Big bench with wheels

gingerbeer86 · #1 18th Jan 2012, 07:26 PM

I have looked at lots of threads in this section to get ideas for a bench. I am new to the forum and am setting up a workshop and so far only have the table saw, next is the DE and the bench. thanks to all for sharing their projects, you may see some of your ideas in my bench.

The bench is underway , so a few pics attached to show progress. It is made from a structural beam that was wrong size for a building project (we changed the door opening after the beam was ordered) 6m * 295 * 65. For the legs I went with dressed laminated merbau posts, it is reasonably heavy and easy to work. You will see ideas from a number of designs. I have gone with a split top and will have drop in boxes or bottoms to get the tools below the work surface. Being on wheels it will be rolled away from the wall and suitable to work from any side. I used 75 * 50 * 6mm angle iron to attached the legs and join the two halves. No fancy mortice and tenon joints or dovetails. All joints are rebated and bolted (tight) to give great rigidity.

It is a big bench, 3m long and 720mm wide. I will mount a front vice just inside the left side legs and an end vice on the front beam. I am going with round dogs. I am toying with ideas like mounting an metal bench vise on the top at the diagonal opposite end from the end vise, or cutting a router insert at that end with a quick release fence into channels flush with the surface.

I am very happy with the wheel design. The bench weighs over 100kg but with a lift of less than 10kg you can push on the lever with one foot and the wheels flip under and lift the legs off the floor. To lower back on the legs take a little bit of weight and lift the lever with your toes. It glides around the workshop smoothly when up on the wheels. It would be possible to do it with a lever like the bench Timbernut has posted. More to come once the order from Carbatec arrives.

snowyskiesau · #2 18th Jan 2012, 08:22 PM

I like the idea of the fold up wheels.
I need to make a moveable bench/stand for a lathe so I might try and do something similar.

cray- · #3 19th Jan 2012, 06:06 PM

...and what a workshop! Plaster walls, skirting boards, exposed aggregate flooring? Very swish, very jealous of all that space. Is this a recent build/new extension/re-purposed room/stand alone?

The wheels look very handy.

BobL · #4 19th Jan 2012, 06:27 PM

Looks great. I wonder whether it would have been better it they had been mounted if the wheels had folded upwards so they were more underneath the bench frame rather fold outwards? I realize they would then be a bit more difficult to lower and raise but they would also be more out of the way when not in use.

Sawdust Maker · #5 19th Jan 2012, 11:28 PM

Nice looking bench there - wish I had the room for that sort of length

and welcome to the forum

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobL

Looks great. I wonder whether it would have been better it they had been mounted if the wheels had folded upwards so they were more underneath the bench frame rather fold outwards? I realize they would then be a bit more difficult to lower and raise but they would also be more out of the way when not in use.

Bob, had the same thought myself, then thought that with the overhang on the ends would probably not be a problem

BobL · #6 19th Jan 2012, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker

Bob, had the same thought myself, then thought that with the overhang on the ends would probably not be a problem

Good point!

orraloon · #7 20th Jan 2012, 11:32 AM

I have been pondering wheel setups for when I make my "real bench" and have been keeping an eye on the bench builds. That is a good simple and easy to do setup. No bars,chocks,jacks or other bits that you have to find when you need to move the bench. It is top of my list so far.

Regards
John

gingerbeer86 · #8 20th Jan 2012, 08:35 PM

Thanks for the feedback. The shed is a new build as part of a bigger reno. Fibre cement lined, 2.7m ceiling, 3 phase power for the saw and probably dusty, poly urea floor coating has been bullet proof, but alas not a dedicated workshop, 7m*9m with roller doors on two side it also houses my car. I am enjoying the space but according to the laws of entropy (at least at my place) stuff will accumulate to overflow any available space.

On the point about the wheels, the reason they are on the outside is that i was not sure how much force was needed to push them under or pull them out when doing the design, and wanted to be able to take some weight off and use my foot to provide the force. As it turns out if you turn the castor so that the wheels are offset to the same side as the hinge, it requires very little force to flip them. Little enough that you could probably do it by hand without lifting the bench which, means they could be on the inside of the legs. Not practical of course if there is a shelf below. The small force required may also mean that wheeling in the direction of the table over significant unevenness may cause them to flip out into the "off" position, that could be fixed with a simple hook and eye if needed. Clearly the horizontal relationship of the axle of the wheel to the pivot of the hinge is important.

BobL · #9 20th Jan 2012, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gingerbeer86

Thanks for the feedback. The shed is a new build as part of a bigger reno. Fibre cement lined, 2.7m ceiling, 3 phase power for the saw and probably dusty, poly urea floor coating has been bullet proof, but alas not a dedicated workshop, 7m*9m with roller doors on two side . . .

NICE!

RE: Wheels
Another possibility is to extend the hinged board the wheels are on by about 50 mm so the board extends out past the bench frame and fit handles to these extended ends. Then the two handles could be linked by a lever so only one handle has to push down and both sets of wheels go up/down. The connected handles could be at the back of the bench where they take up less space and the handle could be at the front of the bench.

To stop the wheels from flipping out to the off position the cross piece of the bench could be made so that the position the board the wheels are on goes past 90º ie 105º. This would mean the wheels would need to be lifted to take them off but it would make them more secure.

bsrlee · #10 25th Jan 2012, 03:34 AM

As you observed, rolling over obstacles on the floor does make that style of caster mounting flip out. You should be able to find some old posts about it on Chris Schwarz's (or Megan Fitzpatrick's) blog at Popular Woodworking.

And he came up with the same solution you suggested - a hook & eye on each set, tested it & it works.

gingerbeer86 · #11 29th Jan 2012, 02:49 PM

Getting further along with the bench. Now have two vises fitted, both are the Groz vises from CT, large one on the front, small one on the end. They are quick release and and have been happy with the finish, quality and smoothness of operation. I fitted some red mahogany as soft jaws, which was a simple exercise using the holes provided in the vise.

I have filled in the centre channel of the bench with some pieces of reclaimed cedar weather boards that I ripped down to 10mm thickness. The Kreg router insert has been fitted and the router mounted. It is an old Makita, which is bullet proof but I had to drill into the base to fit three 6mm bolts to fix it to the insert. It is not designed to change the bits from the top so I will lift the router and insert out to change bits. It is a tight fit in the rebate but I still put 2 * 30mm 10g screws to hold it down.

Next step is a fence for the router but will wait until the next trip to CT to get some channel and T-bolts fit into the bench top to hold the fence. Lots of other ideas for potential additions like mounting the belt sander under the table to make a bench sander, fitting a power board in the centre channel for ease of swapping between multiple tools, fitting a shelf below ....

Christos · #12 5th Feb 2012, 08:26 AM

I missed this the other day but I see that you are making a multi function bench.

gingerbeer86 · #13 5th Feb 2012, 06:10 PM

Will have to learn how to rotate the pictures before the next update. Have used the bench for a couple of small projects and enjoyed the ability to clamp up a 1.8m long assembly for a bed end. I used a piece of 4*2 clamped to the bench for a router fence until I get into making a more elegant solution.

alf889 · #14 18th Apr 2012, 07:34 AM

Hi!

I am new here and just start to learn how to work with wood. I see the photo of the bench and love your design. I would like to ask if you can share the design plan? Thank you in advance.

Alf889

Quote:

Originally Posted by gingerbeer86

Getting further along with the bench. Now have two vises fitted, both are the Groz vises from CT, large one on the front, small one on the end. They are quick release and and have been happy with the finish, quality and smoothness of operation. I fitted some red mahogany as soft jaws, which was a simple exercise using the holes provided in the vise.

I have filled in the centre channel of the bench with some pieces of reclaimed cedar weather boards that I ripped down to 10mm thickness. The Kreg router insert has been fitted and the router mounted. It is an old Makita, which is bullet proof but I had to drill into the base to fit three 6mm bolts to fix it to the insert. It is not designed to change the bits from the top so I will lift the router and insert out to change bits. It is a tight fit in the rebate but I still put 2 * 30mm 10g screws to hold it down.

Next step is a fence for the router but will wait until the next trip to CT to get some channel and T-bolts fit into the bench top to hold the fence. Lots of other ideas for potential additions like mounting the belt sander under the table to make a bench sander, fitting a power board in the centre channel for ease of swapping between multiple tools, fitting a shelf below ....