This bench was in mind for quite a while and its main purpose is to organize the sand part of the casting. I wanted the sand in one spot, cleanout capability, moveability, and a solid surface to work on and a space to store tools while working. The sand will be stored in buckets or left in the trough and covered by a rubbersheet from a waterscape (thick pool liner).

The basic frame came from a large (4' x 5') printing plate vacuum frame that I got at an auction years ago. The tubing is lightweight 1 3/4 square. So the width was set at 5' and I had 2' angle iron frames on wheels that would provide moveability. I slanted the top to give more table space but the sand trough was left at 2' x 5' x 14". That left room underneath for a 5 gal bucket.

You can see the frame cut at various times and rewelded to the desired form. The trough bottom is braced with four channels to hold the weight and lined with wood. On top of the wood is the galvanized sheet. This prevents the liner from rusting and keeps the wood from shedding fibers to get into the sand.

The cleanout door slides up to allow for raking sand out or pushing it out. The decision to leave sand in the trough or put in buckets depends on the time of year and how soon I'll be back into it. Longer term means put it in the bucket, in the short term a piece of pool liner laid on top works quite nicely.