Garage Work Bench Plans – Find the Right Design for Building a Simple 2×4 Bench
Jan 20th, 2010 by Andy
A common mistake in looking for garage workbench plans on the Web is to end up with a workbench design made for fine woodworking. As beautiful as these designs may be, it’s certainly not the type of garage workbench many of us are looking for. A European-style, solid maple workbench can easily require an entire shop of expensive woodworking tools just to get the thing built. For those of us who simply need a rough workshop table to fix the mower or replace a bike chain, 2x4s and butt joints are more than adequate to get the job done. Best part about building this type of workbench is that the construction technique is simple enough that we can easily design our own bench style – once we understand the basics of the joinery.
The size and shape of a bench can be just about anything you want it to be. The downloadable guide lets you figure all the dimensions ahead of time. After that, it’s just a matter of getting the lumber home and into your shop or garage. I’ve found that 2x4s are an extremely tough and durable material for building work benches and tables – or anything that needs to withstand a lot of weight (like a house, maybe?). In fact the boards are probably stronger than the really need to be for workbench, but considering how cheap the price can be on these boards (look for “studs” or “sticks” at the lumber store), there’s really no reason to buy anthing else.
Just a quick note for anyone wondering how to get 2x4s home from the lumber store. If you have a pickup, of course you’re set for the job. But for everyone else, I know it’s tempting to shove those studs into your car any way you can figure out how to do it. Consider this for moment, though. For around $20 or so, you can rent a truck (at the home center) to get those boards home — and avoid causing hundreds of dollars of damage to your family car.