How to Build a Sturdy and Affordable Workbench from cheap 2×4, 2×6, or 2×8 lumber
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Cheap Lumber from Home Depot: (7) 12’ 2×6 @ $13.52 ea and (4) 8’ 2×8 @ $10.88 ea for a total of $138.16 before tax as of 10/17/22 in Nashville
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I’ve been using this commercial workbench and it’s Okay, but it’s definitely not wide enough for the type of cabinets That I usually build. It also has way too many dog holes in it that are spaced too tightly together, And it’s just not as sturdy as I would like because It doesn’t have a lot of weight to it . So today I’m going to build a workbench That can solve all those problems, and it’s going to cost less than $150. I’m Brad from Fix This, Build That. Let’s build something awesome. The biggest cost in making workbench is materials. So to keep it down, I’m going to be using some southern yellow pine, Which is construction grade lumber for this build. It’s going to allow us to have a nice, thick, solid top. But the downside is that as we start ripping this apart, Since we have wider boards, it may start to twist and turn on us. So let’s cross our fingers and hope that doesn’t happen. So all of these boards were 12 footers, which I have cut in half Because this is the material for the top of the workbench. I do have two different sized boards here, two by tens, as well as two by sixes. Now, I really just want it all to by sixes, but the quality just wasn’t there. I can only get so many. And so I had to go to the two by ten Because what I was looking for is really have a nice edge on the boards Because I’m going to be ripping them down the center and then folding them up. And so that edge being clean Is going to give me a nice clean top with as little defects as possible. There’s a lot of different options as you go down the lumber Aisle between sizes and types of wood. Now, right off the bat, you might just be thinking, I’ll just grab some two by fours because they’re cheap. Well, that’s not usually a great idea because they have A lot of small knots in them. And also those edges can get really gnarly at times.
And then the color of them is going to range from this pale white And the white wood up to this really splotchy pink that you’ll see In some of those, which I don’t even honestly know what that species is. So what you want to do is head to the back of the store And go where the large construction grade lumber is. So your two by 6 to 2 by twelves, because typically those boards Are going to have much fewer knots. Even though the knots will be larger because they come from the bigger trees. Now you can get them in lengths, Anywhere from eight foot all the way up to 16 foot. You could just go through those boards And pick out the ones that are the best no matter what size they are, Because you can figure out the cut list to make it work for you. And if you’ve been a good woodworker, maybe the Wood Fairy will have brought you Some nice straight boards with no knots in them at all, Although they may just have some surprises waiting for you inside. That did not take long at all. I was about a third of the way through my second cut And it started bogging down on me. And that takes a lot because this is a five horsepower table. So if I look down here at the back, I can see that the board is pinching The rising knife. So I’ve had this happen to me before, and I’m going to put some shims in between The wood to try to just open up that gap so it’s not closing down on the blade. Hopefully I will not have to do this on every single board. But yeah. The joys of working with construction lumber. I’ve got my big section of boards now and I’m going to do three separate Glue ups, and that’s because the total top is going to be 36 inches wide. And I want to be able to playing each of these individually. So I’m going to do two sections of nine boards and one section of ten boards. So to sort through the pile, just looking at the defects And I’ll make sure that the top is as clear as possible And that there’s no defect showing on the outsides of those groups. So I can have a nice clean face on the front of a workbench
And rigged up a little extension table here To the side of the bench that I can have the full length of these boards. I kind of wonder like, do you think the bench knows that I’m making its replacement on top of it? Cold. All right. So I’m going to dove into the glue up And there’s a lot of surface here to apply glue to. As I go through, I’m going to clamp these to the boards Because I don’t want to wait Till push everything together until I get all the glue down Because it might start tacking up on the front side before I can get to the back. So wish me luck here. We’re going to jump in and see how it goes. That was not nearly enough, And that was probably far too much. This is not going well. Go faster. Got to go faster. Oh, we’ll do that. Oh, why are you doing that? Stop! My gosh, this is a disaster. Oh. Okay. That was way More hectic than I expected for sure. I’ve done much wider groups and bigger, but it’s traditionally Been wider boards with thin edges, maybe one edge. So having that wide extra service here makes this a lot more difficult. And the other culprit in the bigger one was using the wrong glue. So I was using just the regular type one original. So for this next one, I am going to use the tight bond with the extended set time. I’ve even heard people using epoxy, but yeah, that was Kind of a disaster. But so this next one, we’re gonna change it up and hopefully It’ll go a lot better. Oh, more. Now, one thing that you should definitely watch out for is if you’re boards Do start to kind of crook or bow, then that can show in the glue up. And so I had some boards here that were a little wobbly,
And that meant that the center was lower than the sides Because it was teetering on this center clamp. So I went ahead and I use my electric hand-held planer right here on the center. You could obviously do that with a handheld planer as well. And so now it sits nice and flush and there are other boards that were cup. So the center was up and I did the opposite there. You could also use some clamping calls on the top, in the bottom to help Try to get them into alignment, Because anything that’s off, you’re going to have to clean that all down. It’s going make your top a lot thinner. And I wish I hadn’t done that on the first loop. That’ll do. And I’ve got a couple of the glue shops here. And what I need to do now is get them all To the same thickness and make sure that they’re completely flat on both sides. Now, wrestling these Monster slabs around was no easy feat, and it was giving my planer All it could take. Now, that is a 15 inch planer, and if you have something smaller, You may have to go to actually four sections versus three like I did. And speaking of feet, you want to make sure That you protect yours, because if you dropping the slabs, You could break a toe or a foot and that would be no bueno . I’ve been an ambassador for Timberland Pro for three years now And they have a great selection of safety boots and shoes. And my daily drivers are the radius sneaker And they have a composite toe on them. But Timberland Pro just released another version Which is the radius knit slip on. And these are nice Because they’re flexible and lightweight and they have that same Safety toe on them. So they’re not going to restrict any movement, But they’re going to protect your feet. And I love their base play t shirts because they are comfortable,
They’re rugged and they’re moisture wicking, So they’re perfect in the shop when you’re working up a sweat. So if you’re looking for some quality work Where you can check the links down below in the description And I’ll link to some of my favorites and a big thank you to Timberland Pro For sponsoring today’s video. All right to go up this monster, I had to roll in my outfit Table, and I had to shimmied up on a bunch of different wood To get it at the same level. And now I have the width that I need. You can also just go ahead and do it on the floor And just find the flattest spot you can. And after I get the glue on, I will start tightening down the clamps And I’ll use a mound to get all the seams as level and even as possible. So it will have just a little cleanup after it’s all put together. Look at the size of this thing. This thing is huge. There is so much space here. It’s like 36 inches. I don’t know what it actually turned out to be. And oh, wow, we’re at actually 37 and a half inches. That is on more board than I supposed. I do have COVID right now, So my brain’s a little foggy, but this looks awesome. And now I’m going to cut it to sized. Spill. My Mountain Dew. High alert and high alert. Now getting a flat top is super important. And I just finished up working on the top with this hand plane And basically it’s just knocking down the seams And then using my level just to check where things needed to be lowered And doing that across. Now you can decide how close you want to get that to flat. I am going to try to make it.
Perfect because, you know, that’s kind of the guy. I am not a perfect guy, but the guy who tries to be perfect but is not. You keep digging like this, you’re going to go straight through to China. Now, you can also use a belt sander if you don’t have a hand. That’s an easy way to do it, but it’s going to generate a ton of dust. So you may want to do that outside. I don’t use hand planes a lot and I was getting some tear out Where the grain changes directions between boards. So you want to be careful if you are hand planning, watch out for that. But you can finish off with a hand sander and smooth everything out. And if you have a little bit of tear out here and there, that’s okay. This top is looking great. Now I can move on to working the base. I’ll come back later for the dog holes. All right. I went ahead and cut all the parts for the base And I use the same methods through the planer joiner And the table saw to get there. And I basically got these to about the same size as a typical Two by four, except of course, these look a lot better. Now, I do have a few knots in there because I was not As picky on these because they’re not going to be on the top. But I do have these ready for the base and we’ll do some assembly. But I cut everything to size using this cut list And I do have plans available if you want to build your own workbench Or have laid down below in the description where you can check those out. Right now I’ll get into making the legs, Which I’ll show how those go together to support the stretchers and the top . So the legs are going to be two pieces. They’re going to be glued together and that will give them a real nice, Beefy, sturdy leg. Here’s how the group’s going to work. This is a full length leg and this is the back side. And then I’m going to glue on to other pieces, and it’s going to make the joinery In between them. So one on the top and then one in the middle. And I’ve got it up on some little scraps here
Just so I’ll have some room to put the clamps on. It’s going to go ahead and start gluing these in place and use the spacers To make sure everything’s good. So this is really slippery. So I’m just going to tack it in place with some Two Inch Nails Just to make sure everything stays where I want it And repeat the same thing down. At this end, I use my spacer to position this last longer. I’ll set this aside to dry and do the rest of it. I’ve got everything now for the assembly, for the side. I went ahead and cut the stretchers to length for the top and the bottom, And these will get attached into the joinery. We made a little bit earlier, But before I do that, I want to drill some holes In the underside of the top stretcher And those will be for attaching the base to the top. I go ahead and pre assemble this And then I’m going to drill some pilot holes Because once you get glue in there, it’s Kind of like wrestling agrees to peg your neck and starts moving all around. So let me go ahead and pre drill in the drive it And then that way When I put the screws in it’ll just go right back in place where I put it. Everything is screwed together And I did check everything for Square, so we’re all good. Now I’m going to do this one section at times. I’m just going to take this one off, put the glue on, And then screw it back down and then repeat it for the top And cover up the scrolls. I’m just gonna plug metals and then flesh cut them off. With the signs done, we can start to connect it and make the base. And so I cut the size, the supports that are going to go across the top. I also drilled in some pocket hole joints in here so that we can attach them And now allow us to conceal the joinery and give us a nice, strong connection.
And since I have this nice, huge top, I’m going to use it To assemble the base. I’ll go ahead and put this top piece in place to act as a spacer, To make sure that everything is nice and square. Before I move on and attach the shelf stretchers. Is there a quick public service announcement? If you have two different screw lights out and you’re not going to use The longer screw length, just go ahead and put that away, Because if you don’t, you may end up Going through your work piece and screwing your clamps to the actual workbench. Oh, I put the two and a half Inch screws in a two inch screw star. I have these nice little holes here now in the front. I’m not going to fill it. I’m just going to leave it here, Because we always need a reminder that mistakes were made. We’re not perfect and we’re going to move on and do the best we can. So. All right. This is the part of the project that I’m actually been Worried about the most, and that is drilling the dog holes. I’m going to be doing a lot of holes, and I need to make sure That it doesn’t hit any of the support pieces on the upper part of the base. Also, I don’t know how I want to drill them, So I’ve got a forced inner bit, a spade bit and a self-driving spade bit. I went out and grabbed one of these. I bought this little drill press attachment for the drill So that make sure that the holes are straight up and down. And I chopped up the bits And I tried each of them on this off cut to see how they cut. Now, the first bit I tried that one out first and that thing was not cutting at all. It’s trying to make the cleanest the vessel, But my bit must just be really dull. Now, the second one that I tried out here, It was the spade bit, and that one actually did pretty well,
But the hole was a little bit oversize and I just didn’t like the accuracy of it. Now the next one, the auger bit, that one is just way too aggressive. It blew out the hole on the top And I just don’t really think I would like that one. So if I had to pick out of the three out of the spade bit, But I didn’t really like any of them. So I went out and bought this. And this is an bit That is not self driving, But it’s specifically made for cordless drills And it’s supposed to be really clean on the exit holes. So I’m hoping this is going to be the best solution And I’ll have links to all these items that I use So you can check it out and see exactly what it is That went really well, almost no blowout. And look at the fit on these this first one super loose. The next one was still a little bit loose. This guy nice and tight and you could just use A tape measure and a grid to mark out the locations of your bench dogs. But I do want to have a perfect 90 degrees so I can use it for clamping up frames And different things. And so I did use my X car, C and C to make this template And I just went into easel and I made these four inches on center. So there’s a three quarter inch holes. But what I also did was I cut a edge on both sides here of this corner To make sure that this was exactly 90 degrees for the first set of holes. I’m going to register this on the corner and just clamp it down. I’m going to make sure that nothing underneath is going to get hit. Then after I have a few holes in there, I can start using the dog holes To register it as I move down and make the whole series Of holes, a whole series of holes going to get hole up in here. All right. I’ve got three rows of holes all the way along The front edge of the bench, and that drill bit is a piece. That thing is amazing. It’s working really, really well. Highly recommended.
At the beginning I mentioned my old bench Had too many holes and they are three inches on center. So the four inch on center on these is going to help out. What I’m going to do Is I’m only going to run another row of three holes on each end And leave a large area on the bench that doesn’t have any holes at all. If I want to add more holes later, I can just grab the template. I’ll store this away somewhere and I can easily add a few more in a few minutes. All right, look, The top is looking great, and I put a little chamfer Around each of the bench dog holes Just to help to keep them from the edge getting blown out. Now, I just need to get this ready for finish. But as I was doing that, our editor Chris came up with an awesome idea And he said we should put a little customization to it And get a little nameplate for the front. And so I made this. And check this out. It’s so cool. Since I had the car already going, I went ahead and pulled our logo into The easel software and carved this out a little roughing pass, then Switched over to a 60 degree detail a bit for all the little details of our logo. Then I backfill the letters with some total boat, high performance epoxy, And I use the black obviously for the logo and this and that, that and then the red With a little hint of black to tone it down for the fix and the build. This is so cool. I think it’s going to look awesome on the front of the bench for the finish. I’m going to keep it easy and go with an oil based finish Because they’re really easy to repair versus A film based finish like polyurethane. I’m using Ruby harmonica because it goes on really easy And it dries almost instantly after you wipe off the excess. Goodbye, old friend. Here’s a little bit about how I’m going to use the workbench And some of the design considerations that went into it.
First of all, the size of it, this is really nice Because now I can fit my 31 Inch parallel clamps across there before they would fall off my own bench. Also with the dog holes, There are a lot of different clamping options Whether I want to put something on its edge So maybe I can use a block plane on it, or if I want to have some just dog holes In front to hold a panel in place while I’m standing Or doing any type of other joinery that’s going to work really well. Well, my favorite way of clamping is using face clamps. And so I left a large overhang All the way around the work bench, the same as my other one, And that allows me to clamp things in place If I’m doing face frames or anything else. And speaking of the top, this thing is so thick and sturdy and is super heavy, So I can’t really move this thing around if I’m banging on it. I did leave the shelf down below open Because I aim to be adding some modular storage down there. So I’m thinking maybe some drawers, maybe some shelves. I’d love to hear your ideas. Let me know what your favorite storage Method is for a workbench or any ideas that you might have for that If you want to build your own. I do have plans available. There’s a link down below in the description. I want to give a big thank you to those folks That have enjoyed the Fitbit Builders Club. And until next time, guys get out there and build something awesome.