Every home woodworker knows how invaluable a tool their trusty table saw can be. It’s the workhorse of your collection and probably one of the first power tools any budding woodworker should consider buying.
However, have you ever thought about how you can improve your basic table saw? We’re not talking about buying better table saw blades and we don’t mean adding a few jigs and sleds – although those are great ideas too – we’re talking about incorporating your table saw into an integrated workbench.
Sound like a fun idea? Well here are 11 table saw workbench plans we found so you can have a go at trying it at home for yourself.
Table of Contents
1. Mobile Workbench with Built-In Table and Miter Saws
Let’s start with a plan from one of our favorite sites, the Instructables website. Whenever you need an idea for a DIY project or a plan to build something, this site is always a reliable first stop, as is the case with this plan.
As usual, you’ll find a list of all the materials and tools you’ll need to attempt this project, followed by a set of clear instructions. There are also plenty of useful photos to show you what you should be doing at each step, making this an easy plan to follow, even for DIY rookies.
As the author mentions at the beginning, there are a lot of plans out there for some extremely complicated workbenches that incorporate a whole range of tools. However, your average home woodworker probably doesn’t need anything nearly that complicated – which is another reason this simpler version could be a great first project to attempt.
2. Table Saw Workbench
This is a simple plan for making a workbench with a table saw and a router all in one. There are many benefits of creating a workbench like this, and many are listed with the plans, but which one did the author choose as the first and most important? That it looks amazing!
But beside the aesthetic aspect of this workbench, it’s also a very handy piece of equipment to own. As part of the plans, you’ll find a list of the materials you’ll need, clear instructions and a lot of photos showing off what it should be looking like at each step.
The result is impressive, but the process is not particularly complicated – so if you’re looking for a DIY project to get stuck into, this one could be worth a go.
3. Building Your Own Workbench
Having an attractive and functional workbench at home will make all your DIY projects so much easier. You will have somewhere to work, you will be able to store tools safely out of the way and you will have a focus for everything you do.
The thing is, if you buy a workbench ready-made, it can be an expensive acquisition – but if you are an adept DIYer, you can simply make one for yourself.
Here’s a set of plans we found that show you how to build a wonderfully large workbench, and the total cost should be below around $200. That alone makes it sound like it’s worth attempting.
4. Table Saw Workstation
Here’s a simple set of plans for you to follow that will allow you to turn your table saw into a workstation. To be honest, the instructions are a little bit lacking, but you could take this on as something of a challenge.
You’ll find the plans that tell you how to cut out all the pieces of wood you’ll need to build the workstation – and once you’ve done that, it will just be a case of working out how they all go together.
It’s not a particularly complicated project and it could be fun to try – you can simply view it as a kind of 3D jigsaw puzzle!
5. Table Saw Workbench with Wood Storage
This is a very simple design for a workbench on which to place your table saw that also offers you somewhere to store your wood. There’s a list of materials, and obviously the price you pay for them will vary – but the author of this plans estimates you will be able to build this workbench for around $70-80 – far less than if you bought something similar from a store!
Once you start with the plan, you’ll see that there are a few explanatory notes, but that most of the instructions are visual. There are lots of useful photos on there – with all the measurements included – to make this plan as easy to follow as possible. Have fun!
6. DIY Table Saw Stand on Casters
One of the problems with any power tools – and particularly ones like table saws – is that they can be heavy and a hassle to move about. Since you don’t always want to work in the same place, wouldn’t it be better to have an easier way of moving your table saw? That’s where this plan for a table saw bench on casters comes in. It’s easy to make and will save you a whole lot of lifting later down the line. So why not give it a go?
7. Table Saw Stand
Here’s another plan for a very simple table saw stand. If you don’t need anything fancy with all the bells and whistles and just prefer something where you can place your benchtop table saw while you work, this plan could be the kind of thing you’d like to try.
If that’s the kind of item you want and you’d rather save yourself some money by DIYing it, here are the plans you need.
8. Modular Workbench
At the other end of the scale from #7, here we have the plans for an all-singing-all-dancing modular workbench that will help maximize the space you have in your workshop.
This is a big project, but there are extensive instructions with this plan – so if you want to tackle something a bit more challenging and you have plenty of time to spare, this is a design that should be of interest.
9. Combined Table Saw and Joiner
Here’s a video we found that we just had to include in our list. In it, you can see a new YouTuber presenting his very first woodworking video. He starts off by saying he’s new to this and apologizing – which is all very cute and endearing – but actually, he has nothing to be shy about because he does a great job. So if you want to know how to make your own combined table saw and joiner, this is a video that will show you how it’s done.
10. Homemade 3-in-1 Multipurpose Workbench
This 3-in-1 multipurpose workbench is one of our all-time favorites. It’s a highly functional piece of equipment that incorporates a table saw, a router table and an inverted jigsaw.
Before you attempt this bench, take a moment to watch the embedded video – as you will hear, this woodworker took a whole month to design and build this workbench. While that might seem like a long time, you’ll see from the results that it was time well spent – and anyway, the plans are there for you to copy so you won’t need to spend nearly as long making it.
This was a highly ambitious project that combined the three types of saw in one table and also incorporated an integrated sawdust collection system, and the whole thing is wired up so you can control everything from the table. The name of this website is Creative Heroes, and that’s certainly what this DIY superstar is!
11. 3-in-1 Workbench
If you liked the multipurpose 3-in-1 multipurpose workbench in #10, here’s a video showing you how to make a slightly different version. Although this is just a video without all the extensive plans and descriptions of the version above, this is still worth checking out too. If you don’t want to copy their plans exactly but would rather prefer to find inspiration and then come up with a design of your own, you’re sure to find more ideas here.
In fact, with this plan, all you get is a demonstration of how it was done without any explanations – although there is an email you can write to if you want to request the free plans from the person who made this video.
We’ve always been big fans of these kinds of time-lapse DIY videos. We find it mesmerizing watching the DIYer at work as his construction begins to take place. Maybe it’s just us! But why don’t you check out the video to see what we mean?
A great collection of highly innovative and extremely useful plans
We always enjoy going online and collating plans like these since we always unearth some truly talented and creative woodworkers and DIY specialists. When we see people like this tackle a problem, putting their mind to finding a solution and then finally turning their idea into reality, we always find it so inspiring.
We hope you’ll enjoy reading the plans and watching the videos as much as we enjoyed finding them – and perhaps you will be inspired to try some of them too.
