DIY WEIGHT BENCH from 2x4's | Modern Builds

hey everybody my name is mike montgomery

and in today's video i'd like to show

you how i built this diy weight bench

for my diy home gym with built-in wheels

on modern builds

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i was shopping online and i was really

surprised to see how expensive or flimsy

just a basic weightlifting bench was so

today we're going to use this leftover

material and build one that is extra

sturdy i started this project by

breaking down a piece of plywood to 12

inches wide with my circular saw and a

straight edge after that i cut that

piece in half so that i had two four

foot long pieces

i decided to use two pieces for the

bench platform although i'm sure one

would work fine i used quite a bit of

wood glue and then once everything was

aligned i held it together with spring

clamps and then screwed it down with

inch and a quarter power pro screws i'll

leave a link to these screws down in the

description i like them because you

don't have to pre-drill a hole for

connecting plywood

next it was time to break down the two

by fours for the base

the two pieces i'm cutting are 45 inches

long that way there's an inch and a half

overhang on the base and platform on

each end i'm also going to be gluing and

screwing these pieces and doubling

everything up i used quite a few two and

a half inch long wood screws and i made

sure to countersink each screw that way

the next board could sit flat

this is where i should mention i've got

free plans for this project link below

if you're interested in building this

for yourself and if you do be sure to

tag me at modern builds i love seeing

viewer projects

each side of the base has two 13-inch

vertical posts and i cut those out using

my speed square along with that there's

a center beam that's the same height

minus the thickness of three two by

fours

and last but not least you'll need a

couple three and a half inch by three

and a half inch squares

so i bet as you watch the assembly

you'll really understand how it all

comes together but i was really careful

to make sure that i screwed in each of

my pieces as square as possible to the

platform

i'm using the same two and a half inch

wood screws as earlier and i made sure

to pre-drill a hole before screwing in

each piece with a healthy amount of wood

glue this whole project is pretty

similar to the diy bench press that my

buddy benuetta built on the channel

homemade modern it's where the 2x4 beam

idea came from for the legs we're also

two-thirds of the modern maker podcast

that we host with our buddy chris

alimony from 4i's furniture i'll leave a

link to all of that down in the

description as well

now that one side of the base assembled

perfectly i just needed to repeat those

steps on the second and a rubber mallet

really came in handy wedging these

pieces into place oh and it's always

good to have a pack of shims laying

around for a situation like this

my boards were pretty flush but i got

them perfect with the belt sander i just

wanted to make sure i was as square as

possible on the ends of each leg

oh that's awesome

if i left the bench like this it would

be too wobbly the base needs to have a

t-post to the bottom so i cut a couple

of pieces that are 16 inches long with a

45 degree bevel on each end now the

bevel is not necessary i just thought it

would look cool

i glued and screwed these pieces to the

bottom just like everything else i made

a mark in the center of the board for

reference that way i could line

everything up

and i cut these little wedges that way

the base would be double thick across

the board

i'll admit this is the first time i've

used this style of can opener in my shop

but i was at the store and i saw this

wood filler and i figured i would give

it a try i used it to backfill any

recessed screw heads and a glove made a

pretty decent lid

then i sanded everything with 120 grit

sandpaper on my random orbit sander and

applied a coat of water-based

polyurethane in satin finish

i made sure to round over all of my

edges that way it wouldn't hurt if i

knocked into anything i also wanted to

protect the upholstery and fabric which

is the next step

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thanks again to squarespace now let's

get back to this build

i ordered this three inch thick foam off

amazon and it worked great for me i'll

leave a link down below it's got a

little bit of give but not too much that

you fill the plywood underneath

now i've seen those really cool foam

cutting hot knifes but i don't have one

of those and i cut everything down using

a straight edge and a utility blade out

of my own curiosity if anybody has

helpful tips for cutting thick foam like

this leave a comment down below thanks

i applied a really thick coat of spray

adhesive to the foam because it's very

porous and then i did a normal coat on

the plywood after that i let it set for

about five minutes and then i connected

the two pieces together for a permanent

bond

also picked up this piece of gray uv

resistant fabric from amazon they've got

a ton of different colors and this is

one yard i used a whole bunch of half

inch t-50 staples and i just wrapped

everything like a christmas gift i've

got no idea how to do upholstery but

this worked out pretty well i worked

each end and then the two sides trying

to pull as much as possible before

stapling it down and it's awesome that

one yard of fabric is the perfect amount

for this project

now you could absolutely leave the

project right here but i want to add

some casters and as you can tell the

ones that spin have a wheel that is

offset from the center of the mounting

plate so instead of using fixed casters

where they are on the center line i used

some 5-minute epoxy to lock these

spinning ones in place

i made sure that this epoxy worked its

way into the ball bearings and then i

let it set on this tape to cure then i

sanded everything back and pre-drilled

holes so that i could mount it back onto

the base

and with that this diy rolling 2x4

weight bench is complete

now i absolutely love this project and

for the price it couldn't be better oh

and it's a part of this diy squat rack

bench press combo that i'll leave a link

for in the description be sure to check

that video out

so thanks again for watching i really

hope you enjoyed this video and if you

build something inspired by this make

sure and tag me at modern builds down in

the description i'll leave a link to the

full diy home gym make sure and

subscribe like comment all that sort of

stuff oh and the notification bell and

we will see you next time on modern

builds

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