c/diy-workbench-hacks

Last Tuesday my workbench drawer fell off the slider rails for the 3rd time...

I was tightening a clamp and the whole drawer just dropped to the floor with a crash. First time I just hammered the rail back straight but it only held for like a week. Second time I tried some epoxy on the bracket and that snapped clean off too. Finally on Tuesday I got smart and drilled new holes to reposition the rail mount about 2 inches back. Has anyone else had luck with reinforcing those cheap drawer sliders with extra screws?

2 comments

the_blair•15d ago

I finally hit 50 workbench builds and the 50th one taught me something stupid

So I've been building workbenches for friends and neighbors for like 3 years now as a side thing. Last weekend I finished my 50th bench and I realized halfway through that I still make the same dumb mistakes from bench number 1. Like forgetting to square the legs before drilling. Or putting the shelf brackets on backwards. Has anyone else noticed you keep repeating certain errors even after doing something a ton of times?

2 comments

zara_hill46•15d ago

Took me 3 hours to figure out my bench was crooked by 1/8 inch

I built this workbench last month and kept wondering why my cuts were always slightly off. After three hours of checking my saw, my fence, and even my square, I finally put a level on the bench itself. Turns out I forgot to shim one leg when I set it on my uneven garage floor... so the whole top was tilted. Now I keep a set of shims taped to the leg just in case. Has anyone else chased a tiny problem like that for way too long?

2 comments

paulw63•16d ago

My bench top went from wobbly to solid in one weekend

I got sick of my workbench rocking every time I used a hand plane. So last Saturday I finally did something about it. I added two diagonal braces on the back legs and a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood across the bottom as a shelf. Before that I had just the legs bolted to the top with no cross bracing. The difference is night and day after maybe 4 hours of work. Has anyone else tried adding a plywood shelf to stiffen up their bench?

2 comments

mason847•20d ago

Hot take: Those magnetic tool holders are a scam for workbenches

I spent $35 on a heavy duty magnetic strip for my bench in Austin and stuff kept sliding off every time I bumped the table. I went back to a simple pegboard with hooks from the hardware store for $12 and it holds my wrenches way better, anyone else ditch the magnets for something basic?

2 comments