What do you do with corner space?

[Raymond Fries]

I am thinking about building some work benches in my garage. Across the front and going into the left corner will be a 28" - 30" deep bench; butted against that and going down the side wall will be a 20" - 22" deep bench.

I was wondering if anyone has benches that span across two walls and meet in a corner? If you do, what have you done with the space above the bench in the corner. It seems that it would be a little hard to reach for anything on a peg board or shelf.

[Bill Brehme]

Maybe a corner cabinet/shelf about 2' above the bench so that you could still utilize the corner part of the workbench: laying a door on, etc...;)

[glenn bradley]

How about a corner cabinet with framed peg board doors? It could hold items you seldom use that would normally take up "handy" shelf space. In my shop that could be unopened DNA, laquer thinner, mineral spirits or canned spray paints and finishes. Unusal fasteners, overstock biscuits, steel wool, and sandpaper. Things I need to stock but don't use until opened. The door(s) would then provide a peg board surface that was within reach.

I have some shelves in an odd spot that were sized to hold quarts of chemicals that I always keep on hand. The cabinet could be sized to a specific function as well. You could also mount a light underneath to chase the shadows out of the corner.

[Gary Keedwell]

I have two 8' benches that both stop short of the corner. One stops 3' and the other 8'. In that space I have the drill press in the corner and mortiser next to it.
GK

[Bill Huber]

How about a lazy Susan, you could make one really easy and it could hold tons of things in a really small space.


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[Stan Smith]

I've found that corners are great places for clamp racks. If you put the long clamp racks up high, you can reach them by holding the lower end of the clamp. There's still room for a 2nd rack below for shorter clamps. No problem in mounting them above the workbench.

Stan

[Todd Kinsfather]

Compressor
Dust Collector if you can still get to it to empty the bags
Less-used-tools-corral on mobile bases
Folded up miter saw stands like Rigid MSUV Etc.

[Steve Wargo]

As mentioned, Clamp racks, Vacuum bag storage (I have a few), and dust collector in my corners. The last corner has a diagonal set of shelves, with more clamps under them.

[Raymond Fries]

Wow - These are all great ideas.

Thanks Guys! Now I have a new problem - I need more corners! LOL

[willie sobat]

I just finished these for the corner in my shop.

76701

[Jim Kountz]

Corners? Oh you mean crap collectors right? :oSee in my shop everything that doesnt have an official place collects in the corner! I have plumbing pipe, an old level that doesnt work, brooms, shovels, rakes etc all leaning in the corner by the door. Corners are great for leaning all the crap I have that has no other home!!:D:D:D:D

[Ken Shoemaker]

I personally like the Lazy Suzan idea. If I had room for one I'd make mine like this;

Get a couple of 3/4" black pipe (about a foot long), threaded on both ends. Get the connectors to put them together. Cut the approprate circles from plywood and drill a slightly oversized hole in the center. Put a beg in the woork bench and slip a pipe over with a connector on the end. Then just put on a circle, a connector, circle, connector and use the NPY fitting at top to stablize it to the ceiling.

Now make bins, screw on bottles etc.

I think it would be cheap, functional, and a great use of lost space.

If I had more room, trust me, I'd be posting a picture!!!! God Luck - Ken

[Jim Dunn]

I am thinking about building some work benches in my garage. Across the front and going into the left corner will be a 28" - 30" deep bench; butted against that and going down the side wall will be a 20" - 22" deep bench.

I was wondering if anyone has benches that span across two walls and meet in a corner? If you do, what have you done with the space above the bench in the corner. It seems that it would be a little hard to reach for anything on a peg board or shelf.

Instead of making the corners the same depth as the rest of the benches step them back a little, or a lot. I ran into a similar design problem with a door opening and decided that I would step the work bench from 28" deep to just 14". I had to do it to allow full opening of a door but it made that area in the corner accessable.

[David Giles]

Open corners are wonderful places to store oddball items. Even 8-12" is enough. What goes into the lower corners? A broom, a big face frame clamping board, the EZ Smart table, lots of smaller jigs. One corner is dedicated to all rough cut lumber needed for the current project. A 12"wide x 18" deep x 8' high corner can hold 144 BF of raw wood, theoretically.

Upper corners are reserved for long clamps and items that are needed, but rarely used.

I'd disagree with using corners for a drill press. After adding an auxiliary table and fence, the darn thing takes up 3ft of wall on each side. I didn't have 6ft of wall to spare. Moving it to the other end of the garage shop was one of the best organization choices yet.

If I ever build a new shop, every corner will be an open corner.

[frank shic]

i just leave that space alone... building a corner cabinet is a pain for me!