Advise on building a workbench cheaply

[Jacob s white]

I want to build a workbench but am unsure of how to any advice is appreciated

[Ed Mitchell]

Anarchists Workbench is probably the best work on the subject
and there's a free download link on the page, too

https://lostartpress.com/products/the-anarchists-workbench

but you can just sit on the floor and have no workbench, japanese-style. Nothing cheaper than that. All depends how you're willing to work and what your budget is

[Zachary Hoyt]

I have a "workbench" which is a 2'x8' piece of 3/4" plywood with a Columbian WW vise at one end and a machinist's vise at the other. I got it for $10 at an auction about 12 years ago and made a set of primitive wooden legs for it. My other two "workbenches" are 2'x6' and 2'x7' MDF topped tables on casters that I got at a closed furniture factory auction for $3 each. They were both originally 8 feet long and lower, but I reconfigured them to fit the spaces where they are and for my height. They have protective layers of paint up to 1/8" thick in places on the frame 2x4s, from their previous life. I'm happy with all of these. Although they are ugly and odd, I am too, so we fit in together.

[Andrew More]

You probably want to wait for the lumber market to calm down a bit. This matters because basically a bench is going to be one of the most lumber intensive projects possible, so you want to be able to buy lumber by the pound as cheap as possible. Currently southern yellow pine, considered by Chris Swartz to be the optimal pick, is going for about $25 for No. 1 2x12x8', which is about $2 per bf. Chris advises people to use SYP because it's usually cheap, going for about half that amount of more, and the resulting benches are rock hard after the wood has dried out, and the resin cured for a year or so.

Calling around to my local lumber yards I was able to get hardwood for $2 a bf, or less. Probably could have saved money if I had bought the beech, but they didn't have any boards that were long enough.

In a few months all the inflation scares should be over, and Covid-19 no longer effecting production, allowing prices to revert to normal.

[David Bassett]

Ed pointed out the Anarchist's Workbench book. It's nice it's free, but it really covers only Christopher Schwarz's conclusions, i.e. a Roubo out of construction grade lumber. His earlier workbench books, through PopWood's publishing arm, cover many modern models and discuss tradeoffs. His Ingenious Mechanicks book discusses older "workbenches", one literally a bench with some work holding features might be your cheapest option, but it's not like what you're thinking about. :) LAP has just republished Scott Landis's The Workbench Book, with other different ideas. Be sure to look up the Moravian bench (Ken will be along, I'm sure.) With cheaper woods, it shouldn't be too expensive and clearly gives a nice result.

For the absolute cheapest "real" or "traditional" bench I don't think you can do better than the Nicholson, or English Joiner's, Bench. Mike Siemsen's "The Naked Woodworker" video describes starting with nothing, then rehab'ing tools, building saw benches, and finishes by building a Nicholson bench with simple handtools from construction lumber. (Don't worry, it's naked as in without tools or experience, not unclothed.) The DVD is out of print, but it's still available for download.

[Andrew Seemann]

The biggest question to ask yourself (and give us the answer because it will help guide our responses) is what do you plan to do with the bench.

A bench used to plane rough cut lumber into four-squared boards will look different than one used to carve duck decoys and different than one used for assembling piano soundboards and different than one for sharpening chisels and planes.

Despite the claims of some authors, there is no "all purpose bench". Some will do many things reasonably well, and some do only one thing well, but do it really well. Bench height is one of the biggest functions of intended use. Other considerations are top material (hardwood, softwood, Formica, plywood, MDF, HDF, steel); top size; open underneath or shelves, drawers; whether the bench is intentionally heavy or not, whether is mobile, etc.

Myself, I have four benches in roughly a rectangular configuration, each a different design due to the intended purpose (or because I got it for free:) ). The bench area of the shop is below.
453355


My "hand tool" bench is a Scandinavian style Tage Frid bench, and is about 33 inches high, which for me, with my long arms and shorter legs, is comfortable to plane on. It has a maple top so as to be friendly to hand tool edges and be easy to see things on it. It does not have wheels so it doesn't rock or move when I plane on it. It has dog holes and a tail vise to hold boards for planing and chiseling, and works well for holding things for the electric router. The shoulder vise is good for dovetailing as well as holding boards in conjunction with the board jack for edge jointing. Though I call it a hand tool bench, its dogs and vises make it handy for power tools as well.
453356


My assembly bench doubles as the outfeed table for my Unisaw, so the height matches the saw at 36 inches. It has a 3' x 7' torsion box top covered with white Formica, and drawers beneath. One side of the top overhangs by a foot so I can sit under it for drafting and other work where I want to sit. It is on locking casters so I can move it away from the saw for access all around for things like finishing. The drawers store my most used layout tools, my cordless drills, plans, drafting supplies, small power tools, safety gear, and finish nailers, among other things.
453357


My sharpening bench has a 2' x 4' Formica top for water resistance, and has drawers and a shelf underneath for storing sharpening and other supplies. It looks like a 1909 cherry kitchen cabinet because it was my "audition" to my wife to build our kitchen cabinets in our old house. In case anyone is wondering, I passed the audition :) It is on locking casters and is 36 inches tall, so I can use it as outboard support for the table saw if needed.
453358


The last bench is one I inherited from my dad, and was the original workbench we used when I was growing up. It has a plywood top, because I needed a top and happened to have a piece that size. It actually is a 1912 kitchen cabinet, and served as the prototype for my sharpening bench and cherry kitchen of my 1909 house. I use it as a place to set things on while I am working on the other benches and for gluing up and finishing small items.
453359

[Rick Potter]

You asked for cheap, Jacob.

Here are two ways. Both start with a $10 used plain solid core door from Habitat for Humanity's ReStore, in many towns.

Then:

1. Put the door across two cheap sawhorses, bought or built.

OR

2. Go to Home Depot and get two straight 2X4 studs. Lag bolt one to the garage wall to hold one side, cut the other in half and trim to whatever height fits you, and screw it to the door for front legs. Option: put the legs at a 45 angle back to the wall for legs that are not in the way.

Either way is a dirt cheap starter bench. Use it for a couple years then build something better if needed.


PS: Bonus CHEAP bench. Goodwill stores often have really heavy old desks for sale for $20 or so. Now you have a bench with drawers. If lucky you will find a newer office desk made of 1 1/4" thick MDF on the top, covered in Formica, with metal legs. Bingo.

Cheap enough?

[Malcolm McLeod]

Two possibilities from FWW:
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2009/09/16/still-dont-have-a-workbench-this-one-is-easy

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2010/08/04/a-workbench-anybody-can-build

There is another option that escaped my quick search, but I saw it in one of the recent FWW Tools & Shops issues (maybe this year? ... maybe last?). It was built from 3 sheets of 3/4" ply if memory serves.

[Michael Cuthriell]

This is old so the costs will be more. You can adjust it to any size you desire. I built two along these lines and have never had an issue. I used leg vises vs what he recommends here because I had the hardware already.
https://cdn.popularwoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10//175Workbench2.pdf

[Stan Calow]

You said cheaply. My first bench was 2x4s with a double layer of 3/4 plywood on top. Second was a solid-core closet door ($5 at Habitat Restore) on top of surplus kitchen cabinets. Third was a steel frame restaurant table from Sams Club. Finally bought a small Sjoberg bench, but all the other tables are still in use. If you want a good top, you can buy butcher block maple tops from Harbor Freight among others, and build a sturdy base with 2xs.

[Ron Citerone]

You asked for cheap, Jacob.

Here are two ways. Both start with a $10 used plain solid core door from Habitat for Humanity's ReStore, in many towns.

Then:

1. Put the door across two cheap sawhorses, bought or built.

OR

2. Go to Home Depot and get two straight 2X4 studs. Lag bolt one to the garage wall to hold one side, cut the other in half and trim to whatever height fits you, and screw it to the door for front legs. Option: put the legs at a 45 angle back to the wall for legs that are not in the way.

Either way is a dirt cheap starter bench. Use it for a couple years then build something better if needed.


PS: Bonus CHEAP bench. Goodwill stores often have really heavy old desks for sale for $20 or so. Now you have a bench with drawers. If lucky you will find a newer office desk made of 1 1/4" thick MDF on the top, covered in Formica, with metal legs. Bingo.

Cheap enough?

I like it. I used some old 2 x 6 pressure treated from a deck rebuild for the legs and apron for an outdoor fish cleaning table and work bench. Has been great for my portable table saw and miter saw. If you want a flat surfce, the habitat for humanity door would be great as a top.

[glenn bradley]

You gave no requirements so your responses will be all over the board. Two saw horses and a hollow core door at one end. Dimensional lumber on the other. Both versions can be fully or partially scrounged. What kind of work do you want to do? that will define your bench requirements cheap or not.

[Robert Engel]

You gave no requirements so your responses will be all over the board. Two saw horses and a hollow core door at one end. Dimensional lumber on the other. Both versions can be fully or partially scrounged. What kind of work do you want to do? that will define your bench requirements cheap or not.

This^^^^^^^^

[Scott Brader]

I built the Rob Cosman bench and I love it. It took two sheets of 3/4" MDF and two sheets of 3/4" BB plywood. It has a Sjoberg vise and dogs. I love it and it works great! It only took a weekend to build.

453545

[Jim Matthews]

Materials can be scavenged from Craigslist free offerings.
If your budget has some room in it, Bob Van Dyke's design is sturdy and adequate.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2011/11/22/build-your-first-workbench-2

[Justin Rapp]

I built a bench using a butcher block countertop from the big box store. It was 39" wide so I took off 9 inches and ripped that down and used the spare material to make a skirt around the top to give it some more depth. I then used 2x6 and 4x4 construction lumber to make the base.

I added a front and end vice and it's been a great improvement over the folding table I was using

[Matthew Hills]

How cheap are you looking to go?

If planning to use with handtools, some designs to have on your radar:
Mike Siemsen (https://duckduckgo.com/?q=the+naked+woodworker&t=osx&ia=web) has a nice video on buying a few handtools and building an english-style workbench from construction lumber and not needing a vise.
Paul Sellers has a basic bench (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9W9xQS-EdQ&t=) from construction lumber and a plywood-based bench (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53PrmkFpdI0) that might be easier with a table saw; both use a basic quick-release vise.
Rob Cosman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0kN1URBUUQ) has an MDF-based bench designed to have a low entry barrier
Will Myers's Moravian Workbench (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKI4aQtIRlg) is a nice workbench that can be broken down. This is designed around a wood vise screw..
Chris Schwarz has a couple of books about benches. Last year he had a couple of video blog entries (https://blog.lostartpress.com/category/workbenches/) reviewing various designs.

[Rick Potter]

It seems our OP got lost

[Marc Jeske]

No matter what kind of bench, it is always good to have the top overhang on all sides 2-3" to allow clamping work to table.

Marc

[BOB OLINGER]

FWIW, I purchased 3 workbenches at HF and attached them together. I'm not sure, but I recall the cost for each was less than $75. Each had drawers, vise, laminated top. Works great for me. I don't see how you can get more for the money?

[Jim Dwight]

You might want to google "new fangled workbench" for a FWW design that would be very cheap to build but quite non conventional.

In a whole different direction, Jay Bates is a youtuber who built the same bench of softwood and hickory (a very hard wood). He liked the softwood one better. You might want to look at his video to understand why.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

We got some very good advices here, but I would like also to join to the thread.

1. Are you going to work with power tools or hand tools? Hand tools usually demand a heavier bench and appropriate height. For power tools bench, you can consider even torsion box type benches and CNC drilled standard holes... different designs

2. The size of the stuff you will use on your bench. Of course if you make only jewel's box or pens, your needs are different if you make frequently full size wardrobes. They will define the size of your bench

3. How much disposable money you have for that project? The "ideal workbench" would have a ton of features and would cost a lot of money. The other extreme is to use a couple of sawhorses and some slab, or even to use some 2×2 direct on floor...

When I decided for a workbench for hand tools I decided for an English model with no vises (they are very convenient but high quality items come high tag prices), instead of them I went to hold fasts. I spent (the equivalent to) US$ 50 for four handmade hold fasts, US$ in raw lumber, and another US$ 50 for miscellaneous stuff. I am plenty satisfied with it.

Good luck in your project.

[Mark Gibney]

Some great and practical advice on here. I’m interested to see what the OP think, if he returns.
Friends recently asked me about making them a desk and bookshelves. But covid has hit their budget and I couldn’t make them something for what they could afford so we looked on c’list FREE. There are so many desks and shelves on there daily for free or very little. LA is a big city but even if the OP lives someplace smaller it’s a good bet that within a few weeks he’ll find something to get himself up and running.

I used tight grained “kiln dried” Doug fir 2x4s that I dried further, for the top, and 4x6s i scavenged from construction sites for the base. The cost was mostly my time.

[Jacob s white]

I plan on doing small furniture boxes stuff like that and some carving and am going to not use a vise but make a crochet and use holdfasts thank you for all the information and suggestions