Bench Plans: Easy Woodworking Project
This work bench has so many uses for such a simple piece of equipment.
July/August 2009
Tom Larson
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The finished, handy-dandy bench, ready for any project on your to-do list.
Illustration by Nate Skow
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I built the prototype of this bench years (OK, decades) ago as a platform to stand on while supporting one end of a piece of Sheetrock on my head as I nailed it in place on an eight-foot ceiling. Since then, labor-saving Sheetrock lifts have become common. These lifts make the work a lot easier and avoid sore muscles and a sore head. But I have kept the old-fashioned bench. It is so handy in so many ways that I would not think of discarding it.
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Standing on the bench puts me at a comfortable height to do all sorts of household projects from hanging curtains to cutting in paint where walls meet ceilings. Installing lights, ceiling fans, wood trim, shelving and the like is more easily done standing on the stable, roomy bench than standing on the narrow step of a ladder.
In addition, the bench serves as a low table or workbench on which to saw or drill. On the bench, a paint can or roller tray is within easy reach. So are flower pots and potting soil. Also, it makes a good place to sit and take a break. Turned upside down, the bench becomes a box in which to carry tools and materials to a work site. There are so many uses for the device that finding a name for it is difficult. We just call it “the bench.” Its dimensions can be easily altered to suit your purposes and size.
Materials:
4 construction grade 2-by-2s 20 inches long (legs)
2 8-by-30-by-½-inch pieces of AC-grade, five-ply plywood (sides)
2 8-by-15-by-½-inch pieces of AC, five-ply plywood (ends)
1 approximately 16-by-30-by-1/2-inch piece of AC, five-ply plywood (top)
24 No. 8, 1 5/8-inch deck screws
4 No. 8, 2½-inch deck screws
Glue (Titebond III is a good choice)
The 2-by-2s used for legs need to be selected so they are free of large knots that would weaken them. I’ve specified ½-inch AC-grade plywood, but you could use any plywood between ½-inch and ¾-inch. I used ¾-inch for the top because I didn’t have enough ½-inch. The 2-by-2s are actually 1½-by-1½-inch, and plywood thicknesses may be less than the sizes used to refer to them. The width of the top equals the length of the end pieces plus two thicknesses of the side pieces. The widths and lengths of full sheets of plywood are almost always exact.