"In house" workbench- FINALLY DONE

[maroonandwhite]

Hey guys. I am looking for some advice, tips, and/or pics if anyone has them. I am planning on building a workbench/desk onto the wall in the corner of my unused bedroom. I am wanting to do the top in formica or whatever countertop material lowes may have. I want it to look semi professional and nice because I want it to be able to double as a desk if the room is ever used for a bedroom. I won't be using it for any reloading or anything. Just cleaning guns, working on guns, electronics stuff, soldering, etc. It will only be about 4 or 5 foot long.

 

I am just looking for ideas on how to hang it and still make it look decent. It will basically be a straight piece that will run from the center of one wall into a corner. I don't care to have any storage underneath as I want to be able to have plenty of leg room. I will be doing corner shelves for storage.

 

Again keep in mind this will be inside the house in a bedroom so I am wanting it to look decent. We will have to paint whatever is suggested other than the counter top surface.

Thanks!

Edited February 22, 2013 by maroonandwhite

[2.ooohhh]

We had these fold down desks at a hospital I used to work at, I've wanted to build something similar since.

 

http://www.anthro.com/families/enook/enook-standard

[maroonandwhite]

Those look nice but probably wouldn't fit what I am looking to do. I am basically going for a flat open area with a solid "built in" look. I am basically just trying to figure out the best way to anchor it to the wall for the best support and still look good.

 

Thanks for the link though.

[Randall53]

Whenever I'm looking at a project like this, I've had excellent luck with YouTube believe it or not.  Lots of talented people post videos they make while building things like that.

[maroonandwhite]

Upon looking a little online something like this would be nice. Just need to figure out of it will hold something about 2 ft deep. It is only 7.3" deep. Any thoughts on that?

 

A pre made wood bracket would definitely fit the bill and be easy.

[peejman]

Stop by the local building salvage place.  You can get cheap cabinets, counter tops, etc.  Sometimes you can find unfinished stuff can you can stain/paint to match the rest of the decor.   Otherwise HD/Lowes sell inexpensive white stuff that works fine and can be pieced together.  Cabinets work great because they have doors/drawers.  You can pack all your stuff inside and then shut the doors so it looks neat.  Use a lazy susan in the corner.  Use under-cabinet lights for good surface lighting.  Run a power strip under the bench surface so cords stay out of the way.  Make sure the bench surface is plenty stiff and braced so you can bolt a vice to it. 

[2.ooohhh]

While I liked the "enooks" the hospital had, I would definately build my own so that it would be a little deeper, and have more shelves. I just liked their execution of the idea well enough to want to copy/improve on it in the future.

[maroonandwhite]

I am thinking rather than using a pre made bracket like I posted above I may just get a 2x12 and cut it length ways about 20" then cut an angle on it to make it look good. I figure if the countert ops come pre cut at 2ft deep then 20" of support will be plenty. I can then round the edges off and paint it to look pre made.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Over christmas I put one of these Lowes stainless workbench in my bedroom. Its not a built-in, but was just pleasantly surprised at the quality of the item for the price. The stainless model costs about $300 and they make a virtually identical painted black model in the ballpark of $200. Edit-- This is a nice man-cave workbench for the money, but I would not use it for reloading. Maybe it would be good for reloading but I'd want something stiffer to attach a press.

 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_315789-55738-LWWB09-3DSSMT_0__?Ntt=stainless+workbench&UserSearch=stainless+workbench&productId=3283992

 

 

For an oak floor, rather than attaching casters for easy moving, just sat it on those 4" X 1" thick foam "slider" floor protector discs and it moves easy if necessary without scratching the floor. The "engineered wood" top looks a little better on the stainless model than the black model, on the samples I saw. Maybe varies with model, but mine is bamboo and at least some of the black ones are MDF.

 

It was not annoying to assemble and very rigid out of "surprisingly thick" steel. The drawer sliders work great and are very useful drawer space. That top shelf with the piano-hinge cover is dang useful. Comes with a flourescent work light and small AC outlet built-in. Both features real useful in practice. There is "too much" direct-lighting glare from the light. I had a roll of 4" wide aluminum sheet metal flashing, and cut off a piece long enough to wrap around the front of the shelf and both sides. Folded crimps in the ends of the flashing so it wouldn't be sharp and cut the hands, then attached it overlapped 1" with the bottom outside edge of the shelf, to make a glare-shield. I attached the flashing with double-sided carpet tape and it is on there forever as best I can tell. The aluminum flashing color matches the stainless real well, looks like it was designed to be thataway and keeps the direct-light glare out of your eyes.

 

I bought a 4 foot by 2 foot piece of melamine coated shelving from home depot (the big shelving pieces are in the lumber dept, not the shelving aisle). Melamine is flat and smooth and fairly durable but IMO not as durable as formica or wilsonart. But the 4' X 2' piece of shelving costs only about $10. I laid a quart paint can over the two front corners of the MDF to trace out curved edges on the corners and cut em round with the bandsaw (I can't run a jigsaw worth beans) and ironed-on melamine edge binding that costs a couple of bucks at home depot. Now when I inevitably bump into a corner with head, hand or hip it won't hurt so bad. :)

 

I figure it was so quick and easy to lay a melamine MDF top on the thing, and eventually if the melamine starts looking ragged, before the smoothness gets buggered up, THEN it will be time to glue down some formica on-top. The melamine MDF costs just about the same as the non-melamine ordinary MDF they sell.

 

On that desk, the pre-cut 4' X 2' overlaps all the desk edges by a couple of inches, to give a nice edge to "scrub small parts" off the edge into your hand, wheras the flush factory bench top doesn't have a lip.

 

I have a nice oak built-in in the bedroom already and kept thinking about a desk built-in, but at the end of the day, rather than days of custom-building something, I could buy the desk and put it together and be done in one day, not turn it into yet another science project.

Edited February 11, 2013 by Lester Weevils

[maroonandwhite]

I am beginning to think this may be the best option as the wife isn't crazy about me building this into the wall (she likes to move furniture weekly almost haha). I just didn't want to spend much money on one. I may just build a nice solid freestanding bench out of wood and paint it. I would probably use MDF for the top as I have a nice big sheet of it at home.

 

Can anyone recommend what I could possibly coat the top with that would provide a nice work surface? It would have to be something relatively thick that the MDF wouldn't completely soak up.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Formica is about as bullet-proof as you can get. Its a generic name and also a brand name. Wilsonart is another major manufacturer. It is resin-impregnated paper that is TOUGH. My local lowes stocks a few colors including basic black and white, and a few typical kitchen fake-stone or fake-wood colors. Wilsonart sells a few pattens that look close enough to honest to god wood that you would have to look twice, but I don't know anybody in my area who stocks those colors, so it would have to be ordered.

 

Go on youtube to see how to glue it down with contact cement. Its pretty easy. You need either a cheap electric laminate trimmer (that are just little bitty under-powered routers), or a router, and an edging bit, to clean up the edge. Then glue little strips of laminate on the edges, and trim them off as well. Without a laminate trimmer guess you would only need the patience of Job and lots of elbow grease. :)

 

The cheaper colors are still in the range of $30 for a 4 X 8 sheet, and get more price for fancy patterns. If a pre-made post-form formica laminated MDF counter top looks good to you and would "fit the style" of the room, you might save money buying a countertop piece in the right color rather than laminating that MDF you already own.

 

One tip for saving the surface of a workbench-- You can buy about 24" X 18" HDPE white cutting blocks about $12 at walmart. They are thick and indestructible and nearly un-stainable. If you can find some kind of paint or chemical that will permanently stain them you will have to look around for awhile. I use one as a temp work surface sitting on top of the desk. If the cutting block ever gets too boogered up and ugly, just replace it.

 

Another real crazy-durable surface, but not the prettiest surface to please a wife, is UHMW sheet. It is awful hard to tear up and if you could find a UHMW sheet the right size to set right down on your workbench, it would maybe be cheaper than a MDF counter top or maybe cheaper than some of the nicer formica patterns. Some places it is real expensive though. This is one source but if the desk is pretty big maybe shipping would be a problem--

 

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=12557&step=4&showunits=inches&id=790&top_cat=181

[maroonandwhite]

Thanks Lester. I think I have about nailed down what I want to do. This link shows the design of what I would like. I will probably go to lowes or home depot and find a cheap nice looking countertop already cut and make it to fit whatever dimension they have. Probably four or six foot long based on what they have online. I will also probably add some "beams" going up to tack on some peg board and run a board across the top of those to add a light.

 

http://blog.makezine.com/2007/06/01/simple-workbench-and-mega/

[maroonandwhite]

I am just not sure I want to go the formica route. I had a brain fart and was browsing on lowes looking at LAMINATED counter tops rather than formica. I don't want to put that much money into this so formica may be out of the question. Since I am doing a free standing bench I do want to be able to eventually bolt a vice and/or presses onto it. If you were going to do this what top would you use?

 

Also since this won't be a permanent fixture I am a little less concerned about looks. A wood top would be fine.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Laminated is synonymous with Formica. Formica company started making the stuff long long ago, and apparently nowadays the "prettier" stuff is sold by wilsonart and maybe others. It comes in hundreds of colors and patterns and generally tough as nails, but nobody in my area that I know of stocks any but several mundane colors and patterns, though its hard to beat white or black for a work surface.

 

If I was building a reasonable-sized bench, would seriously consider UHMW sheet for myself. For reloading either a 2X4 or 2X6 planked bench, or double-thickness 3/4" plywood. MDF is strong and dense but lots of jerking on it would eventually start it powdering out. If you are putting a surface on-top, I'd use exterior plywood if going with plywood, because the exterior plywood has a rougher surface but it is lots harder and tougher than interior-grade furniture plywood. At least the interior plywood sold at big box stores. Specialty cabinet shops might sell you real thick baltic birch or whatever, but you will pay thru the nose for it.

 

I think quarter inch UHMW sheet would sit fine ontop of 2X6 planks if you lay the planks so they make a pretty flat surface. I'd probably prefer 2X6 planking to double-thick plywood, but I'm not in any way expert on ANYTHING especially this. Just dumb ignorant opinions.

Edited February 11, 2013 by Lester Weevils

[maroonandwhite]

Yeah I figured that out about the time you posted back. I was thinking formica was solid all the way through. Just before I bought my current house the previous owners redid the counter tops with what I am assuming was solid formica pieces. I have some left over but not sizeable enough to do anything with. It just wasn't clicking in my brain that the laminated stuff was in fact formica. So I may do a dual layer top. Maybe one sheet of plywood topped with the precut countertop. Do you think a 2x4 frame such as the one shown ing the link will be sufficient? Or should I go for 4x4 legs? I will probably brace it better than they are showing either way.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Hi maroonandwhite. I think a screwed-and-glued 2X4 frame would be plenty strong enough, just my ignorant opinion. The bench I've been using out in the shop for reloading looks rough as a cob but its been plenty strong. I bought it at a flea market for a few bucks, more than 20 years ago and hauled it home and put it in the shop. It was made by somebody more thumb-fingered than me, similar design as the one you illustrate. It is unpainted 2X4 with rough unpainted construction grade OSB (oriented strand board) for the top surface and under-shelf, and was rudely constructed with 16 penny nails rather than screws and glue, and it is plenty rigid enough that I haven't tore it up yet with the reloading press mounted on it.

[maroonandwhite]

Wow. Well that answers that question. I will just go with a single ply formica surface. Thanks for all of the help! I will post up some pics once I get it done.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

If I was building one from scratch today, would personally go with either double ply plywood or 2" thick (nominal) boards. 

 

The big advantage of MDF for desk surfaces and kitchen surfaces is the density and the ultra-smooth surface. Even with interior grade plywood, you would have to do some sanding to get the plywood near as flat as MDF for gluing on laminate.

 

Another way to get a real flat glue surface is the quarter-inch thick masonite board. Some people use the masonite board as "sacrificial" bench tops because it is cheap and hard and smooth. If you don't mind the dark brown bland color. Maybe a single ply 3/4" plywood, with a masonite on-top, and just for overkill put some boards or a piece of 3/4" plywood under the bench surface where you mount the press, for "overkill" stiffness?

[maroonandwhite]

I am going to lowes tonight hopefully so I will check out the masonite board as well. At the reccomendation of my grandpa I will probably go with a 2x6 frame/top and use some type of bracket he mention for attaching legs. He also said they make premade legs that I may check out rather than using a straight 4x4.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

4X4 would certainly look prettier and more symmetrical and IMO there is beauty in "overkill" construction methods. :)

 

edit: All pine, you can probably make it pretty enough just hit it with stain and several coats polyurethane, have something real pretty rather than painted. That approach might argue for small wood bracing blocks rather than metal brackets. Screw, glue and bracing blocks will be as- or more-rigid than metal brackets, and will look better.

 

If you know somebody with a table saw you can borrow their time a few minutes-- Lots of 2X lumber has a "rounded edge" that will result in little grooves between the benchtop boards to catch dirt and small parts. If you can talk somebody into ripping off the rounded edges with a table saw, get a couple of clamps and glue the boards up tight against each other, it can turn into a rustic piece of art even made of pine. Polyurethane is a real tough surface itself, especially if you have some sacrificial pieces like masonite or HDPE white cutting boards to protect the polyurethane from bad abuse when you put sharp-edged stuff on the bench top. Another great sacrificial surface for electronic work is scrap carpet. It keeps you from scratching up nice electronic chassis and keeps the gear from sliding around and nicking up a bench surface.

 

Depending how pretty you want it, you can buy oak dowels, counter sink your screw holes a quarter or half inch. After you put it together, glue and drive dowels in the holes, saw em off flush with a little flexible hand saw, can't recall the name of that critter. Costs a few bucks, neat tool. Then sand em all nice, stain, and poly, and it would make you and the wife proud! :)

 

Sorry if I sound like I'm contradicting myself with the messages, not really recommending anything in particular, just thinking different angles.

Edited February 11, 2013 by Lester Weevils

[pcrc11]

Find somebody that is replacing their kitchen, thats what I did and managed to salvage enough to make a pretty nice set up. I think all in I've got less than $100 in it and most of that was in the pegboard and oak valence.

[jwinter]

If you want a smooth top you should look at the birch plywood at the big box stores. It is used for cabinet construction and is smoother than pine plywood. It is about twice the price (45+\-). If that is more than you are looking for, try a store like 84 Lumber. I bought a piece of 4x8 pine plywood for my workbench in my shop that was A/C grade. The A means no not or blemishes. This will be much smother than any of the pine plywood at Lowes/Home Depot. Most lumber yards can cut down sheets of plywood so you should not need to cut it yourself. Just take the measurements with you.

[Guest PapaB]

A solid core door makes an inexpensive, good looking sturdy top. If it's unfinished, just coat it with poly with or without staining first.

[Mechanic_X]

I did the same as pcrc11. Cabinets out of my in-laws old kitchen. Works great.

[Guest windhamdw]

I'm currently in the process have making one too and i want it to look nice and be stronge. Check the link below, its the one i'm building but just modifying it to be a little thinner and also when your done it can be used as a piece of furniture. Also i'm adding locking casters so i can move it around and work from both sides.

 

http://blog.forrent.com/contests/our-dining-room-table-guest-blogger#.URFngKU80sI