I normally don't make New Year's resolutions because they are usually forgotten by Groundhog Day.
That being said, this year I am determined to get my first module built.
A while back I posted how I bought a 4' x 8' sheet of 3/4" plywood at Home Depot and started ripping it into pieces for my first 2' x 8' module benchwork. I planned from the beginning to use plywood for most if not all of the benchwork in lieu of dimensional lumber. The module bench is nearly complete and within the next couple days I plan on finally turning it up onto its own legs so it can stand freely.
After buying this pathetic bundle of 1x2's at Home Depot - and this was the best bundle they had and the only one still banded together - I decided to make it all out of 3/4" plywood. The 1x2's are mainly for leg bracing and will work fine for that, but I was going to also use them as the short girder on the L-girder legs. The contractors get the pick of the litter at Home Depot and the rejects are what you see on the shelves. Next time I think I'll try Carter-Jones lumber to see if they have anything better.
The basic frame of the bench and my template for all following modules. The cross-members are 2' from the ends, and there will be one more cross-member in the center that will actually be laid flat and flush with the table top. The bottom table top layer will be 1/2" MDF which I have a few 2'x4' sheets of, so I will need the center cross-member to lay flat so I can screw the MDF to it at the joint. The legs will be attached to the frame at the vertical cross-members with screws or bolts (haven't decided which yet) so they can be removed, and the table top will also be attached with 1-1/4" drywall screws for removal. The frame and L-girder legs can be glued and tacked together because I don't see the need to disassemble the legs or the frame.
The bench frame is glued at each joint and tacked with 1-1/2" finishing nails from my air nailer. To hold each joint in place while I glued and nailed it together, I used this handy 90 degree clamp I got at Harbor Freight for under $20. Double checking the angles with my framing square showed that the clamp is dead on the money at 90 degrees.
In an earlier post I mentioned how after cutting the 4" planks I also ended up with two planks that were 3-3/4" instead of 4". These 3-3/4" planks are what I am using for the legs of the bench. Having decided to use plywood for everything, I ripped one of the remaining 4" boards into two 2" planks (actually about 1-7/8" after cutting) to form the short girder of the L-girder legs. The L-girders were also glued and clamped and then also tacked with more 1-1/2" finishing nails.
The whole process so far has been quite easy to do, mainly because the plywood is straight as can be and also because I was extra careful to make all my ripping cuts accurately. Taking the extra time to make accurate cuts cannot be understated. As I glued and tacked the legs and the frame together, everything lined up perfectly and nothing was out of whack like it would have been had I used dimensional lumber.
This bench is going to be quite sturdy and probably overkill in hindsight for a 2' x 8' bench, because this 3/4" plywood is very strong. The only downside I foresee is that it may be a little top-heavy at 48" tall due to only being a 2' x 8' bench.
One thing I have noticed about this Home Depot plywood is that it is not as good a quality as I originally thought, even though it is their best plywood. It is 7-ply plywood but the sanded outside veneer ply is paper thin and splinters easily on cut edges. I am going to shop around at Menard's and Carter Jones Lumber in the future to see if they have anything better.
That being said, this year I am determined to get my first module built.
A while back I posted how I bought a 4' x 8' sheet of 3/4" plywood at Home Depot and started ripping it into pieces for my first 2' x 8' module benchwork. I planned from the beginning to use plywood for most if not all of the benchwork in lieu of dimensional lumber. The module bench is nearly complete and within the next couple days I plan on finally turning it up onto its own legs so it can stand freely.
After buying this pathetic bundle of 1x2's at Home Depot - and this was the best bundle they had and the only one still banded together - I decided to make it all out of 3/4" plywood. The 1x2's are mainly for leg bracing and will work fine for that, but I was going to also use them as the short girder on the L-girder legs. The contractors get the pick of the litter at Home Depot and the rejects are what you see on the shelves. Next time I think I'll try Carter-Jones lumber to see if they have anything better.
The basic frame of the bench and my template for all following modules. The cross-members are 2' from the ends, and there will be one more cross-member in the center that will actually be laid flat and flush with the table top. The bottom table top layer will be 1/2" MDF which I have a few 2'x4' sheets of, so I will need the center cross-member to lay flat so I can screw the MDF to it at the joint. The legs will be attached to the frame at the vertical cross-members with screws or bolts (haven't decided which yet) so they can be removed, and the table top will also be attached with 1-1/4" drywall screws for removal. The frame and L-girder legs can be glued and tacked together because I don't see the need to disassemble the legs or the frame.
The bench frame is glued at each joint and tacked with 1-1/2" finishing nails from my air nailer. To hold each joint in place while I glued and nailed it together, I used this handy 90 degree clamp I got at Harbor Freight for under $20. Double checking the angles with my framing square showed that the clamp is dead on the money at 90 degrees.
In an earlier post I mentioned how after cutting the 4" planks I also ended up with two planks that were 3-3/4" instead of 4". These 3-3/4" planks are what I am using for the legs of the bench. Having decided to use plywood for everything, I ripped one of the remaining 4" boards into two 2" planks (actually about 1-7/8" after cutting) to form the short girder of the L-girder legs. The L-girders were also glued and clamped and then also tacked with more 1-1/2" finishing nails.
The whole process so far has been quite easy to do, mainly because the plywood is straight as can be and also because I was extra careful to make all my ripping cuts accurately. Taking the extra time to make accurate cuts cannot be understated. As I glued and tacked the legs and the frame together, everything lined up perfectly and nothing was out of whack like it would have been had I used dimensional lumber.
This bench is going to be quite sturdy and probably overkill in hindsight for a 2' x 8' bench, because this 3/4" plywood is very strong. The only downside I foresee is that it may be a little top-heavy at 48" tall due to only being a 2' x 8' bench.
One thing I have noticed about this Home Depot plywood is that it is not as good a quality as I originally thought, even though it is their best plywood. It is 7-ply plywood but the sanded outside veneer ply is paper thin and splinters easily on cut edges. I am going to shop around at Menard's and Carter Jones Lumber in the future to see if they have anything better.
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