s. It was easier than I thought it would be.
Then I put a skin on it. The reason for the curved section is two-fold. I wanted it to have the feel of a bench from the 1950s and 1960s, and I also wanted to be able to open the cabinet above my main wood bench.
I used a sliced up 2x4 for trim.
And more paint:
I was able to get two 12' lengths of 3" wide 1/8" aluminum for $12 each. They completed the retro look.
