I built my dream workbench. The commercial ones were too light. I wanted one that was 8 feet long, and 4 deep, that I could bolt a big vise to, and whale away at whatever was in the vise without the bench scittering across the floor.
It is build entirely from 4x4s for the legs, 2x4s for the rest of the frame, and 1x8 planks for the top and shelf. It's all held together with carriage bolts so it can be disassembled, and the top can be replaced. No plywood or glued sawdust.
It only took an hour or so to put together. Very happy with it. I later installed wall sockets in the front so power cords needn't be draped over the top.
The only problem was drilling the bolt holes perpendicular. I later acquired a drill press to solve that.
Wow, I built almost the identical thing a few years ago. Wanted a bench to put a small lathe onto while still having a copious amount of non-machine workspace. On the top I used 2x12's though. And (as a complete novice at the time just putting "lego blocks" together sourced from Home Depot), I just used regular screws to hold it together. That thing has moved with us for the past few moves. Super heavy. Also (not literally) bulletproof. Thanks for the description on your build.
Spent so much time planning out and figuring out how to build a custom workbench for a weird area (sometimes, you just need an airbrush booth in a bath/shower stall).
Ended up just buying something from Harbor Freight.
Not much to it. No sawing required other than the length. 6 4x4 vertical posts in a 3 by 2 configuration. A skirt around the top of 2x4s, and another 1/3 up from the ground. A 2x4 connecting the center posts at top and bottom. Then just plank the top, and plank 1/3 up to make a shelf. Drill & bolt.
Don't tighten the bolts until it is all together. Then set it in place and let it settle all the posts firmly on the floor, then tighten.
I left it au natural because I like the look and feel of sawn wood.
It is build entirely from 4x4s for the legs, 2x4s for the rest of the frame, and 1x8 planks for the top and shelf. It's all held together with carriage bolts so it can be disassembled, and the top can be replaced. No plywood or glued sawdust.
It only took an hour or so to put together. Very happy with it. I later installed wall sockets in the front so power cords needn't be draped over the top.
The only problem was drilling the bolt holes perpendicular. I later acquired a drill press to solve that.