I'm not sure if I should post this here or in the woodworking group...

I'm building a workbench out of 2x4 Hem-Fir studs and I want to know
the maximum span I can consider for the rails. I made one 15 years ago
at my mother's house and it still is a very sturdy bench. That one has
57" rails lag-screwed to notched legs. But I have a bit more room in
my garage and I wanted to build an 8 foot bench.

Should I add legs in the middle of the span? Otherwise, I'd have a
nice wide bottom shelf and a wide open space underneath without a leg
getting in the way.

Mike

wrote:
I'm not sure if I should post this here or in the woodworking group...

I'm building a workbench out of 2x4 Hem-Fir studs and I want to know
the maximum span I can consider for the rails. I made one 15 years ago
at my mother's house and it still is a very sturdy bench. That one has
57" rails lag-screwed to notched legs. But I have a bit more room in
my garage and I wanted to build an 8 foot bench.

Should I add legs in the middle of the span? Otherwise, I'd have a
nice wide bottom shelf and a wide open space underneath without a leg
getting in the way.

There will be quite a bit more flex in the bench by adding that much
length to the span. It will be up to you to determine if that flex is
acceptable and whether the leg/flex tradeoff makes sense for you.

If you're doing light work on the bench it will probably be okay with
an 8' span and a single layer of plywood for the top. If you wish to
increase the span, keep the stiffness and still get rid of that leg
look into building a torsion box top.
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/fe...32sidebar.html

R

Should I add legs in the middle of the span?

Consider horizontal members of SuperStrut from the electrical dept at Home
Depot or Lowes. Cheap, very stiff and strong, and a cinch to assemble
since they're already drilled.

Thanks.

On 3 Dec 2005 19:30:08 -0800, wrote:

I'm not sure if I should post this here or in the woodworking group...

I'm building a workbench out of 2x4 Hem-Fir studs and I want to know
the maximum span I can consider for the rails. I made one 15 years ago
at my mother's house and it still is a very sturdy bench. That one has
57" rails lag-screwed to notched legs. But I have a bit more room in
my garage and I wanted to build an 8 foot bench.

Should I add legs in the middle of the span? Otherwise, I'd have a
nice wide bottom shelf and a wide open space underneath without a leg
getting in the way.

Depends on what the top is going to be and what kind of load you're
expecting to put on it. A thick, rigid top will add a lot of
resistance to deflection but if you're going to mount an anvil in the
middle you may have a problem.

"RicodJour" wrote in message
ups.com...
wrote:
I'm not sure if I should post this here or in the woodworking group...

I'm building a workbench out of 2x4 Hem-Fir studs and I want to know
the maximum span I can consider for the rails. I made one 15 years ago
at my mother's house and it still is a very sturdy bench. That one has
57" rails lag-screwed to notched legs. But I have a bit more room in
my garage and I wanted to build an 8 foot bench.

Should I add legs in the middle of the span? Otherwise, I'd have a
nice wide bottom shelf and a wide open space underneath without a leg
getting in the way.

There will be quite a bit more flex in the bench by adding that much
length to the span. It will be up to you to determine if that flex is
acceptable and whether the leg/flex tradeoff makes sense for you.

If you're doing light work on the bench it will probably be okay with
an 8' span and a single layer of plywood for the top. If you wish to
increase the span, keep the stiffness and still get rid of that leg
look into building a torsion box top.
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/fe...32sidebar.html

Why not just use 2x6 for the rails supporting the top? Or add a couple of
steel L-channels bolted to the inside of the rails evey foot or so, to
stiffen them? This isn't a bridge- whatever is laying around, or cheap at
the big box, will work. A third 2x4 down the center of the top would
probably also do what OP wants.

In the garage addition my 75 YO father built, he put a 22' workbench down
one side, hung off wall, supported by triangle stifflegs every 3rd stud
space. Floor is clear, and it doesn't sag when I stand on it.

aem sends...

wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm not sure if I should post this here or in the woodworking group...

I'm building a workbench out of 2x4 Hem-Fir studs and I want to know
the maximum span I can consider for the rails. I made one 15 years ago
at my mother's house and it still is a very sturdy bench. That one has
57" rails lag-screwed to notched legs. But I have a bit more room in
my garage and I wanted to build an 8 foot bench.

Should I add legs in the middle of the span? Otherwise, I'd have a
nice wide bottom shelf and a wide open space underneath without a leg
getting in the way.

Mike

A top made from 2x4 on edge will be very strong. Just glue them together 3
or four at a time to make up the width you desire, plane flat and your bench
will be great.

Dave



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On Sun, 04 Dec 2005 18:26:39 GMT, "ameijers"
wrote:

In the garage addition my 75 YO father built, he put a 22' workbench down
one side, hung off wall, supported by triangle stifflegs every 3rd stud
space. Floor is clear, and it doesn't sag when I stand on it.

We did the exact same thing in our old garage (ca. 1913) just to be
able to get crap off the floor so we could pull the cars in further
more safely. Those triangle stifflegs really do the job; we used
leftover 2x6 PT pieces for that. Our workbench is about the same
length, and about 21" deep, and we used only lumber we had laying
around, so the entire project just cost us about a day's worth of
work.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm not sure if I should post this here or in the woodworking group...

I'm building a workbench out of 2x4 Hem-Fir studs and I want to know
the maximum span I can consider for the rails. I made one 15 years ago
at my mother's house and it still is a very sturdy bench. That one has
57" rails lag-screwed to notched legs. But I have a bit more room in
my garage and I wanted to build an 8 foot bench.

Should I add legs in the middle of the span? Otherwise, I'd have a
nice wide bottom shelf and a wide open space underneath without a leg
getting in the way.

If you double up the 2x4's you'll be alright as long as you're not pounding
stuff with a sledge.
Using 3/4" plywood for the top helps stiffen it all up.

I built a loft bed out of 2x4s for my teenager. It's basicly a box 2x4s
form the outer edge and the top is 3/4" OSB. It's 72"x40". The uprights
are 2x4s on 90º with a load plate supporting the box. The uprights on
the wall are screwed to studs. Everything's held together with Torx
construction screws and the uprights are also glued. It's been up a
year and there is no deflection in the long span.
Richard

"Don" writes:
If you double up the 2x4's you'll be alright as long as you're not pounding
stuff with a sledge.
Using 3/4" plywood for the top helps stiffen it all up.

or better yet, skin both the top and bottom of the 2x4's with plywood.
Google for "Stressed skin platform" or "torsion box"

When a piece of wood sags, the top radius gets smaller and the bottom
radius gets longer. With wood on both sides, the top sheet takes the
compression force and the bottom sheet takes the expansion force. This
makes for a *really* stable surface.

I'd guess that 1/2 on top and 1/4 on the bottom would be stronger than
a single 3/4 in piece on top. Then you can screw a 1/4 inch sheet of
masonite on top for a durable/replaceable/glue resistant worktop.

good luck!

--
be safe.
flip
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Remove origin of the word spam from address to reply (leave "+")

"Philip Lewis" wrote
"Don" writes:
If you double up the 2x4's you'll be alright as long as you're not
pounding
stuff with a sledge.
Using 3/4" plywood for the top helps stiffen it all up.

or better yet, skin both the top and bottom of the 2x4's with plywood.
Google for "Stressed skin platform" or "torsion box"

I saw David Marks do that on his show.
I'm going to build a freestanding work table 4'x8' as a torsion box, on
lockable castors.
Quite a bit of work to build a torsion box correctly but its necessary to do
accurate work.