Posted by Joe Baker on May 14, 2003 at 22:26:32:
In Reply to: Re: conductor stand posted by Dan Mordhorst on May 14, 2003 at 17:49:14:
I think this is overbuilt. I'd use 3/4" plywood, but I'd use 2x4 lumber on 16" centers. That'll cut a LOT of weight, and with a 46" span it'll be adequate for any conductor who didn't bring his own choo-choo.
You can buy the plywood in 4x4 sheets, which should be more than ample. Build a 4x4 frame from 2x4s, then two more 46 1/2" 2x4s to make your joists. Use LOTS of deck screws to attach the plywood to the frame: one screw every four inches around the outside, one every eight inches on the interior joists. You don't want it to squeak, so you should also use glue when attaching the top.
To support the platform, cut an 8-foot 4x4 fenceposts into six 15" legs, then use three 4"x3/8" lag screws through the frame into the legs (drill pilot holes, and make a triangle with the screws, not a straight line). Put one leg at each corner (screws through BOTH frame pieces, and one in the middle of each interior joist. If you make the legs ANY longer, you'll need to brace them with 1x4 boards at a diagonal (make an 'X' on each side, with one piece on the inside and one on the outside) or with masonite or 1/4" plywood. Bring scraps of various thicknesses of plywood to shim it level and to provide a broader base if the ground is really soft.
Of course you could arrange to borrow a riser of the appropriate height from a local school or church and slip 8" squares of 5/8" plywood under the feet. But that wouldn't be as much fun!
Joe Baker, who thinks this would be a gas, but who would wind up going with the riser.