On Building A Stage

My friends Steve and Jeff have a DIY music venue in their basement.  I offered to build a stage for them, provided of course that they pay for the materials. 
So in about three hours today, their stage was built!  Nothing fancy or huge, but I feel good about it. 
Here’s how I did it:

SUPPLIES

• Two 8x4x.5 sheets of OSB sheeting (particle plywood)
• 12 10-foot 2x4 boards
• Tools (circular saw, measuring tape, electric drill, screws)

WHAT TO DO

1. Cut/lay out the plywood in the desired shape.  For this stage, we decided on a 12x12x17 foot triangle.  (Really, 12x12x16.97056274847714, but who’s nerdy enough for that nonsense?  Stupid Pythagoras.)  Also, since this is going into a basement, the stage is only 4 inches off the ground.
2. Make the frame for the stage on top of the laid-out plywood.  This way, you can make sure it’s all the right size.  Don’t attach it yet, though.
   
   
3. Right after your last cut, slice through the power cord for your circular saw to prove that you made no mistakes, and have no intention of fixing any that may exist.  Don’t really do this.  It’s stupid.
   
    
4. When the frame is finished, pull the plywood out from under, and lay it on top. 
5. Attach it with screws.
6. Finished!
   
   

Apparently, they have plans to cover this with carpet – probably a good idea for sound absorption.  Also, since I was a dope and screwed down all the edges before any in the middle, I had a lot of trouble finding the studs later.  If I was to do it again, I would attach the stage piece by piece, instead of laying it all on top at the same time.  Oh well.  DIY stage!