Wiring Outlets to the Workbench - Countertop Mount

I have yet another workbench that I have had trouble finding outlets near, so I decided to address the problem at this workbench as well.

This time I don't have an overhead shelf built inot the bench, so I decide I'll have to mount the outlets into the countertop.

I looked over the anticiapted parts list and then went about digging the parts I could use out of the repurposing bins and nut/bolt boxes. I found a cut heavy duty extension cord I could use, two outlets, electrical cable, some particle board screws, and electrical box wire clamps.

This reduced the buy list to two metal electrical boxes and I decided to buy the gray wet location outlet covers to keep dust out of the outlets.  Total cost came to about Ten Bucks.

 After I came back from the store, I proceeded to mark the inside of the countertop so I knew where the workbench mounts to the countertop. I removed the countertop, marked where I wanted the outlet boxes mounted, cut the holes in the countertop so that the outlet boxes fit and were square on the benchtop, mounted the outlet boxes and ran the wire between the boxes. I fastened the wires down with the plastic wire protectors at 6 inch intervals like I did on the previous outlet project, and this completed the basic mounting.

 I then flipped the countertop back over and proceeded to wire the outlets.

 During fitting I discovered the wet location outlet covers didn't fit snugly to the countertop. Some snooping around revealed that there's a dimple on the backside of the cover preventing this. I deduced this is to account for the foam backing that I discarded as not needed for this project. I fixed the dimple problem by drilling out the hole in the plastic outlet so the dimple could sit down into the new hole. So long as I didn't drill out the metal behind the plastic I figured I would be fine. The second fitting proved my theory so it worked out as well as I hoped.

Here's the finished job with the countertop reattached to the workbench.

Not shown: I had to also grind off a fair amount of metal tabs in the dust covers so I could get them to open up completely as pictured.  I did this with the trusty bench grinder and a file to cleanup the areas I couldn't get to with the grinder. Otherwise I now have another workbench with power outlets.

This project cost me Ten Bucks this time. I might have been able to reduce the cost a bit by checking out the ReStore used construction supplies store, but I'll make a mental note to look there first the next time I come up short on the parts list.

Wiring outlets to the Workbench - Overhead

I got good and tired of hunting for outlets around my project workbench so I decided to take care of the problem.

I sat down and looked at the stuff I had on hand. Let's see: I had a nice piece of heavy duty electrical cord from a broken reciprocating saw, plenty of electrical cable, 2 outlets, particle board screws, some nuts, bolts and washers to mount the outlets with, and I swiped some cable protector plastic bits from come cable staples I had on hand. This left only the metal surface mount outlet boxes and metal covers. The whole buy list came to something like Six Bucks.

Here's the result:

I mounted one outlet on the right side of the bench using nuts, bolts and washers. 

 Then I did the same on the left side of the bench.

 I ran the electrical cable from one to the other on the underside of the particle board shelf using the plastic cable protectors and particle board screws.  I fastened the cable as close to the outlet boxes as I could and then fastened the cable every 6 inches. This may be overkill, but I didn't want someone to decide the cable makes a great hanger of some sort. Better would have been a section of conduit between the outlet boxes, but this will do for now.

I wired the salvaged electrical cord to the left side outlet and simply plugged it into a convenient outlet.
I then rerouted the cord for the light and plugged it in. The beauty of this design is that I can still take the workbench apart easily if I feel it's necessary.

And here's an overview of the workbench with the new outlets. After accounting for the bench light I still have three outlets conveniently located right at the bench regardless of where I may move it to.

If I were to buy all of the bits to do this project the expense would have been quite a bit higher so I made out pretty well and it totally validates scrounging as a means of extending the garage budget. While this project depleted the garage budget a little, it was more than worth the effort and Six Dollar expense.