How to Build a WorkBench

Before

My closets aren't the only thing that I am bad about cleaning out. As you can see, I tend to have a teensy problem keeping my shed clean even after I built the dividers to 'keep it neat'. In yet another valiant effort to clean and organize my mess before FEMA declared it an official disaster zone, I built a workbench for myself. It was fairly simple.

You will need: 

Sheets of 1/8 inch plywood

A length of 1x6 (for the facing)

Plenty of 2x4 scraps (I recommend 40 inches tall)

Screws (I recommend at least 2 1/4 inch wood screws with a square drive)

A drill and square drill bit

A long box level

A measuring tape

A good circular saw

Speed Square

Pencil

In progress.

1.   Measure. You will want to measure the length of your wall and then decide how high and how deep you want your workbench. I made mine cover the length of the wall, 40 inches tall, and 24 inches deep. Choose a height that will be comfortable for you and the activities you will be using your bench for, though.

2.   Measure again. The advantage of building your own workbench is that you can customize so, before anything else, measure the items you want to store under your bench. I decided that I wanted to fit an old parrot cage that I use for a chicken hospital and/or broody hutch, my fountain in the off season and (of course) several bins of chicken feed, shavings, etc. I also chose to use the existing studs as an attachment point on the wall and worked with them. I highly recommend this method for you, too.

3.   Measure again. Building is mostly measuring. Once you know the dimensions of your storage cubbies then you are ready to start marking out the legs of your bench. Depending on the weight you want it to bear you can go as close as 16 inches and as far as 22 inches between legs. Better safe than sorry! Mine are further apart but I don't keep heavy things on there.

4.   Measure & Mark your legs and braces. Now you know how many legs you need, how tall they need to be, and how deep your bench will be so you can measure & mark your legs and braces using the speed square and pencil. Are you having fun yet? Hang in there, we're about to play with power tools.

5.   Cut. Only cut one set at a time: one brace and one leg. This will allow you to make tiny adjustments along the way and will keep you from getting your pieces mixed up. Personally, I use my trust dual bevel miter saw even for straight cuts but a circular saw will work just as well.

6.   Attach. Using the drill and level, secure your brace and leg to the existing studs. It should look like a number "7" except at a right angle. If you look closely at the 'In progress' picture you can see what I mean. Don't forget to screw the legs into the floor itself- just angle the screws through the corner of each leg and down into the floor. Rinse and repeat.  (Don't forget to use the level between each leg, too!)

Complete workbench. Child not included.

7.   Measure (last time, I promise!).  At this point you should have a line of lovely, level legs (say that 5x fast). All that's left is to measure and cut your bench top. A chalkline and a circular saw are necessary for this if you are doing it yourself but I took my measurements into Home Depot and they cut it for me- they have drywall saws that get a straight cut every time and I say, "Work smarter, not harder."

8.  Attach you surface and screw it in so it's not wobbly. Voila! You da (wo?)man!

Happy Building!

-Zonoma

Circus Train

(Photo taken by Dean Conner.)