I used plans that were published in EAA Sport Aviation magazine available here. As a novice woodworker, the shopping list and cut list was much appreciated and the diagrams were clear and easy to follow. The only real issue I have with the plans is that, since the article was published in 2010, the estimated costs are quite a bit lower than the actual costs. Even the cheap 2x4s alone are each $1.50 more than they were 8 years ago, so unless you already have enough 2x4s, screws, and MDF/plywood lying around, you can expect to spend at least $100 to complete the two workbenches.
The first half of the build was simply cutting all of the 2x4s to size, which took longer than I expected it to. All 45+ cuts took all morning, so I ended up starting assembly of the parts after lunch.
Per the plans, I built the upper frames on the garage floor to keep the tabletop as true as possible. I thought I had done a good job of selecting 2x4s with minimal warping, but there ended up being a slight twist in each frame once everything was glued and screwed. It really wasn't a big deal to me since the MDF I'd be attaching to it would be fairly level and I wasn't going for absolute precision here.
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| After spending all morning on the ground cutting wood, the pillow was necessary to avoid destroying my knees. |
Attaching the legs was fun now that the shape of the benches was beginning to emerge. I tried my best to make everything as square as possible. After all the legs were attached I flipped over each bench and made adjustments to individual legs to eliminate any large wobbles.
Doublers attached. The tables are starting to look a little more hefty now.
The lower frames went together as easily as the top frames and fit securely onto the legs.
The final 8.5" doublers were where I expected to have a little trouble and I wasn't wrong. Only one of the eight pieces ended up being level with the main 33" leg while the rest were just slightly too tall. Cutting off the excess lengths with the miter saw was easy and the results were pretty much perfect for each leg.
Flipping over the benches for the last time, I realized that a couple of the legs were taller than the top frame where the MDF would be attached and would create a significant gap between the frame and the tabletop if left unchecked. A quick sweep with the belt sander was all it took to level things out.
Time for the tabletop and lower shelf. The 1/2" plywood at Lowe's was pretty crappy and riddled with some deep knots that looked as though they could scratch aluminum pretty easily, so I ended up buying some 1/2" MDF instead to use for the lower shelf. The MDF was only $6 more for the whole 49"x8' sheet and was actually cheaper than the premium plywood, so it wasn't that much more expensive and I got better-looking tables out of it.
Preparing the MDF to attach to the frame with scews gave me my first countersinking experience. I made sure each screw head ended up slightly lower than the surface to ensure that there would be no contact between the screws and the aluminum parts. Finally, I sanded around each screw to make sure the surface was smooth with no material protruding up from around each hole. I'm pretty happy with the results.
Aaaand, done. Looking good!
There's still a tiny bit of wobble on each bench depending on where I place them in the garage, but sticking some wood chips left over from cutting the 2x4s under the legs solved that. I'm really not that concerned about wobble since the benches will be moving around a lot and the floor in each location is going to be slightly different.
Overall, I had a lot of fun putting these together. Again, this was the first project I've done by myself that involved me actually fabricating and building something rather than just assembling it, so I'm more than happy with the end products. Building was also more therapeutic than I expected. Once you get into the groove, it's easy to lose yourself in your work and tune out everything external. I can totally see why someone with a lot of their mind would escape everyday life by coming out to the shop.
The best thing about building these benches before the arrival of the empennage kit is confirming to myself that, not only am I willing to undertake this project, but that I'll also have fun with the process of building it. True, building an airplane is going to be way more complicated than building a couple of simple workbenches. That said, spending a few hours on a fun solo project like this has made me feel a lot more confident about starting the plane.
The empennage kit arrives tomorrow. Time to get to work.
