Suggestions for workbench leg supports

[rockcrawler]

I just acquired, at no cost, a steel workbench that is pretty old. It’s 6‘ x 3‘ with a top that is about 1/8” steel. It had some 2 x 6 boards at the bottom for a shelf and a 1 x 6 on the back for support. But, the bench still wobbled quite a bit. All the wood has now been removed because it was old, warped and rotting. I plan on putting some boards or plywood on the bottom for a shelf. I need some ideas on how to brace the legs to keep the bench from wobbling side to side. Will a simple X shape of flat stock be enough, or will I need something more substantial? It has a wood top that is covered in laminate. I plan on using the top and recovering it with new laminate just to freshen it up.

 

[larry4406]

I would add diagonals at the rear (against the wall side) to stop the racking of the legs. Then when you add the shelf that ties the legs together that should be sufficient.

 

[jack stand]

Like Larry said, or I see some handy holes in the back legs and a piece of plywood as tall and wide as that space is above the horizontal leg braces on the sides and the top would keep **** from falling off the back and really tighten up that back side. Then assess the front. If you weld, some little 6-8" long diagonal braces should do the trick and not restrict access to much. Nice little bench.

 

[65ranchero]

6 foot bench ( for free)

Install 4 up right steel angles ( one on each leg )
Cut the angle steel to length one for the front and one for the rear, bolt it to the side rails. I used a piece of 3/4 osb sheathing for a shelf . one advantage is the shelf height is adjustable.
pictures below help explain it, very stabile and I added wheels to the legs.


Use product similar to this:

https://www.grainger.com/product/38...jzHKI2MZb3XmyfvulKAaAgfoEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[The Cobbler]

cross brace or strut from the base of the leg to the centre of the work surface on the rear legs . ply shelf will tie everything to gether & make a huge improvement

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'd add the shelf back in place for the bottom and a piece of plywood for the back underneath the top. I'd also through bolt it rather than add screws.

 

[rockcrawler]

Thanks for the ideas. I’ll get the parts soon and knock it out.

 

[larry4406]

I'd add the shelf back in place for the bottom and a piece of plywood for the back underneath the top. I'd also through bolt it rather than add screws.

A plywood backer would do the same as the diagonal braces. Would also provide a back stop so **** won't fall thru.

 

[NUTTSGT]

A plywood backer would do the same as the diagonal braces. Would also provide a back stop so **** won't fall thru.

Yep, that's why I would do a sheet of plywood rather than a couple of diagonal braces.

 

[Nutria]

I'm almost certain that's a Lyon bench. I have one that I use as my outside bench. It's nice and sturdy. I'm not home to take a photo, but this shot from the web shows the original configuration-- not so different than what a previous owner had set up with wood.

 

[rockcrawler]

Thanks for the advice. I painted the legs and plywood, mounted some 2x4’s between the legs with counter-sunk carriage bolts and then put the plywood on the 2x4’s and on the back. I used carriage bolts on the back plywood as well to make it plenty sturdy. It’s rigid now. Maybe someday I’ll recover the top, but it’s good for now.

 

[Garcky]

Thanks for the advice. I painted the legs and plywood, mounted some 2x4’s between the legs with counter-sunk carriage bolts and then put the plywood on the 2x4’s and on the back. I used carriage bolts on the back plywood as well to make it plenty sturdy. It’s rigid now. Maybe someday I’ll recover the top, but it’s good for now.

That'll work just fine!

 

[dfiler2]

That turned out really nice.

 

[NUTTSGT]

That's going to make you a nice work bench and looks good.