Folding workbench??

[scheu]

Guys,
Long time listener/first time caller (reader/lurker??). I need help. Here's the situation. I have a small 2 car garage (maybe 20x20 at most). New fiance wants to park her car in the garage along with my Tacoma. I can move the box around (worst case into the basement....) but my work bench is another problem. Do any of you have/built/bought a folding bench of somekind? I was thinking something that attaches to the wall with legs that also fold, then folds up or down to get it out of the way. It wouldn't have to stand up to rebuilding big blocks but I'd like it to be better than a board on sawhorses. Thoughts? I'm not sure how much longer she'll be ok with parking outside...
Thanks, Jeff

 

[MotoDave]

Check out Jack Olsen's garage, he has a bunch of cool space saving benches:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32636

 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Ive built 2 foldup benches! Its very easy. I framed it with 2X4's and used 3/4" plywood for the tabletop. For the swivel I used Door hinges bolted to the table top and to another 2x4 that I lagged to the wall. For the Legs I also used 2x4's that were bolted to the outer sides of the table with locking nuts allowing them to swivel. When you lowered the table the legs would wedge again the corner of the floor and wall. I also used a window latch for when the top was in the closed position. And yes it was strong enuff to build an engine on!

 

[Bfoughty]

I built my folding work bench using a solid core door blank ( pretty cheap if you can find one that is messed up on the face or edges) some door hinges attached to the wall and for legs I used 1" black pipe that screws into the bases attached to the bottom side of the door. when I want to fold it up (Like that is ever going to happen since it is always loaded down) I unscrew the legs and clip them into some spring clips that are mounted on the back side of the door also. I can post some pics later if your interested.

 

[Officer Bill]

+1 on Jack Olsen's benches. Very well done. I am in the process of making similar benches to the ones he made.

 

[stricht8]

Uh, hello, "MAN"cave. Tell her to park outside. It was your domain to begin with. You have workbench and toolchest in there for a reason. There is always give and take in a relationship but messin with a man's garage is unacceptable!

 

[sgrammel]

Uh, hello, "MAN"cave. Tell her to park outside. It was your domain to begin with. You have workbench and toolchest in there for a reason. There is always give and take in a relationship but messin with a man's garage is unacceptable!

Yeah! The sofa bed is yours too!

 

[pipehack]

Jack has a real nice garage. Check out the fence job he did too..

 

[srmofo]

Uh, hello, "MAN"cave. Tell her to park outside. It was your domain to begin with. You have workbench and toolchest in there for a reason. There is always give and take in a relationship but messin with a man's garage is unacceptable!

In that case he could just park outside, keep all his stuff where its at, and let her park inside.

 

[JakeD]

Yeah! The sofa bed is yours too!

And that's ok; it's kind of like camping.

 

[Stick Figure]

In that case he could just park outside, keep all his stuff where its at, and let her park inside.

no thats when you buy her a remote start!

 

[z28snksknr]

I made a "budget" colapseable workbench out of 2x12's w/ 4x4 legs. It's not super pretty, but it's definately a sturdy piece and I think I spent <$150 on it.

Check out my signiture for the thread.

 

[72chevy]

There are lot's of plans out there.
Here's one...http://performanceunlimited.com/backdoor/bench.html

 

[stricht8]

In that case he could just park outside, keep all his stuff where its at, and let her park inside.

Now thats an idea. You could park outside, keep your toolchest and workbench inside and occasionally put your car inside when you work on it. Only problem is that she will be in your garage all the time.

 

[Falcon67]

I have one in the outer shop/shed, made from a freebie 1/2 of a king waterbed frame base.
The piece:

Some hinges and a couple of 2x4s - the legs attach under the front with some allthread and wing nuts.

Legs store in the cavities of the wall.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Mine is similar to the one in the plans 72Chevy posted -- I wish I'd seen that, in fact. I don't think it would be hard to improve on my design -- I'm pretty much an impatient hack when it comes to this stuff.

My concerns were not to let the hinges support much when it was in the 'down and pounding' position, and to try and consider the best way to carry force down from the surface to the floor. Angled legs aren't ideal, that way, but they're less vulnerable to getting kicked out because they can be wedged in at the floor line.

The angled support goes all the way to the edge of the bench in the posted plans, but not in mine. I think theirs is better for support all the way to the edge of the top, but mine might be better in terms of how much the top is pushing away from the wall. My thinking was that most of the heavy work is done near the center of the table, not the edge. But it probably helps to know what you're going to be using the thing for.

If you want more information about the ones I built, let me know and I'll post it here. Otherwise, you can find stuff in the link in my signature.

 

[gulfpits]

There are lot's of plans out there.
Here's one...http://performanceunlimited.com/backdoor/bench.html

That's a slick and inexpensive set-up. Got a entire wall I will use that idea on....I think I will box mine out from the wall about 6 inches though to provide for some hideaway storage of hanging tools and clamps though similar to the way Jack made his..

 

[Jack Olsen]

Yeah, that was something I didn't think of with the first bench. If you space the hinging portion out an inch or two, you suddenly have a lot of space to hang tools behind the bench. It can be as simple as running a 2x4 the length of the bench (tying it in to the wall studs), then attaching the hinges to it, instead of the wall. I'd still want to have some support for the edge of the bench so that the hinges don't carry all the weight when it's in the down position, but that's still do-able with the 2x4 idea.

 

[TONE]

Just back in and use the tacomas tailgate as a bench.

next

 

[Beater]

Check out this thread too: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=665697#post665697
Post # 87 I put a link to some hinges I found for fold down shelves/benches.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

If the bench top folds down, I often thought that two triangles of plywood hinged to the studs could swing out when the top gets raised. No feet, just wall mounted gussets.

 

[BWS]

Just a thought............go steal some kids ping-pong table,the kind that folds up on itself...they're huge.carry on BW

 

[Jack Olsen]

The collapsable shelf supports would be great for a shelf, but I don't know if I'd want to hammer too much on a shelf supported by them.

Here's what I mean by supports:

It's very simple; when the table is down, the weight can rest on these pieces, which are screwed into the studs. You can jump up and down on the thing all day long.

 

[[email protected]]

There are lot's of plans out there.
Here's one...http://performanceunlimited.com/backdoor/bench.html

Does anyone know what is being used to "funnel the leg into its secure pocket"? The black things in the 4th picture, what are they?

I am going to build this shelf tonight, and will post pictures when I am done. I too am concerned about the hinges bearing the load when heavy equipment is being stored or I am pounding on something. I think I have a better design. More to come.