Gun building bench

[Leon Renaud]

If you build a free standing bench build it from the heaviest materials you can. Use 4x4 or even heavier for the legs and 2x lumber for the framing and top I'd even put a shelf near the floor and fill it full of solid concrete blocks.Cover the ends and 1 side with plywood this will give you a great deal of stability in the bench even 1/4 inch plywood on the outside of the bench will give it a great deal of rigidness.2 inch thick plank for a top covered with a 1/8th or 1/4 thick piece of tempered Masonite will give you a solid smooth surface to work on or if you can get one a solid core wooden door works very well as a bench top.Mount your vice directly over a bench leg even if that means adding an extra leg under where you want the vice.It also helps if you put squares of hard rubber "stall mat" under the legs this is rubber pads used in animal stalls you can get it at farm centers like Tractor supply.the floor mat helps kill sound travel from the bench to floors below and helps in stability.When you mount your vice bench vises usually come with a 3 hole base mount the base with 2 holes inline across the front edge of the bench and the 3rd centered at the back of the vice the idea is to have the back jaw of the vise inline with the bench edge and just a hair forward of the edge so you can clamp a long item in the jaws and have it hang down past the edge of bench top.This method is for a Machineist type vise that does not have the capability of rotating in the vertical.Freestanding benches are nice as long as they are built solid workinmg at a light or otherwise unstable bench will tire you much more quickly tan a solid bench and accurracy of tool strokes will suffer from both.