A Simple Guide to Building Your Low-Cost Garage Workbench

Building a workbench in your garage is one of the best ways to get the space organized and improve the garage’s functionality.

But, for the DIY‑minded individual, it’s not always easy to find the ideas and get the foundation of the project ready for completion. And so in this article, we’ll focus on what you need when building that perfect workbench.

The Tools and Materials for the Job

Depending on the complexity of the workbench you’re attempting to build and the requirements you have in mind for the project, there’s a range of material options. In this particular article, we’ll be focusing on the required materials for building a simple, inexpensive workbench in just a few short hours. Required tools include:

• Hammer
• Glue
• Clamps
• Tape measure
• Circular saw
• Adjustable wrench
• Jigsaw
• Table saw

Required materials include:

• Four 33‑inch. 2x4s for the legs
• Four 16‑½ inch. 2x4s for the end stretchers
• Four 46‑inch. 2x4s for the long stretchers
• Fifteen 5‑ft. 2x4s for the bench top
• Sixteen 3‑½ times 3⁄8‑in. carriage bolts, washers, nuts
• Sixteen 3‑inch. times 3⁄8‑in. lag screws
• 2 lbs. of 3‑inch deck screws

Step 1: Creating the Foundation

When building your simple garage workbench, you’ll need to create that perfect foundation at the beginning. And so the first step in building a simple, inexpensive workbench is to build the base by clamping together the stretchers and the legs, then pre‑drilling and bolting the base together. It’s important at this point to keep the width of the legs 16 and a ½ inches from one outer edge to another. You can then use this foundation as the sawhorse to assemble the top of the workbench.

Step 2: Assembling the Top

1. The first step in assembling the top of your workbench is to cut 15 top boards into 5 ft‑long pieces and then cut them 3 inches wide with your table saw. This ensures the top will be flat when glued, and prevent the rounded edges typically found in 2x4s.
2. Cut two of the top boards into three pieces: a 39‑inch, a middle piece and two 7 inch pieces.
3. Glue, then screw the top together, one board at a time, using 3‑inch deck screws. It’s important to place a clamp every 8 inches before driving in the deck screws.
4. Screw in the 7‑inch 2x4s to the slots for the legs of the garage workbench while using a scrap piece of the 2x4s as a spacer to give you room to maneuver.

Your Final Workbench Assembly

Before connecting the top to the base, you must loosen the bolts and screws on the stretchers to ensure flexibility in the leg posts. Then you’re ready to align the top notches with the leg posts and move the top into place with a hammer. You should try to work evenly around the table until all leg posts are even with the table top ‑ this will help ensure the table is completely even on all sides. Once you’ve tightened the lower stretchers to ensure stability, your workbench is complete!

You’ve now completed this simple garage workbench and you’re ready to begin using it with each of your future DIY projects!

While you’re upgrading the workspace, is it time for a new garage door? Check out some of our garage door models and let us know how we can help!