There are many DIY projects you might attempt if you feel like you’re becoming an expert in this area. You might start by building spice racks and birdhouses, but as time passes, you may feel that you have surpassed such mundane projects. You can move on to more elaborate ones, including the creation of a heavy-duty workbench you can have available to you in the garage or basement.

The definition of a heavy-duty workbench is simply one that can withstand some serious weight. You can put the components that will go into a major project on the top of the workbench and you won’t have to worry about it collapsing.

Part of that usually involves the use of more than one steel angle iron that will go into the workbench’s base. It is these sorts of components that will truly let you embrace the moniker of “heavy-duty.” 

With that in mind, let us run through a step-by-step breakdown of how to build one of these workbenches. Once you have it, it should look aesthetically appealing, and you can also use it for the creation of many more projects that have all sorts of practical uses.

What You’ll Need

First, you will need wooden boards cut to the proper sizes. To determine what those lengths should be, you’ll need to measure how much space you have. 

You’ll want 2-4 angle irons that you’ll install in the base. You’ll also need the proper tools. Those will include a power screw gun, hammer, jigsaw with a wood-cutting blade, a drill, a carpenter’s pencil, a speed square, a chop saw, and a tape measure.

Cut the Top of the Bench

You will start by placing your boards that you’ll use for the top of the bench on the saw table. Use the tape measure and the speed square to mark the line where you will cut. 

Before you cut, be sure that you’re lining up the outside of the line you made rather than on the inside. If you cut on the inside, the measurement will be slightly off. Make your cuts and then set the boards to the side. 

Cut the Side Rails and Rear Boards

Next, you will measure and cut the boards that will make the rear and side boards of the workbench. Again, you will mark where you need to cut using the speed square and pencil. 

Cut as you did before, letting the blade drop down on the outside of the line rather than on the inside. The top board, also known as the “face board” of the bench, will connect the sides nicely, assuming you have cut them to the correct lengths. 

Cut the Legs for the Side Rails

Next, you will measure and cut the legs that will make up the bench’s side rails. Draw the line with the speed square and the pencil, making the cuts on the outside of the line as you did before. You will want to cut four legs, as these will form the base of the bench.

Notch Out the Legs

Next, you will notch out the legs. This involves making notches for the side rails in the legs where you’ll connect each piece. 

This is also where you might want to consider adding angle irons. This might make the installation process a bit more complex, but if you want to have heavier items on top of the workbench, it makes sense.

Once you have determined where each notch should be on the legs, you will cut each one out by drilling a hole that’s large enough for you to fit the jigsaw blade into it. You’ll then use the saw to cut out each notch. For a tight fit, make sure you cut inside the lines, though.

Next, you can test fit the rails. If they fit, you know that you measured and cut correctly.

Assemble the Workbench’s Sides

Now, you can lay down two of the legs you cut and apply a bit of wood glue to the bottom notches. You can then affix the side rail, touching it to the glue and seeing if it’s a tight fit. It should be. 

You can follow that by drilling some small pilot holes into the side rail’s end. This prevents your wood from splitting. Install your deck screws, two for each end of the sides. Remove excess glue with a clean cloth, and you should now have the sides of the bench ready to go.

Install Your Top Rails

Now, you can install the top rails that will help to hold the bench together. Do so by laying the partially assembled bench on its side and putting the top rails inside the ends. 

There should be a nice, snug fit. Drill pilot holes and use two more wood screws to attach the bench’s base. You will need to do that on either side of the base, with four wood screws total.

The Top Install and Headboard

Next, you will lay one of the remaining boards on the outer edge of the flat board that makes up the unfinished top of the bench. Mark every foot and drill pilot holes.

Follow that by laying your top board down flat and bringing it flush against the pilot holes you marked. They should form an L shape. You can now screw them together, with one screw at each spot where you measured a pilot hole.

That is the top of the bench. You may want to consider using a little more wood glue and applying it to the underside of the headboard where you affixed it to the pieces of wood underneath it. 

All that remains is to install the bottom shelves with the pieces of wood you have leftover. You can do that by centering these boards on the base, drilling pilot holes, and then attaching them using screws like you did with the bench’s upper portion.

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