Workshop Revamp

My workshop is in a shared garage that functions as a household storage center and place for the family car when I am not building. Because of that, my workshop space is limited and needs to be mobile.

I’ve had a 2x4 Basics workbench as my main bench and storage area for about 10 years now. I did a video review of the bench here if you are interested: https://youtu.be/i1RT69oQECs

That bench has served me fine and will live on in a reincarnated form, but with the addition of a table saw, a joiner, planer, and oscillating spindle sander, I needed some new solutions.

The first thing I did was to install a lumber storage rack high up on the wall. These freed up some room on the floor where I was previously storing lumber.

Next I dissembled my old workbench and brought home the materials for a new workbench. I build the new workbench from kiln dried 2x4s, 4x4s for the vertical supports and 3/4 inch hardwood plywood.

I started assembling the base of the table and built up.I used the heavy duty pocket hole screws from Kreg for most of the connection points. I used traditional 3.5” Torx wood screws for the 4x4 to 2x4 connection points.

One of the main purposes for this workbench was to house an old Craftsman table saw (model 113) so that the bench top would also serve as an outfeed table for the saw. I encountered some difficulty getting an accurate measurement from the top of the table saw top to the bottom of the saw for a couple of reasons; first the shape difference of the saw top and the saw bottom did not allow for easy measurements, and 2nd the saw was attached to an old and bent metal rolling cart. Once I got the saw off the old cart and on flat ground I was able to measure more accurately and got a dimension to set the lower shelf at.

The next few pictures show some of the build process. The YouTube video here: shows much more detail.

I used a piece of string drawn taught from the top of the table saw top to make sure that my outfeet table top would remain slightly below the table saw top.

Once all built I sanded the edges of everything and ran a trim bit over all the plywood edges ensuring a perfect flush fit between the plywood shelves, top and the structural supports.

Lumber — The Work Area

Table saw that the new bench will house is visible on the right

I also included a spot on the bottom shelf for my air compressor and future spot for a hanging air hose reel. I thought that having on-board compressed air would come in handy in the future for assembling projects on the top. Putting all my tools away and organizing the bench, I am very happy with how this turned out and how easily accessible everything is.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and I hope this provides you with some inspiration for a future project of your own.

Below are links to the tools and products that I used in this build:

Ridgid Miter Saw: https://amzn.to/2ulzXZI

Ridgid Router: https://amzn.to/2USJ9As

Kreg HD Pocket Hole System: https://amzn.to/2U5ei6G