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I am making a workbench for the shed and cut a couple 45 degree angles on some left over beams to create corner braces for the legs of my workbench.

I was wondering in what direction I should screw them down to get the best result.

Image that shows the different screw directions

Screw directions to attach the tabletop to the brace

  1. from the table top straight down into the brace
  2. from the brace up into the table top at a 45 degree angle
  3. from the brace straight up into the table top

Screw directions to attach the leg to the brace

  1. from the leg straight into the brace
  2. from the brace straight into the leg
  3. from the brace up into the table top at a 45 degree angle
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    2 is better than 1. 3 is also fine. Apply the same principles to the other side, 5 or 6 much preferable to 4. Now that aside, what kind of a workbench is this intended to be? If it's basically just a working surface these might be ok but if it's for woodworking or any kind of heavy-duty uses you really need to rethink as these braces won't really be that effective, assuming you want to add them to improve rack resistance. If that is the case yYou'd be better off (much better off) using metal fixing plates, or triangular pieces of plywood (called gussets). [contd] – Graphus May 19 '20 at 5:14
  • But an apron (and/or stretchers lower down) to tie the legs together would still be a very good idea. – Graphus May 19 '20 at 5:15
  • Thanks for your insight. I recently moved into my first home with a shed, so this is my first furniture-sized woodworking project. Heavy duty would be preferable, but I am just a beginner who wants to get into the hobby with small to medium sized projects. I'm not familiar with the jargon yet, thanks for teaching me the word gusset! :+1: I couldn't find out what an apron is though; could you please elaborate? – PitchBlackCat May 19 '20 at 10:01
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    The "apron" is a vertical board that runs along the each edge of the table/bench to add stiffness to the otherwise fairly thin top and to provide racking resistance. Note that it doesn't have to be right at the edge of the surface, it can be set back to provide clearance - you'll definitely want it set back on a workbench so you've got room to clamp work pieces to the work surface. Go look at your kitchen table, you'll see the apron there. – FreeMan May 19 '20 at 15:23
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    I have a suggestion for you from YouTube, this video on a workbench build. Lucky coincidence, I think I saw it just 1 day before you posted! The channel wortheffort is one (of quite a few) good resources for the learner woodworker and I highly recommend looking at more of the content. I do find the speech patterns of the host a little irritating at times and you might too, but his info is generally good enough that I get past it And there's no hard sell or other BS. Also if you don't know it yet you may like to check out Rex Kruger's channel. – Graphus May 20 '20 at 21:40

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