Need ideas for a new workbench

My work shop room is on stand by for the moment but I will be using my old kitchen cabinets once our remodel is done.  I used kitchen cabinets  in my previous shop and found them very utilitarian when it came to placement and use..  As for affordable and cheap , try checking Craigslist , always someone trying to get rid of cabinets for free or next to free.

Best of luck.

Hi Shawker! I used cheap metal shelves and a hollow door that I took off the spare bedroom that I am working in. I replaced the door with a screen door that came off the back porch when we closed it in with storm windows and a metal storm door. I know it sounds funny to put a screen door on a bedroom but I got the idea from a customer of ours that did it to keep their cats out of the baby's room and still be able to see and hear him if he was crying. They said that they got the idea from other friends so I guess we're not the only ones using that idea. I've got 2 cats too so it works for me.

Another idea is to go to Freecycle.com and check for your area. People put cabinets and other stuff up for free. You just have to go and get it. No money changes hands. I've gotten a couple of monitors for my computer, my computer chair, a great kitchen cabinet that I turned into a spray booth and other stuff. You can get rid of stuff you don't want any more too. If you want any more info, just PM (Start a conversation)  me. Here's a couple of pics of my workroom. Hope this helps.

Jim

Thanks guys, yeah I have most of the materials, minus a couple of 1x4 and 2x4s, I have plenty of storage with a huge open shelf storage meant for lateral file folders as my man cave is my wife's old home office.

I like the screen door but my two shepherds would jump through the first time a close it just to show me they can lol.  My brother-n-law and I tend to overbuild things like my son's train table which was built with 1 inch plywood and 4x4s for legs.  You can put over 500 lbs on it and it won't phase it.

Of course after building it my kids decided instead of putting the train on the table it makes a great fort.   If men are from Mars and Women from Venus then kids are from Pluto.

Here's mine- hopefully yours won't be this messy!  But it works fine for me.  It's a U-shape made up of two old workbenches, over 50 years old, a home made table with screw-on legs, and two old sets of shelving that are about 65 years old!  I bolted the two workbenches and the table together and they are solid as a rock.  One wall is pegboard, over the right hand workbench, left by the previous owner of this house.  Too bad about the sewer pipe and iron support post right in the middle of the entrance to the U! 

Now that is what I like to see.  Although a little to big for me, that is the idea I have wish I had a 50-60 year old workbench just lying around though lol oh and a basement, but those of us in south Florida don't get such luxuries like that.  

HI , Shawker !

  I have been using a modified kitchen cabinet with a CORIAN top for over fifty years now .The corian was a later addition . All are covered with tempered glass that was a throwaway from one of those old stereo towers (a big one .) The glass covers all of the top .in the immediate work area .

  I took the two doors off and made a footwell for it . With the drawers and the top cabinet that matched I have a work area that is modular AND  , I devised some brackets that let's me use it free standing too !  I painted it in old fahioned gloss white interior paint . OH , you know what ? that paint was lead based  wasn't it ? Gee , no lead poisoning here ! . The finish is like new and easy to keep clean .

 I had a dedicated shop in my house that blew away and that was the cat's meow .Lighting is the primary problem in any work area .That's why I have the uppers .Two modified " OTT " lights mounted under the overhead cabinets solved that .(in place of two small regular flourescent four tube lights .) Good luck on your build .    Tanker-builder

I will get a picture posted, but I use an old corner computer deck.  I like that it kind of wraps around me, has an elevated shelf I can put a monitor on (and a lower shelf I can put the laptop on) so I can pull up pictures, instruction sheets, etc of what I am building for reference.  The keyboard shelf comes in handy for holding photo-etch, tools, etc.  Lots of shelves and nooks for things, too.

What I have is kind of like the Ikea HEMNES corner workstation, but I got it at Office Depot years ago.  It was cheap, had lots of storage options, and I didnt really care if it got nicked up.

Good luck!

An easy way to get good drawer sets/pedestals is to use a pair of those plastic drawer units the office supply stores sell.  They are available in various numbers of drawers- several small drawers or a few big ones (I used one of each).   Then I made the top from a sandwich of 1/2 inch particle board with 1x2s between sheets.  I hate building drawers so those drawer units were a great labor saver.  I built a little pedestal from 1 x 4 stock to raise the top about four inches to a more comfortable working height- one pedestal on each of the two bases.

Just a suggestion.....  switch sides with your computor.  You want the modeling side on your right.   Aint nothing mor frustrating than to run out of elbow room when the glue your holding onto starts to dry!   Im assuming that your right handed of  course.

       Also get yourself a piece of glass about 12 in.  by 12 in.   it comes in handy for decale cutting and cutting masking tape and a bunch of other stuff.

More great ideas, Timmy my brother-n-law made that suggestion too.  I have one of the set of plastic drawers already and what another one as it is full already with paint and glue lol.  as for the right side of my desk that is my reserved for my gaming online BF3 etc...  ADHD sucks when you are retired.

This is mine:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/general_discussion/f/9/t/150634.aspx?sort=ASC&pi240=2

I had some old lockers my kids used, some left over mdf and flooring. Took the lockers apart, slapped a top on, and called it done.