I also decided to rip a 4x8 sheet of 5/8" thick plywood into lumber-sized pieces instead of purchasing the same size regular lumber. I did this with the existing railroad and it has many advantages. It's cheaper than buying individual boards (for those who know me, this is very important) and because it's plywood, it doesn't warp as easily. The disadvantages are you have to cut it yourself and you can't screw into the edges very securely. I minimized the disadvantages as you will see shortly.
The first thing I did was rip the 4x8 sheet of 5/8" thick plywood into "boards". You could use 3/4" thick if you want but try not to use 1/2" (it's too hard to join on edge). You need an 8 foot cutting guide and a circular saw. I used a sheet metal stud found at the home center. Then I cut the "boards 4" wide by the 8 foot length. You need four pieces for the girders. Put wood glue on one edge and join two boards to form an "L". Next, drill pilot holes for coarse thread drywall screws and fasten it together. Do the same for the other girder. I then made my leg sets the same way but using 2" wide boards. Take a look at the pictures to see this in more detail.
The cross pieces that support the foam are made with a 4" wide plywood board and a 1x3 pine board. I used pine here because I would be screwing into the edge of these pieces and needed solid wood (these will not be glued). I also attached a 2x2 block at the bottom of each leg. This is so I could screw in a lag bolt that I can use to level the pennisula.
Hopefully, you can see from the pictures how it all comes together.
That's all there is to the benchwork. Next, I will make the backdrop that runs down the middle of the pennisula.
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