Workbench input?

Alright, so the garage i'm renting needs a workspace really badly. I'm sick of work on top of a stack of tires, and not having a bench vise or grinder.

I also don't have a box for my tools yet, though i don't plan on having a huge collection of tools at this point. I'm not fabbing, don't need or care for air tools, so i just need room for standard wrench, screwdrivers, sockets, breaker bar or two, torque wrench, vise grips, and maybe a prybar or two.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_2218-55738-LWWB08-3D4563_4294857657_4294937087_?productId=1235425&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_Work%2BBenches%2B_4294857657_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1#BVRRWidgetID

That's what i saw today at Lowe's. Any better ideas within that same budget? I don't have the time or space to build anything at that point, and that seems like it would kill two birds with one stone.

Open to ideas!

I would reccomend getting used kitchen cabinets via craigslist and screwing a sheet of 3/4 ply on top

Like this but not as fancy

Tons of storage space and can be done for under $75. Quite sturdy and can be expandable as most cabinets are all the same size

thats cheap enough and provides storage.

but ive seen some sweet benches built from an old really thick door, like 2"+ thick, mounted on top of a 4x4 structure or a welded squaretube steel

I would doubt that "workbench" at Lowes would even support the weight of a good vice. One good hit with a hammer would go right through that top panel. Junk.

Cruise Craigslist for a deal on used high quality stuff. My work benches came from the Iola car show/swap meet a few years ago. Cast iron legs, 2" thick hardwood butcherblock top. Friggin indestructible and older than you and I put together. I have a large Rock Island vice (proudly made in Rock Island, IL) mounted to one of them, and its great. They are so heavy that they do not need to be bolted to the wall or floor for stability.

Using an old solid core door is great.....If you have one lying around. If you have to go out and buy one at the habitat restore or a recycling center they always seem to want almost 100 for them. screw that.

Couple pics, hotlinked off my own server.

As far as tool storage, again used is your best bet. These gray cabinets are Matco Excelerators. I am into them for $400, found them off Craigslist. They were made in the late 80s/early 90s in Ohio and are better and stronger cabinets than anything on the market today aside from maybe the Snap-On KRL series. A setup like this new would be over $3000.

93gsxturbo wrote: I would doubt that "workbench" at Lowes would even support the weight of a good vice. One good hit with a hammer would go right through that top panel. Junk. Cruise Craigslist for a deal on used high quality stuff. My work benches came from the Iola car show/swap meet a few years ago. Cast iron legs, 2" thick hardwood butcherblock top. Friggin indestructible and older than you and I put together. I have a large Rock Island vice (proudly made in Rock Island, IL) mounted to one of them, and its great. They are so heavy that they do not need to be bolted to the wall or floor for stability.

.... Interesting. So the fact that it weighs somewhat over 100lbs doesn't mean anything? I admit, the particle board as the top surface doesn't impress me much, but that's easily remedied.

The biggest thing this bench would have to support would probably be a turbo. MAYBE a cylinder head if i'm feeling cheeky. Likely mostly used for soldering projects. Mainly a flat surface for convenience.

ditchdigger wrote: I would reccomend getting used kitchen cabinets via craigslist and screwing a sheet of 3/4 ply on top Like this but not as fancy Tons of storage space and can be done for under $75. Quite sturdy and can be expandable as most cabinets are all the same size

Well that actually looks like a dresser with a door on the top. I was at a resale shop yesterday and saw several used dressers that would work for under $50. Ugly but sturdy is your friend.

I have a bench that I made out of two sheets of plywood and some 2x4s. For a very sturdy top I ripped a sheet of 3/4 plywood in half and doubled it up with liquid nails in between and deck screws around the edges. I did the same thing for a bottom shelf near the floor and used the 2x4s to build the legs and supporting structure. I assembled it with carriage bolts so it comes apart easily and I have moved it from house to house four times since I built it. It will easily last the rest of my life. My axillary bench is made from some old kitchen cabinets topped with a solid core fire door. Just as strong but not as easy to move.

93celicaGT2 wrote: .... Interesting. So the fact that it weighs somewhat over 100lbs doesn't mean anything? I admit, the particle board as the top surface doesn't impress me much, but that's easily remedied. The biggest thing this bench would have to support would probably be a turbo. MAYBE a cylinder head if i'm feeling cheeky. Likely mostly used for soldering projects. Mainly a flat surface for convenience.

I looked online and didnt see a weight but I would be genuinely surprised if it weighed 100 lbs.

If you do not plan on permanently anchoring your work bench to your walls or floor, which you probably don't, then weight is your friend. Imagine clamping something a few feet long in a vice and giving it a good tug. The last thing you want is for your work bench to come over on top of you. That sweet unit at Lowes would probably tip right over, or parallelogram if it was anchored to the floor.

Before I had these benches I had a used kitchen countertop with a 4x4 lag bolted support structure underneath. It was pretty adequate after we added some of my old roommates weight lifting weights to the bottom shelf to keep it in place.

Bigger, stronger, sturdier is always what you are after in a work bench, especially if you are adding a vice to it. Heck, that vice in the pics weighs over 50 lbs by its lonesome.

If you will notice, my bench grinder is situated at the back of the bench. I do not have enough real-estate in my garage to dedicate a space for the grinder, so I just slide it out and clamp it to the front of the workbench as needed, then unclamp and slide it back when I am done. Works great.

Give calls to local music studios. With new soundboards being smaller, alot of them will sell off the old tables that held the old, big, heavy soundboards. That's how I got mine, and it is super-strong/heavy and indestructible:

3/4" plywood hung vertically somehow and a box of small trim nails = good cheap tool "storage". A nice roll around tool box is great but they're not cheap if you have to buy them. I've inherited a good box stack (lower box is a Plumb that needs some restoration but will work a treat with new draw slides) setup but having a big board to hang tools on is where I'd start.

And the idea of using a low wide dresser as the starting point for a work bench is genius, $100 would probably go a long way to getting one set up with an added 3/4" ply top and supplies to clean and paint it.

93gsxturbo wrote:

93celicaGT2 wrote: .... Interesting. So the fact that it weighs somewhat over 100lbs doesn't mean anything? I admit, the particle board as the top surface doesn't impress me much, but that's easily remedied. The biggest thing this bench would have to support would probably be a turbo. MAYBE a cylinder head if i'm feeling cheeky. Likely mostly used for soldering projects. Mainly a flat surface for convenience.

I looked online and didnt see a weight but I would be genuinely surprised if it weighed 100 lbs. If you do not plan on permanently anchoring your work bench to your walls or floor, which you probably don't, then weight is your friend. Imagine clamping something a few feet long in a vice and giving it a good tug. The last thing you want is for your work bench to come over on top of you. That sweet unit at Lowes would probably tip right over, or parallelogram if it was anchored to the floor. Before I had these benches I had a used kitchen countertop with a 4x4 lag bolted support structure underneath. It was pretty adequate after we added some of my old roommates weight lifting weights to the bottom shelf to keep it in place. Bigger, stronger, sturdier is always what you are after in a work bench, especially if you are adding a vice to it. Heck, that vice in the pics weighs over 50 lbs by its lonesome. If you will notice, my bench grinder is situated at the back of the bench. I do not have enough real-estate in my garage to dedicate a space for the grinder, so I just slide it out and clamp it to the front of the workbench as needed, then unclamp and slide it back when I am done. Works great.

You are genuinely surprised then. It weighs 104lbs.

I would definitely go for the door thing, trust me. But i don't have the time or the space to make/store something like that.

I'm more looking to see if there's other similar options in the same price range that might have more drawers, or a better top material at this point.

pres589 wrote: 3/4" plywood hung vertically somehow and a box of small trim nails = good cheap tool "storage". A nice roll around tool box is great but they're not cheap if you have to buy them. I've inherited a good box stack (lower box is a Plumb that needs some restoration but will work a treat with new draw slides) setup but having a big board to hang tools on is where I'd start. And the idea of using a low wide dresser as the starting point for a work bench is genius, $100 would probably go a long way to getting one set up with an added 3/4" ply top and supplies to clean and paint it.

Not bad, but you've got to get away from the 3/4" plywood.

It's not heavy enough to beat on or support a vise.

2 layers of 3/4" ply, one layer of ply laid over 2x material, or a solid core door (all of which have been mentioned). These should be considered the minimum.

I've built more than 50 workbenches. Trust me.

My favorite bench in my shop is built from used kitchen cabinets. It was a very sturdy, but ugly set.

I built a 2x4 frame around them, then mounted the whole thing on wheels.

The bench measures about 4'x7' overall. The cabinets are set into the 2 ends for storage. The middle has a lower shelf, and the top is 2x material with plywood overlaying it. It's got 2 vises mounted on 2 different edges, and electric strip outlets on both sides.

I load the bottom shelf with a LOT of tools in cases, and the drawers with small tools. I think there are about 30 drawers overall.

It's heavy, and doesn't roll well. That's a good thing. It's not a go-cart, its a work bench. I can move it with a little effort whenever I want, but it doesn't scoot away when I don't want it to. Using found materials and patience, it can be done easily for under $50.

But since you already said you didn't have the time to build anything, let's throw away this idea, and all the others that have suggested you build anything.

That leaves you with the Lowes unit, and honestly, I've had one and they are not too bad. If you'd like to improve on the particle board top, just overlay it with another layer of plywood. It will serve your purpose.

Go to Lowes and buy a length of formica counter top and get a couple or three drawer bases. You can buy them unfinished and they are cheap.

Total thing should set you back less than $200 and it will be bigger than their prefab work table. I've used this for decades.

Many times the Lowes near me puts out clearance cabinet bases for very, very cheap. Cheaper than the unfinished cabinets

Great ideas, a couple of weeks ago I finally got my butcher block bench together, it is like a 3'x6' solid maple work bench on an old rolling table. I like the idea of finding the cabinetry as a base then putting the whole mess on castors. Everything I can is on rollers.

I just need to move the swivel vise over to the table and mount the whole mess to the table. I'm not going to rely on gravity to do anything good for me, most of the time it just brings pain.

Best bench top I've worked on: old bowling lane. That stuff laughs and asks for more when you whack it.

I appreciate all the ideas, and will definitely be using some of them when i get a garage with more space. Right now, though, the max width i can REALLY go would be 6 feet.

I'm sharing a 2-car garage with my buddy, who happens to have a fully built drift 240/silvia, so there's a LOT of parts and tires laying around the garage. Space IS unfortunately an issue. It'll be quite the adventure trying to figure out how to find space to keep 2 engines around, while swapping a third into the Celica.

I have an older version of the Lowes bench, although it's not in the garage so it doesn't see a lot of use. I was looking at the new version in Lowes the other day.

The top may not hold up to a lot of abusive pounding, but it's easily replaced.

I do like the simple solid-core door on cabinets. Add some heaver casters and a way to temporarily anchor it to a wall when you need to do some serious torquing on a vice and it should be good do go. The only issue I can see may be space - commerically available cabinets may be too deep for the OP's space.

i bought a workbench/shelf "kit" from lowes for mine. it came with brackets and screws, you buy the 2x4 whatever length you like to build the bench, then bolt 2x6 or 2x8 to the top for the workspace. i bought two kits for around $25 each, and built two side sections, then connected the two with the top 2x6 to form an open space in the center for my compressor to tuck into and also have room for a stool to sit at the bench if so desired. the lumber worked out so that the 4' sections leftover from making the top 6' long out of 2x6x10' lumber left me with a couple of peices of 4' 2x6, that i turned into the bottom shelves of the bench for storing jacks, stands, and a portable air tank. i think overall i'm into it for under $100. its plenty sturdy and if you put the top on with carriage bolts, you can break the whole thing down into one-person manageable pieces for moving.

I built mine out of 2X4's and 1/2 inch plywood. When I built the 2X4 frame I probably overbuilt it to stud wall specs, 2X4 every 18 inches w/1/2" plywood on top. 2X4 legs every 6' in front and 4' against the wall. Since I own my garage I fastened it to wall studs. So far has taken everything I've thrown on it. I put an old dresser underneath it for better storage.

In reply to SVreX:

Did someone call you a liar? What's this about "trust"? Anyway, I'm talking about putting a single sheet of the stuff over an old school dresser, the kind that has an inch plus of hardware for a top to begin with. Not some shelving unit from Ikea that snaps together in under 12 minutes.

3/4th ply is versatile. If the existing base material isn't thick enough, double up sheets of 3/4" using Liquid Nails and carriage bolt / washer combination to get it solid enough to beat on.

There's nothing wrong with a 'layered' wood top and there are some advantages. A plywood base panel with a MDF work surface will be cheap, flat and easily replaced when needed. There's no need to glue it down. A few screws will secure it well enough since MDF is quite stable and won't warp. Especially if there's a vice on one end and a grinder on the other.

Another weight trick I've read from wood working mags is the box out the bottom shelf area, seal the joints with silicone and fill the empty space with sand. This will add a lot of weight down low.

IDK how much help this is, but my FIL constructed a rolling workbench out of an old solid core oak door (I think it was an industrial fire door or some such, given the size) and an old hospital gurney. The gurneys were built REALLY strong back in the day, and the tall wheels help it roll over the shop floor good- and with the giant door on it, I have no doubt you could set an engine on it without issue.

I built mine, it is large at 4' x 10', 4x4 legs, framed the top with 2x4s then used 1x 2x10, and 1x 2x12 for the front and back edge with a piece of 3/4 particle board in between, routed recesses into the large board make it all snug, cheap and strong, an LT1 is sitting on it now and there is plenty of room left for workspace.

Also made a shelf underneath with 1x8 boards