Building a Utility Workbench
I spent some time with my son in the shop last weekend working on building more bench space. I’m still in the process of moving into my shop, so all I had was the traditional woodworker’s bench I brought from my old house. My 13-year old son says, “Why do you need another bench.” Giving this a few seconds of thought, and knowing this was an opportunity for a life lesson, I replied, “You can never have enough bench space in your shop.”
The only suitable place for a shop at my house is in my two-car garage, so I need to maximize my work space. And I didn’t want to spend a lot of money, so I wanted to use what I had on hand, if possible. So, here’s what I came up with.
We built a frame out of some 2×4’s I had left over from another project. I didn’t use any fancy joinery. Just glue and screws. We installed 5″ locking casters on the bottom. I topped it off with an old solid-core oak door. Melamine board completed the bottom shelf. I sized the frame so that one end of the top would fit over the motor on the back of my contractor table saw. That way, it also makes a handy outfeed table for my saw. See the drawing on the left.
Now, I need to figure out how to organize the space underneath. I think I’ll add some drawers and some shelves, but leave part of it open for larger items. In any case, I’ve already put it to good use. And I was really surprised how steady it is when the casters are locked.
Here’s a SketchUp model of the workbench you can download and modify using Google’s SketchUp program.
I think I still need more bench space.