Okay, moving along.....
A shot from underneath, the bench frame is now about 90% complete. This shows a couple of the load-bearing uprights that run from the bottom of the upper frame down to the floor, fitting behind the floating back brace. (//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2540-800.jpg)
Aaaaaaand we're basically done with the major frame assembly at this point. Bloody hell. The space you see between the top of the frame and the trim piece under the window shows how thick the bench top will be. Yeah, it's a hefty top. (//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2548-800.jpg)
Before going any further, I used Quikrete to seal around the bottoms of all of the uprights and legs. This helps the posts make good contact by filling in any voids or uneven areas and also prevents any liquids (water, oils, etc) from getting under the legs. It also helps dampen noise and vibration from or to the table. It dries to a hard state while still retaining a little bit of elasticity. (//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2573-800.jpg)
The first section of the lower shelf being cut and fitted into place. Some of this area will have drawers built in later, some will be left open for storage and "knee space". This took longer than expected. I must have put this in and taken it out 20 times in order to get the exact fit I wanted. (//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2551-800.jpg)
More of the lower shelf installed. This was far more laborious than it should have been. (//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2553-800.jpg)
And the last bit of the lower shelf is screwed in place. Whew. I don't know why but this part was just a bear to do. (//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2571-800.jpg)
Finally we get to the point where the first part of the bench top is fitted. It's clamped down because some of the plywood had a slight bow to it (not uncommon). The clamps also make sure that it doesn't shift while the underlayment is screwed down. The underlayment is made from 2 layers of 3/4" plywood, and then a 1/4" layer of tempered Masonite is laid down on top of that. (//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2566-800.jpg)
So far so good.
Soon we get to the fun stuff instead of all this dreadful framing crap.