Workbench Suggestions

Bluemantra

Bluemantra

Joined
Aug 3, 2020
Messages
619
I’m looking to get a workbench or sturdy table for my garage. Some place I can do sharpening, tinkering, and general knife and gun maintenance. Nothing heavy duty. Size wise I’m looking at max 48” long and 24” deep. Budget is $150-$250. Any recommendations? I was looking at Seville Classics and at local big box stores. Thanks
 
I built a workbench using a kit from a company called 2 x 4 Basics. You get legs that function as corner brackets and additional pieces that you can use to build a shelf over the workbench.

As the name implies, you can use 2 x 4s to build it. You can go as basic or fancy as you want with the materials. I went with 2 x 4s and nicer 3/4 inch plywood. I added plenty of bracing and the workbench is rock solid. Once nice advantage is that you can cut your materials to make something exactly the size you want.

I think I paid about $50 for the kit off "The Big River" site. For your budget, you could likely buy 2 x 4s and decent plywood to get a nice set up. The reviews on the big river site include some very good pictures that show what other people did with the kit.

It's bigger than the dimensions you wrote above, but Harbor Freight also has a decent 60 inch by 20 inch hardwood workbench under the name "Windsor." I don't know if it's okay to link directly to it, but you can find the bench pretty easily by googling "Harbor Freight workbench."
 
NWPM2 said:
I built a workbench using a kit from a company called 2 x 4 Basics. You get legs that function as corner brackets and additional pieces that you can use to build a shelf over the workbench."
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+1

I bought two of the same kit and they have been great. They are highly customizable and rock solid. I made mine 24" wide by 96" long. Highly recommended.
 
I've recommended the kits to a lot of people. Everyone that's gotten one has been really happy. :D

They are VERY easy to customize. I added a nice back with shelves, mounted a light, put up some pegboard, etc. I added shelves under the work surface and a cut out so I could sit on a stool to do work. It's been great so far.
 
skyhorse said:
A work bench is really easy to build.
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Yes, lots of information and suggestions on the net and on youtube. If you don't want to get into that you can probably buy what you want from Home Depot with a steel frame. (Depending on the OP's available space, 24" x 48" isn't much space.)
 
I ended up going with the Seville Classic UltraHD adjustable height for $175. Thanks for the ideas. I thought about building it, but in the end I just wanted something to assemble.
 
NWPM2 said:
I built a workbench using a kit from a company called 2 x 4 Basics. You get legs that function as corner brackets and additional pieces that you can use to build a shelf over the workbench.

As the name implies, you can use 2 x 4s to build it. You can go as basic or fancy as you want with the materials. I went with 2 x 4s and nicer 3/4 inch plywood. I added plenty of bracing and the workbench is rock solid. Once nice advantage is that you can cut your materials to make something exactly the size you want.

I think I paid about $50 for the kit off "The Big River" site. For your budget, you could likely buy 2 x 4s and decent plywood to get a nice set up. The reviews on the big river site include some very good pictures that show what other people did with the kit.

It's bigger than the dimensions you wrote above, but Harbor Freight also has a decent 60 inch by 20 inch hardwood workbench under the name "Windsor." I don't know if it's okay to link directly to it, but you can find the bench pretty easily by googling "Harbor Freight workbench."
Click to expand...

Thanks! I received my 2X4 Basics legs yesterday. I just got back from HD with my lumber and 3" screws. I'll build my bench tonight. I can't wait to get it built!
 
I found a kitchen island at an estate sale for less that $100. Drawers, doors, spots to run power and a stainless steel top.

Look for places that resell stuff from renos.
 
I finished building my workbench yesterday. It is great and rock solid! It is 2 feet by 4 feet. I used #2 Southern Pine 2X4's, and 3/4" Red Oak plywood. The bottom only has 1 piece of plywood were the top has 2 pieces of the Red Oak plywood stacked. I put two coatings of wax on the wood before I took this photo. It is ready for heavy duty service! I'll mount my two ton ratcheting arbor press on it today. I think I'll just use clamps for my drill press so I can easily move it around in case I need to. Thanks guys!

2x4 Basics-workbench-1a.jpg
 
000Robert said:
I finished building my workbench yesterday. It is great and rock solid! It is 2 feet by 4 feet. I used #2 Southern Pine 2X4's, and 3/4" Red Oak plywood. The bottom only has 1 piece of plywood were the top has 2 pieces of the Red Oak plywood stacked. I put two coatings of wax on the wood before I took this photo. It is ready for heavy duty service! I'll mount my two ton ratcheting arbor press on it today. I think I'll just use clamps for my drill press so I can easily move it around in case I need to. Thanks guys!

View attachment 1491563
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That looks awesome, 000Robert! Making legs isn't that difficult, but that kit sure does simplify things. Using two layers of plywood is smart, too! :thumbsup: You can replace the top if it gets worn out.
 
NWPM2 said:
That looks awesome, 000Robert! Making legs isn't that difficult, but that kit sure does simplify things. Using two layers of plywood is smart, too! :thumbsup: You can replace the top if it gets worn out.
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Thanks. I'm disabled so anything that makes things easier for me is nice. Plus I didn't want to bother my son, he's got enough on his plate. I had the wood cut to size at Home Depot so all I had to do is just put it together. And that was tough enough for me! But I got it done. I'm hoping to build another one next month. I'll make it 5 feet wide.
 
000Robert said:
Thanks. I'm disabled so anything that makes things easier for me is nice. Plus I didn't want to bother my son, he's got enough on his plate. I had the wood cut to size at Home Depot so all I had to do is just put it together. And that was tough enough for me! But I got it done. I'm hoping to build another one next month. I'll make it 5 feet wide.
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You did a great job. It's certainly a good kit. The same company makes shelving brackets that I used to add shelves above the work surface. I added in a power bar vertically to one side of the vertical pieces of wood. I added a fluorescent light onto one of the horizontal shelf boards directly over the work surface and plugged it into the power bar. It's a lot easier to work on stuff when you can see well and having electrical outlets makes it a lot more convenient.
 
NWPM2 said:
You did a great job. It's certainly a good kit. The same company makes shelving brackets that I used to add shelves above the work surface. I added in a power bar vertically to one side of the vertical pieces of wood. I added a fluorescent light onto one of the horizontal shelf boards directly over the work surface and plugged it into the power bar. It's a lot easier to work on stuff when you can see well and having electrical outlets makes it a lot more convenient.
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I might do something like that for this bench. My next bench will have a 4' shop light above it.
 
000Robert said:
I might do something like that for this bench. My next bench will have a 4' shop light above it.
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A shop light makes a world of difference. Most of the power bars I have seen have two notches to make them easy to attach, too. I used some triangular scraps of plywood and 2x4 cuts offs to add some small shelves to either side of the work area, too. They're not real sturdy, but they are handy for all the cans of WD-40, chemicals, etc that you want when working on things.

I also drilled some holes in some scrap plywood to hold screwdrivers and other little tools and attached that to my bench.

One other suggestion: If you are able to, add something like a strip of wood to the back of the work surface so things don't escape behind the bench.
 
NWPM2 said:
A shop light makes a world of difference. Most of the power bars I have seen have two notches to make them easy to attach, too. I used some triangular scraps of plywood and 2x4 cuts offs to add some small shelves to either side of the work area, too. They're not real sturdy, but they are handy for all the cans of WD-40, chemicals, etc that you want when working on things.

I also drilled some holes in some scrap plywood to hold screwdrivers and other little tools and attached that to my bench.

One other suggestion: If you are able to, add something like a strip of wood to the back of the work surface so things don't escape behind the bench.
Click to expand...

Those are good ideas. Thanks.
 
My bench sorry for the mess running out of room .
IMG-20210119-164533654-HDR.jpg
 
LEGION 12 said:
My bench sorry for the mess running out of room
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Mess and running out of room are constant problems. I'm a fan of pegboard because it is so versatile. My workbench has drawers under it for tools and materials, and I have a rolling toolbox for other tools. Things I would use frequently are hanging on the pegboard, things that would get used less frequently are in drawers.

I do endeavor to put things up when finished with a project and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Otherwise I take a few minutes occasionally to clear off the workbench and put things away. I strive for a middle ground- if you do nothing but keep your workbench neat and clean, that uses up a lot of time. If your workbench is always piled high in a big mess, then that really gets in your way.
 
Heres my main bench when I built it 2 years ago.


I have since moved it to the other side of the garage. ( moved the old WATERLOO box because it took up way too much room on the bench)


And added a second small workbench where the pegboard is, this smaller bench is specifically for my airgunsmithing whether re-sealing a vintage gun or modifying one of my newer airguns.

This one isn't required to be overly sturdy, so I threw it together quickly and it works fine.
I got a Harbor freight folding saw table for Christmas or something years ago and the press board top eventually failed, they can't hold a candle to the old B&D workmate anyways so I did this with it instead of just repairing it with real wood.
 
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