A few weeks back I built a new workbench.  I have an excellent plan that I recommend from Amazon.com.  It includes six different upgrades to the bench.  I really liked the workbench drawers upgrade that is in the plan and I decided to build those and attach to my bench.  I’ll include links to the plan and what I used at the bottom of this post in case you want more information.

Materials

For lumber, I purchased everything I needed at Lowe’s.  The plan called for using MDF for the frame of the shelf.  I’ve only used MDF a couple of times and I’ve never been happy with it.  I wanted to give it another shot, but my opinion still stands.  It’s cheap and easy to handle, but everything about it just feels like Extremely Heavy thick cardboard.  It dings easy, doesn’t hold screws very well, and you just get the feeling that about 1 oz. of water poured on it and the whole thing would swell up and fall apart.  That having been said, I suppose if there was ever a good application for this wood a shop project would be it.  Not a lot of lumber is required for this.  My total cost for the shelf of drawers was approx. $50.

• (1) 3/4″ x 4′ x 8′ MDF
• (3) 1/4″ x 2′ x 4′ Hardwood (You could buy larger pieces and cut down, but I had some scrap I wanted to use)
• (4) 1″ x 4″ x 8′ Pine Boards

Milling & Assembly

	After rough cutting my lumber per the plan.  I then cut grooves that were 1/4″ wide to support the bottom tray of the drawer.  I completed this by doing two passes on my table saw.  Just as accurate and a little faster than pulling out my router table.
	After cutting all of my grooves I then drilled pocket holes into my boards.  I used my Kreg Jig to do this.  The plan calls for cutting a dado on one end and building your drawer that way.  It’s definitely a little prettier to do that, but I chose to make it quicker (this is for a workbench in my garage not my living room).  Another benefit of using pocket holes instead of a dado was that it shortened the length of two boards per drawer by 1″.  Which allowed me enough room to get an extra side on my 8′ pine board.  I saved some money by doing that.
	I completed the assembly of my drawers using pocket hole screws
	Completed Drawer (1 of 3)
	After completing the drawers it’s time to move on to the case.  I cut 1/4″ grooves into the sides (using the same technique that I used for the drawer bottoms) of the MDF case.
	I built the case using glue and 2″ screws.  I also used hard wood strips inserted into the grooves on the sides to support the drawers.
	I completed building the case, and inserted the drawers.  Next up I attached the two top cleats that will be used to hold the case in place on my workbench.  I glued and screwed them in on top, however in hindsight I think it would have been a tighter fit had I screwed it in from the bottom.

Finishing

Not a lot to finishing this one.
I applied one coat of Danish Oil to the drawers (not the case).  I also attached some handles to the drawers.

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I’ve had a workbench that I made about 8 years ago.  It was truly a basic workbench.  Four legs and a top.  What I truly want in my shop is a bunch of cabinets with hard counter tops.  Something out of a wood magazine cover shot.  Alas, I don’t have (nor I do really want to spend) the money for something that grandiose.  So I’ve decided to build a new workbench and use the existing workbench as another bench that will go up against a wall in my garage.

For the new bench I wanted something SOLID, and affordable (no sjoberg tabletops here), and something I could actually build in a weekend or two.  I found a pretty good, and affordable workbench design at amazon titled:  Basic Workbench and 6 Ways to Beef it Up: Downloadable Woodworking Plan  I’ll include a picture with a clickable link at the bottom where you can take a look at this if you like.  Amazon has a pretty nice feature that allows you to download plans directly to your computer.  Another nice thing about this plan is it includes six really nice upgrades to the bench and has complete plans for it.  I also built a set of drawers from the plans for the table and I have an entry for that if you want to check out it out here.

Materials

For the lumber I used Kiln Dried Lumber.  For the table top the design gave a really good tip to use a solid core wood door as a top and then put a layer of 1/4″ MDF on top of that.  I was a little apprehensive about this at first.  When I checked out the door it was REALLY solid (and weighs a ton).  It was the same thickness as two sheets of 3/4″ plywood and it cost less.  I was able to get the door and all of my lumber from Lowe’s.  The door was approx. $45, and the lumber was about $45.  My total cost for a new workbench works out to be about $90.  Not to shabby for this solid workbench.

• (1) Solid Core Door 80″ x 30″
• (1) 1/4″ x 4′ x 8′ MDF Hardboard
• (6) 2″ x 4″ x 8′ Pine Boards
• (2) 2″ x 6″ x 8′ Pine Boards

Milling & Assembly

	I built the legs using nothing but 2 x 6’s.  I trimmed the sides down per the plan to get a finished width of 5″.  I notched the bottom and the top to allow the bottom and top frames to set in.
	The bottom frame was built with a cleats around the inside to allow a shelf to sit inset of the frame.  Again I used primarily 2 x 6″ boards trimmed down to a 5″ width and fitted with cleats on the inside.  I used 2 x 2 boards for the cleats.
	I attached the legs to the bottom using 3″ screws and glue.  Should hold pretty well.
	All four legs are attached.  I check for squareness and everything is looking pretty balanced.  Next up is the top frame.
	I attached the top frame to the rest of the table.  I also installed a 3/4″ plank on the bottom cleats.  The plans call for attaching the top to the two middle joists in the top frame.  I did that, but also added a few pocket hole screws on the ends of the table as well.  Everything seems pretty solid.

Finishing

To finish the bench I “broke” the edges with some sandpaper.  I also applied a coat of clear Danish oil to all of the boards (not the top) to help preserve the wood.  One other thing I did was to add some bench dogs at the end of the bench.  I spaced them out approximately 6″ apart.  I picked up a package (4 per package) of Kreg bench dogs that work really well with this.  I’ll include links at the bottom of this page for everything I used to finish this.

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