just moved into our first house and it has a nice sized garage. not much for height but its roughly 28x24 or something like that. ive got tons of 3x3 or 4x4 inch square tubing in various lengths. i want to make a work bench roughly 19-20 feet long, 2.5 or so feet deep and not sure on height. anyone have any picture of there set up? any helpfull advise is appreciated. im planning on getting some adjustable feet for it so i can level it.

the wall its going along (never thought to measure the existing work bench)
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e74/85burbanator/house/S5300006-1-1.jpg


the small wall next to the garage door is roughly 5 foot
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e74/85burbanator/house/S5300005-1-1.jpg

You sure are gonna love having that extra work space along the side, I know my bud does. Hoping to get the other way around myself though, 24 wide x 28 deep. I like my work space in front of the trucks.

To answer your question, the work bench you currently have looks to be a nice height, I would go the same. Like me I made my built in work bench/under cabinets the same height as my partswasher on casters. Just to have the extra support area.

i am liking the height of the existing work bench, the depth as well. its just an old countertop. i also like my work space towards the front of the vehicle but if its ever an issue i can just back the truck out the door alittle bit. gotta figure out a spot for the grinder, chop saw, welder, hopefully soon band saw and oxy/acet torches.

I limited my bench area to 3'x8' as I find that for me, they become shit collecting cluttered messes.

This way I saved floorspace and also force myself to stay more organized.

Just a thought.

you might be on to something. i think i might make it 8x3 maybe 10x3. going to reuse the existing one but make it lower to the ground so i can work on the r/c cars.

I picked 3'x8' because I had a 4'x8' sheet of 1/4" plate that I had bent for the top of the bench, giving me a 6" backspash on the back and front.

im not sure what im going to top the bench with yet to tell you the truth.

Do you want to stand and work or sit and work?

After standing for years working on shit my next bench is going to be made to match up with a comfy/rugged garage chair. Nothing is nicer than sitting down, and welding on a table, or sitting down and grinding on a table... standing up sucks. Not to mention it's easier to lift axles, or other heavy shit on/off your work bench.

I would go with a 4'x10' or 4'x8' piece of 3/8" plate for the top, use your other steel to build it accordingly as beefy. Make storage under it/racks whatever.

I'd also put it on HEAVY DUTY RUBBER casters. That way in the future if you need to move it you can.

Since you are building it from scratch make sure to make nifty features like the ability to hold a vice, grinder, light stand, etc around the table. Use the smaller receiver/hitch stuff and you can have a lot of nice removable things.

-Todd

good idea on the removeable stuff. ive got plenty of square tubing to make it work. im gunna take our old chair over there and see how i like certain heights. so 3/8's will be enough to pound on or take a dropped axle without to much damage? i can get some of that for not a whole lot of money.

good idea on the removeable stuff. ive got plenty of square tubing to make it work. im gunna take our old chair over there and see how i like certain heights. so 3/8's will be enough to pound on or take a dropped axle without to much damage? i can get some of that for not a whole lot of money.

If braced properly it will be fine. If you really want to be able to 'drop' an axle on it i'd go 1/2" braced, but you will really really need help manhandling a piece of 4'x8' or 4'x10' of 1/2" we have enough problem getting 3/8" around.

I'd def. go the chair route :)

Make sure you have some sort of adjustable feet, I can see from here that you floor has lots of slope.

If you plan on the chair idea don't put a full width shelf down below, makes it tough to get close.

How about a bar stool, might be able to set the height so you can sit or stand comfortably.

Brewchief:D

i am leaning more towards some heavy duty adjustable feet.

x5 with the smaller bench. I have most of my tools on wheels and can move them as needed. Possible consider a rolling cart type item. Its taken me a few years and a few different phases to get my garage where it suits my work style..

I also have a cheep garage sale small ~34"ish bar stool. I can sit and stand at any of my work areas, and it also serves as a good temp surface to set a box down while I clear off bench space :)

On my metal work table I used 1/2" gr8 bolts threaded into nuts welded on the inside of the legs.

Big work benches = lots of clutter. :flipoff2:

2' deep is plenty for most work. You have a nice wall above that, so either using peg board or heavy plywood allows lots of hooks to hang stuff for easy reach.

I have a 5' x 14' "work bench" in the middle of my shop. While a great work surface, it has become a clutter magnetic for all sorts of junk while working on other projects.

Tubing is 1" square 0.125" wall. So 3" square tubing will be fine. (yep, my sheet aluminum is under there someplace... )

EDIT: Note the top 3/4" plywood has about a 2" overhang. Makes it is to clamp stuff to the edge.

i think im going to carry the pegboard along the length of the wall to were the last outlet is. i have a rolling tool cart which hold alot of my everyday tools and what not. so 1/2 inch grade 8 bolts will work for adjustable feet huh. alot cheaper then those heavy duty ones.

I have 15' of 2' deep workbench in my garage, and love it. I am going to tear it out and rebuild it from steel, though. (previous owner built it). i also decided that due to space, it's going to be built in 3-5'x2.5' sections on wheels.

One will be a welding table, one will be a plasma table, one with 3/8" top for fabbing and such. The welding table and plasma table will have 1/8" steel tops for use as a bench. They will be built so they're all level when pushed together. I need tables around the garage sometimes, but don't have room to store separate ones.

Barstools have been mentioned twice, but they're a little tall for working on most benches.

If you want something that's just right for sitting at workbench height, type "drafting chair" or "drafting stool" into Fleabay. They sit much taller than a regular chair and usually have a fair amount of adjustment. They older they are - the better made they are.

nissan crawler- i though of that as well so i think i might make a nice 3x5 table for welding/ mobile work table the i can slide next to my workbench or have on the other side of the garage. gunna be a minute till i can order some 3/8's steel though. might make the workbench top in 1/4 or 3/16's though. i dunno.

I'm just a couple small projects away from ripping my entire work bench off the wall. IMO work benches attached to the wall are the biggest waste of space and shittiest surfaces to work on regardless of height. My next tables are going to be mobile so that I can roll them out into the middle of the floor and work them from all four sides.
I have a little tiny vise I'm going to mount to it but my main vise is mounted solid to the floor with some drop in anchors. I did that from the same reason that the table will be mobile, so that I can work on whatever from all sides.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13745&d=1194159353

36" is a pretty standard height for most work surfaces. i like 24" for the depth if the bench is against the wall. its deep enough for most projects and shallow enough to reach the back. plus most sheet goods come in 48" widths, so you can cut a sheet in half and make a shelf under the bench with the other half.

my bench is 24"x 8'-0" with one shelf for storage. i made mine out of 2x4 and cabinet grade plywood. its easier to level that way. the legs and supports are all lap joints, glued and screwed with structural screws. the bench is lag bolted to the wall studs. the top of the bench has 1/8" sheet steel on half where the vice is. i have had the tranny, front axle, ect sit on the bench with no problem.

If i had the space i would keep the bench i have and build a steel table on adjustable height casters.

19 feet of workbench is a lot of space to give up in a garage...won't leave you much room for other stuff that needs to go along the walls. I have a wood workbench that's 6 x 2 and a welding table thats 2 x 3 right next to it...its on casters so I can roll it out to work all the way around it if I want to. Theyr'e both built to the same height so that I can use them as one big bench if I want to. the wood bench has a solid core door for a top...the table is 3/8" plate.