After our moving into our new home I was limited on space as the new garage was a tad bit smaller yet it was a two car garage. There was a single work bench that on the back wall and was very small. It was used by the previous owner for working on his multiple cars. For what I needed it for it was way too small. So I shopped around looking for a bench or some ideas. After looking at various benches and searching the internet I decided to build my own. So after deciding to build my own I thought how I was going to build it. I have seen people build their benches around their tools that they have. I saw one where the guy built his small table saw into the bench. I thought this was a very good idea but I was also thinking ahead that if I decide to buy a professional table saw then this would not work. If I was going to spend any money I would want it to where I would not have to change anything in the future or have to build a separate bench.
So it was around my birthday (August 20th) that my wife asked what I wanted for my birthday. I told her not to buy anything that if I could, buy the material to build myself a workbench. She said yeah since that is what I wanted and needed.
So off to Home Depot I went with my tape measure. As I am looking I am building the bench in my head. That’s right I did not do any planning or drawing of the bench beforehand. I decide to build a very solid bench top by taking 2x4’s and screwing them together on the wide side. I then decided how big I want it. I went with a 3 foot by 6 foot top. So I measured it out and I would need 24 – 2x4’s to make it 3 foot wide. For the outer box I went with a 2x8. So for the top I needed 22 – 2x4’s and 2 – 2x8’s. I wanted the legs to be heavy duty so instead of the 4x4’s I used 4x6’s. I was hesitant on what type of wood and since they only had 4x6 treated I went with that. While thinking of the legs I wanted it to be mobile so I purchased casters and went with 4 – swivel 250 lb rated casters. To mount the casters I used 4 inch lag bolts. I also purchased other 2x4’s for the bottom braces and bought 3 inch coated star bit deck screws for assembling the bench.
Assembling to a few days because of work and other activities. I ripped 3/16 of inch off of each 2x4 to give it a flat top then proceeded to assemble everything. What took the longest was the bench top. Ripping each board down and screwing them together was roughly a few hours. I had to make sure each board was flush before screwing it down. After I was done I forgot about the bottom shelf. So my plan was to go buy a sheet of plywood the following weekend for the bottom. Well the weekend came and I decided to use the paneling that we pulled out of a hallway. I had cut it up in 2’x4’ pieces to put in the trash. I figured why not use this as the bottom and save myself some money and I would also be recycling.
All of the materials besides the bottom shelf was $203.00 with tax. The casters were $45.00, Deck screws were $35.00 and the wood was the remainder. I do not have any other pictures of the bench prior to putting everything on it.
I have added some extras to the bench over the past few months. Things That I have added were a File holder, Beer holder, Pencil holder, Power strip, Dowel rod holder. I also added screws to hang my Squares, Hammer, Drill, Push block, Miter gauge for Band Saw and Tool pouch. I am sure over time this bench will be changed with accessories, but for now I am happy with what I have accomplished.
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| Accessories to bench |
So for those of you who are deciding whether to build or buy. I would suggest to build it as you have the ability to build it the way you want and you the get the satisfaction of the overall outcome.
