Portable shooting table

[IndyBeerman]

Not hard to find if you still own one from when they first came out!

I think I'm gonna try to add an J top to it that can be clampdown on by attaching a bracket to the bottom.

I still want to do one like Supertek because of the size you can make it, with the workmate you're limited to some extent.

That's pretty slick, here's what I did, this started out as an old Black & Decker workmate folding workbench- although they are getting harder to find- they still pop up from time to time.This one came from a garage sale for $10-15 I can't remember.

I stripped it down & sprayed it with Aluma-Hyde from Brownells, made a top out of plywood and covered it with canvas from an old shelter half. It's solid, weighs about 30lbs and folds up pretty neatly- just my

 

[IndySSD]

I still want to do one like Supertek because of the size you can make it, with the workmate you're limited to some extent.

Not only that but while a light weight might make it easier to get in and out of the truck I'd prefer something with some "heft" so as to provide the stable base to shoot from that is the whole reason you're shooting from a "Bench".

30 seconds of lifting an extra 20-30 pounds for several hours of more stability.... seems like a good trade off to me. Then again I'm kind of a short stubby (fluffy?) type fellow who doesn't mind carrying things of a hefty nature.

 

[SideArmed]

I am glad this thread came up, I have been trying to figure out the best way to build a portable yet sturdy shooting bench.

I look forward to seeing some measurements of the one you built suprtek! Thanks

 

[japartridge]

Maybe we need a "Shooting Sports Furniture" sticky, this has come up a few times and it would be nice to have one place to look for these types of projects....

 

[Suprtek]

Wow! Lots of great ideas showing up. I actually used one of those Black & Decker Workmates to build this project. I like that thing too much to not have it in my workshop but that looks like it works great.

DRob wrote :

Is it pretty sturdy?

As long as you get the legs set in the ground well it seems pretty stout. I'm working on a more detailed post about this so I'll let you guys be the judge.

I'm sure there's lots of ways to get this done as you guys have proven. I came up with this using just what I had lying around so for me the investment was just my time.

 

[Suprtek]

Shooting table in detail

I'm not a shop teacher but I'll do my best to show you guys what I did here.

You'll want to start with the table top. Mine is made of 5/8 OSB but you could change that as you see fit. I wouldn't go much thinner for stability reasons. The top is 42" long by 24" wide.

The narrow portion of the top is 12" wide

Round the corners as desired, I chose a 6" radius. I'll explain later why the inside corner is not rounded. The holes in the top are cut so the end of a 2x4 will fit into them to form sockets for the frame as shown here.

The precise placement of the holes is not all that important as long as they are arranged so the two support sections form an offset "T". I recommend cutting the holes first, then set the ends of the 2x4's in the holes. Measure between them to get the proper length of the horizontal brace.

This next set of pics show the front support section. I chose a height of 32" because it seemed comfortable. Notice how the vertical 2x4s have a short protrusion at the top. This is to allow them to fit into the holes of the tabletop and be flush with the surface. The length of the protrusion should equal the thickness of your tabletop material. The corner braces are just 10"x10" triangles cut from the same material used for the top. Everything is secured using screws. I wouldn't recommend nails because they will pull out with use.

The side support section is built the same way as the front section except it is built to fit the other set of holes made in the tabletop.

The two support sections are secured at the lower brace by means of an "L" bracket that has a slot cut in it to fit a lag bolt. Set the tabletop on top of the support sections to determine its placement.

Here you can see how the ends of the 2x4s fit in the holes in the tabletop locking everything in place.

Now, if you remove the top, move the side support to the left, flip the top over and put it back on, you can determine the placement for the second lag bolt as seen in the next pics.

Here's what it looks like assembled for a lefty.

Now for the reason that inside corner is not rounded. It is so the carpet can be cut to fit in two sections and still fit properly on both sides of the top as shown here. The black strips are velcro to hold it in place.

That's pretty much all there is to it. Here it is broken down flat again.

If I failed to explain something well enough let me know and I'll do my best to clear it up. I don't have any written plans. Like I said before, I just made it up as I went. I'll cover the stool in another post.

 

[Suprtek]

And now for the stool

Here's the stool I made to go with it. Making this is not an absolute necessity because you may already have something that will work. You could even use something like a 5 gallon bucket, although for me that seemed a little too tall. I actually made the stool first so I could be sure I got the height correct and comfortable to match the table.

I started with a section of 2x12 cut to a length of about 20". I chose this length because it was the shortest length that seemed comfortable to me. You could use any length you like. You could also substitute with two or three sections of the same material use for the tabletop glued and screwed together. Round it off and sand as desired.

I chose a seat height of about 16 1/4". Again, use what works for you. Just choose your seat height before you choose the height of your table for obvious reasons.

This stool has two legs on one end attached to the seat with hinges and secured to one another with a piece of 1/8 inch hardboard. The other end has one leg also attached to the seat with a hinge and has a triangular base added for stability. The hinges don't match because they are just what I had lying around.

The ends of the legs are cut at a 10 degree angle on both ends to allow them to fold out slightly past 90 degrees when open, again, for stability.
My legs needed to be about 14" long to get the seat height I wanted.

Notice the holes cut about 3/4 of and inch deep on the legs as shown here.

These holes allow a rod to be inserted to keep the legs fully open while in use.

I didn't use a measuring tape to determine the placement of the legs. I laid them out on the bottom of the seat so they would fit together as shown here when folded. If you make the spacing between the legs tight enough, they will wedge on themselves and not fall open when folded. Once you get the legs attached where you want them, then you can measure for the length of the support rod. Make sure its long enough to fit tightly. My rod is just a piece of scrap tubing. A wooden dowel may work but it might need to be thicker so it won't bend.

The clips on the side are just another one of those things I had lying around. They allow the support rod to snap to the side when its folded.

When the stool is folded up, its less than 4" thick.

Again, I'll be glad to help with questions if I can, but I don't have written plans.

 

[IndyBeerman]

Sweet Supertek, thanks for the layout and dimensions.

Now if you could return my T Square...

Hehe, had to throw that in because I have the same exact one, and everyone that sees it, wants one exactly like it.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

I'm searching for a fold up design that mounts to my receiver hitch. Oh, and I have TWO of the original old workmate benches.....They are too awesome to single purpose.

 

[lovemywoods]

Very nice instructions and great pictures!

Well done Suprtek!

 

[Yukon227]

SSSSSWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!! Looks like Im goin to the lumber yard friday!

 

[Suprtek]

SSSSSWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!! Looks like Im goin to the lumber yard friday!

You mean everyone doesn't keep a stock of lumber around in there own workshop like I do?

 

[Grizhicks]

Suprtek -- THANKS for the plans!!! You did a super job with both the table and the plans. Don't really have a need for the table right now, but will keep the plans for it & when. Again, thanks..... Greg

 

[Yukon227]

You mean everyone doesn't keep a stock of lumber around in there own workshop like I do?

I normally do but I'm in the middle of a tree-house/swingset project and I'm running short on materials...this thing is out of control, it's like swiss family robinson and little tikes had a freakish love child

 

[Suprtek]

I normally do but I'm in the middle of a tree-house/swingset project and I'm running short on materials...this thing is out of control, it's like swiss family robinson and little tikes had a freakish love child

That sounds like something worthy of posting.

 

[Yukon227]

Here ya go super, this is a combination of 2 swing sets given to my daughters. And a little addition by me and my dad (whose job title used to be supertech by the way)

This is a pic of the "crow's nest" the railing is 36" tall so we don't get any jumpers.

Another angle

From the back

This is the project for this weekend, putting a deck on the rest of the lower part, and under the slide on the back, It's a pain to mow around right now. I'm thinking this lower deck may get a railing around it too, with a gate, kinda like a big outdoor pack n play LOL

We have 4 Little tykes kitchen sets, 2 work benches, a toy grill and countless ride on toys. My parents love rummage sales

 

[ThrottleJockey]

Here ya go super, this is a combination of 2 swing sets given to my daughters. And a little addition by me and my dad (whose job title used to be supertech by the way)

That's SWEET. I wish I had a father like you growing up.....

 

[Yukon227]

Thanks...I did use the "crow's nest" as a stand a couple weeks ago to eliminate a groundhog, so I guess it's for me too.

 

[Suprtek]

Wow Yukon, that's a regular "kiddie compound"! It looks awesome. When my kids were that little, I was too poor to afford to build something like that. I hope you plan to take lots of pic and vids of your kids playing on that to remind them later how good they had it.

 

[o Mr Cadillac o]

Nice Table!