My garage workbench leg gave out under a 40 lb engine block Saturday

I was rebuilding a lawnmower engine on my old workbench last weekend and the right front leg just buckled like a toothpick, sending the block crashing onto my concrete floor. Turns out the leg was only held on with four drywall screws that had been rusting for years under the particleboard top. Anyone else had a workbench failure from something stupid like using the wrong fasteners?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_webb911mo ago

You mentioned the leg was held on with four drywall screws, but that's actually two things wrong right there. Drywall screws are brittle and have no shear strength at all, they're meant to hold sheetrock to studs, not support any real weight. If you replace them with some 3 inch deck screws or even carriage bolts, that bench will hold just fine for years.

alicemurphy1mo ago

Oh man, have you ever seen what happens when drywall screws snap under pressure? I had a buddy build a whole deck with them once, and it was a disaster waiting to happen. You're totally right about the shear strength thing, I've had to redo so many projects where people just grab the cheapest screws without thinking. A good set of deck screws or bolts makes all the difference, especially if you pre drill the holes to avoid splitting the wood. Your mileage may vary of course, but from what I've seen, that bench will be solid for years with the right hardware.

baker.holly1mo ago

Bang on @kai_webb91, I learned this one the hard way fixing a sagging shelf my dad put up with drywall screws. Swapped them out for some 3 inch deck screws and a bit of wood glue, that thing's been solid for like five years now.