In an attempt to try and get some sort of organisation in my workshop I decided to build a power tool workbench made from upcycled pallet wood. The idea was to get the chop saw, pillar drill and planner/thicknesser all in one place and all at a comfortable working height for me. I find leaning forward to work at a standard height bench gives me back ache quite quickly. So my ideal workbench is quick a bit higher than the norm! Ideally this bench should also have a lower shelf where the portable power tools could be stores in their respective cases. Finally this power tool workbench should be on castors so it can me around in the workshop.
So now we know what we want lets go and build it. I started off by making one of the sides, as you can see below. There are no fancy joints, the whole thing is screwed together using rather large screws. Once this first side was assembled, everything else could evolve from it.
Next part of the build was to build end struts and join them to the existing side structure that has just been completed. You can see what I mean from the picture below, the whole thing is on it’s side at the moment while it’s all screwed together.
The picture below shows the power tool workbench main structure completed and in the upright position. One of the joys of using recycled pallet wood in projects is that nothing is ever “straight”. Just look at the long piece at the top on the left, very warped but for this job it’s fine.
Now we need to be looking at making the top for this bench. Again this is going to made from upcycled pallet wood, but this time we are going to be using the planks. First thing to do is try and select enough planks that are roughly the same thickness so we get a fairly level top. I say fairly level because it doesn’t have to be absolutely level.
As you can see in the picture above, some of the top planks have already been fitted and others have been selected for use, although they will need cutting to length and then they will be screwed to the frame.
The picture above shows the top completely fitted and the castors screwed on the corners on the underside. So now we are getting there. Next job is to place the power tools onto the workbench to ensure there is enough room, as shown below.
Fortunately the guesstimations worked and there is more than enough room for everything, with ample space for the pieces of wood being worked.
In this picture the bottom shelf is still to be fitted although in reality it has already been fitted. I will take photo at the next opportunity and add it to this post.
So there you have it, a custom built power tool workbench made completely from upcycle pallet wood. This workbench cost next to nothing to build, apart from the four castors at a couple of quid each. Right at the start of this project I decided to leave the wood rough and not sanded. I couldn’t justify the extra time spent on sanding etc when really there was no need for it.
This power tool workbench made from upcycled pallet wood is in almost constant use and it’s doing the job great. I am also really pleased I gave some thought about the height as I haven’t felt any backache at all after working at this bench. That’s the real beauty of doing it yourself, you can make it to “fit” you.
I do hope this has been of interest to you and given you some ideas, I haven’t provided any dimensions because you should really build this to suit you and your workspace.
