Maker/Work Bench From Scrap Wood

I had a plastic folding table for building various projects in my workshop. It was a bit flimsy (go figure) and not the sturdiest table in the world. I needed something more suitable for a work station. It was time to make something sturdy, strong and good looking for my maker table. And so my journey began...

What I used:

-Scrap, scrap and more scrap wood (cedar and pallet wood)

-One 10' brown pressure treated 2x4 (there wasn't enough scrap 2x4 for the legs, so this is the one piece of wood I purchased)

-Some pegboard (Home Depot sells 2'x4' sheets for $4.00 and they'll cut it for you free of charge)

-Miscellaneous hardware (wood screws, brackets, etc.)

-Wood stain (I chose a satin stain)

-Varathane (I used Diamond Semi-Gloss)

-Wood glue

Tools:

-Mitre saw

-Power drill/driver

-Dremel with cutting disk

-Power sander and 180 grit sandpaper

-Hammer

-Crowbar

-Flathead screwdriver

-Number 2 Robertson screwdriver

-Clamps

-Square

-Awl

-Paint brush

-Pen/pencil/marker

Let's get building!

Although this whole project was exciting for me, this was one of the most fun parts. I didn't know where I was going to get my building materials from, I just knew I wanted to build a work table and I had very little money.

Driving by the local old age home I noticed a nice looking pallet by the curb side. Score!

I drove to my dad's house and looked in his backyard...holy scrap!

I pried my pallet apart with a hammer, flathead screwdriver and crowbar. In theory, it was going to be easy...In actuality, I ended up dripping with sweat and with a bunch of split pallet wood.

If you had an excruciating time taking apart your pallets like me, you won't care if you split the boards to pieces, you just want them to be useable!

I used some strong carpenter's glue and clamps to hold the parts together to dry. I let them sit overnight, and by morning, you could hardly even tell they were broken in the first place.

I also used my Dremel with a cutting disk to cut off all of the nail ends that were protruding from the pallet boards. You could also just hammer them out from the bottom, but I was worried I may further damage the boards.

Next step is to decide on a basic design for your table/desk/work bench. I placed the wood down and arranged it until I found a pattern I was happy with. Pretty simple. I forgot to take a lot of pictures of this step, so that's why you only see the cedar and not the pallet boards in the centre.

Next, get all of your wood measured out, cut it with your mitre or hand saw and drill and screw it together however you need to.

I cut all of my cedar outside border wood at 45 degree angles. This isn't necessary, and it's a little bit more work, I just thought it looked nicer.

I used some scrap 2x4 for braces on the underside of the tabletop to hold it all together. There are plenty of ways to do it, figuring it out is half of the fun!

The longer the wood screws you can use to secure things, the better. Longer screws will give your table more strength and rigidity.

Get your power sander or sanding block and some 180 grit sandpaper and sand the whole table top down. You don't need to go crazy, just get any loose debris and old paint or stain off. My pallet wood had some blue paint drips all over it. I thought it would give the table a little bit of character to leave some of the blue paint as is and only sanded some of it off.

Now, grab a stain of your choice and a brush and brush away! Less is more with stain. If you slather it on, it will probably run and not look very good. Be patient and plan on needing more than one application. I did two coats, as the wood absorbed the stain more in some areas than others on the first coat.

I went to Lowes to get my 2x4 wood for the legs. I wanted something sturdy and cheap that would last a lifetime and figured pressure treated 2x4 would do the trick. I got a 10' piece and had Lowes cut 4 equal lengths of 28". I initially wanted to use a 4x4 post, but Lowes won't cut 4x4s and I couldn't fit a 10' post in my Hyundai Accent.

Drill holes and screw your legs on however you see fit. The simplest way is often the best way.

Once your legs are attached, coat your entire project with Varathane. As with the stain, you may need more than one coat. Read the directions on your Varathane. Some types require longer to dry before applying a second coat. I used a diamond semi-gloss finish.

After I was almost finished, I decided I wanted to have a small peg board backing to hang the tools that I use most often. I simply cut one piece of 2x4 the length of the table (49.5") for the top and two pieces of 2x4 to the desired height (in my case, 18"), then cut the ends on 45 degree angles where the three pieces meet and screwed them together. I borrowed my dad's table saw and ripped a 2x4 for the bottom of the frame that I attached afterwards, just to make it look a bit more finished. I then stained and coated the frame for the peg board and coated it with Varathane.

I attached the frame to the table from underneath with four 3.5" wood screws and then screwed the peg board on to the back of it.

I secured an 8 outlet power bar to the underside of the table with two wood screws as well.

Nothing left to do now but crack a beer, sit in a lawn chair and admire your handywork. Oh, and use your new table to build more awesome things of course!

I hope you enjoyed this Instructable!