Sturdy DIY Workbench
A new bench that’s heavy enough it can’t be pushed around, but doesn’t cost a ton of money to build? You bet! And that’s a good thing for you.
This simple but sturdy workbench ticks all the boxes when it comes to a reliable woodshop workcenter. It’s made of a trio of fairly economical materials — “two-by” Douglas fir forms the skeleton, pegboard in the sides, and MDF for the shelf and the top. Plus, all this stuff is available at local hardware stores and home centers. As simple as it is, this bench will answer the call of duty on multiple fronts. If you need a large flat surface to assemble a project, or repair a chair, you’ve got it here. But your more focused woodworking desires aren’t shortchanged either, notice the heavy duty vise bolted to the front. Also, the wood jaw has a pair of dog holes that align to the holes in the top. So if planing, scraping, or most any other woodworking task is at hand, you’ll be able to tackle them with your material held firmly in place. The subject of how much shop storage you should have is similar to the age-old clamp conundrum — you can’t have too much storage, or too many clamps. That’s especially true when you look at the cabinet here that sits on the shelf of the workbench. So, let's see — a new bench, with added storage options, it’s a win-win on all accounts. If you so desire you could probably build this bench in a weekend (maybe one of those long weekends). But what’s the hurry? This strong bench is going to give you years of service, so take your time and have fun while making this ally for your shop adventures.
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What You Get:
- 10 pages of step-by-step instructions
- Over 50 full-color photos and illustrations and exploded views
- Hardware sources and materials list
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Similar Woodsmith Plans
Imperial Plans
The United States Customary System of Units (USCS or USC), more commonly referred to as the English or Imperial system, is the standard set of units for our plans. It uses inches and feet for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are in the United States, and it is the one we have traditionally offered on this website.
Metric Plans
The International System of Units (SI), more commonly referred to as the metric system, is the alternative set of units that we have available for some of our plans. It uses millimeters, centimeters, and meters for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are outside the United States. These plans are provided by our business partner, Australian Woodsmith, and are based on the original Woodsmith plan. However, dimensions and other elements of the plan may vary between the metric and standard versions. Be sure to double-check the plan before building.
Premium Plans
All of the information that you need to build our plans can be found in the standard plan. However, if you want even more granular detail to make your job easier, you should consider our premium plans. These come with additional shop diagrams that we drew when creating the prototypes. Shop drawings are not available for every plan.