Workbench of Joy — Part 2
Well, it’s taken us a few days (weeks) but we finally got the work bench finished and in place. The total amount of work wasn’t that bad, we just had lots of other things going on.
We finished it up by painting the main body orange and the shelf gray to match the concrete. We then took some metal flashing, primed that and painted it the same gray as well. That finished off the edges and removed of some of the sharp corners while adding a few more. Once those were done we used some silicone to keep them in place. After that was all done it was just a matter of picking up and moving it where we wanted it to go.
Then we put some of the stuff for the baby clown fish up and it’s serving its purpose. Stuff includes an air pump, a baby bring shrimp hatchery, and a little cube for raising baby sexy shrimp. No, those aren’t our babies, we’re not in that thread. There’s a nice picture of sexy shrimp (that I didn’t take) in that thread to let you know why it’s of any interest.
UPDATED: omgponies!!1!
Comments
Comment from Russ
Date: July 31, 2006, 3:33 pm
Very nice work!
How thick did you pour the concrete?
Does it look/feel like it could be hit with tools and the like?
Comment from Dave
Date: July 31, 2006, 3:53 pm
Well, we used a whole 50lb bag of concrete. That ended up making (after the big lumps came out) about a ¾ inch thick layer. More or less.
Hitting it with tools might be OK. I’ll go at it this evening and see what happens. I should note that moving it around is best done carefully — there’s already a ton of cracks running through it. I think this is from torquing the whole thing when we pick it up.
Comment from Fazgood
Date: July 31, 2006, 7:53 pm
Something pretty fishy here…
Couldnt resist. Excellent pour. Any signs of cracks? Looks like that could be a good base for a tank stand.
Faz
Comment from Will
Date: July 31, 2006, 8:24 pm
What kind of concrete did you use? There is a pretty good book about making concrete kitchen countertops that might give you some ideas, can’t think of the name of it, but it’s by a guy who sort of famous in the design world for building these things. He recommends using some plastic additives to reduce the amount of water needed, more water means weaker concrete and more cracks. Anyway, looks pretty cool!
Comment from Mike Schmitz
Date: July 31, 2006, 9:18 pm
Quick thought, I am certainly not an authority but I had some of the same problems (cracking) and after looking into the matter it turns out that putting down some thick metal screen or at least chicken wire as a base helps. It is along the lines of putting in rebar where you get a cross sectioning grid. Enjoy though and I think Home Depot orange rocks with the gray cement!
Comment from Dave
Date: July 31, 2006, 10:17 pm
Faz: I happen to quite like the current tank stand which will survive any World Wars that may come about.
Yes, there are some cracks but nothing that’s going to get in the way.
Rus: I banged on it a few times with some channel locks and just got a few little dents, no cracks.
Will: If I ever do this again I’ll definetly do a few things differently! Additives to reduce water and cracking sounds like a great idea.
Mike: That’s a great idea!
Holy cow, I have readers!
Comment from Electric Messiah
Date: August 1, 2006, 4:35 pm
This book is very good at describing the process and techniques creating a concrete counter top.
I can assure you that you probably do not want that for your application. It must be at least 2 inches thick and given the size of your project that would weight in a hundreds of pounds.
Comment from Tim
Date: August 7, 2006, 7:32 am
Great looking workbench! I’m curious as to where you put the second support for the shelf. I’m figuring at the back of the bench just in front of where the side cross bars are screwed into the legs. Is that right? I’ve already used your idea of adding two supports in the middle of the work surface. Thanks for the tip!
Comment from Dave
Date: August 7, 2006, 9:06 am
Tim,
I think you’ve got the idea. In Bre’s design there’s a support along the bottom front of the shelf. I added one along the bottom back as well. I thought the heaviest thing we might put on there would be a can of paint dead center, and the original design wouldn’t support it.
Write a comment