ok, I've been talking about this project both in the lounge and in the tool shed.. so I figured its high time that I actually post some pics and give some details.
I started planning my bench about a month ago. Originally, I was going to go with an all-metal bench. After some consideration though, I decided to go all wood instead. Reasons? Mainly because I had a bunch of wood and hardware already... so it'd be a lot cheaper. Additionally, my welder outlet isn't wired up yet, so I couldn't weld anything anyway. doh! Anyway, wood was the plan. I headed down to Lowes and picked up some cheap 12' 2x4s, a 12' 2x6, some bolts and a couple of solid-core door slabs. Pretty much everything else I already had on hand... so lets get started!
First step was to attach a 2x4 to the back wall to form a shelf that the door could lay on top of.
One of the door slabs made a convenient holder... which is good, because I did all the work by myself and didn't have a helper to hold things while I checked the level! Anyway, a combo of lag bolts and normal 3" wood screws and some liquid nails attached the 2x4 to the wall. I used my 4' level to make sure everything was good 'n' straight.
Next step was to add a shorter 2x4 along the west wall + another one on the east end (hanging out in the air, unsupported, here). I used Simpson strong ties (had some left over from another project!) at the corners, which made things go together quick and easy... though holding things level/straight and attaching them by yourself can be tricky!
With that done, it was time to have the 2x6... with more strong ties...
That gave me the "box" the door slabs would lay on... but obviously, its gonna need some structure below it so it will stand up to heavy parts being dropped on it, hammering on it etc. Enter the 4x4 weather treated posts I had left over from my patio cover project, and some 1/2" bolts!
The bench frame started to feel pretty solid with respect to the amound of downward force you could put on the top and the thing remain stable... but it wasn't solid yet.
About this time I headed inside to get some more water. My good buddy Fritz couldn't come out to the garage while I had the door open, so he waited patiently for me to come back in. good dog!
Next step was to add a second 2x4 along the wall below the benchtop. This 2x4 would serve two purposes. First, it would be the backside support for my lower shelf. Second, I would tie it into the upper 2x4 to give it added support.
I then added all the members that would connect that lower shelf to the 4x4s out front. This would fix the 4x4s position in another axis and also provide the frame from the bottom shelf. That shelf is going to hold some heavy stuff, so it needed to be beefy. I used my dad's Craftsman mitersaw to cut the angles on the front edge of these 2x4s to 45s. This made them look a little better, and kept a minimum amount of stuff sticking out where my legs would be while I used the bench.
Next I added the 2x4s to span the two back supports. I know the front side of the bench is plenty solid and can handle a LOT of weight... but the connection between the 2x4s in back I am not as sure of, because I can't see the condition of the studs in the wall behind the paneling (ugly as sin isn't it?!) and sheetrock etc. At any rate, by adding these supports along the back wall, I ensured that the top 2x4 isn't going to be falling down off the wall anytime soon. Just trying to help redistribute the load over a wider area... and use up some more spare wood. hehe
By now, the bench was getting puuuurdy damn solid. You couldn't, by hand, move the thing vary much by pushing/shaking it... which is good. You can never have tooo much support though, and I still had wood left over and a miter saw sitting there... so I added some triangulation.
I used simpson 90 degree ties that I bent to larger angles with a big HF crescent + liquid nails to mount these angled members... and with them installed, the bench was as solid as I thought it should be.
I added a couple of cross members half-way down the lower shelf also, so the unsupported span wouldn't be so long. I didn't have enough 2x4 left at this point, so on the near one I just used a small piece of weather treated 4x4 post. beef!
Next step was to cut the doors down to size. I wanted a bench that was 28" deep. I had 2 doors, one 36" wide, another 32" wide. I don't have a table saw, and I wanted the cuts to be very straight, so I used an old trick my dad used to use allll the time back in the day...
Accurately measured marks... a looong straight edge and some good clamps. The end result was a VERY straight cut with the circular saw shown. Who needs a table saw? The cuts left me with a 4" wide piece of wood and a 8" wide one... those would come in handy later...
with the table tops cut, I tossed 'em up there to see how they'd look...
The overhang on the right side is intentional. Some of the wood I had on-hand was 12'... so a longer frame would have required me to buy more wood. Sometimes the thing you are working on you don't need hella-strong supports underneather... and sometimes that stuff gets in the way of clamping something down. In any case, I have 12' of very solid bench that I can pound on... and another foot 'n' 4 inches to boot.
The top looked good, so I turned my attention to the 2nd shelf. I didn't have any wood to make the shelf, so I headed down to Lowes to see what was cheap. As it turned out the shelf needed to be 24" wide... which was perfect, because I could buy something in a standard 4' wide sheet and just cut it in half and have enough for the entire length (144") of the second shelf without having to buy 2 sheets. I looked at pretty much everything Lowes had. The best price/thickness deal I could find was a sheet of 3/4"-ish (stupid 1/32 sizes they use now
) OSB that was designed to be used for floor sheathing. It was thick, pretty rigid and just $8... so I grabbed a sheet. Got it home, cut it in half... cut the notches for the 2x4s in the back support system and viola!
Once I put some screws into it, I did the old "push down on the middle" test and man.... that shelf is beefy. No fears at all about putting transfer cases or any other kind of small but heavy objects on there.
Next I had to put something down to protect the wood of the door. When I was buying the floor sheathing at Lowes, I also picked up a piece of 4'x8' hardboard. This stuff is cheap ($6.xx/sheet), relatively tough, and not as porous as normal wood... which made it perfect for a semi-disposable top. I cut the sheet in half, sanded down the edges and it was ready to roll. After mounting the door slabs to the frame of the bench with countersunk 3" wood screws, I laid down the hardboard at fixed it in place with a handfull of finishing nails. When the hardboard gets trashed, I can always replace it no problemo... and for a lot less than replacing the door top.
Next, I used some of the leftover door material I had laying around to build a small shelf. I'm not 100% sure I am going to actually keep it yet... gonna have to actually use the bench for a little while... but it might be handy, and its plenty strong enough to hold heavy objects.
with the major assembly completed, I started to move stuff from the garage floor to the bench itself...
the bottom "shelf" (aka the floor!) was tall enough that my big stack of wheels would fit under it instead of taking up valuable floor space. Nifty! Next I started to load up the other shelf...
all kinds of fun stuff on there now. Doubler, 4340 shafts, DIY flip brackets, HAD shafts, cold air intake for a TBI, and a TH400 TC.
This stuff has been allll over my garage floor since we moved in. With this bench (pretty much) done, I'll be well on my way to getting the pile of crap organized into a real man-space.
I am gonna add some more pics soon... because the project isn't 100% done... but I thought I'd get the thread started now anyway.
j
I started planning my bench about a month ago. Originally, I was going to go with an all-metal bench. After some consideration though, I decided to go all wood instead. Reasons? Mainly because I had a bunch of wood and hardware already... so it'd be a lot cheaper. Additionally, my welder outlet isn't wired up yet, so I couldn't weld anything anyway. doh! Anyway, wood was the plan. I headed down to Lowes and picked up some cheap 12' 2x4s, a 12' 2x6, some bolts and a couple of solid-core door slabs. Pretty much everything else I already had on hand... so lets get started!
First step was to attach a 2x4 to the back wall to form a shelf that the door could lay on top of.
One of the door slabs made a convenient holder... which is good, because I did all the work by myself and didn't have a helper to hold things while I checked the level! Anyway, a combo of lag bolts and normal 3" wood screws and some liquid nails attached the 2x4 to the wall. I used my 4' level to make sure everything was good 'n' straight.
Next step was to add a shorter 2x4 along the west wall + another one on the east end (hanging out in the air, unsupported, here). I used Simpson strong ties (had some left over from another project!) at the corners, which made things go together quick and easy... though holding things level/straight and attaching them by yourself can be tricky!
With that done, it was time to have the 2x6... with more strong ties...
That gave me the "box" the door slabs would lay on... but obviously, its gonna need some structure below it so it will stand up to heavy parts being dropped on it, hammering on it etc. Enter the 4x4 weather treated posts I had left over from my patio cover project, and some 1/2" bolts!
The bench frame started to feel pretty solid with respect to the amound of downward force you could put on the top and the thing remain stable... but it wasn't solid yet.
About this time I headed inside to get some more water. My good buddy Fritz couldn't come out to the garage while I had the door open, so he waited patiently for me to come back in. good dog!
Next step was to add a second 2x4 along the wall below the benchtop. This 2x4 would serve two purposes. First, it would be the backside support for my lower shelf. Second, I would tie it into the upper 2x4 to give it added support.
I then added all the members that would connect that lower shelf to the 4x4s out front. This would fix the 4x4s position in another axis and also provide the frame from the bottom shelf. That shelf is going to hold some heavy stuff, so it needed to be beefy. I used my dad's Craftsman mitersaw to cut the angles on the front edge of these 2x4s to 45s. This made them look a little better, and kept a minimum amount of stuff sticking out where my legs would be while I used the bench.
Next I added the 2x4s to span the two back supports. I know the front side of the bench is plenty solid and can handle a LOT of weight... but the connection between the 2x4s in back I am not as sure of, because I can't see the condition of the studs in the wall behind the paneling (ugly as sin isn't it?!) and sheetrock etc. At any rate, by adding these supports along the back wall, I ensured that the top 2x4 isn't going to be falling down off the wall anytime soon. Just trying to help redistribute the load over a wider area... and use up some more spare wood. hehe
By now, the bench was getting puuuurdy damn solid. You couldn't, by hand, move the thing vary much by pushing/shaking it... which is good. You can never have tooo much support though, and I still had wood left over and a miter saw sitting there... so I added some triangulation.
I used simpson 90 degree ties that I bent to larger angles with a big HF crescent + liquid nails to mount these angled members... and with them installed, the bench was as solid as I thought it should be.
I added a couple of cross members half-way down the lower shelf also, so the unsupported span wouldn't be so long. I didn't have enough 2x4 left at this point, so on the near one I just used a small piece of weather treated 4x4 post. beef!
Next step was to cut the doors down to size. I wanted a bench that was 28" deep. I had 2 doors, one 36" wide, another 32" wide. I don't have a table saw, and I wanted the cuts to be very straight, so I used an old trick my dad used to use allll the time back in the day...
Accurately measured marks... a looong straight edge and some good clamps. The end result was a VERY straight cut with the circular saw shown. Who needs a table saw? The cuts left me with a 4" wide piece of wood and a 8" wide one... those would come in handy later...
with the table tops cut, I tossed 'em up there to see how they'd look...
The overhang on the right side is intentional. Some of the wood I had on-hand was 12'... so a longer frame would have required me to buy more wood. Sometimes the thing you are working on you don't need hella-strong supports underneather... and sometimes that stuff gets in the way of clamping something down. In any case, I have 12' of very solid bench that I can pound on... and another foot 'n' 4 inches to boot.
The top looked good, so I turned my attention to the 2nd shelf. I didn't have any wood to make the shelf, so I headed down to Lowes to see what was cheap. As it turned out the shelf needed to be 24" wide... which was perfect, because I could buy something in a standard 4' wide sheet and just cut it in half and have enough for the entire length (144") of the second shelf without having to buy 2 sheets. I looked at pretty much everything Lowes had. The best price/thickness deal I could find was a sheet of 3/4"-ish (stupid 1/32 sizes they use now
) OSB that was designed to be used for floor sheathing. It was thick, pretty rigid and just $8... so I grabbed a sheet. Got it home, cut it in half... cut the notches for the 2x4s in the back support system and viola!
Once I put some screws into it, I did the old "push down on the middle" test and man.... that shelf is beefy. No fears at all about putting transfer cases or any other kind of small but heavy objects on there.
Next I had to put something down to protect the wood of the door. When I was buying the floor sheathing at Lowes, I also picked up a piece of 4'x8' hardboard. This stuff is cheap ($6.xx/sheet), relatively tough, and not as porous as normal wood... which made it perfect for a semi-disposable top. I cut the sheet in half, sanded down the edges and it was ready to roll. After mounting the door slabs to the frame of the bench with countersunk 3" wood screws, I laid down the hardboard at fixed it in place with a handfull of finishing nails. When the hardboard gets trashed, I can always replace it no problemo... and for a lot less than replacing the door top.
Next, I used some of the leftover door material I had laying around to build a small shelf. I'm not 100% sure I am going to actually keep it yet... gonna have to actually use the bench for a little while... but it might be handy, and its plenty strong enough to hold heavy objects.
with the major assembly completed, I started to move stuff from the garage floor to the bench itself...
the bottom "shelf" (aka the floor!) was tall enough that my big stack of wheels would fit under it instead of taking up valuable floor space. Nifty! Next I started to load up the other shelf...
all kinds of fun stuff on there now. Doubler, 4340 shafts, DIY flip brackets, HAD shafts, cold air intake for a TBI, and a TH400 TC.
This stuff has been allll over my garage floor since we moved in. With this bench (pretty much) done, I'll be well on my way to getting the pile of crap organized into a real man-space. I am gonna add some more pics soon... because the project isn't 100% done... but I thought I'd get the thread started now anyway.
j
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