woodworkers, I need your help.

Warbirds

I can fabricate just about anything you can dream up with metal, but with wood I fall flat on my face. I have a three car garage, that normally only gets two cars parked in it. The third part of the garage is where we store stuff, sit around and drink beers, or clean guns, ect. I want to build a bench 8 feet long, four feet tall, and 2 1/2 feet wide. These dimensions would still allow for three car parking with car doors all the way open. Where do I start? What kind of wood do I use, ect. It needs to be pretty heavy duty, as it will be holding my reloading equipment, a 100lb Vice, ect. I'm not out for the cheapest way to do this, just the way to make it the best that I can. I'm a pretty handy guy, I just need pointed in the right direction on this one. Thanks.

R/

Dave


How different the world would be if we could consult the veteran instead of the politician. - Henry Miller

allen griggs

Get a 4 by 8 foot sheet of 3/4 inch plywood.
Cut the sheet to 2 1/2 feet wide.
Get 5 8 foot 2x4s. Cut 3 in half, so you will have 6 legs 4 feet long.
Cut two 27 inch pieces from the other two by four.
You are going make a "rim" for the bottom of the table with two by fours set on edge. You will use two of the 2x4s at full length on thelong edges, and the 27 inch pieces on the ends. Nail through the top ten inches apart with 8d trim nails.
Then nail the ends together with 16d nails. You will nail through the long pieces into the ends of the short pieces.
Now you have the rim completed.
Set the legs up into the 4 corners and nail them in with 8d and 6d trim nails.
Put two legs in the center and nail in.
Also it would be a good idea to put two diagonal corner braces at each corner, running down from the rim to the leg. Also two braces on each center leg. These diagonal braces should be 20 inches long, made from 2x4.
No Bobski you were second.
That is a very strong table designed by Bobski.
I agree with bobski, make the table 36 - 38 inches high. Four feet is too high.

bobski

use 4x4'sfor legs and frame. place 2x6 planks on top for the surface. a real 2x6 is really 1 1/2" x 5 3/4". 4 boards side by side will make it 23" deep. perfect. put 1/4 plywood over that so parts wont fall in the cracks. nail it all down. secure each leg and corner with metal prefabbed joint hangers. build a shelf under the table to act as reenforcement and storage. lay plywood under there. secure it all to the wall. run a horizontal beam of wood along wall and screw it into the wall studs. use a stud finder to find them. secure bench to the beam. mine's like that.when i pull on the reloader handle, the bench does not move. i work on motorcycle engines too! where ever you are going to put metal objects on the top, screw a plate of thin metal sheeting on top. im sure other will tell of other ways, but i was first. go from there! gather all ideas and bang away! oh, make it 36-37" high when finished. its a perfect height to work on. oh, if the screws you use are too long and go into your wifes kitchen thru the wall, use the tips of the screws to hang towels on. she'll love you for it! good luck!

Mercury

DON'T use nails........get some good drywall screws instead. Nails work loose, screws don't.

Merc



Insignia?

Nos nullus habitum rancidum insignia!



"Tolerating things you may not necessarily like is part of being free" - Larry Flynt

whiteclouder

Dave W:

Shop around for two 2 1/2 X 7 foot solid core exterior doors. You can find them damaged, nothing structural, scratched or dinged and get them cheap. They make wonderful bench tops. Then, frame the stand with 2X6 top and 4X4 legs in the front. Fasten the back apron (the 2X6) to the studs of the wall you build it on. Alternatively, angle 2X6s from the front apron to the bottom of the stud wall so it's easier to clean under. Really, a four hour job once you get the stuff there and your tools out.

Clouder..

n/a

you can buy them already made cheaper than you can built it. check out Lowes, Homedepot, or Scotties





"I dont care how thin you make a pancake, it still has two sides"

"A wise man is a man that realizes just how little he knows"

cowdoc

i am like you Dave w can build anything out of steel but wood......i cut and i cut but its still to short[:D]

HUNT WALKERS

Wood is good,but steel is real.I can't build s_ _ t out of wood either,give me a welding machine and a torch and watch me go.Best of luck to ya Dave W.

Chaser11

[:D] Use two thicknesses of particle board(not the flake board) glued together for the top and finish the top with a layer of hardboard glued onto it. No warping and as strong or stronger as any of the other ideas. I agree no nails - Drywall screws all the way or where you fasten 2X4 it similar peices use carridge bolts. Sounds like a good winter project. I have used this bench top construction for my reloading bench and a work bench in the basement thats almost 25 yrs old, holds up great. [:D] and I beat the s**t out of it. [;)]

American used to Roar like Lions for Liberty- Now they Bleat like Sheep for Security.

---

Always Remember Security without Liberty is called PRISON! -

crims40

Dave, then build it out of steel and cover the top with plywood.....it would be stronger and you would be more satisfied...[:D][:D]
denny

reb8600

I framed and remodeled for 11 years and the first 2 suggestions are great. DO NOT USE SCREWS for anything that will have weight or pressure on it. They dont let you use them for anything structural because screws will shear off and nails wont. Nails dont work loose as often as people think they do.

Guncontrol-The ability to hit what your aiming at.

love2shoot

I have built several for friends that made the mistake of telling me to make 'em sturdy. I use 6x6's for the legs with a 2x6 for the top ring sticking up 1?" above the top of the leg. I use 2x4's for the bottom ring, about 6" from the floor. I put a 2x4 in the middle (short ways) of the bottom ring. The bottom ring is covered with ? cdx plywood making a shelf. I use 2 2x12's and 1 2x4 for the top. I cut them to go down in the 1? sticking up from the legs making the top level with the top ring and setting on the 6x6 legs. I put some short 2x4's across the sides of the legs to hold everything up and secure. It is all screwed together. I then put a piece of ? plate steel on the top and I will guarantee that you could park a truck on it, or reload shells, without it going anywhere. The plate is nice because you can drill and tap for mounting presses or whatever to load with. If you don't want the plate on top, use the other half of plywood from the bottom shelf.

Rembrandt

I'm not a big fan of stationary benches....prefer mine to have lockable casters. Made a skeletal substructure out of steel, top is wood. Rolls out for easy cleaning, lock the brakes and it's plenty sturdy.

GPWEAPON

Build it out of steel and attach the plywood top with carriage bolts.

Warbirds

Thanks for all the inputs, you guys really seem to know what your talking about. I would just whip one up out of steel, but I kind of want to enter the world of building stuff out of wood. It's also a really good excuse to start buying some tools that I just never needed before.

R/

Dave


How different the world would be if we could consult the veteran instead of the politician. - Henry Miller

knucklehead14

If you do a search on reloading bench plans, 100s of
bench plans will come up with easy to follow instructions.
Just keep surfing until you see a bench that you like.

If you happen to live around central ohio I will offer my help
free of charge.

Bad spellers of the world

"UNTIE!"

Warbirds

That's a very generous offer but I live in Ca. Wish I could take you up on it though. Thanks for the suggestion about the benches on the net, I'm going to go take a look!

R/

Dave


How different the world would be if we could consult the veteran instead of the politician. - Henry Miller

allen griggs

Legs made of 6x6s?

Let's see, a 36 inch 6x6 post made of pressure treated yellow pine will bear around 14 tons. Four times that equals....
Well, that would be a real strong bench.

robsguns

The bench I use to have at Camp Pendleton was made out of scrap lumber from the Corps, cost me nothing, so I dont know what it'll cost, but I had 4x4's for each corner leg, 2x10 for a skirt on both sides and ends which the 4x4's were nailed to. One 4x4 nailed dead center of the top, which was made out of (2) 1/2" pieces of plywood glued together with liquid nails. I used the whole piece of 4x8 plywood. I could drop an engine block on this bench, and it'd just bounce off. I had an old mud flap,off of an MK48, nailed to the top on one corner, where my bench grinder sat, and it stayed put without being fastened down. On the other corner I had a piece 18"x18"x1/4" thick aluminum fastened down. This is where I did all my hammer pounding. I had shelves sat up on the back side of the bench, and could easily reach all of the stuff back there. The bench was exactly 37" tall. I reloaded inside, but used this bench mostly for casting bullets etc. Great bench, should have brought it with me, but it was too much for the Penske truck, wouldnt fit in with everyting else.

"Never argue with an idiot.... They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience."

"I don't have an attitude problem, you have a perception problem."

Ryan

Alpine

reb8600: Screws are used extensively in southern Kalifornia. Simpson has come out with a whole line of structial screws for their products, drywall is screwed on and the best non-squeak floors are screwed down. I don't know your local building codes but screws have a better track record for staying put than nails.

"If you ain't got pictures, I wasn't there."

allen griggs

robsguns I like that design, simple and strong.
4x4 legs and a 2x10 skirt.
See, this 2x10 skirt is just like the 2x4 skirt on my design, but the 2x10 skirt is stronger. It will hold the legs in place without any diagonal corner bracing.
Also a 4x4 leg is better because it gives you more surface to nail in to, nailing through the 2x10.

ps If I built it I would have used screws entirely, and not used nails. But I have a $175 cordless screwdriver [cordless drill]. I was assuming he didn't want to buy this tool as a rookie wood worker. Wouldn't drive that many screws by hand, rather use the hammer.

n/a

There are a million ways to do this. Find some plans that you like and stick to them. I would definitely recommend screws over nails, but I would not go with drywall screws...use a good deck screw, and you will not ring off the heads near as much. Somebody gave you an idea using doors...this works well. I made my reloading bench with a similar design, but I used a 6 panel hollow core door and laminated the top with 3/4" plywood and wrapped the edges with 5/4"X4" which was rabitted out to go around the top and picture frame it. Even though it's a hollow core interior door, it is plenty solid and does not move during reloading. One of these days, I plan to build a new bench with a "Butcher Block" top with cabinets above and below.


I guess you do not have to worry about this anymore, since you are headed to FL[:D]

Eric

All American Arms Company

Veteran Owned and Operated

reb8600

Alpine--We use screws for sheetrock, flooring and decking also but no one uses them for structural. Take a screw and if it is over tightended the head pops off or if it gets bent it will snap that is why they are not used for building things. I believe in things staying together so I glue them with construction adhesive and use nails.

Guncontrol-The ability to hit what your aiming at.

lrry491

sure in ca they still allow you to reload they havent banned reloading supplies? just kidding i have made two reloading tables one out of wood and one out of steel both work great but like others have said use screws.

larry

stanman

Plenty of good advice already so I'll just reiterate what some others have said.
quote:I agree with bobski, make the table 36 - 38 inches high. Four feet is too high.

Absolutely TOO high!!

I would also agree with the poster who recommended good quality deck screws instead of nails. Especially for the novice, the process of trying to hold your components in place while simultaneously pounding a 16d nail is difficult. Also, any drywall on the other side of the wall is highly likely to be damaged (nail pops), not to mention pictures falling, etc. Use the screws instead and just be sure to use plenty of them and pre-drill if necessary to avoid splitting the ends of your components.

Another advantage of the screws is that, in the future should you decide to alter/modify/expand the bench, the screws will allow you to remove your individual components easily as opposed to beating the crap out of things trying to pull nails.

One more thing.
Garage floors are typically sloped towards the garage door and depending on the amount of slope you will probably not be able to cut all of your legs the same length.
Not if you want to have a perfectly level top, that is.

Good luck!




[That many of our countrymen and our U.S. Supreme Court will support and even celebrate the porn peddlers Heffner and Flint while vilifying The Honorable Judge Roy Moore is testimony to the sewer our nation has become!]

jsergovic

crims40 has it right.The best bench I had was a mechanic's bench, $20 used, but worth $200. You could put an engine on it, torch it, etc. For a softer surface, I'd cover it with wood or rubber.