Child’s Folding Workbench

I’ve been working on a folding workbench for my boys. I wanted to build an heirloom quality bench that would last. I used 3/16″ wall tubing for the project. This picture shows the steel, cut and ready for welding.

This picture shows the workbench assembled. I included a 5 gallon bucket to give an idea of scale. I need to disassemble and paint the parts. I will explain how everything works as I reassemble the project.

I welded a nut to the head of a bolt as part of the power transmission system.

Threaded rod is fixed in the table support by a cross drilled nut that is threaded for a set screw. There is a second nut inside the end cap that cannot be seen in the photo. When the threaded rod is turned, it drives the vertical bolt in the slot shown.

This picture shows the sliding table support added to the vertical bolt. The front table support is fixed in place.

I removed the paint where the table support assembly and sliding support meet. I also waxed this area for smooth table operation.

Here is a closeup of a crank handle attached to the end of a threaded rod.

The top is made of oak and is drilled with 1/2″ holes for bench dogs. I finished it with polyurethane.

The crank handles control each sliding table support independently. This allows for clamping odd-shaped objects.

The workbench can be folded for storage.

The bench stands 21 inches high and weighs just under 15 pounds. There are rubber pads on the bottom of the feet. It is very sturdy.

I shot a short video of my three-year-old using the bench to cut his first board.

I purchased a vintage child’s tool kit on eBay…

Child’s Tool Kit