It Lifts! It Separates!

Um, no, its not a Cross Your Heart Bra.  No, I don't wear them, either.  Welcome back from the holiday festivities.  I had my mother and brother here in Utah for their first white Christmas only to find that it snowed on Christmas in Atlanta for the first time since the 1800's.  Oh well.

 Its a peaceful Sunday and my wife and I are taking time off to play, which is quite rare.  Today I'm going to build a shelf over the #1 workbench so that my tool boxes are off the desk top. Right now they are pushed into the window area.  The "lift" will keep the drawers of the chests unblocked so they can be opened, while also opening up more work space on the bench.

 As you can see I'm still working to get the shop in the garage back in order.  At least all the tools are in one place.  A quick trip to the Home Depot to use a gift card (thanks, Mom!) and we're off.

 Using a 1x12 inch pine board I cut a 56" top shelf and one 12" support board.

 Here I have cut three support boards and the top shelf.

 The center support will need to be notched for the small 1x2 that I'm putting in the back to keep it straight.

 The first support is pre-drilled to prevent cracking and glued/screwed with 2" drywall screws.  It was checked carefully with a speed square to make sure it was square.

 Here we have the two end supports.  Not very hard to do.  Especially when you sweet wife sends the five year old out with some sandwiches and a soda.

 You can see the notch on the center board, which has now been installed.

 The "stringer" board will keep the supports upright and will prevent small parts from rolling off the table.

 Next, I cut some 1x2 stock to make mounting brackets for the desk.  I was going to use brass "L" brackets, but I like this idea better.  Since it is an old desk that I was going to throw out, I don't mind screwing the shelf into the top of the desk.

There!  The shelf has been mounted on the desk and the two tool boxes are now on top.  I've got a foot of room under the shelf for tools and the like.  I also drilled a half inch hole on one side of the shelf and mounted some extra light.  Can't have too much light, can you?

Ok, off to babysit.  We'll be back tomorrow.