Alright, i have been trying to get on this for a while now, but due to a professional licensing test i took at the beginning of the summer (studying since February) and my weekend job i am just now getting around to this.

so this is what i am starting out with. most of the wood is either stuff i had lying around or recycled scrap. the entire top are 30 year old 2x6's torn off a deck a couple years ago.

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/jarod009.jpg

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/jarod002.jpg

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/jarod001.jpg


The top is uneven as can be because of the warped old boards but it will be planed smooth and even and then be coated in a stain and or sealant.

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/jarod005.jpg

when its done it will look more smooth and even like this, jsut without the filler between the boards. the boards on the top of this work bench were from the same torn down deck.

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/jarod007.jpg

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/jarod008.jpg

here is what i am going to mount on the side of the bench to hold targets and a staple gun with extra staples. its a piece of 4" PVC with cleanout plugs on the end. probably will just snug it up next to the side edge of the bench with some metal strapping or bailing wire

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/jarod003.jpg






Here is the base i am going to use for my seat, just an old plow disc... its going to be an adjustable seat and you will just have to wait to see how i put that one together because i am waiting to grab a certain peice to weld up. i am rather proud of myself for the adjustable seat idea :D

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/jarod004.jpg



More to come as i get the top planed down, the seat built up, the 100 yard and 200 yard range cleared at my place and then of course some sort of target and frames to come also.

anyone have any suggestions right now for stain or all-weather sealant?

Are you really planning on planing that entire top with THAT plane? :eek:


As for sealant, I'd say use an oil based clear such as this one (http://www.minwax.com/products/oil_based_clear_protective_finishes/helmsman_spar_urethane.html) from Minwax.

Are you really planning on planing that entire top with THAT plane? :eek:
.

yes i am. :D Its not that bad.... i can make small depth changes if need be or take of a ton at a time. I enjoy wood work and i actually prefer to use that hand planer... plus i cant afford an electric planer and who knows when the next time i would get use out of it after this project. its going to be an outside shooting bench so it doesnt need to be perfectly smooth ( i have a belt sander i can hit it with if i feel it needs it) but i can get it even with just that there planer :flipoff2:


As for sealant, I'd say use an oil based clear such as this one (http://www.minwax.com/products/oil_based_clear_protective_finishes/helmsman_spar_urethane.html) from Minwax.

that looks like a good option. just hope it will hold up to what i need to weather

I have had good luck with Thompsons...

http://www.thompsonswaterseal.com/products/waterproofers_total_wood_protection.cfm

yes i am. :D Its not that bad.... i can make small depth changes if need be or take of a ton at a time. I enjoy wood work and i actually prefer to use that hand planer... plus i cant afford an electric planer and who knows when the next time i would get use out of it after this project. its going to be an outside shooting bench so it doesnt need to be perfectly smooth ( i have a belt sander i can hit it with if i feel it needs it) but i can get it even with just that there planer :flipoff2:



that looks like a good option. just hope it will hold up to what i need to weather

I wasn't talking about it not being electric, I was talking about it being kinda small.

I wasn't talking about it not being electric, I was talking about it being kinda small.

interesting....

i dont know if i have ever seen a larger one in a very long time....

the only bigger one i saw was atleast 50 years old or more and belonged to my grandfather....

I'd use a belt sander, but that's just me.I'd also screws in your hardware so when the wood warps it won't pull apart.

I'd use a belt sander, but that's just me.I'd also screws in your hardware so when the wood warps it won't pull apart.

yep, its fully screwed in.

dont let that hammer in the picture fool ya.... :laughing: its an all around "fitting" tool i was using to tap boards into place

how much land are you building this 200 yard range on? Just curious of the distance behind the targets and stuff to be safe.

how much land are you building this 200 yard range on? Just curious of the distance behind the targets and stuff to be safe.

Thats a very good question. its 500 acres and the area i am building the range will be along a creek where the up stream curves back around and acts as a back stop in itself. (because there is atleast 30-40 feet of relief on the opposite bank) From the behind where i am shooting i beleive its a good couple of miles to the nearest inhabitable structure.

but, this will all somewhat be a moot point since i am going to finalize the range with dirt piles behind the targets for back stops. :smokin:

time for a quick update:

got some metal tubing this weekend to weld up the frames for targets. i went with some 2x2, 11 guage wall thickness and i decided the targets will be able to hold a 4'x4' piece of plywood, so that way i can use one peice of 4'x8' wood sheet to make the 100 yard and the 200 yard.

i will be welding these up this week, or the next and also finishing the seat for the bench. i think i am going another direction and using a cantilevered seat attached to the bench itself.

i will still be building my seat idea using the disc shown above, but i still have some parts to gather....


stay tuned for more stuff and ill update with pics soon.

Sorry i didn't look at this earlier, but for future dates your more than welcome to come use my electric planer. It would make quick work of those 2x6s. I have a stationary one and a portable one. Looks good though, I still like using those old planers every once and a while.

Chris

Nice little shooting bench man. :grinpimp:

i got one of the target frames about 80% done. i need to weld up the end of the tube openings so it wont hold water, and i am waiting on some tabs to be shipped to me so that i can weld them on to hold a lag bolt or some other bolt. Then the 4x4 sheet of plywood can be attached to that and cover the opening.

From there, all targets can be stapled to the plywood. it actually lasts longer than you would think.

i also have a few 5"x5" metal squares, 3/16" thick. im going to hang them off to the side of the 200 yard frame with some chain... do you think they could stand the abuse from various calibers if i put a couple on the 100 yard target?

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/frame1.jpg

This reminds me that I need to upload the pics of what 5.56, 7.62x39, 6mm, .45ACP, and 9mm will do to a hanging peice of 0.375" A36 steel:laughing:

My trap still needs paint, but I couldn't resist testing it. I've just been to busy at home to putz with the camera and update my thread.

Your junk looks good though! I might have to build a target frame like that as I think I've got enough scrap to cobble something similar *adds to project list*

time for a quick update:

got some metal tubing this weekend to weld up the frames for targets. i went with some 2x2, 11 guage wall thickness and i decided the targets will be able to hold a 4'x4' piece of plywood, so that way i can use one peice of 4'x8' wood sheet to make the 100 yard and the 200 yard.

i will be welding these up this week, or the next and also finishing the seat for the bench. i think i am going another direction and using a cantilevered seat attached to the bench itself.

i will still be building my seat idea using the disc shown above, but i still have some parts to gather....


stay tuned for more stuff and ill update with pics soon.


You were aware that a typical 1000 yd tgt is roughly 36" in diameter at the bull, that means a whole lot of std 100yd targets would fit on a 4x4... :D

Levity aside the bench looks nice, I'd be inclined towards a marine grade spar varnish for the finish (heavy application of same) as I've had some bad luck with Thompsons only lasting about 1 yr on my deck (South facing + snow most of the year). Might consider the spotting scope mount that Chris came up with (IIRC the OP on that a few weeks ago) and ya got a real nice bench.

D.

This reminds me that I need to upload the pics of what 5.56, 7.62x39, 6mm, .45ACP, and 9mm will do to a hanging peice of 0.375" A36 steel:laughing:
*

yes... do this.

and if you do, come back in here and drop a link to where ever you upload the pics.

Im thinking at 200 yards, hanging 3/16" will be able to handle my 223, 30-30, 308, and 250 savage rifles fairly well...

Im thinking at 200 yards, hanging 3/16" will be able to handle my 223, 30-30, 308, and 250 savage rifles fairly well...At 200 yards, all of those rifles except maybe the 30-30 will go through 3/16"s like it isn't there. Even a 55 gr .223 will blow right through. I made holes in 3/8" at 300 with a 55 gr .223. Same holes in same metal at 500 with a .308.

At 200 yards, all of those rifles except maybe the 30-30 will go through 3/16"s like it isn't there. Even a 55 gr .223 will blow right through. I made holes in 3/8" at 300 with a 55 gr .223. Same holes in same metal at 500 with a .308.

It can be pretty impressive how poorly mild steel holds up to rifle fire. Really takes the fun out of hollywood.

At 200 yards, all of those rifles except maybe the 30-30 will go through 3/16"s like it isn't there. Even a 55 gr .223 will blow right through. I made holes in 3/8" at 300 with a 55 gr .223. Same holes in same metal at 500 with a .308.

very interesting. i wonder if ill need to weld a couple of the plates together to give a better and thicker cross-section.

anyone have any suggestions right now for stain or all-weather sealant?

Used motor oil? :laughing:

very interesting. i wonder if ill need to weld a couple of the plates together to give a better and thicker cross-section.

Ya might want to consider it. As a comparison, at 200 yds I can make a divot ~40-50% of thickness in .75" mild steel with the .45-70 using a 520 gr lead slug and 68 gr 2f trundling down range at a muzzle velocity of ~1050-1100 fps. While the .308 is a tad smaller in weight the velocity is about 2x that (IIRC).

D.

I'd be inclined towards a marine grade spar varnish for the finish (heavy application of same)
D.

Ill have to look into some of this and see how it seals it all up.






and here is a side project that followed me home from the ranch yesterday....

its my open fire cooking grate that is in bad need of some TLC. the expanded metal is only held on by a few places there. I need to replace the metal with a new sheet, or im gonna try and find a bunch of 1/8" bars and weld them on for a more traditional barbeque grate section.... the sausages were still good yesterday, though! :laughing:
http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/grate1.jpg

Ill have to look into some of this and see how it seals it all up.






and here is a side project that followed me home from the ranch yesterday....

its my open fire cooking grate that is in bad need of some TLC. the expanded metal is only held on by a few places there. I need to replace the metal with a new sheet, or im gonna try and find a bunch of 1/8" bars and weld them on for a more traditional barbeque grate section.... the sausages were still good yesterday, though! :laughing:


As far as the marine spar, I use it mostly on hickory tool handles that get abused. I lean towards a dilution of 60:40 varnish:turpentine for the 1st coat as the dilution tends to help get it a little deeper into the wood, then go back after its dried and apply another full strength coat (or 2). Seems to hold up over the long haul even iffen it takes longer and one doesn't get the immediate gratification fix in one coat... :D

Any port in a storm works when ones hungry... :D

D.

Thought I would bump this with a short update. Finished both the metal target frames and have the plywood mounted. Doing my best to get my table top smoothed down how i want but my belt sander keeps eating belts :mad3:

anyway, next step is wood-filling the large holes and screw holes (that way they wont hold water). also, still cant find the peice for my seat that i want but i guess ill keep looking. then after that, ill try the three coat process David described above with the spar varnish and ill post pics.




oh also, my next project followed me home. any guesses? :evil:

oh also, my next project followed me home. any guesses? :evil:

"Hidden" Gun safe/locker

Wanna do that too.

"Hidden" Gun safe/locker

Wanna do that too.

could be.... i figure since its my build thread anyway, i can build other stuff in it too. :laughing:

So i have had very little time to work on the bench, frames and the new coke machine as i am losing my job Sept. 30th and have been looking for another one, as well as working my second job to hoard some money...

but i did get the inside of the machine gutted and pretty well cleaned up. there was some nastyness under the fridge liner, and it basically resulted in the floor being a little rusty and actually rusted through in a few places. i prepped it as much as possible and sprayed it with the Rust Converter to hopefully clear up the rust problem. i am going to use some of the aluminum that came out of there and cut a large sheet and lay it on top of the rusty portion of the floor. then the 1/2" plywood will lay on top of that.

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/Picture004.jpg

http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/Picture005.jpg



so, all thats left with the bench is to fill the screw holes, varnish it and paint the last frame. i will have plenty of time to do this next week while i am looking for a job :(



also, anyone have any suggestions on where to sell some of the machine parts to? i have the coin changer and a pretty new compressor that i got out of it. ill probably try ebay....
then the rest of the 150 pounds of aluminum will get hauled to the scrap yard for hopefully a little bit of money back...

coin changer
http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/Picture006.jpg

compressor/condensor/fan
http://i887.photobucket.com/albums/ac71/Charger442/Picture010.jpg

:evil:

more

Thats SCHWEET but I was hoping for a Kegerator.

Thats awesome, you did a really good job on the inside. If I had done it, the inside would have looked like shit :laughing:

Chris

thats pimp

Thats awesome, you did a really good job on the inside. If I had done it, the inside would have looked like shit :laughing:

Chris

dont look too close at the barrel notches.... :laughing: i was using a 40 year old hand held scroll saw, that got hotter than a witch's kettle when used longer than 5 minutes :laughing:


then i tried to smooth it out with sand paper, files and my pocket knife. ended up glueing 550 cord to it as "padding" and also to cover up all the deep gouges and shit! :flipoff2:

Where are the pics of the finished shooting table?