I can't believe how the time flies but it's been over 2-1/2 years since I built a steel shooting bench to use at my house. I still haven't painted it but I did make a significant upgrade this morning that I thought I'd share. The original thread is HERE.
Here's the bench (see below) that I made back in October of 2014. It's been a great bench but the steel top feels cold in the summer and really cold in the winter. The bench is now in a separate room attached to the garage but there's no heat out there and I shoot all year round. A couple of weeks ago I bought a thick rubber mat for $35 that's intended for horse stalls. I wanted a piece of thick rubber mat for the back of my Jeep TJ for the dogs, noise reduction and insulation since there are no rear seats and no carpet. Once I'd cut the piece for the Jeep it occurred to me to use the left over piece to cover the shooting bench. I even had enough left over to make a few pads for use under bags etc. Overall it's a really nice, cheap upgrade. My shooting rest doesn't slide around, shooting bags don't slide around, the rubber is easy on firearms and optics as well as brass, and the bench top is no longer cold and hard! I should have done this two and a half years ago!!!
Here's the bench (see below) that I made back in October of 2014. It's been a great bench but the steel top feels cold in the summer and really cold in the winter. The bench is now in a separate room attached to the garage but there's no heat out there and I shoot all year round. A couple of weeks ago I bought a thick rubber mat for $35 that's intended for horse stalls. I wanted a piece of thick rubber mat for the back of my Jeep TJ for the dogs, noise reduction and insulation since there are no rear seats and no carpet. Once I'd cut the piece for the Jeep it occurred to me to use the left over piece to cover the shooting bench. I even had enough left over to make a few pads for use under bags etc. Overall it's a really nice, cheap upgrade. My shooting rest doesn't slide around, shooting bags don't slide around, the rubber is easy on firearms and optics as well as brass, and the bench top is no longer cold and hard! I should have done this two and a half years ago!!!