The day started with a supply run. Chris, James and I went to B&Q to buy some timber and other bits and pieces we'll need for constructing the flats. Unlike the day before, the weather was nice and sunny.

With the timber loaded, we headed back to the yard for some serious construction. The bench we built was based on a design I found at Hammerzone, with a few basic modifications. Here's a picture of the design in Sketchup:

The main difference with this design is that I've added a way to slot extensions into the ends of the bench, which can act as support for timber when using the mitre saw. These supports will eventually have some custom jigs which allow the timber for the flats to be cut very quickly (without the need to measure each piece). Given that we will need to saw approximately 60 pieces by the time we are done, it seems like it might be worth it, especially since it will help to ensure everything is the same size.

The first thing we did was assemble the frame for the tabletop. This was quite straightforward:

  1. Cut the pieces to length
  2. Drill one pilot hole in each corner and screw the frame together
  3. Use the tabletop timber to square up the frame
  4. Drill more holes, one in each corner and screw together.

The frame was pretty sturdy by itself, and we then fixed the table top to it with more piloted wood screws. Finally we attached the cross-pieces for holding the end of the extended supports.

Next we attached the legs of the table. Even without any further support, the table was pretty sturdy. Standing 3' tall, it was already the perfect height for measuring timber.

James can be seen here measuring for the lower reenforcing frame.

We made a few small adjustments to the original design shown above. The main one was to add triangular cross-bracing at the ends of the bench. This has greatly improved the front to back stability, and it barely wobbles, even when given a solid shove. Here's the finished article, loaded up with a pile of tools.

We finished off the day with a barbeque - the first of 2009!