Introduction: Workbench (summerofprojects)

This is the workbench we designed and built for the apartment living room. The workbench needed to allow us to work on our electronics projects either standing or sitting on a stool. We also needed to build a workbench that would come apart easily enough to make moving it bearable. This same basic design would be very easy to scale depending on your own needs.

Step 1: Bill of Materials

materials (~80$)

- 4 10' 2"x4"
- 1 8' 2"x4"
- 1 4'x8' piece of melamine covered shelving (non-glossy)
- 1 box of 3" deck screws
- 16 3/8" bolts/washers/nuts

Step 2: Legs

Build the legs first. 2 24" and 2 42" 2"x4" will be needed. The taller pieces will be used on the sides and the smaller pieces will go across the inside. The shelves will sit on the cross pieces so one goes right at the top and the second we put 29" from the bottom. Before putting in the deck screws be sure to double check all the pieces are square and the middle pieces are at the same height.

Step 3: Shelves

For the shelves we're using the melamine shelving framed underneath. To prevent chipping the melamine be sure to put masking tape down before you cut.

The top shelf was cut to be the 24" deep and about 72" wide. The frame underneath used 2 69" wide pieces along the width and three 21" pieces orthogonal to that. One across the middle and two on the sides. Be sure to leave a lip for the piece to sit on the legs.

The bottom shelf was only half as deep. For this we used 2 69" wide pieces and 2 9" pieces. The bottom piece is small enough that a third brace for the frame is not necessary.

Step 4: Final Assembly

Now that the legs and shelves are made all that remains is to bolt them together. First place the shelves on the legs and clamp them down. This should get the shelves sitting pretty close to flush. It's easiest to first drill, auger and affix 2 bolts/shelf/side. Before drilling holes for the bolts note where all your screws are so you don't end up trying to drill right through them. With the first 8 bolts in place all the pieces should be sitting flush which will make it much easier to put in the last 2 bolts/shelf/side.