Introduction: Build an Awesome Mobile Space Saving Work Bench.

By ZombTech
About: Hey there my name is Colter and I am a prop/armor/effects artist. I love what I do and I am hopping to make it my career soon, but for now I am doing it for myself and friends. I also really enjoy sharing the …

Hey there everyone my names Colter and i'm here to help you build an awesome space saving workbench that is also mobile. I would like to let you know that most of the instructions in here can either be adjusted to fit your area or the style you want. Like if you don't want doors on the front of it just skip that step or if the upper shelf's are to tall just cut them to the size you want, so to start off there are a few things your going to need.

Tools you need:


• Drill
• Hammer
• Tin snips
• Chop/Circular/Table/ or hand saw
• A level
• Tape measure
• 4 hinges
• Pen or Pencil
• 8 L-brackets
• Screws & Nails

• Paint

• and the Millennium Falcon


Now that you have gotten all your tools together it is time to collect the materials.

The materials you will need:


• 2. sheets of plywood I used 1/2'' but if you want thicker or thinner you can definitely do that.
• 1. 1" by 11" sheet of MDF at 8' long and if you cant find any at those measurements you can either cut a sheet to size or even just get wood instead of MDF since this will later become the upper shelves.
• 1. sheet of peg board to go on the back once you have built the whole thing so you can tools thus saving space.
• 1. sheet of metal this is a step you don't have to do if you don't want to. I used to protect the surface of the bench I found a few things I had laying around that already had metal on them like the doors and the upper shelf's but if you want that your probably going to need to get some more sheet metal but that's all up to you.
• 2. 2 by 6's These bad boys are going to become the sides to the upper shelf's
• 3. 1 by 4's These will be used for a boarder that goes around the doors and they will also be used for a tool holder and shelf supports.
• 4. locking casters AKA wheels You don't have to get these but if you would like to be able to move this thing with ease I suggest getting some. Just remember that they will give your bench some extra height to make sure to give yourself some head room ;)
• 4. 2 by 4's these are what your going to making the main body out of so there kind of important haha.




Once you have attained all the materials needed your getting closer to build the bench of your dreams so lets get started shall we?!?

Step 1: Building the Frame

To start this build I found this old cabinet thing on the side of the road, so I figured I could use it for this build. yay recycling :D but if your not as lucky ill explain what to do. I rendered a few blueprints that I made of the stages to build this body. There are notes on each photo that should help a little bit.

First you are going to want to cut 4 2x4's to 47".

Second your going to cut 4 2x4's to 14"

Now attach two of the smaller 2x4's to the ends of the long ones making sure there on the inside of the longer ones.

Next cut 2 2x4's to 38" you can cut these to the height you want your bench to be since these will be the center struts for it height.

After you have these cut out next your going to cut a notch out of both ends so they will fit into the boxes you made. cut the notches at 4" in and 1" deep so it makes an L shape.

Now cut your plywood so it is the same height as your middle support and the same width as the side of your boxes. You are going to make two of these for the sides.

Once you have these you are going to attach the plywood walls first then the middle supports. At this point you should have a nice box built.

To get the shelves in you are going to cut some more plywood to a length so it will fit on the 2x4's that are on the ends of the inside of the bench this is where your tape measure comes in handy :D. After you have the length next you will want to get the width so you have about an inch on both sides and the 2x4's can give it support otherwise you will have an un-sexy sag in your bottom shelve, and we know none of us want that. Now cut out some notches in the middle to accommodate the middle supports. If you want two shelves just do all of this again and there you go. To support the middle shelve you will want to cut 2 1x4's so they are as wide as the ends of the shelve and while you are at it cut a 2x4 so it can fit in between the middle supports nice and snug then attach the 1x4's to the walls of the bench then the 2x4 in the middle. Now you should be able to twist that shelve into place.

Now comes the top. You can cut this to whatever shape & size you like, but for this I cut mine to "L stands for long D stands for deep"55"L X 49"L and 22"D X 11"D. Doing this gave me an overhang on the front and back plus a small area on the left side, but as I said before you can do it however you want its your awesome bench after all :D.

Step 2: Adding Doors.

In this step I shall teach you the ways of door-fu. This step is pretty straight forward basically you are going to cut out 2 rectangles that cover the open front. I made mine from some doors that are off an old furnace that I removed from my shop I thought they looked cool it only helped that they fit perfectly haha. I cut out some plywood that would fit into the back of the doors to reinforce them. You can do it this way or you can measure the area you need to cover then cut them out of plywood you can then cover those doors with some sheet metal for that added awesome, plus it gives you the ability to use magnet jars and such. The doors I used had locking handles already attached to them but you can easily pick some up at a hardware store or even make some yourself :). I also cut some 1x4's so they would fit around doors and give it a nice flush fit when it was closed I used some 1 1/2" finishing nails to attach them.

Step 3: Shelves and Peg Board

Time to build the two towers well the upper shelves area that is this is where we use the 2 2x6's you have. All you are going to do is cut them to a height you feel is right mine is cut to 81" but I have some head room in my shop you may want to make it a little smaller then mine, but that's all up to you. Then attach them to the middle of the sides of the bench. I had some large steel shelves laying around so I used them, but you can cut that MDF I had you get to 11" x 47" cut two of these. You can also wrap some sheet metal on these to give them a nicer look. Take your L-Brackets and attach one shelve to the top of your 2x6's so it acts as a nice topper and then grab your second shelve and attach it at a level you like.

Now that you have some great shelf's built its time to add the pegboard to the back so pretty much just cut it to fit the way you like. I made mine start at the top of my bench then go all the way to the top of the shelves. I then took a 1x4 cut it to fit the size of the back of the bench then laid it under some extra pegboard I had Then took a pen and marked all the holes down the length of it once that was done I drilled holes into it ranging from small, medium, and large so I could store all my sculpting tools and other stuff in one easy place. I then cut a 1x4 down so it would be a 1x1 1/2 I then made a 3 sided box out of them that fit around the 1x4 to make it look super fancy. Dont nail this part down just yet though we still have a nice piece of sheet metal to add that is if you want to.

Step 4: Fancy Table Top You Have There.

This step is both easy and hard depending on how you cut your table top. Go grab your tin snips now, it's ok i'll wait.... OK do you have them? Great, now we can begin.

Warning working with sheet metal can leave you with deep cuts if you aren't careful.

Mark out the shape you need to cut out so it will fit the top of your bench make sure to leave an extra inch on all sides so you can fold it under all the edges of your table top. Once you have that all done spread some glue onto the top of your bench. I used 3M super 77 for this but you can use whatever your little heart's desires. Drop your metal onto the top and make sure it is all lined up then wait for the glue to dry I suggest weighing it down with stuff to make sure it sticks . When the two have become BFFS it is time to bend the edges so they fit nicely over the edges of the table top. Be careful while doing this since the edges can be razor sharp.

Voila you have a great looking bench top now!

Step 5: Caster Time!

Super simple step tip the whole thing on its side and wheel.... Attach all four casters and then stand it back up.

BOOM DONE!

Step 6: Paint Time

This step is also super easy all you have to do is paint this bad boy. I chose to go with black but I was really thinking about going with pink but decided against it in the end. I also decided to paint something onto the pegboard since it was just so plain. Also you don't have to paint the cat onto the pegboard like I did your choice.

"NOTE"

I don't hate cats in fact I have three and this one looks like my smallest one no tail and all lol.

Step 7: Extras!

Here are some extra things you can add to your bench too. A Garbage shoot made from 1x1 a magnet some cloth and two small hinges super easy and I use it all the time. Also you can easily add shelves to the left side or the right side if you like. It is your Awesome workbench do with it what you will.

Step 8: SO Sexy!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!

You have just built a super awesome space saving and mobile work station that fits your buys and cramped lifestyle.

I hope you found this helpful, informative, and entertaining and if you like props and special effects you can find them over here on my FaceBook page: ZombTech's Super happy fun time Facebook page of awesome.