[recon]

I am moving into a new house this fall and will need a nice new workbench in the basement. I am thinking of building one from scratch using some online DIY articles as a guide. However, I am wondering what sort of features I want to have built in and am wondering what you all would have as a feature list on your dream workbench?

Some items that come to mind are:

Powerbar
fluorescent light
pegboard against the wall
Indent on lower shelf (to not bump the shins)
Drawers under work surface
Upper shelf
Vice
12v banana plug sockets
Will need room for a drill press and band saw but this might be a separate bench

Anything else?

Also, how would you have it finished? Paint, varnish, other? I don't know much about available wood coatings.

[machzx]

auto clean function to match your brain as you switch projects

[rcnutdt]

How about a timer on the powerbar set for 1 hour a day to plug in transmitters and receiver packs,that way they are ready to go all the time, and maybe a dust collector hooked to a shopvac at the end of your bench to keep it easy to clean

[machzx]

beer fridge!!

[rcnutdt]

Originally Posted by machzx

beer fridge!!

Big enough to hold a keg, and a urinal so you don't have to leave the work area

[machzx]

a large chested bikini wearing blonde in high heels to help hold stuff!!

[Arn]

An understanding wife .... is a pre-requisite

A BIG basement ......

Flat panel TV ( size ... whatever you have or can get hold of) ...
Computer ..... (again ..... Desktop/Laptop/Tablet .... whatever you got maybe the TV can double as a monitor if the resolution is good enough ) ...

Desk & comfy chair .... drafting table ( if you do your own designs )

Sink .... Hot & Cold water .... (laundry tub size size .... or whatever makes you sleep at night) ....

Workbench ..... whatever size you can get away with for drill press etc ( & other power tools ) .... the larger the better ....

Assembly table ..... 2' * 8' ... on wheels so you can move the current build aside ... ( and since you have sliced a 4*8-3/4" ply in half for this ... make another one for repair & maintenance .....

Nice to have ..... central Vac ( and paint booth --- if you are into that stuff)

And pretty much any or all of the above suggestions ....

[Scrappy]

A steel top workbench would be nice....... using magnets instead of pins, easy to clean, hard to damage. Might be expensive to do though.

Laminate counter top is cheap and easy to do, pretty durable and fairly easy to clean most things off of. I use this as a work bench top and put drywall on top of this for a build surface.

[Arn]

Originally Posted by Scrappy

A steel top workbench would be nice....... using magnets instead of pins, easy to clean, hard to damage. Might be expensive to do though.

Laminate counter top is cheap and easy to do, pretty durable and fairly easy to clean most things off of. I use this as a work bench top and put drywall on top of this for a build surface.

Right .... forgot about those things ..... a bit more cost to begin with but well worth it ..... if you're in for the long haul ....

Also, ceiling tiles with T-pins (or whatever kind of pin you have) also works well .....

[Max]

My workshop has a workbench is built in the shape of a U, 32 inches wide, all along 3 walls of my workshop,
The work bench is set higher than table height, so that I can work on it while standing. If I get tired and want to sit, I have a couple of stools that I can sit on and still work on the bench comfortably


Walls have power outlets positioned above the workbench for easy and convenient access. I also have a 8 outlet switched power bar mounted under the workbench (at the front, not at the back) so that I can plug in whatever hand tools I need to use at the moment. The switch is good to have since I always switch off my outlet bar when leaving the room. This is good for safety reasons in case you leave the room and leave a soldering iron or glue gun plugged in.
On one side of the U is where all my power tools are. Bench Sander, Drill Press, Jigsaw and Bandsaw.

About 18” down from the ceiling is a 12” shelf that runs around the room in the shape of a U, matching that of the work bench. I store a lot of stuff up there, either original boxes, or if I store stuff in bulk (ie I have a box of props, a box of spinners, a box of servos..) I label each box as appropriate to make finding stuff easier. Lately I have been buying those plastic shoe boxes from the dollar store and putting stuff in there. The boxes are transparent and a reasonable size, and helps you find stuff since you can see into the box a lot easier than u can a cardboard The boxes stack 2 high and long end fore/aft, so you have a lot of room for a lot of boxes.

Under the workbench, I have another 12” shelf running around the perimeter about 1/2 way between the floor and top-underside of the bench. The shelf holds more storage, mostly the long model kit boxes and balsa boxes.

On the 2 walls that I don’t have my power tools, I have pegboard mounted. I hang all kinds of stuff on the pegboard. If you build a pegboard wall, PAINT IT. Nothing uglier than those beige toned pegboards. I painted mine white to match the wall and it looks so much nicer and neater.
On the side of room that does not have a bench against it, I have a regular folding table to put stuff on if there is no room on the benches… and there is ALWAYS no room on the benches…LOL

Lighting: You can never have enough lighting. It makes a huge difference. I prefer to have each of my lights powered by its own switch, so that I can turn on one or all, depending on how much light I need or where in particular I am working in the room.

For entertainment, I have a radio and 19” TV