If you have a garage, then you need a garage workbench. You can either buy an off the shelf workbench from a home improvement store, or you can build your own. In my experience you can build a garage workbench in about an hour that will hold up longer than anything you can buy from a store. Not to mention you can save a few bucks in the process.

Material Required for Your Garage Workbench

To build your own garage workbench you will need six 2×4s, eight feet in length, and a 4’x 8’ sheet of ½ inch plywood. You will also need 2.5”, 1.25” and 1.0” drywall/decking screws.

The Garage Workbench Plan

To begin with you need a basic plan for your garage workbench. Typically I like to build garage workbenches that are 6 feet in length and 2 feet in depth. Due to the fact that I am tall, I typically like to have the legs 38” in length. Based on your personal height you may want to limit the leg height to 36”.

Cut the Top Frame Pieces

To begin the building of your garage workbench, start by making the equivalent of a 6’x2’ band constructed out of two 2×4s. This band represents the top framework of your garage workbench.

Cut two of the 8’x2”x4”s to 6 feet in length. Then trim the two remaining 2”x4”s stubs portions to 21” in length.

Now lay the 4 pieces on the garage floor, standing on their narrow end, with the two 21” length pieces sitting in-between the two 6 foot pieces. After positioning the pieces in place, such that you create a perfect rectangular band, draw a line with a pencil on the inside seams of the two longer boards. You are defining where you will make cuts to create lap joints for

Next, measure 3.5” inward, from the lines that you previously drew, and make another series of straight lines. Put an X between each pair of lines. You should have two X’s on each 6 foot 2”x4” piece. The spacing between each pair of marks should be 3.5”.

Now set your table saw or circular saw to 0.75” in depth, and make many cuts between each pair of lines. You should make cuts every 1/8th of an inch between the 3.5” inch marks.

Next, using a hammer, knock out the cut strips. Then use a chisel to smooth out the lap joints.

Building the Workbench Legs

Now create 4 workbench legs by cutting two 8 foot 2”x4”s to your desired height. For example, if you want the finished height of the workbench to be 36” cut the workbench legs to 35.5 inches in length.

Again, at the top of each leg, measure down 3.5” and make a mark across the wide side of the 2×4 legs. Again, using your table saw, make many 0.75” deep cuts between the end of the leg and the 3.5” line you drew. Do this for each leg.

Assemble the Garage Workbench Frame

Using 2.5 inch drywall/deck screws, attach the four top frame pieces together. The two 21” length pieces should sit in-between the two 6 foot pieces.

Next, attach the legs to the top frame piece. The top of each leg should sit flush with the top of the frame-top and should sit snuggly into the lap joints. Use 1.25” drywall or decking screws to attach the legs to the top workbench frame. Put 3 screws into each lap joint. You may also want to apply some carpenters glue in each lap joint before attaching the legs. The lap joints should assure that the workbench will not rack.