Thread: Beginner: Workbench with drawer storage

Hi Richard

Just a few quick thoughts, and I have assumed you don't have workbench built just yet.

For the bench itself, keep it simple. Four legs, stretchers and simple aprons - there's dozens of designs out there on the webs and You-Tube. Particularly useful are videos of people building benches from scratch on the floor with basic tools - handsaw, circular saw, drill, hammer. Don't sweat about fancy joinery, use carriage bolts and screws for strength. The workbench has to built around the mechanics of your body. That is, the height has be comfortable for your height, and comfortable to lean over to use tools. This is where checking out desk heights helps, for example I used the fancy standing desk at work to simulate work heights and then tested them for comfort.

The other design considerations are:
* flat and level bench surface - the project panel if that is your bench top will help
* sufficient strength and rigidity - so it doesn't wobble, rack when working - if you are using hand planes would want something that can withstand those forces, if you are just cutting and drilling then it doesn't need to have tree trunk legs.
* what material do I have on hand or is readily available - don't be limited by the timber you have now, think about other timbers sources such a local timber yards rather than just limited to what is at Bunnings (don't get me wrong my first bench was built entirely with Bunnings timber and hardware)
* workholding - are you going to use a vise, if so what kind - and what other work holding options are you considering such as dog holes for bench dogs, holdfasts, etc. This may limit the height of your drawers.
* will it be easy and fun to make - the bench is a great project because the only person you have to satisfy is yourself.
* storage and transportation - do I have room to store it in place or do I have to move it somewhere else in the workshop, will I be moving house at some time in the future so it has be able to be dismantled for transport
* drawers - build our drawers around the completed bench. The drawer slides need a stable, flat and square surface the length of the slides to work effectively. While you can attach drawer slides to legs, in my experience they are rarely stable, flat and square enough for smooth drawer operation (and why the googled images of bench drawers are built as separate cabinets).

I hope this helps and don't get put off by it.

Anthony

Thanks, should I just attach some pieces of 15mm ply to the inside of the legs then, to attach the slides to?

Also the centre, slides from both of the drawer "columns" will be attached there, should I use some 90x35mm vertically there and do the same with ply (as I do with the legs) on both sides?

I hope that makes sense.

Originally Posted by rthorntn

Thanks, should I just attach some pieces of 15mm ply to the inside of the legs then, to attach the slides to?

Also the centre, slides from both of the drawer "columns" will be attached there, should I use some 90x35mm vertically there and do the same with ply (as I do with the legs) on both sides?

I hope that makes sense.

I would think something closer to 19/20 mm (3/4 inch) would give you more wood to secure the screws for the slides.

I was thinking I could get meaty screws into the ply and through the ply into the legs, I don't really want to buy more ply, I could use bolts and/or threaded inserts for the slider mounting holes that are only fixing into ply?

I’m fitting drawers to my bench with materials I have which is just lots of hardwood, not much ply or mdf so I’m fitting the rails in on pine lengths at an equal set height spacer from just a pine block offcut so it was consistent.

I’m trying different draw base building techniques to see what I like and again also use materials I have on hand not needing to buy anything else.

I have a bench with storage underneath. It's an overkill bench, weighs 250kg and as rigid as it can get. The bench and the storage cabinet are two separate components. The bench simply has a perfect sized cavity to allow the cabinet to slide into with only the slightest of gaps at the sides. You might find some ideas to suit your own needs.

The rough cabinet.
IMG_20210213_165937.jpg

The bench without the cabinet installed. It's pretty heavy at the moment, and fairly rigid. But the legs at the bottom can still 'walk' when I bump into the bench. The bottom panel of the cabinet stops that 'walking' 100%. So I'd highly suggest using a bottom panel, even if it does get hidden by the drawers. Otherwise, diagonal bracing at the bottom will suffice.
IMG_20210127_174651.jpg

And the finished bench with all the trimmings.
IMG_20210615_151850.jpg

The best kill is overkill

Three workbenches? Envious!

Originally Posted by Kuffy

I have a bench with storage underneath. It's an overkill bench, weighs 250kg and as rigid as it can get. The bench and the storage cabinet are two separate components. The bench simply has a perfect sized cavity to allow the cabinet to slide into with only the slightest of gaps at the sides. You might find some ideas to suit your own needs.

The rough cabinet.
IMG_20210213_165937.jpg

The bench without the cabinet installed. It's pretty heavy at the moment, and fairly rigid. But the legs at the bottom can still 'walk' when I bump into the bench. The bottom panel of the cabinet stops that 'walking' 100%. So I'd highly suggest using a bottom panel, even if it does get hidden by the drawers. Otherwise, diagonal bracing at the bottom will suffice.
IMG_20210127_174651.jpg

And the finished bench with all the trimmings.
IMG_20210615_151850.jpg

The best kill is overkill

Ah see your smart you planned your cabinet for drawers before hand and made it apart of your bench haha I have retroactively done mine


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

think about a S/H solid house door, even 2 screwed/bolted together for a thick bench top.

Originally Posted by rthorntn

Hi,

I have a small workshop and so I want to have storage built in to my bench, I'm just going to use a project panel for the top, I can't really get my head around the best way to do this, let's say the bench top will be at 975mm, depth 700mm and width 1400mm.

I already have 10 pairs of drawer slides in the "spares bin", so I was thinking eight 125mm high drawers in two columns, with the bottom two drawers 250mm high, a lot of the benches I can see on Google look like cabinets with drawers inside have been added to the bench at a later time.

I have the project panel, a big length of 100x100mm pine, a lot of 90x35mm pine and some 15mm birch ply, I'd like to use what I have for the bench (not including the drawers), it's a "power tool" workbench and so I don't want it to be overkill.

So 100x100mm legs, 90x35mm stretchers. I was thinking of just having the drawer slides fixed into the legs, "exposed" but I can't see many people doing that, maybe that's to do with dust and crud getting into the bearings and I guess exposed slides would be pretty ugly?

Had anyone seen a good design that fits the bill and isn't too complex?

Thanks.
Richard

Hi Richard

It may be easier to do as Kuffy and I did, which is to fit a case with drawers below the bench, rather than build the drawers directly onto the frame of the bench. For one thing, your case will be square (which is important) and you may need to do a lot of shimming to get it so if building directly to the frame.

I added my underbench cabinet several years after the bench was completed. This is a fairly advanced design and build, and would be a lot of work, so I am not suggesting you copy it, but the arrangement here is to illustrate my comments ….









Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks everyone, I want to add a stiff, tough and flat replaceable "topper" to my benchtop, what would you use, preferably around 10mm thickness?

9 or 12mm mdf.
most cabinet makers will have 'cover sheets' and sell them very cheap. easily replaceable to.

This is 4.8mm and what we used to have on bench tops. Its a lot tougher than MDF.

Just a moment...

Try your local Bunnings for laminated Merbau panels. They come in 1200 x 450. 20mm thick.

This is 1200 x 600 ..





Regards from Perth

Derek