Fieldcraft Bored so I built this

Tuna921

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 8, 2008
432
0
Fort Lauderdale
Took four hours start to finish and 120 at Home Depot



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Re: Bored so I built this

Are you planning on building a big block engine on that thing or just using it for a shooting bench. HAHA Man thats heavy duty for a shooting bench. Shouldn't do no moving around. May cause back problem when moving it. Lift with your legs man lift with your legs! HAha good job!
 
Re: Bored so I built this

Looks great, you did a great job and looks very sturdy. Your's is made from similiar wood that we used. That should outlast you and prob your grandkids. Looks like we copied same wood dimensions on our basic idea but just a bit different way of sitting at it. I like that raised piece you have on the front to keep things from rolling off, good idea.

Here is the one we put together, made it to fit into bed of pickup if we wanted to cart it off to an endless field somewhere someday. Just wish the weather would clear up so we could try it out.



Topstrap
 
Re: Bored so I built this

We built two with Tunas' top.
4x6 on all four corners like Topstrap, plus the rear center support for the table.(like tuna)
We find it easier to get in from the outside.
Just came across the plans we used the other day.
We made it so somone with severe leg injury could shoot from a bench.(right or left.)
Back left and right post become bench supports.
Side supports can be combined and moved to the center.

Topstrap,
Bro will bring it down to Tom's again.
Sorry neither got to talk much last time
Glad you talked with Jim.
 
Re: Bored so I built this

We've got a whole row of them at the club built just like Tuna's. They are plenty stout and stable.
 
Re: Bored so I built this

Now that is heavy duty !

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 270grdeerround</div><div class="ubbcode-body">you might want to consider putting through bolts both directions through the legs so you can tighten them up in the future when it becomes shakey</div></div>

Don't let it get shakey ................Tuna might burn it !
 
Re: Bored so I built this

Don't worry. If it gets any kind of use, the frame won't last too long.

Frag from the bullets splashing on the steel will take chunks out of the wood. It will need to be replaced periodically.

I made a wood frame for my plate out of some scrap 2x4's. It's looking pretty ragged.
 
Re: Bored so I built this

Our club has several designs of benches on the line, some quite old.

Massive legs like those in the OP work well until the wood dries out and the fasteners loosen. The addition of triangular plywood gussets will prevent the inevitable wobble.

Bench tops also dry and shrink. When the tops are made of planks, gaps appear which become traps for .22LR casings. Make the tops with whatever you choose, but cover those tops with plywood.

It can be annoying to have to get up and pick up something which has rolled off the bench and onto the ground. Generally, if such things happen once, they happen plenty. Wrapping the edge of the bench top with a 1x2 molding that extends upward above the top's edge by about 1/8" can forestall a significant number of cussin' sessions.

Sharp corners are bone bangers. I hates 'em, and I cut corners with 45 degree breaks wherever possible.

Attached seats... Some like 'em, some don't. I like 'em 'cause they don't wander off, and I know that my seating position is consistent to the degree that seat position is not an issue.

My bench design uses a plywood top that's square with one corner cut off. The cutoff is mounted lower as the seat. The bench is ambidextrous. Turn it with the seat on one side, it's a righty, rotate it 90 degrees and it's a lefty.

Finally, before you start using a bench, check underneath. Ticks and wasps like to hide under them.

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This image shows myself and a few friends on the line at our Club after an FV200 match some time back. The bench in question is in the far right foreground. Not especially well visible, the far bench is identical, and another is off to the left, out of frame. Although only part of the bench shows, enough is there to illustrate the points I suggest.

These benches are not in complete conformance with all of the above suggestions, but they are left out year round and are going on a decade old. They are still completely as rigid as the day they were built. The design allows three square tops, 32" on an edge, to be built from a single sheet of ply, with no waste. Future benches will have less 2x4, more plywood, and bigger tops.

Greg
 
Re: Bored so I built this

I also like the raised lip on the front of your table. One of the ranges I shoot at wont let me shoot prone, only bench. It is all but impossible to preload my bipods though since I don't have a lip to push against, just flat wood to slide all over.

I also concur on the target frame getting torn apart by fragments. Will last a while since the wood is thick, but every shot on target is basically destroying it.
 
Re: Bored so I built this

The lip is a very valid point in which I will try to remember if I ever create one of these things. The local range around here has concrete benches and they are a little too high for my liking.