WB6JWB Radio Bench

Well for no apparent good reason, it was time once again to redo the radio room bench. Actually, I was inspired a bit by seeing some gear installed via 19 inch rack panels, sort of has a nice look about it. The jungle of wires and cables that had accumulated over the past five years was getting a bit out of hand too, so a re-make of the bench would also serve to clean up the electrical connections in the shack.

After noodling over the changes, I used a scratch pad to capture ideas. Not being an artist or a draftsman, this wasn't working too well since eventually I would need real dimensions by which to construct the bench. Low and behold I discovered Google SketchUp, a freeware CAD tool. Suddenly life was good.

Please pardon the lousy photos at the bottom of the page; they were hastily taken at night and will be re-done soon.

The concept radio bench as drawn via SketchUp

So I knew I wanted some rack panels and the height must be relatively low to meet the concept I had in mind. I couldn't find a ready made "side by side" 19 inch rack panel product, so I had to build it myself. Using 3/4" pine, I fabricated the two 19" shelving units. This was a bit of a trick, given the specific measurements for the 19 racks. I had previously purchased rack rails for the job which were sized to meet my needs.

Shelving units with rack rails and a couple of rack panels shown

Next it was time to build the bench. I used a single sheet of 4x8' - 3/4" oak veneer plywood. The bench depth is two foot, so I had ample material to work with. The bench was built in two parts and is bolted together underneath during final assembly.

Bench top being assembly

After a frosty night I returned to assemble the legs the next day which were made from stout 2x4's using a tried and true technique to assure strength and stability.

Bench and shelves roughed out and almost ready for sanding

I loosely assembled the two pieces of the bench to stain and varnish it. The final assembly will be in the radio room.

The bench drying on a cold day

The shelves also received the stain and varnish - then it was time to install the rack rails. Blissfully the shelves were square and my dimensions were correct so the rack rails and ultimately the 19" rack panels fit correctly.

Rack rails installed on shelving

Partial installation in the Radio Room

Partial installation in the Radio Room

Rack mounted Icom 756Pro with room for future expansion

Rack Mounted Speakers, Icom 7100, Icom R71A, and Kenwood TM2630 and BC780XLT - blank face plates for future expansion.

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Here are the construction details and products used:

Custom rack panels by NovexComm

"12U L-Series" Rack rails by StarCase

Materials:

(1) 4'x8'x3/4" plywood veneer for top of bench

(6) 2"x4"'s for bench legs

(5) 1"x4" pine "fir strips"

(3) 12"x 72" pine boards for the rack shelves (got mine at OSH)

Construction:

A. Measure and cut plywood

- The "left" piece is 24"x47"
- The "right" piece is 24"x91"

B. Add Trim

Place cut plywood pieces together and measure facing edges for trim (I used 1.5"x.5" trim). Glue and install trim using using finish nails/nailer. Do not connect the plywood together yet.

C. Build Legs

The top height of the bench is 27", you may want to adjust leg measurements to make it higher or lower.

- Each leg has two 26" pieces and two 21" pieces. The height of the legs is 26" so be sure the 21" inch pieces are secured between (not on top of) the 26" pieces. Use wood glue and two 3" deck screws to secure each connection. Make four or five of these.

D. Add fir strips to plywood

The fir strips are attached to the underside of the bench top to add strength and a place to secure the legs. Cut the fir strips to surround the perimeter of the (bottom) of the plywood using glue and 1.5" finish nails or staples (you don't want to have the nails come thru the top obviously so check twice). Also add a fir strip across the bottom of the bench top where you intend to install a leg (about half way across the right hand side of the plywood).

E. Add legs to the bench top

Use 3 inch deck screws, glue and screw the legs into place, setting them back such that the trim sticks out away from the leg. The back of the leg should be flush with the back of the bench top.

F. Rack Shelves (per shelf)

Cut the 12" wide pine boards as follows:

- top and bottom = 39" wide
- sides = 13 3/4" high
- divider piece = 12 1/4" high

Assemble glue and finish nail the top, bottom and sides so you have a box that is 13 and 3/4" high. The divider board is glued and nailed into place at exactly 19 and 1/2" OC. I used a rack panel to be sure of my cuts before nailing into place.

Final Notes:

When all pieces are complete and the glue has dried -

- stain and varnish to your liking
- Install the rack rails in the shelves, set the rails back about 1/4 inch from edge and screw in).
- Use trim boards or metal brackets (on the underside where they join) to connect the bench tops together after moving them to the final destination.
- The spacing between the two shelves in my installation is 19" inches apart. I built and installed another corner shelf (the one with my LCD on it). This shelf is six inches above the desk. Measure the space of the corner for your install and using the left over materials build this final piece just as you built the bench top pieces but use 4 or 5 pieces of 2x4" for legs instead.