I always used my PC table for my projects and that always sucked. For anything else I always needed to remove the current project from it to do stuff. I have, next to my PC table, a "KALLAX" shelf-thingy from IKEA. We needed furniture fast the last time we moved and it is from my study years so we kept it. I actually wanted to gift it to the next person moving in but that did not work out obviously.
It is not all that good looking and kinda useless without a other thing to put things into. I always wanted a workbench near my PC for my projects and when I fix stuff, but did not want to pay too much. I had the stupid idea I could just turn it into a workbench. So I did. I removed one long and two short peaces from it and combine them into a wall, screw it on with 2 metal brackets against the backside of the "KALLAX" so it is stable. Then I added to brackets left, right and left and right under the "Tabletop" so it has even more points that hold it up (I know that many screws is overdoing it a little) and then mount a light and tool holders to it. I had to look up a video how the "KALLAX" looks from the inside and then used the places with plywood as the main screw points.
I know it is literally made of a few strips of plywood and paper but the plywood was strong enough to hold the tool wall. I also use my tool mat to not destroy the paper of the "KALLAX" too much to fast.
Except for the tool holders, which I would have bought regardless and screws I did not buy anything. I just used scrap metal, some screws and plastic from my “everything trash I might in the future for a project to jank stuff together to work”-box. It looks... well it looks like what it sounds like, trashy. But it works really well and I added power, light and Ethernet, HDMI and VGA so I always have everything I could ever need at hand. The chair sadly can not go under the "KALLAX" but it is not all that deep so that is a non issue at least for me. The work area is surprisingly big enough, actually the same size as I always had on my PC table because of my Sleeper PC case. I also added a random Noctua fan to better remove fumes when soldering from the working area. Works fine. I just combined a old USB cable and a FAN extension. Together with a open window and a room fan pointing from the door to the window I can prevent any fumes from reach me.
I know I really went wild with all the screws in literally all points I could use them but it is just plywood and you must take as much as you can get. Don't ask me about the tools. Most of it I got gifted and with some I don't even know there name / intended use. I just use them.
And now the important part, images. I show how I mounted the plywood shelf, connected them and how much tool holders and lights I added. I also added tape to the back and double sided, very strong, tape to the mounting points. You can not have enough mounting pressure ever. And again. I am surprised myself that the 1cm plywood shelf's and the 1cm thick inner plywood in the "KALLAX" holds this well. Screws going inside the Tabletop are the longest and biggest I found and had on hand and the other to mount things are 2cm long to maximize the depth. 3 times the screws poked through and I needed to patch it up a little for protection. I also recommend adding something behind it to make lean against so it can not go backwards and stays even more stable. A few pins could already be enough (for me it was). But keep in mind how many long screws I used to increase the mounting pressure to a near unnecessary level. I'm sure if I try to break it I it will break the “table surface” before the mounting points give. But now, Images:
UPDATE - 2025.01.06: After posting this I got my soldering station and added it to the workbench with some extra tools. This will make future project's SO MUCH easier, because soldering with the literal SHI*T tier tools I used until now were always a hassle, a huge barrier of entry and annoying. Often I need very weird or unusual cables with different connectors and buying them is very expensive because, normally, no one needs these. Now when I need to, I just take the tools, turn the station on, and a few seconds later I can start. And the extra tools make sure I keep the jank to a minimum.