Show me your homemade workbench.
 

My new house's garage came with a sorry excuse for a workbench, made of cabinets more fit for a bathroom topped by some formica countertop that's not even attached to it. This all has to go. I need something that can handle some serious DIY jobs. I don't want to spend a lot, but would like to build something nice. What have you guys built?

I build a simple frame of 2X4 screwed together, use 1/2" or preferably 3/4" ply for the top, bolt a vise to one end, screw a power strip to the front, load a bunch of weight on the lower shelf (winter tires/wheels, etc), and call it good. Takes a few hours to build and works fine. If you can bolt it to the floor or the wall, do so. When the top gets nasty, screw another sheet of ply on top.

We used a set of warehouse shelves.... The ones designed to hold pallets.... At the appropriate height we put a piece of 1/8" steel that is break formed like a top over some heavy duty boards.... Shelves above.... Bolt bins below...

Of course you may have a height restriction...

Might be worth checking out:
!$!$ WANT A STURDY WORK BENCH? !$!$!
Work Bench w/ Overhead lighting
***Work Bench
Work bench - excellent condition
STAIN LESS STEEL WORK BENCH TOP BRAND NEW!!!!!!!!!!
Heavy Duty Work Bench, Mechanics Bench,Auto Bench, Workbench

I'm on a roll:

Heavy Duty workbench with accessories
Stainless Steel Workbench (pretty sweet)
HEAVY DUTY GRAY ADJUSTABLE WORKBENCH / TABLE
Reload kit & work bench (bench AND reload equip.?)
HEAVY DUTY WORK BENCH
HEAVY DUTY WORK BENCH (that would be fun to move!)
craftsman work bench with vice
Garage workbench. Work bench commercial table
Workbench
WOOD WORK BENCH
Adjustable Height Work Bench 9' X 4' With (2) 4-Gang Electric Boxes
Nice 4x8 wood work bench
Gladiator Garageworks 8' Modular Workbench & Powerstrip
KNAACK 2060 23x24x60
"PENCO"3000-lb high capacity workbench {new condition}
workbench
Work bench - Stainless steel
Work Bench / Layout Table

:D

This is mine as I was building it. (It's upside down in the photo)
It's almost done now. Just need to finish off the bottom level
I'll take some new pics soon.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1275379602.jpg

The casters are rated at 120kg each.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1275379829.jpg

In hindsight, I wish I'd made the whole thing 4' deep, instead of just the one section.

http://rennlight.com/shop/image/2100900c.JPG
http://rennlight.com/shop/image/2100900b.PG

I also made this one, which is movable

http://rennlight.com/shop/image/5000227b.JPG

Hope that Thom (Widebody) chimes in here. He has a couple of beautiful work benches, one being topped with copper for welding.

Edit... guess he is 3 minutes ahead of me! :)

I kind of expected Thom was gonna post photos of a little more than I need.

The only problem I see with Thom is crap building up in front of that angle iron....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1275408403.jpg

Got the cabinets free for ripping them out of a remodel house in Bill Gates Neighborhood. New plywood on top to cover the stove and sink areas. Extended so I could put the compressor below. Friend donated the plywood and posts, total investment: $50.

Has TV, CD Player, Radio and I-pod player....

I made this project table I call it. Has my table saw built in to it.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1275437681.jpg

I also built this welding/tool cart.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1275437890.jpg

Here is a REAL work bench. Those legs are 6" x 6" x 1/4"

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1275438480.jpg

This is a good idea if you have limited space in your workshop.
Being able to move it around is a big bonus.

And you can move it a sweep under it.

I'm not smart enough to figure anything like this out myself the first time I try it so I bought the $6 .pdf file from these people:

Take a closer look: Weekend Workbench Plan

I've built this bench twice. It's sturdy, cheap, and easy to complete. I followed the plans and used a solid core door the first time. The 2nd time, I had a smaller footprint to work in and was in the middle of a kitchen remodel, so I scaled it down a little and used my old kitchen countertop for the top.

A solid wood door makes an excellent top. Try to find on at HD or Lowes or a true commerical door supplier that has be damaged. Sometimes you'll find one with a nice scratch in it. They will sell it for cheap.

A hollow metal door is nice too but it's not as easy to cut to size. I have booth types for my garage.