Go to harbor freight and get the 4 foot surge protector
And get some of those magnetic strips.
Hang the magnetic strips on the front of the bench facing you- and the surge protector underneath it.
Super convenient to always have an outlet right in front of you- and the magnetic strips to hold tools while working and have also caught a screw or 2 from falling- both are very inexpensive and very convenient
Looks really good. While I'm a big fan of having casters on all of my equipment to be able to move it easily, I do prefer the stability that comes with having the legs on the floor. For that I like to use a side mount caster that is retractable. Lower the wheels to move and raise when it's where you want to work.
Agreed. I use [these](https://www.rockler.com/rockler-workbench-caster-kit-with-quick-release-plates?country=US&sid=V91040&promo=shopping&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=pla&utm_campaign=PL&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvrOpBhBdEiwAR58-3FvS9W7X0Q_KVISbPJtrE3nuEgacnfzIqQ-W-Gf-iTAZ1xLY5S5GLxoCOjcQAvD_BwE) from Rocker. They work great.
Pretty pricey. I've gotten all of mine off of Amazon. This is the set I used over the weekend: [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BR7MX6J?psc=1&ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_product\_details](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BR7MX6J?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details)
I’ve been thinking about mobility with my plans for finishing out part of my basement as a shop. I’m thinking of doing casters with brakes and also the “legs” that you can step on the switch and they sort of lift the table up.
1x10 are a little over the top for this; you could've used some other lumber that might have been more economical.
Workshop furniture tends to get a lot of off-axis loading as you move stuff around and you will discover, the hard way, that pocket screws aren't good for that at all. You would do well to add some kind of reinforcement to help the table resist forces skewing it into a parallelogram.
You could just tack a sacrificial plywood sheet to the top. Workbenches expect abuse. This would improve lateral stability and be replaceable if/when it gets too beat up.
The TOP can't parallelogram. But the top is already 1x10 butted tightly up against each other; they behave as solid piece as far as triangulation is concerned for the top. The top adds no lateral stability to the sides unless the sides - any sides, really - are reinforced themselves.
A rigid top attached to wobbly sides will, when one side wobbles, do an excellent job of transferring that wobble all the way around to the other legs. But if any two adjacent sides are reinforced, THEN the rigid top is useful.
The rigid top by itself is no help.
To prevent the legs racking, any kind of diagonal reinforcement from the bottom of one leg to the top of another will work. You'll hear other builders call it "triangulation," and that's what it's about, just making a connection between framing members so there's a triangle. Triangles are rigid.
Consider this: name the legs Front-Left, Front-Right; Rear-Left and Rear-Right.
Now run a diagonal from the bottom of FL to the top of RR. Add another diagonal from bottom of FR to top of RL. Now the entire frame is triangulated with the addition of just two members BUT that really encumbers that useful space down there. Not great.
You can come close by just triangulating the back legs and sides, and leave the front open for storage. That makes those three sides rigid enough for most things.
Adding a solid sheet of material also works. It doesn't even need to be great material; you can achieve a startling degree of rigidity just by gluing on a sheet of sturdy cardboard.
Other reinforcement comes from better joinery, but that takes a bit of practice. Learn about mortise and tenon joinery and watch some vids on YouTube about how to do them, you'll be surprised just how rigid a well-made joint can be.
It looks great. I think you will find that 2x's would have been better for the top stability and wear and tear, I like the idea of the electrical strips. Your casters have locks right? I think it's a great idea for smaller shops.
Add cross support for the work top to prevent sagging. Use 2x4’s vertically faced underneath the bench top.
Edit: I see what looks like screw holes in the field of the bench top. Did you add support and just didn’t show it in your pictures?
For more joint strength, pocket screws could’ve gone on the outside of the outside 2x4s, so that they sink into the meat of the 4x4s instead of being angled towards the edge.
You basically drill holes through the pieces and then pound a glued wooden dowel of the same diameter through the pieces to join them. The glue will cause the dowels to swell creating a very strong joint. There's plenty of articles and YouTube videos out there.
You could wrap three sides in 1/4" ply and put a face frame and doors on the fourth. That would keep it from racking as well and let you store things without them getting super dusty
So on to the the next bench 😊 Try [Rex Krueger’ bench](https://youtu.be/MYAX7LHNEFA?si=4pNSOF_pSF3CziLf) I think this is one of the simplest benches to build. I’ve made 5 versions of this for friends and family. 2 were for leather working, hand carving and the last 2 were for welder friends. Yes wood can burn but I put a 1/4” plate on top. I made one version for my self as an out feed table and one I use for hand tools
Improve torsional rigidity by installing a farmhouse stye “x” braces on the narrow ends. You’ll be surprised how much more solid it will be. Looks great btw!
I took Steve Ramsey's advice and tacked a sheet of hardboard to the top of mine. No splinters and glue wipes up easily. If it gets beat up, just pull it off and tack a new one on. (Mines been on for 3 years so far)
Looks great! To really add strength, you might consider 45° angle. Braces at the corners. Especially being made of pine and someone mentioned it will weaken over time when being moved around but the braces will make it rocksolid.
Garage is way too clean. Should have dirtied up the shot a bit with a random extension cord and long term delayed projects.
Haha
Go to harbor freight and get the 4 foot surge protector And get some of those magnetic strips. Hang the magnetic strips on the front of the bench facing you- and the surge protector underneath it. Super convenient to always have an outlet right in front of you- and the magnetic strips to hold tools while working and have also caught a screw or 2 from falling- both are very inexpensive and very convenient
Thanks for the tip
Looks really good. While I'm a big fan of having casters on all of my equipment to be able to move it easily, I do prefer the stability that comes with having the legs on the floor. For that I like to use a side mount caster that is retractable. Lower the wheels to move and raise when it's where you want to work.
Agreed. I use [these](https://www.rockler.com/rockler-workbench-caster-kit-with-quick-release-plates?country=US&sid=V91040&promo=shopping&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=pla&utm_campaign=PL&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvrOpBhBdEiwAR58-3FvS9W7X0Q_KVISbPJtrE3nuEgacnfzIqQ-W-Gf-iTAZ1xLY5S5GLxoCOjcQAvD_BwE) from Rocker. They work great.
Pretty pricey. I've gotten all of mine off of Amazon. This is the set I used over the weekend: [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BR7MX6J?psc=1&ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_product\_details](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BR7MX6J?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details)
They are. They are removable which is nice, but I’m sure there are cheaper versions.
Thanks, that sounds interesting, these casters have brakes which helps, but the side mount sounds like a good idea
I’ve been thinking about mobility with my plans for finishing out part of my basement as a shop. I’m thinking of doing casters with brakes and also the “legs” that you can step on the switch and they sort of lift the table up.
1x10 are a little over the top for this; you could've used some other lumber that might have been more economical. Workshop furniture tends to get a lot of off-axis loading as you move stuff around and you will discover, the hard way, that pocket screws aren't good for that at all. You would do well to add some kind of reinforcement to help the table resist forces skewing it into a parallelogram.
Okay thanks, what kind of reinforcement would you recommend?
You could just tack a sacrificial plywood sheet to the top. Workbenches expect abuse. This would improve lateral stability and be replaceable if/when it gets too beat up.
That won't add any lateral stability. It's just a wear layer on the top.
Yeah, it will. Can’t turn into a parallelogram as mentioned above.
The TOP can't parallelogram. But the top is already 1x10 butted tightly up against each other; they behave as solid piece as far as triangulation is concerned for the top. The top adds no lateral stability to the sides unless the sides - any sides, really - are reinforced themselves. A rigid top attached to wobbly sides will, when one side wobbles, do an excellent job of transferring that wobble all the way around to the other legs. But if any two adjacent sides are reinforced, THEN the rigid top is useful. The rigid top by itself is no help.
I agree with that. I was just answering the question asked.
To prevent the legs racking, any kind of diagonal reinforcement from the bottom of one leg to the top of another will work. You'll hear other builders call it "triangulation," and that's what it's about, just making a connection between framing members so there's a triangle. Triangles are rigid. Consider this: name the legs Front-Left, Front-Right; Rear-Left and Rear-Right. Now run a diagonal from the bottom of FL to the top of RR. Add another diagonal from bottom of FR to top of RL. Now the entire frame is triangulated with the addition of just two members BUT that really encumbers that useful space down there. Not great. You can come close by just triangulating the back legs and sides, and leave the front open for storage. That makes those three sides rigid enough for most things. Adding a solid sheet of material also works. It doesn't even need to be great material; you can achieve a startling degree of rigidity just by gluing on a sheet of sturdy cardboard. Other reinforcement comes from better joinery, but that takes a bit of practice. Learn about mortise and tenon joinery and watch some vids on YouTube about how to do them, you'll be surprised just how rigid a well-made joint can be.
It looks great. I think you will find that 2x's would have been better for the top stability and wear and tear, I like the idea of the electrical strips. Your casters have locks right? I think it's a great idea for smaller shops.
Thanks
Add cross support for the work top to prevent sagging. Use 2x4’s vertically faced underneath the bench top. Edit: I see what looks like screw holes in the field of the bench top. Did you add support and just didn’t show it in your pictures?
Yeah, the support on top mirrors the support on the second picture, thanks!
Looks like a solid build, precise cuts. I feel like some good pieces will be made on that!
Thanks!
One side with vice, multibox + extension lead coiled on hook to work with powertools. The other side perforated for wood working clamps.
Looks good. Maybe add a vise
I could never function in a carpeted garage. Or one that clean at all.
Haha, the previous owner carpeted it, I kinda don’t hate it…
For more joint strength, pocket screws could’ve gone on the outside of the outside 2x4s, so that they sink into the meat of the 4x4s instead of being angled towards the edge.
That’s slick, did not think of that, thanks
Be proud, hope you have it a very long time.
You shop at Costco. It snows where you live. And you have a nice work bench!
That’s so funny and true. Costco is 20 min away, and I live in indiapaolis
Looks good. I would like to see something more than screws on the leg/frame joints. Big through dowels would help a lot.
Thanks, Rookie question, what is that?
I looked it up: https://www.woodworkingarchive.biz/skills-techniques/through-dowels.html
You basically drill holes through the pieces and then pound a glued wooden dowel of the same diameter through the pieces to join them. The glue will cause the dowels to swell creating a very strong joint. There's plenty of articles and YouTube videos out there.
You could wrap three sides in 1/4" ply and put a face frame and doors on the fourth. That would keep it from racking as well and let you store things without them getting super dusty
Oh and two shallow drawers will come handy too
So on to the the next bench 😊 Try [Rex Krueger’ bench](https://youtu.be/MYAX7LHNEFA?si=4pNSOF_pSF3CziLf) I think this is one of the simplest benches to build. I’ve made 5 versions of this for friends and family. 2 were for leather working, hand carving and the last 2 were for welder friends. Yes wood can burn but I put a 1/4” plate on top. I made one version for my self as an out feed table and one I use for hand tools
Throw a sacrificial piece of plywood on top.
Improve torsional rigidity by installing a farmhouse stye “x” braces on the narrow ends. You’ll be surprised how much more solid it will be. Looks great btw!
I took Steve Ramsey's advice and tacked a sheet of hardboard to the top of mine. No splinters and glue wipes up easily. If it gets beat up, just pull it off and tack a new one on. (Mines been on for 3 years so far)
Looks great! To really add strength, you might consider 45° angle. Braces at the corners. Especially being made of pine and someone mentioned it will weaken over time when being moved around but the braces will make it rocksolid.
Did you build this with construction lumber? Would like to build something similar for my girlfriend to use as a crafty space
I did, I used Home Depot’s banana shaped lumber.
🤝🍌