Simple Work Bench

Inspiration

I wanted to get a work bench for the garage that would suffice for the projects that I undertake. After looking at all of the major hardware stores I could not find anything that really fitted what I wanted. I needed something that was cheap and easy to fix if for some reason.. somthing got damaged on it. Things seam to get brocken when I work in the garage, havn't figured out why yet. The whole cost of the project was around $50. Depending an what you can scrounge it can be made cheaper.

Description

The work bench is made of 2"x4" and a door. The base is held together with 3" drywall screws. The door gives a nice solid top but is cheap to replace if something were to go horibly wrong during an expereiment. The table top is 80" long by 36" wide. The table height is ~38" depending on what material is used for the table top. All drawings were made using Google Sketchup which is an awsome free 3D software. I have attached the Google Sketchup model at the bottom if you would like to redimension anything. If you make any changes I just ask that you email me and let me know how the changes went.

Parts List

• 6 - 12 foot 2"x4" (Make sure they are mostly straight)
• 1 - Standard door or a piece of MDF what is 36"x80"
• 1 - 4'x8' sheet 1/8" fiberboard or pegboard.
• 1 - 1lb box of 2.0" drywall screws
• 1 - 1lb box of 3.0" drywall screws

Tools Required

• Circular Saw
• Drill
• Yard stick or tape measure

Cut List

• 4 - 2"x4"x76" (Side Rails)
• 5 to 8 - 2"x4"x29" (Horizontal Braces)
• 4 - 2"x4"x36" (Legs)
• 4 - 2"x4"x27.5" (Leg Braces)

Basic Construction

The base of the work bench is a latice of 2x4s that are srewed together to form the base.

Construction: Step 1 Top Support

Parts Used in this step:

• 2 - 2"x4"x76" (Side Rails)
• 3 - 2"x4"x29" (Horizontal Braces)
• 3" Drywall Screws

The first step is to construct the top support. See above picture for assembly of top shelve. If a thinner material is going to be used for the top the two bottom supports should be used. If something like 3/4" MDF is going to be used from bot the top and bottom shelves the two top supports can be made. It just depends on what you have to use. Measurements are from end of side rail to center of middle supports.

Construction: Step 2 Bottom Support

Parts Used in this step:

• 2 - 2"x4"x76" (Side Rails)
• 5 - 2"x4"x29" (Horizontal Braces)
• 3" Drywall Screws

The bottom support is identical to the top support with the addition of two more cross supports. Measurements are from end of side rail to center of middle supports.

Construction: Step 3 Attaching Legs to Top Support

Parts Used in this step:

• 1 - Top Support from Step 1
• 4 - 2"x4"x36" (Legs)
• 2" and 3" Drywall Screws

Attach the legs to the end supports using 3" screws and to the side rails using 2" screws. Make sure that the legs are perpendicular to the ground or it is going to make installing the bottom level difficuilt.

Construction: Step 4 Attaching Legs Supports

Parts Used in this step:

• 4 - 2"x4"x27.5" (Leg Braces)
• 2" and 3" Drywall Screws

Attach the legs braces to the legs as shown in the picture above. The braces should be level with the ground before being attached to the legs. Use 3" screws to attach the braces to the legs. Attach leg supports to tend rails using 2" screws. Make sure again that the legs are perpendicular to the ground before attaching the leg braces or it is going to make installing the bottom level difficuilt.

Construction: Step 5 Adding the Bottom Support

Parts Used in this step:

• 1 - Bottom Support from Step 2
• 2" and 3" Drywall Screws

Attach the bottom support making sure that it is level with the end of the leg braces. The bottom support should be about 8.5" from the end of the legs. This distance is not critical so feel free to move the bottom support around. Make sure that the bottom bracket is the same distance from the ground on all four legs or the table will not sit flat.

Construction: Step 6 Adding the Top

Parts Used in this step:

• 1 - Flat Door or 80" x 36" Piece of 3/4" MDF for something similar

There are many ways to attach the top to the base. You can use some angle brackets screwed to the side rails and the top. You can use something like Liquid Nails. If you are using MDF you can screw the top directly on to the side and end rails. Which ever method you choose make sure that the top is centered on the base before permenently attaching the top. On my work bench the top is not attached at all to the base. I would not recomend doing this as it can move if you are banging on something or hit the top for any reason.

Construction: Step 6 Adding the Bottom Shelf

The bottom shelf is rough cut from the 1/8" fiber board or pegboard. The two images below are some rough estimates of what the dimension of the bottom shelf will look like. DO NOT take that these measurements are exact. There will be a little wiggle room needed to make the shelf fit. The bottom shelf will have to be turned on an angle to get it to fit between the legs.

Bottom Shelf Overall Dimensions

Bottom Shelf Close-up of End

Construction: Finished!!

If every thing went as planned you should now have a beutiful new work bench that is giong to be solid as a rock. At this point the table is done but if desired you can paint or leave it the natural wood color.

My Work Bench

Here is what my work bench looked like in the end. It gets lots of use and has held up very well over the two years of abuse that it has taken so far. Forgive the mess I need to get out there and clean for the winter where it is not 100F out in the garage.