I realize that a lot of bench builds are on here, but I feel my take is a little bit different. I started this project about 4-5 months ago and its still a work in progress, but I wanted to share what I have thus far.
So first off I started with the following:
a pile of hard maple gym floor
a pile of steel
This is all salvaged material, note most of the steel has artifacts of its previous use. This meant a lot more work than I initially thought but the final product will be worth it. The steel used is 2"x2" 1/8" and 3/16" wall thickness. I realized early on that the 3/16 wall thickness was a bit overkill, but its what I had so I was going to make the best of it.
So first step of course is to make up the top. I primarily have access to a well equipped wood shop, so I figured I would start here. I wanted to retain the tongue and grove from the flooring, but I later learned for that it would have been better just to have a regular glue joint, as it was difficult to keep the panel flat when clamping.
After getting the top glued up, it was leveling time. I made a quick and dirty flattening jig for a router. It was the first time I had done this, and it worked well, much faster than a hand plane and I learned a lot for the next time I need to do something like this.
And yes it made a huge mess. If I recall this was only from like half of the first pass.
I have made lots more progress that I will post later.
Hope people find this useful/entertaining.
chiz1180
So first off I started with the following:
a pile of hard maple gym floor
a pile of steel
This is all salvaged material, note most of the steel has artifacts of its previous use. This meant a lot more work than I initially thought but the final product will be worth it. The steel used is 2"x2" 1/8" and 3/16" wall thickness. I realized early on that the 3/16 wall thickness was a bit overkill, but its what I had so I was going to make the best of it.
So first step of course is to make up the top. I primarily have access to a well equipped wood shop, so I figured I would start here. I wanted to retain the tongue and grove from the flooring, but I later learned for that it would have been better just to have a regular glue joint, as it was difficult to keep the panel flat when clamping.
After getting the top glued up, it was leveling time. I made a quick and dirty flattening jig for a router. It was the first time I had done this, and it worked well, much faster than a hand plane and I learned a lot for the next time I need to do something like this.
And yes it made a huge mess. If I recall this was only from like half of the first pass.
I have made lots more progress that I will post later.
Hope people find this useful/entertaining.
chiz1180
Last edited:
