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Gunsmithing What type of table or counter are you using at home ?

Biggie1976

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Minuteman
Apr 4, 2017
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Rock Hill SC
We moved into a new home and I now have a dedicated room to add a table and a vise for my do-it-yourself type things are home. In no way am I a smith but if I spend money I would prefer to spend it up front on something I can use in the future if I gain the skills to do more...
 
My gunsmith table is plywood and 4x4’s the top is wrapped and glued with low grade outdoor carpet from home depot that comes in 6’ wide rolls. Has worked great
 

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It has cabinets mounted behind and above it now though and a paint booth behind. But it was cheap to make and has worked great. My reloading bench is a 1” thick piece of Malonein 3’ x 6’ easy to clean up and I bolted it on top of old cabinets from my dads kitchen
 
I used a 2x4 basics kit, measured my spot, made my table to fit. This leaves a flexible platform, you can make it smaller, change the top, reinforce areas. I added 2x4s under my plywood on one corner and put my barrel vice there. I put a riser on the other end so I can run my presses while standing.
 
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Find a local sawmill that has dimensional hardwood lumber, build a frame with a top built like a floor, joists etc, and laminate some 8/4 or 4/4 closed pore hardwood boards for the top. Plane/sand flat after the glue sets.

I’ve used plywood for the tops in the past, and they hold up fine. I want heavier benches though so when I’m out of a garage and into a shop it’s full tilt bench building time. Rock maple is ideal but most any hardwood will do the job just fine. I’m planning on doing traditional wood joinery on future ones, but I haven’t had a problem with the screwed together ones I’ve made either.
 
I went to Lowe’s and found two 6’ sections of counter top that were on clearance because of the color being phased out. Got them for 8$ each the. Bought a 12’ board that would run the length of the two combined then bolted them to the wall/cabinet then made legs on the left and right. Sturdy as hell and a lot of room. Only into the the build for about $55 and 3 hours of messing around.
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I went to Lowe’s and found two 6’ sections of counter top that were on clearance because of the color being phased out. Got them for 8$ each the. Bought a 12’ board that would run the length of the two combined then bolted them to the wall/cabinet then made legs on the left and right. Sturdy as hell and a lot of room. Only into the the build for about $55 and 3 hours of messing around.View attachment 7109214View attachment 7109215View attachment 7109216

That’s not bad at all. I like the imagination
 
That’s not bad at all. I like the imagination
I’m not going to take credit for it as I saw it somewhere else on the interwebs. Only thing I don’t like is the color lol probably why it was on sale. If I spill/drop/look away from anything it just disappears haha
 
Craigslist in my area (live near a lot of military bases) they were from a armory that was torn down. Snagged those and two other giant ones. ( those are 450lbs each and over 6’ tall, so they are in the garage)
 
I’m sure you could find some of those cabinets for cheap on GOV planet or some military auction site. Shipping will probably suck though