Workshop

Started by TehBorken, May 29 14 01:21

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TehBorken

I got tired of trying to do stuff in my garage, so I built a workshop in what used to be our rec room. Anyone interested in seeing some pics?
The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music.

kitten

I'd love to see them!  Seeing what other people have done to improve their homes is a source of endless fascination to me.
Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped.  They have not forgotten.

P.C.

I'm totally interested in seeing them !
Sir Isaac Newton invented the swinging door....for the convenience of his cat.

Lil Me

Yes please!
What projects are you working on now?
"In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it."  Robert Heinlein

kitten

How soon can we expect to see the pictures, TehBorken Sir?
Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped.  They have not forgotten.

TehBorken

I'll get some up today.
The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music.

TehBorken

Initial build images.

Starting out...first bit of carpet taken up to make space for the south wall bench.



Got my wood...about $250 total. I'm using 2x4s for the frame and two layers of 3/4" plywood for the table underlay. The bench top itself will be covered in a 1/4" sheet of Masonite (tempered fiberboard). That way when it gets too dinged up or damaged I can strip off the Masonite and put a new layer down. Total thickness will be 1.75".


Gotta clean the floor and get the tooling ready.



First brace mounted to the south wall with 4" lag bolts screwed into the studs.



Cross beam hangers mounted with 1.5" pan head screws. I had to do it this way because the other side wasn't accessible after hanging the brace. Otherwise I'd have had to assemble the entire top frame and then hang it, which just wasn't practical.



Another shot of the same phase.



Finally...something to see. :)
The top frame mostly complete, held up with some temporary leg braces. I used a lot of screws in this, in fact the entire thing was built using screws. Lots and lots of screws.




Another view of the top frame, just for reference.


Next batch of pics will be up tonight or tomorrow. Or possibly today if I have some time. :)
The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music.

Lil Me

Great job!  Look forward to more photos.
"In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it."  Robert Heinlein

kitten

Beautiful job.  I read somewhere that Real Men Wear Tool Belts,  so you are proving yourself to be a total MAN!  Sakha must be so proud of you.
Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped.  They have not forgotten.

TehBorken

Okay....where were we? Oh yeah...

A close-in detail of the floating back brace. This will be used to support the lower shelf and also helps to add some stiffness to the table frame.
(//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2508-800.jpg)


The front and back lower frame now almost complete, and some of the legs have been added. I used 4x4s for support so it can take some serious weight and pounding.
(//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2514-800.jpg)


Basic frame complete except for the front-to-back stringers on the bottom.
(//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2523-800.jpg)


This is a small jig that I made to ensure that the stringers (and other connections) were all drilled uniformly. I used 3.5" deck screws almost everywhere. When clamped in place it allowed me to dispense with marking every single hole individually before drilling. This saved a ton of time.
(//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2525-800.jpg)


Getting ready to do some ripping of the tops and some other bit (like the stringers/stiffeners). The 4'x8' 3/4" plywood was ripped to 28" deep for the top work surface. (I prefer a deep work top with lots of room to move stuff around.)
(//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2529-800.jpg)


Lower stringers added. Note the temp work top surface (not attached, just laid in place for convenience).
The bottom of the lower rail is set 8" above the floor to allow space for some nice tall drawers that will slide in and out.

(//vny!://discoverseattle.net/workshop/SAM_2531-800.jpg)

More to come later. :)
The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music.

kitten

Looking good so far.  Beautiful work.
Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped.  They have not forgotten.

TehBorken

Thank you!

Quote from: kitten on May 30 14 08:30
Looking good so far.  Beautiful work.
The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music.

TehBorken

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.

The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music.

kitten

What a massive amount of work you're putting into this.  This is going to last forever!
Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped.  They have not forgotten.

TehBorken

Quote from: kitten on May 31 14 03:02
What a massive amount of work you're putting into this.  This is going to last forever!

I hope so. :) 

However....because it's 100% screwed together it could be completely taken apart in a few hours by anyone with a good cordless drill/screwdriver. (It would come apart waaaaaay faster than it went together, lol.) If and when I sell this place I might do that depending on what the buyer wants.

It is sturdy though...you could park a car on top of it and it would hold up just fine, lol. :)
The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music.