Hey guys… i just have a few questions regarding benchwork.
Right now, I’ve got my 4x8 Phase 1 section being worked on… i finally was able to get a full track arrangement set up to test out, completely with all my WS risers T-pinned to each other and to the foam base. I’m ready to remove all this stuff and make it permanent.
However… right now, the 4x8 section is made of 2x4’s. are these too much? Its heavy as heck… and its reused from an earlier “layout” where my dad made a rectangle in the center out of 2x4’s, and put legs in each corner of that rectangle. if you looked at it from the bottom, it would look like a rectangle with a smaller rectangle inside of it.
Now, obviously that wouldn’t do, because the edges were all sagging. I took 2x4’s off of another section we had in the garage, and screwed those around the edge of the 4x8 to make all of the edges even.
After gaining much more knowledge, I’m thinking this still won’t do… because there aren’t any crossbeams that go from one edge to the other, through the middle, which would brace the entire thing to prevent any sagging.
I think I know the answer, but should remove the inner rectangle of 2x4’s, and then install 1 or 2 crossbeams? They would go from each long edge to the other, from the edge of each 8 foot long side of the board, to make something like this:
Unless you intend to walk on the layout, your 2x4 timbers are way too large. 1x4s around the perimeter and 1x2s in the interior would be more than sufficient.
Mark is correct–2x4’s are overkill. But I would use 1x4’s or maybe 1x3’s for the cross pieces rather than 1x2’s, especially if your plywood is 1/2".
If you were starting from scratch I would advise using all 1x4’s, both for the perimeter frame and the cross pieces. But why scrap everything? At this point I advise removing the inner 2x4 rectangle, then putting in 1x3 or 1x4 cross pieces. If your plywood is 1/2" put in five cross pieces with 16" spacing. If 3/4" plywood, three cross pieces spaced 24" apart should be fine.
awesome, thanks a lot guys. I was thinking about starting all over from scratch, but since ive already got the plywood covered with foam… i might as well keep that. I was also thinking that I could use those other 2x4’s to make legs. Its going to be chair height… probably around 40-42", since the ceiling is sloped.
Okay, now I have another question: can I get away with adding a 2-foot extension without using another set of legs? I was thinking about cantilevering it out, with angled supports, but I don’t know whether those supports need to go all the way to the end of the extension. There won’t be all that much weight on it… its just so I can extend a passing siding. It would be 4 feet wide, to basically make a 4x10 surface for this construction phase.
If you know how to do it, yes, a canitlevered extension would be fine, but I would add the insurance of a couple of diagonal braces from close to the new outer edge back toward the last set of legs.
Are you making a 4x10 rectangle or a 4x8 with an L extension?
If it’s the first (a bigger rectangle) then your only supporting 2’ of the cantilever rather than 4’. That is much easier to do and will save weight. You’ll still need some hefty L-brackets so adding a diagonal brace as selector said is a good idea.
1x4’s for the perimeter frame are fine if you have supporting legs at the corners and mid-span. But if you went with 1x3’s and 1x2’s in an L-girder arrangement for the long sides with 1x3 cross pieces you would get even more strength and need only 4 legs. You’d be surprised how strong those L-girders are.