DIY workbench

[NickTheGreat]

Yes. You just pull on the handles and the bed comes down.

We had a spare bedroom that was small and rarely used. The bed made it impossible to put anything else in the room, so I converted it to my work from home office by replacing the traditional bed with a Murphy bed and a fold out desk. Wish I had done this a long time ago.

Murphy Bed FTW. Did you use the Rockler Hardware Kit?

Mine is in my theater room, behind the screen. Screen goes up, bed comes down.

 

[TitanClone]

Made this a few years ago, adding the casters was a game changer when I was doing some remodeling and could make any cuts in my driveway instead of my garage.

Followed

 

[DJSteve]

I built this one at my previous house (though I skipped the upper shelf, as I had existing wall shelves): https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/how-to-build-a-workbench-super-simple-50-bench/ It's a fairly efficient design for material use with how cuts are laid out, I use Rubbermaid Roughneck tubs to organize a lot of power tools etc and set up my bottom shelf so tubs would fit below and on the shelf. If I built another, I would use carriage bolts to attach the legs to the benchtop stringers.

It looks like they're charging for plans now, and not sure I'd pay $6.99, but you can basically see the lengths in the preview image. Or I'd bet the design is out there on the internet somewhere else that you can find it for free.

 

[Pope]

Murphy Bed FTW. Did you use the Rockler Hardware Kit?

Mine is in my theater room, behind the screen. Screen goes up, bed comes down.

Nice! I used the Create-A-Bed hardware kit.

I think I checked into the Rockler kit but it was gonna take a couple months to get it, so I found a different hardware kit and it worked very nicely.

 

[SayMyName]

I've used this super-simple setup in my garage for the past 20+ years - I just cut out a 4x8 sheet of MDF and laid on top of two sections of a configurable metal 5-shelf unit

 

[mywayorcyway]

After making my own Murphy bed with a fold out desk, I'm thinking about making a "Murphy work bench" for my garage wall. It's an incredible space saver!

View attachment 125407

I'm curious because we're looking at them - why did you build a Murphy bed instead of buying one?

 

[Pope]

I'm curious because we're looking at them - why did you build a Murphy bed instead of buying one?

My total cost for building the bed was approximately $700. To buy a similar kind of bed (with bookshelves and fold out desk) would have cost me well over $2000.

 

[mywayorcyway]

My total cost for building the bed was approximately $700. To buy a similar kind of bed (with bookshelves and fold out desk) would have cost me well over $2000.

Suddenly I'm interested.

 

[2122]

Harbor Freight has a DIY workbench kit. Gets high ratings...

60 in., Three Drawer Hardwood Workbench

Amazing deals on this 60In 3 Drawer Hardwood Workbench at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[CyDawg23]

If you want to save some money I’m sure you could find some free pallets that would work for a bench that small.

I’ll have a couple free pallets available this week if you’re near Johnston @CYdTracked.

 

[mywayorcyway]

Harbor Freight has a DIY workbench kit. Gets high ratings...

60 in., Three Drawer Hardwood Workbench

Amazing deals on this 60In 3 Drawer Hardwood Workbench at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

I have one of these. It does the job, but it has been relegated to minor league duty. It's not nearly as sturdy as the bench I built with 4"x4" legs. It's not very heavy and the drawers don't like to stay closed unless I shim the table to tilt backward slightly. The clamp is handy but also requires extra space.