DIY Garage Workbench

July 3, 2017 Hersey

This post is not about virtualization, my home lab, or technology. Going a little low tech here to share a DIY project I did over the weekend, a mobile garage workbench using some free plans I found over at Shanty2Chic.com.

The workbench turned out really nice, is very sturdy, and easy to move around. I haven’t decided to paint it or not. Will probably just leave it raw and put a coat of clear poly on the top and shelf to seal them. The lumber and screws required to build the workbench came in at $63 from Lowe’s and the casters were $24, so all total $87 (plus the cost of the Kreg R3 Jig Kit which I will definitely be able to use for other projects). Took just a few hours to put it all together. Going to modify the plans a bit to build a 4′ one out of pressure treated wood for wife to use as a potting bench.

I made some adjustments to the plans to make work area 6′ long instead of 8′. I also adjusted things to make the work surface a little taller . The plans as they are will put the work surface right around 30″ depending on the size of the casters used, and this was a bit low for my liking. Since the casters I picked up on Amazon are 4.25″ inches high, I added 1 3/4 inches to the leg support cuts to bring the height of the work surface to around 34″. I used a 1/2″ piece of plywood for the top and shelf, since I used 1/2″ instead of 3/4″ I added an additional cross supports to the top and shelf.

Here are the modifications I made to the cut list to reduce the work surface length to 6′ and increase the height to ~34″ (28″ leg supports + 1.5″ base + 4.25″ locking casters + 1/2″ Plywood):

Change 96″ Plywood top to 72″
Change 90″ Plywood shelf to 66″
Change 96″ (2×4) to 72″ (2)
Change 90″ (2×4) to 66″ (2)
Change 26 1/4″ (2×4) to 28″ (4)
Change 26 1/4″ (2×6) to 28″ (4)
Add one 14 1/2″ (2×4) – 4 Total for shelf
Add one 20 1/2″ (2×4) – 4 Total for top

These are the locking casters I used. The wheels are 3″ and the overall height is ~4 1/4″.

Of course one of the reasons to try a new DIY project is to have an excuse to pick up some new tools. For this project I obtained the Kreg R3 Jig Pocket Hole Kit. Pretty neat little tool and made joining the parts a breeze. The joints are also very sturdy.

Started off making the cuts to the 2×4 and 2×6. I pre-cut everything but the plywood, want to take a measurement after I get it all assembled so I can adjust the cuts for the top and shelf if needed.

Drilled all the pocket holes using the Kreg R3 Jig. Using the garage floor as a work surface, cause I don’t have a workbench, yet 🙂

Assembled the frame for the top and shelf. Added the additional cross supports to the top and shelf frame instead of just the one in the middle. Joined the 2×4 and 2×6 cuts to create the four legs/supports. Added a bead of wood glue to all joints.