Thread: Almost finished my new assembly table...

Originally Posted by Clinton1

.............I'm looking forward to seeing whatever castor and lift mechanism you put on (as I'd like to steal the idea)...............

Coming very soon! - working out pretty damn good if I do say so myself Decided the table was too heavy for a lever-type lift so settled for a wind-up. I already keep a battery drill fitted with a quick-connect chuck handy at all times and use it to raise and lower the table on the thicknesser (pictured) when it has to go the 5" or so to switch to planing mode, so the same drive for the table-lift seemed logical.
Thicknesser-quick-connect.JPG
Set myself the following criteria and initially thought it was impossible but it ticks all the boxes...
1. Nothing to kick the toes on whether it's on the wheels or not.
2. No modifications to the table - makes it easier to adapt it to other gear.
3. Want to be able to sweep/poke stuff underneath when the wheels are up.
4. Must be able to raise it from more than one spot - don't want to get painted in to a corner so to speak.
5. KISS principle to be strictly adhered to.
6. Must not cost more than $100.
Took longer to design than build but well worth the brain-drain

Originally Posted by chambezio

Vern that table is a credit to your engineering skills. To have a problem and to then go about designing something that will help you get a better result is a real achievement. It is well made and well finished. Will it be the ultimate?? Someone will always come up with something else and you will say"Damn, if I has seen that I could have included it in mine". I think that scenario is universal.
When I was working in a kitchen manufacturing place we had "knock-up benches" that were only about 650 high and were 3600 X 1200 with 2 sheets of pyneboard on top. The top sheet was sacrificial to keep the surface in reasonable condition. When I retired I used an old (from the tip) office desk with a loose sheet of MDF on top. It was sort of OK but always could have been better. A mate got onto a hospital bed. Very good quality castors as well as hydraulic lift. I screwed a sheet of MDF on with a fair margin of overhang for clamping. It is still not ideal but the height adjustability is a good feature. Maybe there is no "ultimate bench", it may be an ideal that we in a quest for

But I do like yours

Agreed This bench will be MY ultimate bench if nobody elses . . . . . but the table-lift mechanism could suit just about every bench

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

....The legs are square stock, not tapered? How 'bout making some sleeves (folded plastic?) around each leg? Slide 'em up to adjust the feet, then let 'em go to drop back down to floor level in operation. Could use a pin thru a slot in ea. sleeve so they don't slide off if/when the leg's lifted off the ground.

Quick'n'nasty, I know, but they'd mitigate the cable snagging problem and make it easier to quickly sweep around the legs in mid-job.

Thought of an easy solution tonight As it's only the outer corner that's a problem I'll drill a hole just off the edge of the flat and glue a dowel into it to floor level - it will give a nice rounded area for the leads to slide over (without a hell of a lot of work )

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

............I'm also mighty interested in the gizmo you've rigged up for the thicknesser outfeed, if maybe you could post a couple of pics of that please? Looks like a welded up roller thicky thingy. The Hammer ext.tables are ridiculously difficult to get level, and they have to be more or less taken apart if you want to swap bwtween jointer and thicky.

How the hell did you spot that?!?!?!? Couldn't see the point in getting the Hammer outfeed table - just another flat surface for crap to accumulate on!! Took some pics tonight for you - pretty simple setup - fine adjustment on each end of the rollers (salvaged from old printers in a past life ) 8mm threaded rod through the lengths of stainless tube lock the whole thing together.
The alumium plate was a 'post-enhancement' - was running a pile of short pieces through, using the next piece to push each one out and if I didn't get there in time, some were tipping down and butting into the roller, jamming things up. The plate sorted that no worries and it just clips on/off.

Originally Posted by TTIT

How the hell did you spot that?!?!?!?

Pffft. Easy peasy. Recognise the Hammer colours, remembered you've got the combo, yellow colour out of place.....

Looks good, thanks for the pics Vern.

Laid up for a few days so I finally got around to putting the table mobilizer up on the website - wouldn't have been much point putting it up here without a video of how it works.
Here's the link to the details of how it's put together.

There's a video of it in action at the bottom of the page but I couldn't work out how to link to it here