Cheap and Easy Garage Workbench

I recently wrapped up the construction on my new work surface / workbench in the garage at our new home. The final measurements are 12 feet long, 2 feet deep, with a slightly larger angled corner work area. There was an existing metal cabinet that I wanted to match the bench height to, so the entire work surface is a very comfortable 42" height - which just happens to match the "belly-button height" guideline for building benches, too! The top is a dual-layer construction with a plywood base for stability and a melamine-wrapped OSB work surface for easy cleanup and chemical/water resistance.

Parts list:
4'x8' sheet of 1/2 inch plywood - I had Lowes cut it down to 4x4, 2x4, and 2x4
4'x8' sheet of 3/4 inch OSB (melamine-wrapped) - I had Lowes cut it down to 4x4, 2x4, and 2x4
Multiple 8 foot 2x4s - Cut to various lengths (I think I used a total of 8 or 10 boards)
Small box of 3-inch deck screws
Large box of 2.5-inch deck screws
Small box of 1.25-inch exterior screws

Tools Used:
Tape Measure
Level
Square
Screw Gun
Drill
Jig Saw

Time to Complete:
Roughly 4 hours. It took me a while because I was very careful about leveling, measuring, cutting, and pre-drilling on this project.

Cost to Complete:
Approximately $100 in materials.

*It should be noted that I pre-drilled EVERY hole for this project so that I would not split the 2x4s, the wall studs, or the work surface.*

Step 1: Planning

I did a quick rendering in Google Sketchup to figure out the measurements I wanted for the work surface, and also to get a general idea of how I wanted to brace the underside for strength and stability. The final measurements are not exact to my Sketchup rendering because I chose to do a dual-layer work surface, but the 3d drawing only shows a 1/2" plywood surface.

*It should be noted that I pre-drilled EVERY hole for this project so that I would not split the 2x4s, the wall studs, or the work surface.*

Comments

[dazedonblu]

Nice job Ive been looking all over trying to find plans I could use that would allow me to adjust them for things like drawers and a section of the top for metal work, my mini lathe,drill press,and welding your design works perfectly thanks for documenting it.

[Oimi]

When triangulating, how did you get the holes for the screws and exactly 45 degrees

[NewShockerGuy]

This is AWESOME! Looks to be perfect in my small double car garage and it's a corner unit as well! Even better!
You didn't use a table saw or anything like that??? Just a jigsaw to make all the cuts?

I am following everything up to the framing. Did you build the frame on the ground first THEN bolt it to the back of the 2x4 that is 12' long against the wall, or did you build it in the air so to speak building off the back 2x4?

First time I'm going to be building anything like this but so far your plan/idea is wonderful!

Thanks,
-Nigel

[omninate]

Hi Nigel,

I built this "in the air" to make sure it fit perfectly into the corner - I wasn't sure if that was perfectly square or not. I used a circular saw (I know I wrote jig saw - sometimes i have a brain fart) to make all the cuts. If I were to do it again, I would probably build it on the ground and just bolt it into place on the board attached to the wall.

Also, to answer the question of the excessive bracing.. I was not originally planning to do floor extensions, and was worried I would accidentally back my jeep into the corner of the bench at some point and destroy the whole thing.

-Nate

[NewShockerGuy]

Nate,

Awesome! I am already starting to plan this out.

Last question I think I have is how did you do the cut on the far left on the top of the work bench. IE: How it's not straight, it has the two angle's into it?
I ask only because I don't know if a circular saw would be able to make the center cut because of both angles surrounding it? Hope that makes sense.

The more and more I look at this I love it because it's not DEEP as others I have seen and since space IS a factor this is what makes yours great to me!

Have you thought about putting a varnish on the wood to help protect it or is that not needed?

Thanks again!
-Nigel

[omninate]

VERY good observation! I think you are talking about the top for the bench that is the "corner" piece, and I actually cheated on that piece. My sketchup drawing shows that being one solid piece, but in reality I didn't want to screw around with trying to get into those cuts either.

What I ended up doing was cutting one square piece for the corner, and then chopped off one of the corners to make the angled surface. I then used a smaller rectangular piece of ply to fill in the last part of the surface.

As for finishing.. my wife and I decided that the legs and structure of the whole thing needed some finishing touches - more for aesthetics than for function. We ultimately used one of the black poly/varnish products from MinWax because she had it left over from another project. But the bench-top surface of mine needs no finishing because it is a white melamine product. So it is already a nice white surface, with resistance to oil and other spills.

Hope that helps!
-Nate

[BrianJewett]

NIce, but I think all that corner bracing is unnecessary. You'd get more support with a single cross brace in place of four corner braces and the plywood & OSB will prevent any parallelogram type shifting.

[NewShockerGuy]

What does this mean? I don't mean to sound ignorant on the matter but planning on doing the same as above but if your idea is better I would like to implement it.. just not sure what you mean?

Thanks,
-Nigel

[BrianJewett]

If you look at the framework under the plywood you'll see 26 corner braces, mitered at both ends. The only reason to brace the corners like this is to prevent the frame from twisting in the horizontal plane. As soon as you attach the plywood top, they become redundant. The plywood will already hold everything square. If the purpose is to support the plywood to take extra heavy loads, a few simple straight braces would do as much with much less work and materials and simple square cuts.

For most uses the frame as laid out without all the angled bracing should be plenty. If I wanted something even heavier, I would simply ad a second layer of 3/4 plywood with the joints offset from the first layer.

[kooth]

Awesome job! Sketchup sure comes in handy! You have inspired me to tackle my garage for shelving!

Well done sir!

[Pizzapie500]

Like godscountry said, VERY NICE! How much did it cost you?

[omninate]

Thanks!! In total the materials were about $75 - all from my local Lowes. The biggest cost was the second layer - the OSB.

[godscountry]

very nice,what about more depth,were you lacking space ?maybe some under bench bins on rollers,shop vac,etc.

[omninate]

It's plenty deep for what I needed - mostly it ends up holding tools during projects and then everything gets put away. As for storage underneath, I have some rolling Craftsman tool cabinets that store underneath, as well as a whole bunch of other plastic totes and some toolchests - and my shop vac is a wall-mount unit to keep everything sorted nicely! :)

[vanmankline]

Nicely done!  Any future plans for under counter organization/storage?

[omninate]

I have been toying with the idea of purchasing an under-cabinet knife storage drawer and modifying it drop out of the bottom of the bench with wrenches and sockets.

Other than that, I plan to keep it clear underneath so that I can fit the rolling tool chests, and random motorcycle fairings that are too tall or long to fit anywhere else nicely.