Build Garage Work Table With Attached Shelves

This is my first Instructable and one of my first projects I have done on my own. I believe it turned out very well but I did make a few little mistakes. My goal was to build work table for my wife and I to use for medium duty work. In other words it will easily hold 30 pounds and large objects but I don't think it would stand up too well to a lot of hammering and very heavy objects.

The table work surface is 30 inches off the ground. The table surface is 3 feet deep and 4 feet wide. The legs are 2x4s. The back legs extend up through the desk to use as the supports for the shelves.

Below is the finished work table.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

Tools
Table Saw
Miter Saw
Jigsaw
Drill
Level/Square
Tape Measure

Materials
Approximately 30 feet of 2x4's (4 8 foot long 2x4's)
3x4 feet of plywood for table surface
1x4 feet of plywood for one shelf (double for two shelves)
2x4 feet of pegboard
3.5 inch wood screws
1.5 inch wood screws (for shelves and pegboard)

Step 2: Build Front and Back Leg Frames

I built the frame for the back legs first using 2 4 foot long 2x4's with 2 43 inch long 2x4 horizontal pieces to hold it together. Note that this is 43 inches and not 48 inches long. This allows a 2.5 inch overhang of the table surface. The lower horizontal is 7 inches (check) above the ground (measure from the bottom of the 2x4) and the upper horizontal is 30 inches above the ground (measured from the top of the 2x4). I then used 30 inch 2x4's for the front with only one horizontal support set 30 inches high. The lower support on the front frame was left off to create leg room.

Step 3: Connect Front and Back Leg Frames

I cut and then predrilled and then prescrewed all the front to back horizontal supports. I then used clamps and help from my wife to hold everything up while the supports were screwed on. The front to back supports are 33 inches long and 31.5 inches long. The two longer ones go top. The two shorter ones are for the bottom supports. Again note that these are not 36 inches long to allow for a 3 inch overhang of the table surface in the front. The missing 1.5 inch on the lower supports was removed because there is no front bottom support.

Note that when attaching the front to back horizontal supports watch that your 3.5 inch long screws do not hit each other.

Step 4: Prepare Table Surface

For the table surface I had to use one 2x4 foot sheet and one 1x4 foot sheet of plywood. The smaller sheet was just a 2x4 foot sheet cut in half length wise to give me the 3 foot deep table. If you have access to a 4x4 foot sheet of plywood just cut off a foot.

I used the 1x4 foot sheet of plywood for the back half of the table. I used a skillsaw to cut out the notches to allow the legs through. I should have cut the notches to fit around the back legs so that it would look a little nicer.

Step 5: Add Shelves

I ended up using metal shelf supports that you should be able to find and most hardware stores. I am sure you could also use L brackets if you wanted to.

The vertical plywood is not attached. It is there as a place holder for my last minute idea to add a peg board. You can use that to hang tools and supplies.

Step 6: Attach Pegboard

I attached a 2x4 foot sheet of pegboad to the back of the 2x4s supporting the shelves with screws. I did not cut the pegboard down to exactly fit the width of the table. It is over hanging the sides by a few inches.