I’ve built a lot of workbenches over the years — for clients, for mates, and several iterations for my own shed. The best ones all share the same qualities: they’re heavy enough not to move when you’re working, simple enough to build in a weekend, and sturdy enough to last a decade.

This is the design I keep coming back to. It’s not fancy. It won’t win any woodworking awards. But it’s rock-solid, costs under $300 in materials, and you can build it with basic tools in a day.

Design Specs

• Size: 2000mm long x 750mm deep x 900mm high
• Top: 42mm thick laminated timber (doubled-up 90x19mm pine)
• Frame: 90x45mm structural pine
• Lower shelf: 12mm plywood or pine boards
• Weight: approximately 50-60kg when complete (heavy is good — a workbench that moves is useless)

The height of 900mm works for most people between 170-185cm tall. If you’re shorter or taller, adjust: a good workbench height is roughly at your belt buckle with your arms hanging naturally at your sides. Working at the wrong height for years will destroy your back.

Materials List

From your local Bunnings or timber yard:

Item	Qty	Approx Cost
90x45mm H2 treated pine, 2.4m	6	$72
90x19mm pine boards, 2.4m	10	$90
12mm plywood sheet, 1200x2400	1	$45
75mm galvanised bugle screws (box)	1	$18
50mm galvanised bugle screws (box)	1	$14
PVA wood glue	1	$12
10mm coach bolts, 100mm (with nuts and washers)	8	$16
Danish oil or polyurethane	1	$25
Total		~$292

You might save $30-$50 if you have some materials lying around. I’ve built this bench using entirely scrounged timber from demolition jobs, which brought the cost down to basically just screws and glue.

Tools Required

• Circular saw (or hand saw if you’re patient)
• Drill/driver
• Speed square
• Tape measure
• Clamps (at least 4, the more the better)
• 10mm drill bit for coach bolt holes
• Socket set or adjustable spanner for coach bolts

No table saw, no planer, no jointer. This is a construction-grade build using off-the-shelf timber.

The Build

Step 1: Cut the Frame

From your 90x45mm pine, cut:

• 4 legs at 858mm (900mm finished height minus 42mm top thickness)
• 4 long rails at 1820mm (2000mm top minus 2x 90mm leg width)
• 4 short rails at 570mm (750mm depth minus 2x 90mm)
• 2 centre supports at 570mm

Step 2: Assemble the End Frames

Each end frame is two legs connected by two short rails — one at the top and one at 200mm from the bottom (for the lower shelf).

Pre-drill and screw the short rails into the legs using 75mm screws, two screws per joint. Then drill through and add a coach bolt at each top joint for extra strength. These top joints take the most stress, and screws alone can work loose over time. The coach bolts won’t.

Build both end frames identically.

Step 3: Connect with Long Rails

Stand the end frames up and connect them with the long rails. Again, upper rails at the top of the legs and lower rails at 200mm from the bottom. Two screws plus one coach bolt per joint at the top rails. Two screws per joint at the bottom rails.

Add the two centre supports across the short dimension, evenly spaced along the length, at the upper rail height. These support the middle of the benchtop and prevent it from sagging.

Step 4: Build the Top

This is where the weight comes from, and weight is what makes a workbench useful.

Take your 90x19mm pine boards and cut them to 2000mm. You need enough boards to cover the 750mm depth — that’s about 8-9 boards depending on exact width.

Glue and screw the boards together in pairs to create 42mm-thick planks (two boards face-to-face). Use PVA wood glue generously and clamp each pair overnight. Then screw through the bottom board into the top board with 50mm screws every 200mm.

Once the pairs are dry, lay them across the frame and screw down from the top into the upper frame rails with 75mm screws. Alternatively, screw up from underneath the rails into the top — this gives you a fastener-free work surface, which is nicer to work on.

Step 5: Add the Lower Shelf

Cut your plywood to fit between the legs on the lower rails. It doesn’t need to be a tight fit — a few millimetres of clearance on each side is fine. Screw or nail it to the lower rails. This shelf adds storage and structural bracing.

Step 6: Finish

Sand the top surface. It doesn’t need to be furniture-grade — a quick pass with 80-grit followed by 120-grit is plenty. Apply two coats of Danish oil or a single coat of polyurethane to protect against moisture and stains. Let it dry for 24 hours before use.

Modifications Worth Considering

Vice Mount

If you’re going to mount a vice, reinforce the front-left corner of the top with an additional block of 90x45mm underneath. A good vice exerts significant clamping force, and you want that force going into solid timber, not into the edge of a board.

Plan the vice position before building the top — you might want to leave the front-left board overhanging the frame by 50mm to give the vice jaws clearance.

End Cap

A hardwood end cap (a strip of 42x42mm hardwood screwed to the end grain of the top) protects the edge and provides a surface for dog holes or bench stops. Optional but nice.

Castors

I’d recommend against castors for a primary workbench. You want it heavy and immovable. But if you need to move the bench occasionally for cleaning or access, heavy-duty castors with wheel locks (rated for at least 200kg total) work. Just be aware that they raise the bench height by 75-100mm.

Power Strip

Mount a power strip along the back of the bench, just below the top surface. Being able to plug in a grinder, charger, or work light without reaching for the wall outlet is a quality-of-life improvement you’ll appreciate every time you’re in the shed.

Why Not Just Buy One?

You can buy pre-made steel workbenches from the usual suspects for $200-$500. They’re fine for light work. But they flex, they’re too light (they move when you push against them), and the tops are thin sheet metal or MDF that dent and sag.

A built workbench like this one is heavier, stiffer, and the solid timber top can take decades of abuse. You can plane it flat when it gets beaten up. You can drill into it, clamp to it, and beat on it with a mallet without worrying about damaging a pressed-steel surface.

Plus, building your own workbench is the most appropriate first project for any new workshop. If the first thing you build in your shed is the thing you’ll build everything else on, that’s a pretty good start.

Get the timber, set aside a Saturday, and build yourself something that’ll outlast the shed it sits in.