Benchwork for Warehouse Row

Time to take the next big step in getting Warehouse Row up and running...benchwork! I made a trip to two different big box DIY stores in search of 1/2" plywood. Could not find anything. First they are now measuring everything in 1/32 of an inch probably due to some obscure truth in advertising law. If I wanted something close to 3/4" I would need to find not 24/32 but 23/32 (of course on the website it says 3/4 but 23/32 in the fine print). That 1/2 should, in theory, be 15/32. Two stores and not a single sheet of 1/2 to be found and I deemed the 3/8' just a bit to flimsy for this (I might end up going back to this though). Not to mention that the prices are truly astronomical at this point.

At this juncture I figured it was time to dust of the rigid foam concept off and see if it would work. I bought two sheets of 1"x4'x8' blue foam and a sheet of 1/4"x4'x8' hardboard. I started with the hardboard and cut it down into rough sizes with a circular saw. Hardboard dust is the worst so I cut it outside rather than in the shop.

This is my cut sheet. I laid out the big components to figure out the best way to lay out the components. At this point I'm just looking for the best way to break the sheet down to manageable sections. At this point I was only thinking about 1/2" plywood but it will work for the foam and the hardboard as well.

The cutsheet with a little more detail. Two sections will need a lot more detailed cutting to yield the four vertical supports. Should be interesting cutting out those supports. I'll have to layout the curve as well that will definitely require the jigsaw.

And here are the four rough cut pieces all ready for the next phase.