plywood question

[jwmiller33]

is it necessary to get the exact same thickness for the plywood for the replacement benches?

[BoxMN]

is it necessary to get the exact same thickness for the plywood for the replacement benches?

No. I would not go thinner though, unless the bracing under it will support it. The side braces will adjust to fit whatever you have. Use SS blots/screws and nuts to fasten it back down.

Tip, on the rear seat/bench, use the "pin and socket" type base and pin under the seat, put it right into the bench now when it is easy, and maybe put some extra bracing under it. The pin style works great, and it has a little spring under it for a touch of "suspension" in the seat. They are cheap too, only about $20 or so for a set. Just make sure you position it where you want it, and test it with the seat you will end up mounting, rather than an old one that you plan to replace.

edit - on second thought, all it takes is a hole saw to make the hole for the base, so you can do that after the bench is mounted, if you are going to put a seat in it. Just do make sure to test placement before drilling the hole and make sure there is nothing under where the hole will go.

[jwmiller33]

No. I would not go thinner though, unless the bracing under it will support it. The side braces will adjust to fit whatever you have. Use SS blots/screws and nuts to fasten it back down.

Tip, on the rear seat/bench, use the "pin and socket" type base and pin under the seat, put it right into the bench now when it is easy, and maybe put some extra bracing under it. The pin style works great, and it has a little spring under it for a touch of "suspension" in the seat. They are cheap too, only about $20 or so for a set. Just make sure you position it where you want it, and test it with the seat you will end up mounting, rather than an old one that you plan to replace.

edit - on second thought, all it takes is a hole saw to make the hole for the base, so you can do that after the bench is mounted, if you are going to put a seat in it. Just do make sure to test placement before drilling the hole and make sure there is nothing under where the hole will go.

im not sure what you mean by pin and socket type of base... and waht do you mean by the extra bracing? im sorry i am just a little confused with what you are describing

[marine_man]

He's talking about this kind of pedestal mount & base:

marine_man

[BoxMN]

Yep, those are the ones! If you just plan on using the bench as a bench, then ignore what I said. But if you plan to add a "seat" to sit in, then these work great, don't break, easy to install and actually works nice so you can easily remove seat when you want/need to. You can also place these in other benchs, then one seat fits all bases, and for your front casting platform you are making, you can add pin to these to get to be "pedestal" seats.

Get the SS ones that marine man pictured, not the alum ones. I think they clean up better, are stronger, and I think even cheaper - we have both in our duck boat, and I like the SS ones better. They also have a nut on bottom for the pins to screw in, so they don't pop out.

Sorry for the size of this photo, but it shows them in our boat (also with dot deco vinyl) and put this base in the back "bench" seat as well, so we could use the same seats more flexibly.

[jwmiller33]

wow!!! thats funny because I just purchased that exact seat mount and base from cabelas last week. i bought 2 seat mounts (2 seats in my boat for right now) and i bought 3 bases.

i love the versatility of this set because anywhere i can turn a seat into a pedistal seat and visa versa... i bought one of the "pins" too, pretty sure it is stainless steel.

how big of a hole do i cut into the wood bench to fit the base part??? i noticed that the bottom isnt flat, it is more of a bowl shape... do i cut a hole just wide enough to fit the female piece that goes down into the bench? or do i cut a piece out of the wood bench to fit the bowl shape of the backside of the base?

thanks much!

[BoxMN]

I used a hole saw a bit bigger than the round part, and then used a scroll saw to put an angled edge around that would fit that rounded piece. It doesn't have to be exact.

Also, if you do plan to use the pin, making it sit higher, just know that you should probabyl brace it a bit more, as there will be lots of pressure/leverage sideways when it is in. We put a lot of extra bracing in those pieces on the floor. Also, I would recommend attaching them with bolts and nuts (will still look like screws from top).

Remember to take pics of all the steps! You will be glad you did, and be able to help out others later on. You have a cool project going!

[jwmiller33]

take a look at these pics...

should i cut a hole in the bench the size of hole A or hole B in my drawing?

[Fishing Junky]

Cut it the size of A Jw.

[jwmiller33]

thanks fishing junky