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New work bench for shop.


Jronman

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I may heavily modify the paulk design, include my cleats idea, include casters, and add some way to adjust each legs height. Whether it's in an unlevel garage floor it will be level or if it's too tall/short for a table saw it can be lowered/raised. I was thinking maybe at the top of the legs drilling down 12 or so inches. I would then have a threaded rod that could easily slide inside the hole. There would be a double nut combo on each rod for adjusting the height. Was thinking 2 nuts so I could use the top nut to lock the bottom one so it wont vibrate out of place.

 

Anyone got any better ideas for height/leveling adjustment?

 

Heres a quick prototype I made in autocad. The black lines represent the top leg and wheel. The blue is the threaded metal bar. When the bar is halfway in the leg it will be optimal working height for a standard cabinet grade table saw. ie. powermatic or sawstop. The green represent the nuts that allow for height adjustment. The bottom one sets height and the top one locks the bottom one. The red is extra space cut out in the leg to represent that the top can lower around.6 inches. The drawing is very basic. I just wanted to show the general idea of the leveling/height adjustment mechanism.

Table raise mechanism.PNG

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Does your bench need to disassemble?

 

If not I would avoid legs like this and go with a more traditional braced leg with a short leveling device on the bottom. Just for stability purposes.

 

I have a mix of castor types and leveling jacks in my shop.  The best is what they call a footmaster caster which a ratcheting pad on it. They are stupid expensive but I found 4 new ones on Ebay.

DMHZ0334.jpg

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For starters it will be used to build end tables. So usage would be assembly, small power/hand tool usage, staining, etc. It will eventually be used for bigger and/or more complex projects as my skill develops.

 

The issue I find with many tables is they have x features and only x features unless you do some modifications via cutting, rebuilding, etc. Some have too many features and others don't have enough. I want mine to be easily modifiable without permanently changing the table. Lets say I start out with a table then decide I need a router table or table with feature y. All I gotta do is make an extension/attachment connected via the cleats. I can add or remove the attachment with feature y on demand.

 

Before I start my work, I can within 5 to 10 mins pull out the table, figure out what attachments I need for the day, and install them on the cleats, and I would be ready to work. At the end of the day I can remove the attachments and put then back where they are stored then move the table back in the corner where it would be stored.

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Well one thing you should consider when designing this and I speak from failures :-[

 

If you are going to do woodworking then build something that is 100% flat and level.   I have several benches in my shop. Basically six total. Two are for metal work and two of other four would be OK for assembly of woodworking projects like your end tables. One is on wheels and I only pull it out of the corner on big projects. The ideal bench for doing this is my center island bench that sits on steel cabinets. It works great for a lot of things but the top has some twist in it. I assume its related to slope in the floor. It looks flat but the twist is there.

 

So when I start to assemble stuff like cabinets and am clamping and gluing parts together I end up with that twist built into the item I am building. Some items this is a huge issue.

 

So my plan is to rip that top off redo the base under my steel cabinets. Weld a frame with bolts with jacking screws to start off level.


Then I plan to build a torsion box top which will be 4" thick grid with hardboard around the edge. I watched a wood whisperer video and he goes through the steps on how to build one flat.

 

Not sure if you want to go to this much effort but just wanted to share this as its fought me ever since I built it. If you end up doing woodworking you want something flat !

 

Below is a drawing of what I am building. I hid the top so you could see what the grid looks like.

 

2017-01-19_13-31-52.jpg

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On 1/18/2017 at 0:12 PM, Jronman said:

I may heavily modify the paulk design, include my cleats idea, include casters, and add some way to adjust each legs height. Whether it's in an unlevel garage floor it will be level or if it's too tall/short for a table saw it can be lowered/raised. I was thinking maybe at the top of the legs drilling down 12 or so inches. I would then have a threaded rod that could easily slide inside the hole. There would be a double nut combo on each rod for adjusting the height. Was thinking 2 nuts so I could use the top nut to lock the bottom one so it wont vibrate out of place.

 

Anyone got any better ideas for height/leveling adjustment?

 

Heres a quick prototype I made in autocad. The black lines represent the top leg and wheel. The blue is the threaded metal bar. When the bar is halfway in the leg it will be optimal working height for a standard cabinet grade table saw. ie. powermatic or sawstop. The green represent the nuts that allow for height adjustment. The bottom one sets height and the top one locks the bottom one. The red is extra space cut out in the leg to represent that the top can lower around.6 inches. The drawing is very basic. I just wanted to show the general idea of the leveling/height adjustment mechanism.

 

The scaffolding wheels are a good idea but they may be a bit pricey. You can do a threaded insert into the wood and a nut on the very bottom so you snug that up against the base of the treaded insert...basically a double nut but with an insert instead of two nuts.

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57 minutes ago, rrmccabe said:

Well one thing you should consider when designing this and I speak from failures :-[

 

If you are going to do woodworking then build something that is 100% flat and level.   I have several benches in my shop. Basically six total. Two are for metal work and two of other four would be OK for assembly of woodworking projects like your end tables. One is on wheels and I only pull it out of the corner on big projects. The ideal bench for doing this is my center island bench that sits on steel cabinets. It works great for a lot of things but the top has some twist in it. I assume its related to slope in the floor. It looks flat but the twist is there.

 

So when I start to assemble stuff like cabinets and am clamping and gluing parts together I end up with that twist built into the item I am building. Some items this is a huge issue.

 

So my plan is to rip that top off redo the base under my steel cabinets. Weld a frame with bolts with jacking screws to start off level.


Then I plan to build a torsion box top which will be 4" thick grid with hardboard around the edge. I watched a wood whisperer video and he goes through the steps on how to build one flat.

 

Not sure if you want to go to this much effort but just wanted to share this as its fought me ever since I built it. If you end up doing woodworking you want something flat !

 

Below is a drawing of what I am building. I hid the top so you could see what the grid looks like.

 

Great advice, that's why I like a stationary bench or a section that is stationary. You can be sure it's level and it should stay square.

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3 hours ago, rrmccabe said:

Well one thing you should consider when designing this and I speak from failures :-[

 

If you are going to do woodworking then build something that is 100% flat and level.   I have several benches in my shop. Basically six total. Two are for metal work and two of other four would be OK for assembly of woodworking projects like your end tables. One is on wheels and I only pull it out of the corner on big projects. The ideal bench for doing this is my center island bench that sits on steel cabinets. It works great for a lot of things but the top has some twist in it. I assume its related to slope in the floor. It looks flat but the twist is there.

 

So when I start to assemble stuff like cabinets and am clamping and gluing parts together I end up with that twist built into the item I am building. Some items this is a huge issue.

 

So my plan is to rip that top off redo the base under my steel cabinets. Weld a frame with bolts with jacking screws to start off level.


Then I plan to build a torsion box top which will be 4" thick grid with hardboard around the edge. I watched a wood whisperer video and he goes through the steps on how to build one flat.

 

Not sure if you want to go to this much effort but just wanted to share this as its fought me ever since I built it. If you end up doing woodworking you want something flat !

 

Below is a drawing of what I am building. I hid the top so you could see what the grid looks like.

 

2017-01-19_13-31-52.jpg

yeah I'm not gonna cut corners or go "cheap". There are the occasional hidden gems out there but from personal experience cheap furniture tends to not hold up well so I'm not gonna take any chances. Nice design. Is the grid for making the top more rigid?

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Very cool ideas, I think I like where you're going with this modular work bench system

 

I built a torsion top rolling work bench with MDF topped with laminate, and yes, the proper casters make all the difference.

The interlocked supports do add strength and consistent flatness and keep it that way over time. 

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16 hours ago, KnarlyCarl said:

Very cool ideas, I think I like where you're going with this modular work bench system

 

I built a torsion top rolling work bench with MDF topped with laminate, and yes, the proper casters make all the difference.

The interlocked supports do add strength and consistent flatness and keep it that way over time. 

thank you

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