Does anyone have any good pictures or plans for building a workbench in a garage? I have an outside bare bones garage which fits 2 plus vehicles. Wired with 110/220. Need a home for a bench grinder and vise at a minimum.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/diver45/shop.jpg

Thanx in advanced.

 

It's not really hard...I built one out of some 2x4's and scrap plywood, although for mounting a vise I'd say make the top out of some heavy (3/4") plywood, and just make a "frame" for the top out of 2x6's, along with bracing and some stout legs.

 

I do have some things in mind but was looking for some ideas. I plan on using 1 maybe 2 sheets of plywood plus a sheet of Aluminum or sheet metal for the bench top. Just want to do it right the first time. Appreciate the input.

 

dont know if you thought about where to put it yet, but under those stairs looks like prime realestate to me. i would start by measuring that space(if thats where your going to put it) and go from there.

 

That's a good call. That far corner is right where I plan on starting and building out from there. Just need to make sure my VICE is in the right area and doesn't get blocked by the stairs or the corner wall if I have something long.

Like that's ever going to happen !

 

I built my workbenches out of MDF, much in the same manner that kitchen cabinetry from home centers are built. Instead of stapling them together, I used glue and doweled them for strength. To give a nice finish, I covered the MDF sides and fronts with tongue-and-groove cedar strips, then stained them.

The tops are MDF as well, also doweled to the sides/fronts/backs however I didn't glue them down so as they become "beaten to hell and back" they are easily replaced - lift off, drill new tops (for the dowels), then drop down and paint.

I painted the MDF tops with rustoleum's hammer finish paint, which is very tough and wears much better than ordinary paint. Bedliner material might also be a good choice.

MDF is cheap and very easy to work with....

I use one garage bay as a "shop" so everything is nailed down and compressed together as tightly as possible - the joy of having more tools/machinery than space. But for a vast open space like yours, you may consider putting locking casters on some of your workbenches, so you can roll them around and possibly push several together for bigger projects, almost like sawhorses. In my old place I had done that and found it very useful. I viewed each workbench as a "workstation", which one machine on it and the drawers were full of tooling/cutters/parts for that machine. The machines would be mounted on one end, leaving the rest of the workbench open for projects. If I needed more space, I'd push two workbenches together, with the machines far apart, giving me a much longer (or wider) table to work on, depending what I was doing.

2x4 construction is also good, and been done a million times I imagine. Any basic design you see on the 'net will work fine, and if you want to support fast weight you'll want to triangulate the legs a bit so it can't go from a rectangular shape to a parallelogram shape under load.

Metal works very well as you know - angle iron, square or rectangular tubing, et al.

Even old metal office desks make nice workbenches, if you install taller legs or install casters, then put a new "top" of MDF or other replacable material on it as a work surface. Then you'll have drawers for tools and parts for whatever you put on the workbenches.

 

I made a frame out of 1 1/4'' steel angle and laid 2 sheets of 3/4'' plywood in side of it and thru bolted the top. Makes a strong flat table that you can easy use clamps on the edge.
Charlie

 

Nice shop space!

Another stout work bench with simple construction is made from 4x4 posts, mine are pressure-treated, with 2x4 framing and 1 1/8" plywood top. Out of good lumber, not the utility stuff with splits and loose knots. The vice is mounted at a corner of the framing for support. And an 8' long piece of 1/4" steel sheet on top to weld and bang on.

Your big shop looks like it could fit this 32' long workbench (it extends thru the wall into the office). Never have enough bench space :~)

 

I built this one a couple years ago and it's worked out pretty well in 2 different garages. I didn't spend any time squaring off the laminated 2x4's or anything. You can break it down if needed. With your space and frederic's suggestion, I'd build a few of these with some locking wheels on the bottom, the main benefit being that you can roll it (or them) away from the wall if you're working with big pieces.

 

The bench in my garage is a 14' long mis-ordered kitchen laminate counter top from our kitchen. Nice beveled edge w/ matching backsplash. Built a 2x4 frame under w/ shelf. Looks nice and is easy to clean up.

BTW, the screw up was on the suppliers end so the top was free!!