Weight Bench (5 Position,Flat/Incline) Doubles As Patio Bench

Intro: Weight Bench (5 Position,Flat/Incline) Doubles As Patio Bench

If you'd like to have a brand-new weight bench, but you don't want to spend a lot of money, then you might consider making one yourself. I decided to make a multi-position flat/incline bench using a 4x4 post as a base. This bench doubles as a patio seat so i don't have to hide/put it away after each workout.

Bear in mind that the dimensions of this bench will not be suitable for everybody; it will depend on the height of the person using the weight bench. The bench is about 3.75 feet long which is an average size.

The Bench plan can be viewed/downloaded here>>> Weight Bench Plan/Drawing To download a copy, right click then "Save Target As" then hit "Save".

NOTE: This built is not designed for serious heavy weight lifting.

Materials you need:
4 ft. of 3/4 x 12 piece of plywood or solid wood
3 ft. of 1 x 2 wood
8 ft. of 2 x 2 wood
8 ft. of 4 x 4 wood post
1 (#10) 8" bolt and nut
2 (#8) 3" bolt and nuts
1 (#10) 12" bolt/screw and 4 bolt nuts
8 (#10) nylon washers
14 (#10) flat washers
4-3 inch long lag screws
4 rubber or rubberized feet
Some nails and wood glue
Wood stain and Polyurethane protective sealant (Optional)

Tools you need:
Circular saw
Miter saw (optional)
Power drill with drill bits, Forstner bit and the like (used to counter sink lag screws)
Wood chisel
Socket wrench/ pliers
Hammer
Sander or Sand paper

Pictured below is the finished weight bench.

STEP 1:

1. Cut all wood pieces to the proper lengths (please refer to Detailed Weight Bench Plan/ Illustration).

STEP 2:

2. If you've noticed from the bench plan/illustration, a simple dado joint was used to join the bench wooden base and legs. Use your circular saw and make multiple passes to remove the unneeded portion, finish it up using a wood chisel (shown below).

STEP 3:

3. Use a generous amount of wood glue to all joints; then secure it with a lag screw.Countersink the head of lag screw to make it flush. See image below.

STEP 4:

4. Next, drill a hole through on one end of the (2) 2 x 2 wood (hole should be big enough to accommodate the #10 bolt), this will be used for the adjustable backrest support. Then, drill a hole straight through the side of the bench top support (pls. refer to the bench plan/illustration).

Use (#10) 8" bolt and nut to fasten the adjustable backrest support to the bench top. Place a nylon washer in between the metal flat washers to minimize friction during operation.

STEP 5:

5. Do the same thing with the swing arm.

STEP 6:

6. The (#10) 12" bolt is secured at the end of the swing arm using 4 bolt nuts.

Again, refer to the bench plan/illustration where to cut the notches on the bench top support; this is where the swing arm support will rest during use. If you prefer, you can eliminate some notches thus limiting the angle it can be adjusted.

STEP 7:

7. Due to proximity of the second notch to the first notch, i use a small metal L-bracket to give it more strength.

The second picture shows how it should look like after the adjustable backrest support and swing arm are bolted in place. Note that everything should be flush with the bench top support when in neutral/flat position.

STEP 8:

8. Next, fasten the bench seat and backrest using nails and wood glue. Give it a good sanding to remove rough edges.

STEP 9:

9. Use rubber or rubberized feet to prevent the bench from sliding during use.

STEP 10: Finished Weight Bench Pictures

After some finishing touches (wood stain and 2 coats of polyurethane finish) this is how it looks like.

Comments

[John1231234]

Hi Everyone,

Great bench. Anyone know how much weight this can handle? Press would be with Max 90 dumbbells and I weigh roughly 200. Any ideas would be helpful as I would like to start this project soon.

Best regards,
John

[stevemiller3]

How much do the lumber and materials cost? A rough estimate is fine...

[sonicarmin]

Great project - thanks to your drawings I was able to complete the whole project in one day, except for the painting. The 1x2" arms holding the back up are a bit too wobbly for my taste, I'll upgrade those to 2x2", but other than that a great design. Thank you very much!

[ErikN19]

Did you update with the 2x2's yet? How much improvement over the original was it?

[sonicarmin]

It turned out that the wobble came from the long screw holding those 1x2 parallel and serving as the ratchet. I had used too small a diameter for that one. Once I changed that one to 1/2” the whole thing stabilized nicely. The bench is in use daily and held up nicely.

[GDC]

Nice bench!. I have most of the materials and want to build it. As i was going through the instructable I noticed you call out #10 screws for the incline supports. The pictures look much larger than a #10 (3/16" dia). Did you mean 10mm (~3/8")?

[Mohamed gareb]

Thank you

[JeremyT65]

I think I'm going to make this with a friend with one modification. I'll probably run two pieces if wood along the length between the two legs at the bottom. If I can work it smoothly into the build, it'll be a resting place for my drum bells.

[sid8888]

4 ft. of 3/4 x 12 piece of plywood or solid wood (sir what is actual mean by it) plz ans me

[Feuerzangen]

12 inches wide. 3/4 inch thick. 4ft. long.

[crookW]

This is very cool! I might try this..
Also got a lot of suggestions from http://adjustableworkoutbench.com/

[KeithB86]

It looks nice for light weights but I wouldn't use this for heavy weights. How much weight can two 1x2's at an angle with holes drilled through them support?

[AglG]

Thanks for this!

[RichardW171]

The instruction diagram appears to be a little confusing. The instruction calls for the 45" 4X4 piece with a1/2 deep dado cut and width of 3 3/8" The problem is that the post which will be installed in this opening is 4X4. Further more the picture shows the dado cut to be much deeper than 1/2 inch. What am I missing here?

[AglG]

It was corrected; if you hover over your cursor over the rectangular box in
the picture it will tell you the correct cut which is 1-1/2 inch deep.
4x4's are not exactly 4-inches wide on each side, these is the
"nominal" number, after drying and milling the actual size normally
shrinks to 3-1/2 x 3-1/2, there is no industry standard and could vary. After
prep sanding, I would guess 3-3/8 will give you a nice snug fit. Carefully
measure the post dimensions you got to make sure.

[chrisjlionel]

Hey its awesome.But only one drawback decline bench press is not possible.

[buck2217]

That is great and much more attractive than a bought weight bench

[sosclosetsandfurniture]

I have two teenage boys and we were just discussing getting them a weight bench. I think I'll give this a shot. Nice work!

[jason.picard.927]

In the pictures of the dado cut in the 4x4, you stated you set your blade depth at 1/2 inch. If you did that, then the 3 inch lag screw would not go all the way through the 4x4 to connect to the other 4x4, so I was wondering if that was a misprint. It also seems like only a 1/2 inch dado would not give a very sturdy connection. Could you please verify this. I was also wondering how much weight this bench could hold since you noted it is not for "heavy" lifting. Thanks for the feedback. It looks like a beautiful bench and I'm looking forward to building it.

[makijim]

Thanks for the great instructable. I made mine this weekend. My wife and kid asked me to upholster it and it now looks even more like a piece of furniture as well as a nice weight bench. Not counting the materials for the upholstering, making this was cheaper than buying a bench from a store. Thanks again!!!!