Workbench With Storage

This instructable will show you how to build my workbench or one similar to it. I built this desk as a workbench for my college apartment so I can make while I learn. I spent $14 on it as I found all the wood to build it, however, you might spend more if you have to buy all the supplies. Good luck and I'd love to see what you all do with my project!

The following are what I used to create this project.

SUPPLIES:

(1) pallet

(1) 2x4 of about 32" long

(1) 25" by 53.25" and (1) 15" by 25" of plywood ~OR~ (2) 19" by 25" and (2) 15" by 25" of plywood

(34) 1" wood screws

(16) 3" wood screws

(2) light duty hinges and screws

(4) Ikea ADILS legs

(20) #8 x 1/2" wood screws

TOOLS:

Drill

Screwdriver

Hammer

Chisel

Chop or Miter Saw

Jig Saw

Wood Filler

Clamps

Pencil

My Frame is 53.25" by 25" but make what fits your space.

I took the pallet center pieces, made one the front and one the back. The third one I cut in half to make the sides.

Unfortunately, the board for one side was broken so it was replaced with a 2x4 the same size.

Take the plywood and cut (2) 25" by 19" pieces, to be affixed on the far left and right sides of the table. Leaving the middle uncovered as seen in the 1st picture.

Cut the last piece of plywood to (1) 15" by 25" piece and place in the middle to check spacing, as in the 2nd picture.

Clamp the plywood on to the frame and screw ONLY the left and right most pieces into the frame using the 1" wood screws. Do NOT screw the middle piece onto the frame.

I used (3) screws along the front and back, with (4) screws on the side.

This is the step I found the most difficult as the hinges made the center piece uneven with the sides. I solved this by chiseling out two small groves for the hinges.

First place the center piece on and mark where you want the hinges to go. I put them about an inch away from either side.

After moving the center piece off, trace the hinges onto the frame. Take a chisel and carefully remove a piece the size and depth of your hinge. See picture 3.

Screw on the hinge to the top and then to the frame. See picture 4.

Flip over to table so far.

First, I cut (4) right triangles off of a 2x4 and attach (2) of them to opposite sides of a 2x4 or 1x4 pallet wood, as in the first two pictures.

Then place the unit onto the table, as seen in the first 2 pictures, so that the board overlaps the gap between the two table top pieces.

Screw the triangles to the frame using (2) 1" wood screws per triangle.

Repeat for the other side.

Then screw the last 25" by 15" piece of plywood to the bottom and flip back over! As in the 4th and 5th pictures.

Optional: I added a cutout below one of the triangles for power cords later on, as seen in the last picture.

I realized that my table flexed too much in the middle, so I added a 2x4 on either side of the compartment. Then screwed the 2x4 to the sides and top of the table.

As I used scrap wood, there was lots of old holes in my table, I filled those with wood filler.

Then sand everything. And sand it again. Really sand it good and focus on the pallet wood as its usually rough.

Lastly, screw on the leg brackets and then the legs! I used #8 by 1/2 in wood screws from Lowes instead of the provided ones as the table was only a 1/2 inch thick.

Thats it! Hope you like my project! Feel free to leave any advise or criticism for me!

In the future I am going to paint the table top and seal the wood sides. But thats a long ways off as its back to school time.

EDIT: After using the table a bit, I have found that my leg placement makes it somewhat wobbly. I plan on fixing this issue by placing a 2x6 under the leg brackets on either side and screwing it into the frame and the top.