My son LOVES his tools. He is very much a boy and has both his grandparents and mom's handy man skills. Our family room is small since we still live in an apartment for now. I wanted something to organize his tools and have a space for him to play with them. I didn't want to spend much money on a tool bench, but wanted one that was sturdy and went with our room. Rather than a big hunk of plastic.
Supplies Needed:
- Measurements of all of my wood. (I used old kitchen cabinet doors, an extra shelf from a book shelf we had laying around and some scrap pieces of wood from my brothers) You could go by a sheet of plywood or wood of your choice and get these cuts if you like the size of our tool bench.
- One Top piece 26'' x 13''
- One Top Back piece 18'' x 21''
- Four Small pieces of wood to be nailed around the boarder of the top back piece 1 1/2'' x 18''
- Two Side legs/support pieces 21 1/2'' x 13''
- One shelf 9'' x 21 1/4''
- Back lower support 22''x 10 1/2''
- Two 11 1/2 inch long 1 1/2 inch thick rectangular pieces of wood to support the top piece of wood from falling over (You can use other types of large support brackets, I was trying to use my scraps to save money).
- Four L-brackets
- Package of screws (about 20 & length of screws will depend on how thick your wood is)
- 26 small nails 1/2 inch long
- Electric saw
- Power drill
- Drill bits
- Two cans of Spray Paint & Primer in one (we get ours from Walmart they are cheep and it finishes nicely)
- Glue gun / Gorilla glue or some type of tough glue to hold your tool holders on the pegboard. (You don't want them being loose with toddlers because they take them off and throw them around the house. Then you step on them and it isn't fun. Trust me that is what happened to us!)
Step 1: Once your wood pieces are all cut you will first take the Top Back piece and use the small nails to nail your four small pieces of wood around the edges so it looks like you are making a frame around the wood. I would use three nails for each piece spacing them out. This is important so you can have space between the wood and your pegboard. Otherwise your tool hooks wont go in the holes. (Glad my brother had me do this because I hadn't thought that far ahead yet!)
Don't nail the pegboard on-top yet if you want the pegboard to stay white or be a different color than the rest of the tool bench!
Step 2: Next you will grab the top piece, top back piece and the two 11 1/2 inch long 1 1/2inch thick rectangular pieces of wood. You will need your power drill, drill bits and screws for this. First place your top piece right-side up on the floor, then put your top back piece horizontal and place your two rectangular pieces on the back. I spaced them out about 2 1/2 inch away from each side. then I marked where they were going to go so I knew where to pre drill holes.
I drilled three holes spaced out on the rectangular pieces so it was easier to screw in. (If you use other supports instead of the wood skip this part). I then screwed the rectangular pieces of wood onto the back of the top back piece. Then once that is complete I flipped over the top piece and pre drilled two holes into the wood and rectangular pieces of wood. Then I screwed the two piece together. So now your pieces are connected!
Step 3: Next you will gather your two side/support pieces of wood, four L-brackets and screws. You will want to pre mark where the L-brackets will be going and drill small holes. Then flip your top piece upside down (we used a work bench to let the top back piece hang over allowing for more leverage when drilling and screwing it together) connect the L-brackets to the bottom. Flip it right side up with the side pieces underneath to connect the side brackets. (You will need another person helping to support them).
Step 4: Next you will add the shelf. Mark where you want it to go. We placed ours flush to the front leaving some space in the back. (If you want your shelf flush to the back support make sure to measure your piece now and cut it appropriately). We pre drilled holes where we marked and then with one person holding one side you will screw it together. (Make sure to screw it in strait so they don't peak out of the wood on the shelf).
Step 5: Next ***please remeasure***your space on the back to make sure your back support fits nicely. We had cabinets like I mentioned before and they had groves we nailed into. So if you have regular fresh cuts of wood please remeasure. Then you will pre drill holes and screw in your back support. If you want your back support to go flush to the ground again please make sure to measure your cuts and do that now!
If you want rounded edges please use an electric sander to get the appropriate look you want.
Step 6: Next you will spray paint your wood with the paint & primer in one. It will take several coats about 3-4 depending on your desired look. Once it is painted and dried for at least 24 hours then you can use gorilla glue or a glue gun to glue your tool holders on the pegboard. (Again if you didn't see my comment about this before, this is IMPORTANT if you don't ant your child taking them off and throwing them on the floor everyday. This is what our son has done. So I have had to glue them on after we have nailed the pegboard on, which makes gluing them on much more difficult and messy).
Let the glue dry appropriate to the packaged directions (this will very depending on which type of glue you purchased)
Step 7: The last step! Use the small nails to nail the pegboard on-top of the top back piece of wood. I used 12 nails spreading them out on all four sides.
Then you can have fun placing the tools on the tool holder and buying some cute tubs or plastic bins to organize the tools!
Your hard work has paid off, you did it!
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