Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

mashupbabylon t1_j26yxoa wrote

Unless you plan on putting huge amounts of weight and stress on the work bench, screws will be fine. I have a couple benches made with 2x4s and screws and they have held up fine for years. You could likely get a free plan from Anawhite.com or from some YouTuber. That way you leave the guess work and doubts behind. Good luck and remember to have fun!

14

CaptInsane OP t1_j26zl06 wrote

Probably the bulk of the weight would be my fat ass to be honest. But thanks for the suggestion. I forgot about looking into a YouTuber like Mattias Wendel

9

nolotusnote t1_j271vtf wrote

There's a bit of gold in the comment above.

anawhite.com is a goldmine.

14

lordicarus t1_j27qda8 wrote

I built a work bench that is 8' long with 2x4s and 1/2" ply on top. It's just 12" on center 2x4 across the top (edit for clarity, the bench is 24" deep so there are 3x 2x4s for the top and bottom surfaces), same thing for a shelf on the bottom, with 2x4s for the legs cut flush with the bottom of the shelf, with caster wheels mounted to the bottom. It's incredibly sturdy and has had nearly 500lbs of stuff on it multiple times.

  • 9x 2x4s
  • 4x wheels (2x were locking)
  • 1x 1/2" plywood sheet
  • 60x 2.5" deck screws
  • 16x 1.5" screws for the wheels

Took about 1.5 hours to build.

Unless you're looking to store bags of concrete on it, lags would be way overkill.

3

CrazyLlama71 t1_j27iiw4 wrote

Yup. My current work bench is 2x4s and a free solid core door (trimmed down) screwed together with 2 1/2” galvanized screws. It’s 14 years old now and just as solid as day one. In matter of fact, this is the 3rd home for the door as a work bench. Prior to this location it was at the last as a work bench for 8 years, I flipped it over for its new location.

1

boulderbuford t1_j27pl4w wrote

That's a quick & easy solution that can work fine for very light-duty workbenches used for crafts, electrical work, and power tools.

But not for hand tools. If the OP is planning to use hand tools the racking from that effort will loosen up deck screws very quickly.

Also, I've seen some ana white projects that didn't take into account seasonal wood expansion. So, I'd probably look for a quick & easy solution from fine woodworking or some other more reputable source.

1

rdmille t1_j282dxp wrote

New Yankee Workshop has video and plans for a workbench, along with Norm's commentary about what to use, where, and why (IIRC, it was 20 years ago I built mine).

If you build one, there might be a mistake in the measurements for cutting the notches in the feet. Or maybe it was mine.

1