DIY

WORKSHOP

TIGHT-FIT WORKBENCH

Make an inexpensive workspace for crowded quarters. By Todd Lappin

It’s hard to be a maker if you don’t have a good And just to make things more challenging, I also place to do your making. Yet two things often stand had to build the bench around several pre-existing in the way of building out a basic home workbench: drain and sewer pipes that intruded upon my high cost and limited space. already-limited workspace. Here’s how I built the Industrial-grade fixtures and spiffy garage stor- simple bench setup shown above. age systems cost a pretty penny. Likewise, domestic real estate is a scarce commodity — garages must Lighting still be used for parking cars, basements for stor- Bright, shadow-free light is essential when doing ing stuff, and utility rooms must shelter washing precision work or manipulating small parts. This machines and assorted whatnot. was one area where I lucked out. We’d recently

I faced those constraints and a little more renovated our house, so my garage started out when I set out to build a simple workbench in with brand-new fluorescent light fixtures running my narrow garage. To avoid getting in the way of along the ceiling. Otherwise, a plug-in overhead my car, the bench had to be shallow — no more fluorescent fixture would have been an inexpen-than 2’ deep. I needed lots of storage for tools, sive way to go. I also keep a simple $5 clip lamp small parts, and bulky boxes of big stuff. on hand for task lighting.

Photography by Todd Lappin

128 Make: Volume 10