Work Bench

Here is a sturdy workbench you can make for about $100.00 It features 2x4 construction, a thick 1 1/2" plywood top and no fancy sawcuts to ruin your day. This one is 75" wide by 31 1/2" deep and without the extension piece on the left front allows you to get the 1 1/2" top from one 4x8 sheet of 3/4" plywood. Make it any size you need. Here is what I did...

The corner posts are doubled 2x4's and all pieces are screwed together so it can be disassembled if needed. You will need... 12 - 2x4's 1 - 4x8x3/4" Plywood approx. 40 - 3 1/2" #10 screws, 25 - 3" #10 screws, 40 - 1 1/2" #10 screws, 25 - 1" #10 screws. Plus whatever you can scrounge for backing board, shelf dividers and shelving.


The front and rear sections were first built. The doubled corner pieces are securely screwed together to act as a 4x4 post. The rear section holds the backboard/shelf uprights. Notice the simple brackets made from 3/4" plywood for the shelves. The actual shelves I used are thick cedar boards from a recycled picnic table! Don't BBQ's make rotten photo backdrops?


Here all the cross pieces have been cut and trial fitted. Then the assembly of the basic framework is fastened together. You can see the extension section I decided to add-on. You will see why I built that later!


If you want to you could add fancy drawers and tracks. I prefer to just have sliding shelves to store supplies or to use as an extra workspace when sitting. Heavy Bristol board, panel board or thin plywood are all you need for the section seperators. You can also see the tool bin I constructed that sits under the lower shelf. It was built with scrap OSB board and trimmed with some used baseboard moulding I had lying around the shop. Why a tool bin and not pegboard?...I could have an acre of pegboard and my bench would STILL be a mess. I would never bother to hang anything up properly! Give me a handy ``cubby-hole" to toss my tools into and it will actually be used!
Initial assembly completed. The right hand lower section is reserved for a 2 drawer filing cabinet I will enclose in that area later. Now I disassembled the whole thing and brought it downstairs to my basement shop. The ``counter top" I used is heavy gauge steel that I again salvaged. Just the top weighs 80lbs!
Now You can see why I added the extension! Now when I clean a rifle I have lots of room and I can use the backboard to stop the patch from leaving the muzzle and damaging the crown! This is the last time you will see the bench clean by the way...Ok, get busy folks!