If you are a DIY enthusiast or enjoy other craft making hobbies, a garage is an ideal place to work and you’ll need a workbench. You can buy ready assembled workbenches or you can design and build your own. Most large DIY or home improvement stores will sell ready made or flat pack workbenches which are easy to assemble. They come in a variety of styles to suit different types of work.
Cabinet Style Workbench
Cabinet style workbenches are ideal if you need a lot of storage or have a lot of tools which you want to have close at hand. They have cabinets or drawers underneath the work top and some come with a pegboard backing which is ideal if you want to hang certain tools above the area you’re working for ease of access.
Table Workbench
Some workbenches simply consist of a table top which is often made of hardwood and come fitted with sturdy wooden or metal legs. The workbench top itself can also be made of metal if you prefer. These types of workbench are simply designed and are more about having heavy duty properties as opposed to being equipped with drawers and many DIY enthusiasts prefer these types if they’re going to be used regularly for fairly heavy objects and intensive work.
Power Strip Workbench
If you use power tools frequently, you can get specially designed power strip workbenches which will usually come with several power outlets in a strip with a heavy duty power cord.
Building Your Own Workbench
If you feel a bit more ambitious and wish to have a workbench specifically tailored to your needs, you can custom build your own. You can either buy a readymade kit which has all of the pieces cut out already and where it’s a simple matter of putting it all together. Alternatively, you can even buy all the materials from scratch and build your own bench. And, although this method is a bit more complex, it does enable you to have total control over what your finished workbench will look like and the functions it will perform.
The Internet has numerous sites featuring a range of workbench design plans which you can work off if you prefer to follow instruction.
If you do decide to construct your own workbench, however, make sure that you choose good quality wood which could be oak or hardwood plywood. It’s important that you put on several coats of polyurethane in order to protect the bench and make sure that you sand it in between applying each coat. This also makes the workbench easier to clean after you’ve finished working on it.
Other Workbench Applications
Of course, a garage workbench needn’t be simply about heavy duty DIY projects. You may want a workbench that’s designed for packing or as a computer workstation, for example, so you need to buy or make one that is designed to suit the functions for which it will be most used.
Other considerations might include working out how it will fit in with any electrical, gas and water requirements and if you’ll need a sink nearby, for example. Space considerations may also include separate components such as drawers, cupboards and shelves.
It’s really down to you to decide what type of workbench will suit your needs and also enable you to keep your garage safe and free from clutter.
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