Does anyone have any plans for a heavy duty workbench? The plans I find online are not what I consider "heavy duty". I want to build two 7'x3' workbenches but I am flexible regarding size.
Thanks.

I don,t have any plans for a HD one but at the dealer shop ours were made with 4"X4" legs with 2" planks for the top & also 2"X 8" or you could use 10" for around the sides below the top for support.Also a shelf could be installed toward the floor up about a ft. off the floor. Also a low backing board was installed across the back so nothing would roll behind the bench when your working on it. Also some of ours had a sheet metal top installed on the top for HD work on them to protect the boards but thats optional.

I have seen 26 ga sheetmetal on top of wood workbench top, and it never stays flat long when you drop heavy castings on it etc. I would spring for a piece of 10ga plate especailly if you want to weld or cut on them. It makes a reinforced place to fasten a vise too.


Will these be freestanding or fastened along a wall? I like the proportions ok, but if you put a vise on it, it won't be as steady as you would want unless it's attached to the floor or building posts. (Bottom shelf full of junk helps that too)

CC yes you don,t want thin metal put on the top as it would not take the abuse. The ones at the dealer shop that we had were heavy metal over the planks but don,t know how thick it was as they were made up when I started there & they wouldn,t warp or anything else no matter what you did on top of them.I had two in my engine rebuilding bay & the one was about 10 ft. long with just a plank top & then there was a heavy smaller all metal one to do smaller jobs on & it had wheels on one end & handles on the other side so you could move it around.This one had a vice on it & then the big HD vice in the bay had a heavy steel base it was mounted on & the base was welded to a support beam in the shop building construction.

4' x 8' x 1'' Steel drop a D 2 on it will still be flat . Frend made one good table

A good question to put on the Shop floor talk forum. A piece of 1/4"plate over planks with the vise bolted to it works for me. The shelf below and the backing board are a great idea. Phil

I have seen a couple of very nice sturdy benches built from stainless steel. Used restaurant equipment is 10 cents on the dollar. It's cheap. Just find some long pieces such as ones near a dishwasher and build away. You can beef it up and weld it if necessary. Good Luck
Biggastractor

The ones we have in our shop are 4' X 8' X 1/2" tops with 4X4, 1/4" wall legs,and 2X2" braces, all steel. You can darn near park a 9 on them!

Thanks for your responses. If I don't get any specific plans, I plan to use a solid core door (1.75" thick) for the top with 10 guage galvanized rolled steel on top of the door. 4"x6" for the legs and 4"x4" for all supports using lap joints at all joints. I hope that I don't have to draw the plans myself... plans would be great.

The benches will be free standing and other than the 10 gauge galvanized rolled steel top, will be made of wood.